Evaluate

Evaluate

Weigh the pros and cons of technologies, products and projects you are considering.

• VMware and Hyper-V management tools generate buzz for different reasons

  VMware and Hyper-V management tools top the news for very different reasons. While a VMware acquisition could bolster vCOps, new Hyper-V features won't be available until System Center 2012 SP1. Continue Reading

• Hyper-V 3.0 tools won't emerge until System Center 2012 SP1

  Windows Server 2012 becomes available on Sept. 4, but the software necessary to manage the newest version of Hyper-V remains at the pre-beta stage. Continue Reading

• Embrace, don’t fear, new data center technology

  New data center technology that disrupts the status quo can be unsettling. But embracing change makes yourself more marketable and can improve efficiency. Continue Reading

• The future of virtualization: Areas for growth and concern

  On the surface, the future of virtualization is bright. But, as more workloads are virtualized, new and complex infrastructure problems arise. Continue Reading

• Proceed with caution: Multi-hypervisor management tools

  If you’re considering a heterogeneous virtualization shop, don’t count on multi-hypervisor management tools to solve all of your administration woes. Continue Reading

• VMware vs. Microsoft: Ferocious pricing war from the user perspective

  This week, users chimed in on the VMware vs. Microsoft pricing and licensing war and critics questioned VMware’s Hadoop-on-vSphere strategy.Continue Reading

• Using vCenter Infrastructure Navigator to map application dependencies

  VMware’s Infrastructure Navigator is a key addition to the vCenter Operations suite that can help you better understand application dependencies and improve disaster recovery.Continue Reading

• VMware vs. Microsoft: Cloud management is the new battlefield

  For an accurate view of the competition between these industry titans, it’s best to look at the big picture in private and public cloud, experts say.Continue Reading

• VMware vSphere vs. Microsoft Hyper-V: Which is cheaper?

  They’re time-honored questions: Is Hyper-V cheaper than vSphere? Does vSphere still have more advanced features? The answers may surprise you.Continue Reading

• Breaking down IT silos to increase data center efficiency

  IT silos are relics from days of managing physical infrastructures. Smart IT shops will tear down these barriers to improve data center efficiency.Continue Reading

• The server market weakens while niche vendors are on the rise

  Don’t be caught out of the loop. Check out what’s going on in the virtualization market and the world of data center design.Continue Reading

• IT trends: Where hardware innovation leads, software follows

  Over time, certain IT trends emerge. And if you look closely, you’ll find that major advances in software usually follow hardware innovation.Continue Reading

• Chargeback vs. showback: Which method is best for you?

  IT shops looking to recover costs should consider a chargeback or showback model. But these strategies are rife with political and technical hurdles.Continue Reading

• VMware buys Cetas to bring big data analytics to the masses

  VMware pushes deeper into the application space with the purchase of Cetas Software, a big data analytics startup, that could have tie-ins with several of its products.Continue Reading

• Top five Hyper-V 3.0 features that will excite IT pros

  New Microsoft Hyper-V 3.0 features will streamline virtualization tasks and make things easier on IT pros. Here are the ones you should get excited for.Continue Reading

• The complete buyer's guide for virtual infrastructure tools

  Searching for the right virtual infrastructure tools can feel like trying to find a needle in a haystack, unless you're using our buyer's guide.Continue Reading

• How open source Xen lost its footing

  Open source Xen initially caused a stir in the industry, but a series of moves from Linux vendors has stunted the hypervisor’s adoption rate.Continue Reading

• Tier-one applications: Part of effective virtualization strategies

  Mature virtualization strategies should now include tier-one applications. Yet, many data centers shy away from the practice.Continue Reading

• Virtualization backup tools: How the field stacks up

  Virtualization backup tools have become a crucial investment for many IT shops. Choosing the right one requires an analysis of the features and cost.Continue Reading

• Automation tools for virtualization provisioning: Weighing the options

  When choosing automation tools for your virtualization provisioning, carefully weigh all options to ensure that you get the most bang for your buck.Continue Reading

• How virtual security appliances and tools protect a data center

  Virtual security appliances and tools keep the bad guys out. But vendors approach virtual security differently and not every tool may suit your needs.Continue Reading

• Asking stupid questions can lead to server virtualization success

  Stupid questions are rarely stupid. In fact, asking stupid questions can challenge the status quo, leading to better results in the data center.Continue Reading

• Virtualizing applications and virtual server migration best practices

  Virtualizing applications is great for ROI. With virtual server migrations and virtual appliances, you can recoup your investment even faster.Continue Reading

• Virtualization disaster recovery tools: No silver bullet solution

  There’s a flood of virtualization disaster recovery tools available, but an effective DR plan may require a combination of technologies and products.Continue Reading

• Choosing the right virtualization monitoring and management tools

  There are a bevy of virtualization monitoring and management tools on the market, and your IT shop’s success hinges on finding the right one.Continue Reading

• Comparing configuration and change management tools: What to look for

  Configuration and change management affects capacity planning, DR and compliance. Find out which tools and features are available in the market.Continue Reading

• Virtualization hardware and data center design: Did the debate shift?

