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Learn to apply best practices and optimize your operations.

• Build a free Hyper-V Server failover cluster

  While it can complicate Windows Server licensing, the free Hyper-V Server allows users to build fault-tolerant environments and failover clusters. Continue Reading

• Tips for generating the perfect VM image

  Image-based VM deployments can dramatically increase consistency when creating new VMs. Use these tips to configure the perfect VM on the first try. Continue Reading

• Picking the right VM live migration settings

  Selecting the best VM migration settings is about balancing performance with bandwidth needs. Continue Reading

• Hyper-V Automatic Start Action gets your VMs running

  Hyper-V gives administrators several options for automating the startup and shutdown of VMs on a host. Continue Reading

• Coupling virtualization and storage

  The growing strain on storage systems has led IT to look for ways to help maximize efficiency and mitigate waste. It is possible to move away from traditional siloed LUNs and address storage volumes in terms of VMs.
  
  This handbook examines ... Continue Reading

• Are there any virtual server tuning strategies to prevent crashes?

  Are there configuration options that help stabilize server performance and allow it to degrade gracefully rather than crash outright?Continue Reading

• Three steps to avoid server NIC teaming problems

  NIC teaming can help reduce resource contention and improve VM performance, but don't fall victim to common mistakes when setting it up.Continue Reading

• Recovery tools and tips for your virtual server backup strategy

  The measure of good backup software can often be how powerful the recovery tools are. Make sure to avoid these mistakes when backing up virtual servers.Continue Reading

• How CPU and memory affect application performance

  Application performance will change depending on if you want more cores, better clock speed or what you choose for memory.Continue Reading

• Application performance dependent on network, I/O

  The decisions made by a system admin regarding network and I/O could affect application performance.Continue Reading

• Virtualization companies get high praise in enterprise survey

  When it comes to ease of use and licensing costs, virtualization companies like VMware, Citrix and Microsoft got some of the highest rankings.Continue Reading

• Reduce costs with a hybrid cloud approach

  Cloud service providers and in-house options both have pros and cons, so a hybrid cloud approach could be the right fit.Continue Reading

• How difficult is a VM migration to the public cloud?

  Migrating a VM to a public cloud is seldom easy. Cloud migrations are often fraught with unexpected challenges and support or compatibility issues.Continue Reading

• The power of the SMB protocol in Hyper-V

  The SMB protocol allows admins to achieve high availability, reduce operational costs and migrate virtual machines faster.Continue Reading

• Future-proof your data center with a software-defined infrastructure

  As virtualization extends its reach beyond the server, software-defined storage is being included in strategies for future-proofing an infrastructure.Continue Reading

• Choosing the best cloud server for your hybrid cloud

  Hybrid cloud hinges on data management and data movement, which is important to remember when choosing a cloud server.Continue Reading

• Why micro-segmentation is good for server admins

  Network micro-segmentation promises better security, but another primary benefit may be easier administration.Continue Reading

• Guest OS and VMM profiles are backbone of a VM template

  When it comes to guest OS and hardware profiles, determining how many of each and what to name them all depends on your environment.Continue Reading

• Rely on the hypervisor for VM load balancing

  While administrators should aim to evenly distribute workloads, there's no substitute for automated load balancing features.Continue Reading

• Everything you need to know about type-2 hypervisors

  Although type-1 hypervisors are the popular choice today, there is still a market for type-2 hypervisors in an IT environment.Continue Reading

• As virtualization plateaus, bare-metal computing finds a niche

  Virtualization has spurred new levels of IT productivity, but as innovation begins to stall, some companies find bare-metal deployments better fit their performance needs.Continue Reading

• Virtual SAN software isn't a storage savior

  Virtual SAN's use of drive bays make it seem like a viable option for storage but the additional burden it brings to traffic could have a negative impact.Continue Reading

• Moving from legacy IT to a private cloud

  Private and public clouds are accelerating the transition away from legacy ITContinue Reading

• Protect your virtual infrastructure from a single point of failure

  Removing every potential failure point is usually prohibitively expensive. Instead, start by mapping potential failures and assessing business needs.Continue Reading

• Don't forget to configure these SCVMM 2012 R2 settings

  SCVMM offers a wide variety of configuration options but some settings can be overlooked or are unknown because they don't appear directly in the management console.Continue Reading

• Reducing energy costs with virtualization and automation

  Virtualization allows administrators to cut down on the number of servers needed, which helps reduce energy consumption and save money.Continue Reading

• How can I avoid common virtualization mistakes?