  When it comes to virtualization hardware, converged infrastructure like NetApp FlexPod and VCE Vblock is taking the place of yesterday’s vertically scaled systems.Continue Reading

• Agent-based vs. host-based backups: Has the market shifted?

  Host-based virtualization backup tools were all the rage, but now agent-based backups offer great performance while eliminating complexity.Continue Reading

• New tool emerges for multi-hypervisor management

  Security software giant McAfee is one of a growing number of enterprises running VMware vSphere, Hyper-V and XenServer together. Here’s how it manages multiple hypervisors.Continue Reading

• Products of the Year 2011: Virtualization management

  These are the Products of the Year 2011 winners in the virtualization management category.Continue Reading

• Products of the Year 2011: Virtualization security

  These are the Products of the Year 2011 winners in the desktop virtualization category.Continue Reading

• Products of the Year 2011: Hardware for virtualization

  These are the Products of the Year 2011 winners in the hardware for virtualization category.Continue Reading

• Products of the Year 2011: Backup and storage

  These are the Products of the Year 2011 winners in the backup and storage category.Continue Reading

• Virtualization 2012: Hyper-V 3 vs. vSphere 5 showdown looms

  If Hyper-V 3 comes to market as expected by the end of this year, users say it will give VMware’s vSphere 5 a run for its money -- literally.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V Replica: New VM replication tool for cost-conscious IT shops

  Hyper-V Replica, the new VM replication feature in Microsoft’s next hypervisor, is a free and viable disaster recovery tool for SMBs and enterprises.Continue Reading

• Red Hat open sources RHEV virtualization management tool

  Red Hat says the new oVirt project to develop its RHEV-M will result in sophisticated open source virtualization management tools, but so far it’s being met with a lukewarm response.Continue Reading

• Geek gifts gone wrong: What not to buy your loved ones

  Geeks confess the nerdy gifts that didn’t work out and offer a note of caution when it comes to buying for them, too. Hint: no more USB sticks.Continue Reading

• What to buy a geek for the holidays: The complete shopping guide

  IT pros are making their wish lists and checking them twice as the holiday shopping season heats up.Continue Reading

• Fibre Channel vs. Ethernet: Is the storage networking war over?

  In virtualized data centers, Ethernet is rapidly replacing Fibre Channel as the preferred shared storage transport mechanism. Here’s why.Continue Reading

• VMware vFabric App Performance Manager is GA: News in brief

  VMware’s Java application performance management software is now available for purchase, and other virtualization news in brief.Continue Reading

• Application virtualization FAQ

  Application virtualization can ease server virtualization management woes. But an admin must first understand how the technologies are complementary.Continue Reading

• The multi-hypervisor management tool landscape

  Multi-hypervisor management tools solve a growing need, as more organization run multiple platforms. But the options are few and far between.Continue Reading

• Crafting a virtual DR plan that actually works

  Implementing a virtual DR plan is a cost-effective and efficient way to keep business up and running after a disaster.Continue Reading

• VMware brushes up SMB products: Virtualization news in brief

  Neverfail offers extension to VMware SRM; CA and Trend Micro partner with HyTrust; Quest releases vRanger 5.3; Veeam updates VMware management pack.Continue Reading

• VMware management strategy comes into focus with new tools

  Users are glad to see VMware knitting together products from various acquisitions with new virtualization management tools, though the tools remain works in progress.Continue Reading

• SearchServerVirtualization.com Products of the Year 2011

  SearchServerVirtualization.com's annual Products of the Year awards recognize innovation and performance in data center technologies. Nominate a product today!Continue Reading

• Q&A: Cross-platform virtualization management

  More data centers are running multiple virtualization platforms, but with this approach, virtualization management can get complicated.Continue Reading

• Virtualization management tools: The compact cars of IT

  Most virtualization management tools look and feel the same these days, and IT pros are waiting to be wowed.Continue Reading

• Q&A: Network virtualization benefits and challenges

  An expert explains the technical process behind network virtualization and the difference between internal and external virtual networks.Continue Reading

• Virtualization technology licensing FAQ: Hyper-V, VMware licensing

  When you virtualize, don’t forget to follow the rules. Understand the virtualization technology licensing requirements for your platform and more.Continue Reading