  Great infrastructure design alone can't save you from falling victim to common virtualization pitfalls. You need to pair it with smart policies.Continue Reading

• Strict policy alone can't prevent virtual server security breaches

  Strict virtual server security policies are worthless if IT can't follow them. Protect your environment by setting realistic expectations and staying flexible.Continue Reading

• Do we need a unique VM lifecycle management plan for every workload?

  When managing virtual machines, each one should follow the same general settings but it's important to make sure the particulars are tailored to each individual workload.Continue Reading

• Local storage solves some problems, creates others

  Local storage helps address virtualization-related IO performance problems but raises potential security concerns, especially for cloud environments.Continue Reading

• Tactics to minimize VM power consumption

  Tracking and managing VM resource consumption can help administrators save power by allowing them to shut down unnecessary hosts.Continue Reading

• SCVMM 2012 R2: Exploring storage support options for virtualization

  System Center Virtual Machine Manager supports multiple storage types, but it's up to the administrator to classify and provision that storage.Continue Reading

• Two tools to help move a virtual or physical workload to Azure

  Microsoft's MAP Toolkit and VM Readiness and Assessment tool both offer important information regarding a workload migration to Azure.Continue Reading

• Prepare your VMs for cloud portability

  The ability to move workloads to the cloud offers many advantages, but make sure your VMs can make a smooth transition.Continue Reading

• Can virtualization software manage server power consumption?

  Tools like Microsoft's System Center can help admins manage virtual machines, but can they also improve server power consumption?Continue Reading

• Best practices for effective server virtualization

  The advantages of virtualizing server workloads may be firmly established, but proper planning, provisioning and performance monitoring remain critical to effective server virtualization management. This three-part guide provides expert guidance on ...Continue Reading

• Building your virtual infrastructure with SCVMM 2012 R2

  SCVMM 2012 R2 plays a vital role in managing your Hyper-V infrastructure. Learn how to set it up properly to avoid potential problems.Continue Reading

• Make your virtual infrastructure cloud ready

  Even if your organization isn't ready for a private or hybrid cloud, there are steps you can take today to make a future transition easier.Continue Reading

• Using SCVMM 2012 R2 to manage your virtualization infrastructure

  There is a lot of flexibility when you manage your virtualization infrastructure with SCVMM 2012 R2. But here are some guidelines to follow when doing so.Continue Reading

• Three secrets to VM lifecycle management

  Just because a virtual machine can run forever, doesn't mean it should. VM lifecycle management can help determine when it's time to retire a VM.Continue Reading

• For virtualization documentation, timing can be everything

  Virtualization documentation can swallow up huge chunks of time if you have to retrace your steps. Recording what you do as you do it could save lots of time down the road.Continue Reading

• How to maintain a secure virtualization environment

  It's important to not only take the big issues into consideration but also remember about small problems to keep a secure virtualization environment.Continue Reading

• Tread carefully: Private cloud challenges abound

  Recent reports have shown that the vast majority of businesses are struggling to overcome private cloud challenges. Why is it so difficult and is it worth the trouble?Continue Reading

• Five rules to ease VM provisioning

  Incorrectly sizing a VM can lead to poor performance or wasted resources. Implementing a formal VM provisioning process and taking these five rules can help mitigate the risks.Continue Reading

• Virtual capacity planning step one: Evaluate what you have

  Taking stock of the VMs in your environment today will lay the foundation for an effective capacity planning strategy for virtual environments.Continue Reading

• Here's what a cloud-ready infrastructure looks like

  A Cloud-Ready Infrastructure: A smart organization will want to be sure it is properly preparing a virtualized infrastructure to capitalize on the opportunities that cloud computing presents. While there are many public/hybrid cloud providers to ...Continue Reading

• Proactive measures help to ensure business continuity

  An organization needs to devise a strategy that keeps its virtual machines available to the extent possible and recoverable when disaster strikes. This strategic planning should include disaster avoidance -- not simply disaster recovery. This ...Continue Reading

• When it comes to VM size, start small and grow as needed

  Don't fall into the trap of overprovisioning your VMs. It's easy to add resources if the workload demands more.Continue Reading

• Microsoft deprecates the SCVMM P2V feature: Now what?

  SCVMM 2012 R2 no longer supports P2V, but Microsoft didn't leave virtual administrators completely in the dark.Continue Reading

• Is a single management tool enough for heterogeneous hypervisor environments?