• Choosing a virtualization hypervisor: Eight factors to consider

  Whether you choose a hosted or bare-metal hypervisor, consider performance, cost, reliability and more as you pick a virtualization hypervisor.Continue Reading

• Evaluating software with virtual appliances

  Evaluating software often involves lengthy, complicated POC deployments. But virtual appliances can make the process faster and more effective.Continue Reading

• Off-site storage for virtualization: Pros and cons of remote storage

  If you really want to protect your data, get rid of it. Transferring data to off-site storage can be a solid virtualization storage strategy.Continue Reading

• FAQ: Virtual server clustering and the benefits of an HA cluster

  If you want to ease VM management and server failover, create a virtual server cluster. Server clustering allows VMs to migrate to other hosts.Continue Reading

• Virtualization pros get flashy with tier-one apps

  Flash storage can break I/O and latency bottlenecks that would otherwise hamper virtualizing high-performance applications.Continue Reading

• Virtualization storage performance monitoring: Metrics and tools

  Storage performance monitoring ensures that you’re warned of low storage capacity and that you’re up to date on virtualization storage usage trends.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V management tools: What VMware admins need to know

  Hyper-V management tools, from Microsoft and its partners, are the crux of the virtualization platform. VMware admins should master these.Continue Reading

• FAQ: Virtual testing and development environments

  A virtual testing and development environment lets you test OSes and applications before deployment. You can even build a virtual test lab at home.Continue Reading

• Finding the value in server application virtualization

  Some IT pros can see the potential in abstracting applications from server operating systems. For now, the technology is just getting off the ground.Continue Reading

• Jump-starting your data center with a virtualization strategy

  Virtualization is not just a tactical tool. Give your entire IT department a facelift by implementing a long-term virtualization strategy.Continue Reading

• Xangati beefs up free VMware monitoring tool: News in brief

  Netuitive adds Hyper-V support; Syncsort offers 10 minute P2V through NetApp; Oracle releases Oracle VM for x86 version 2.2.2; HP adds VAAI support to entry-level disk array.Continue Reading

• To consolidate or not to consolidate: Resource-intensive applications

  That is the question… Should you consolidate servers with resource-intensive apps? Not necessarily. They'll have to share resources with multiple VMs.Continue Reading

• Free virtualization: It’s free for a reason

  Free virtualization hypervisors can be tempting, but they often lack features, such as live migration and high availability, that really unlock the technology’s power.Continue Reading

• Grasping application memory requirements to optimize Dynamic Memory

  Before configuring Hyper-V Dynamic Memory, you need to know your application memory requirements. Vendor support can affect Dynamic Memory’s settings.Continue Reading

• Dynamic storage allocation with thin provisioning: Pros and cons

  Allocating virtualization storage is easy with thin provisioning. But this dynamic storage allocation method can complicate storage management.Continue Reading

• Redirection to the rescue: I/O tools boost virtualization projects

  From managing backup copies to server-side SSD caching, users say emerging I/O redirection and optimization tools are key to managing storage in virtual infrastructures.Continue Reading

• Network virtualization technology FAQ

  Network virtualization lets you break one physical network into many virtual networks or combine physical networks into one virtual network.Continue Reading

• Interview with VMware CIO Mark Egan: Acquisitions, apps and cloud

  In this episode of This Week in Virtualization, VMware CIO Mark Egan talks cloud and Microsoft; plus, a preview of Citrix Synergy 2011 and news from Microsoft TechEd.Continue Reading

• Mind the air gap: Can security and consolidation coexist?

  Segmenting data on separate physical servers isn’t the only way to ensure security these days. In many cases, virtualization does just as good a job.Continue Reading

• Pros and cons of iSCSI storage networking in virtual infrastructures

  ISCSI provides simplicity for virtualization storage networking, but iSCSI performance, network design, security and cost can present challenges.Continue Reading

• FAQ: Server virtualization in health care IT

  Server virtualization can stop your data center from turning into an emergency room, but virtualization in health care IT brings unique challenges.Continue Reading

• Why choose Fibre Channel for virtualization storage networking?

  Fibre Channel offers great storage networking performance and security, but cost and complexity can be deal-breakers when deciding whether to implement a Fibre Channel SAN.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V dynamic memory allocation vs. VMware memory overcommit

  VMware memory overcommit and the Hyper-V dynamic memory allocation feature have similarities, but the user experience is completely different.Continue Reading

• Business application development through the crystal ball

  The future of application development in virtual infrastructures may not bring standardization, but it’s never too early for business application updates.Continue Reading

• Business application development in a virtual infrastructure

  Virtualization may increase your need for business application updates, but it can also make application development easier. First, decide whether to use third-party development.Continue Reading

• How virtualization drives business application updates

  Business applications shouldn’t be left out in the cold. Every once in a while, you need application updates to keep your company and data center performance in tip-top shape.Continue Reading

• Successful virtualization strategies learned from the airline industry

  This is your captain speaking: Successful strategies from the airline industry can work just as well in virtual infrastructures.Continue Reading

• KVM reignites Type 1 vs. Type 2 hypervisor debate

  An IBM distinguished engineer says there are major misconceptions about whether KVM is a Type 1 or Type 2 hypervisor. IT pros, meanwhile, worry about support and compatibility.Continue Reading

• Virtualization certification FAQ

  Don’t know where to start with virtualization certifications? A virtualization certification boosts your skills, but consider your choices and goals before going after one.Continue Reading

• Server virtualization platform comparison: VMware vs. Microsoft

  VMware's server virtualization platform leads the market, but Microsoft Hyper-V is catching on. Use this server virtualization comparison to help decide which is right for you.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V vs. VMware guide

  This Hyper-V vs. VMware edition of our Virtualization School series will help you compare the two most popular platforms in the server virtualization market.Continue Reading

• Quiz: Virtualization backup strategies and tools

  Think you’re a hotshot when it comes to virtualization backup strategies? Even if you’re new to the subject, this quiz on will help you gauge your knowledge.Continue Reading

• Cross-platform virtualization management tools: Sharing is caring

  Virtualization management tools tend to stick with their virtualization vendors. They’re not easy to use in multiple platforms, but some can perform a few cross-platform tasks.Continue Reading

• Virtualization management tools: Navigating the muddy waters

  As virtualization management becomes more complicated, choosing management tools gets tougher. Hypervisor vendors and third-party ISVs all offer their own management solutions.Continue Reading

• Virtual server backup and recovery FAQ

  Restoring VM data quickly requires a solid virtual server backup method. Snapshots, deduplication and third-party tools can help you achieve VM backup success.Continue Reading

• VMware acquires WaveMaker for Java app development: News in brief

  VMware buys Web app dev startup, integrates with Amazon; Veeam chases billion-dollar aspirations with Business View 2.0; NetEx offers free WAN optimization to VMware users.Continue Reading

• Got multiple virtualization vendors? Learn to convert virtual disks

  Virtualization vendors don’t have virtual disk format standards. If you use multiple virtualization platforms, you’ll have to convert from one vendor’s disk format to another’s.Continue Reading

• VCenter Converter, Migrate and other virtualization management tools

  Our top-ten list continues with these five must-have virtualization management tools. Choose the best ones for your infrastructure based on cost and your management strategy.Continue Reading

• Top 10 virtualization management tools

  There are lots of virtualization management tools out there, but which ones are right for your infrastructure? Here are 10 tools data center managers should consider.Continue Reading

• New VMware product review

  Miss the recent news about VMware vSphere 5, View 4.6 and vCloud Connector? This podcast has all the details on these new VMware products.Continue Reading

• Navigating the converged infrastructure hype cycle

  Does the reality of converged infrastructure products, such as the Vblock and FlexPod, live up to the hype? Our columnist shares his hands-on experiences.Continue Reading

• Windows VSS virtual machine backup strategies: Hyper-V vs. VMware

  For a strong virtual machine backup strategy, Windows VSS must 'play nice' with other host components. But it works differently in VMware and Hyper-V environments.Continue Reading

• Virtual appliance FAQ

  With virtualization deployments, time is money. A virtual appliance decreases software deployment times and eases resource allocation, virtual machine migration and backup.Continue Reading

• Endpoint virtualization vs. server virtualization: Server requirements

  Endpoint virtualization is a new level of server virtualization, but there are some important differences in the two implementations and how end users interact with the server.Continue Reading

• Storage resource management tools simplify capacity management

  Storage complicates capacity management, but using storage resource management tools to monitor I/O and prevent resource contention can make things easier.Continue Reading

• Is virtualization driving business and IT apart?

  Virtualization has charted a new course for IT, but it may have stranded the business side of your organization.Continue Reading

• Virtualization in 2010 through a newbie's eyes

  Senior News Writer Beth Pariseau, a storage industry veteran, looks back on her first year covering the server virtualization market.Continue Reading

• Virtualization storage pros and cons: Shared storage and beyond

  Storage takes on a whole new meaning when virtualization comes into the picture. Shared storage allows you to consolidate resources and provides centralized management.Continue Reading

• Virtual disaster recovery FAQ

  Virtualization can improve a disaster recovery strategy through server consolidation and increased recovery speed. But there are drawbacks to virtual disaster recovery.Continue Reading

• Vblock vs. FlexPod: What's the difference?

  VMware and Cisco now have two pre-designed IT stacks on the market, one with EMC and one with NetApp. Is there a big difference between them? And what's still missing from both?Continue Reading