  When it comes to deciding how to manage a heterogeneous hypervisor environment, it can simply boil down to the price. The makeup of your environment also plays a role in choosing hypervisor management tools.Continue Reading

• What's the best way to manage a heterogeneous hypervisor environment?

  Managing multiple hypervisors can be a time-consuming challenge. Here are the answers to common concerns when it comes to managing a heterogeneous hypervisor environment.Continue Reading

• Don't leave old VMs behind: Move them to the latest Hyper-V version

  Migrating your existing VMs to the latest version of Hyper-V will allow you to take advantage of new features and capabilities.Continue Reading

• What are the vSphere clustering requirements?

  What are the hardware and software requirements for server clustering with vSphere 5.5?Continue Reading

• How do I deploy a library server for SCVMM?

  A library server will allow you to take advantage of SCVMM's features, but there are several factors to keep in mind when creating one.Continue Reading

• Deploy a highly available SCVMM 2012 R2 infrastructure

  When it comes to SCVMM 2012 R2, it does more than just manage virtualization hosts. It plays a key role in managing private cloud infrastructure.Continue Reading

• How does moving huge VMDK files affect storage?

  VMware ESXi 5.5 enabled VMDK files larger than 2 TB, but huge VMs bring storage challenges.Continue Reading

• Picking the perfect Hyper-V virtual hard disk format

  Users shouldn't choose a Hyper-V virtual hard disk format without knowing if it's the right fit for their production workload.Continue Reading

• Extend physical storage with LVM thin provisioning

  Using LVM thin provisioning in a KVM virtualized environment allows you to over-allocate storage and makes more efficient use of physical disks.Continue Reading

• Memory swap strategies for KVM

  Squeeze more KVM virtual machines onto your physical servers by implementing these memory swap strategies.Continue Reading

• Proper ESXi installation thwarts potential problems

  Putting the right amount of time and effort into an ESXi installation can prevent serious problems from happening down the road.Continue Reading

• No network connection needed with Virtual Machine Connection tool

  The Virtual Machine Connection tool lets users copy files and redirect local resources to a VM without a network connection.Continue Reading

• VSID or VLAN ID for Hyper-V network virtualization?

  Microsoft now offers two options with Hyper-V to isolate VMs on virtual networks. Do you know which option is better for your deployment?Continue Reading

• What's the best way to configure a storage LUN for VMs?

  There are many factors to consider when configuring a storage LUN to ensure it provides your VMs with the best possible performance.Continue Reading

• What are the best VM patch management guidelines?

  Every IT pro knows that it's important to install critical patches to virtual machines in a timely manner, but what about the less serious updates?Continue Reading

• Exploring security options for your Hyper-V virtual switch

  There are options available for isolating a group of virtual machines inside a Hyper-V virtual switch to monitor incoming and outgoing traffic.Continue Reading

• Which storage protocol should I use for VMware vSphere?

  There are several storage protocol options for a VMware vSphere environment. Choosing the best one for your deployment will depend on your resources and performance goals.Continue Reading

• Solve multicast snooping problems in a bridged environment

  Disabling multicast snooping is sometimes the only way to make sure cluster traffic is handled correctly in a KVM environment.Continue Reading

• What does N+1 redundancy mean?

  In data centers, N+1 redundancy is used to express the idea that a system should be designed to withstand the loss of a component.Continue Reading

• More science than art: Design a virtual server farm with math

  There is no one-size-fits-all approach to designing a virtual server farm, but there are some simple formulas to help you build a scalable and reliable infrastructure.Continue Reading

• Use SCVMM to define private cloud user roles

  System Center Virtual Machine Manager includes important tools that will help you define private cloud user roles to prevent unwanted changes.Continue Reading

• Plan for hardware failure, because you can't avoid it

  With the popularity of software features that help improve application availability, IT pros often forget that they can't prevent every hardware failure, which causes them to forget to plan the recovery.Continue Reading

• Hyper-V shared virtual hard disk requirements

  Shared virtual hard disks can make it a lot easier to create guest clusters in Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V.Continue Reading

• Broaden your horizon with more vendor certifications

  In today's ever changing world, having just one specific certification might not be enough. Mixing in regular education with multiple vendor certifications could be the best bet for you.Continue Reading

• Resizing a VHDX file without missing a beat

  VHD files reigned supreme in Hyper-V -- until Microsoft came out with VHDX files. Knowing how to resize all three disk types of VHDX files can be beneficial in your environment.Continue Reading

• Cloud competition heating up as Amazon takes aim at VMware

  In this podcast, we talk about what the AWS Management Portal for vCenter means for VMware and how to calculate true cloud computing costs.Continue Reading

• The best management options for your Hyper-V Replica servers

  There are various ways to manage Hyper-V Replica configuration, but Hyper-V Manager GUI and Hyper-V Replica PowerShell cmdlets are two top choices.Continue Reading

• Improve VM performance with server memory configuration

  Memory technologies add flexibility, but aren’t appropriate for every workload in the data center. Find out which configurations are worth using.Continue Reading

• Keep your servers in check: Connect to a DSC Pull Server

  With a few simple PowerShell scripts, you can connect your systems to a Pull Server and keep them from drifting out of configuration.Continue Reading

• Bandwidth needs may put a stretched cluster out of reach

  A stretched cluster can provide true failover and VM mobility, but its networking and storage requirements make it an expensive approach.Continue Reading

• Virtual server maintenance tasks we all forget

  It's easy to forget basic server maintenance tasks that keep virtualization hosts updated and your data center healthy.Continue Reading

• Overprovisioning VMs may be safe, but it isn't sound

  A strategy of allocating more resources than a VM needs may prevent performance troubles, but can mean unnecessary hardware additions.Continue Reading

• How to push out a Desired State Configuration Pull Server

  Hyper-V's new Desired State Configuration feature enables administrators to eliminate configuration drift. Deploy a DSC Pull Server and get started.Continue Reading

• Configuration tweaks to boost Hyper-V networking performance

  Hyper-V networking changes can benefit workload performance, but only when they're applied in a careful and systematic manner.Continue Reading

• Tips and tools to control sprawl in your VM environment

  Using management tools is just one way to prevent sprawl in your VM environment. It's important to be proactive with your VMs to fight sprawl.Continue Reading

• What you need to know before you live clone a VM in Hyper-V 2012 R2

  The newest version of Hyper-V makes it easy to clone a running VM. Find out how it's done and when you should use the new feature.Continue Reading

• Use libguestfs to create VM templates on KVM easily

  Virt-sysprep, the latest libguestfs tool for Linux, helps make deploying virtual machines uncomplicated by letting you create a template VM.Continue Reading

• The road to success begins with a virtualization certification path

  A virtualization certification can help you stand out among peers and advance your career. Find out which virtualization certification path fits you.Continue Reading

• The details and dangers of using Hyper-V checkpoints

  Reduced performance and potential disk shortages can cripple the very VMs you're hoping to protect if you don't use Hyper-V checkpoints correctly.Continue Reading

• VMware vSphere Site Recovery Manager (SRM)

  VMware vSphere Site Recovery Manager (SRM) is a disaster recovery management product from VMware that provides automated failover and disaster recovery testing.Continue Reading

• Reducing CPU ready time will get your hungry VMs a seat at the table

  Throwing vCPUs at a slow VM is not the answer to better performance when CPU ready time is high.Continue Reading

• Don't stop that VM: WS 2012 R2 can resize your replica disk on the fly

  Windows Sever 2012 R2 allows Hyper-V Replica to replicate virtual machines from one server to another while running.Continue Reading

• Windows Azure Hyper-V Recovery Manager

  Windows Azure Hyper-V Recovery Manager is a cloud-based service that automates the backup and recovery of Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs).Continue Reading

• Network conflict resolution: Changing a virtual machine MAC address

  A virtual machine MAC address is randomly generated, but that doesn't guarantee you won't have duplicates. Find out how to change a VM's MAC address.Continue Reading

• Not so fast: VMware's NSX has hardware and software requirements

  Before you decide to use VMware's NSX network virtualization platform, be sure you know about its software and hardware requirements.Continue Reading

• Why is virtual server capacity planning so difficult?

  Virtual server capacity planning is critical to tracking resource use to ensure peak performance and minimize downtime.Continue Reading

• Is more better? Heterogeneous hypervisor environments have pros, cons

  Heterogeneous hypervisor environments offer a financial advantage, but is this just a transitional phase that will lead back to homogeneity?Continue Reading

• Enabling huge pages is a small step that can make a big difference

  Setting up a KVM virtual machine can be quick and easy, but taking the extra step to enable huge pages can enhance the VM's performance.Continue Reading

• Intigua applies virtualization to management tools

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• HotLink SuperVISOR follows multi-hypervisor manager trend into data centers

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• Hyper-V networking strategies for a software-defined world

  Software-defined networking can help you address tough Hyper-V networking challenges, but only if you understand the basics and can leverage it.Continue Reading