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Building a private cloud infrastructure
Network consolidation and virtualization solve management issues
Consolidating networks can help organizations reduce costs and improve data center efficiency -- as long as they focus on security. Continue Reading
2 ways to craft a server consolidation project plan
Server consolidation enables admins to boost server utilization and decrease power consumption, which can also reduce costs and improve performance. Continue Reading
Use virtual clusters to avoid container sprawl
Virtual clusters enable admins to deploy, track and manage containers across various systems to ensure performance, security and governance, and low costs. Continue Reading
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Mini PCs for business offer improved performance, reduced costs
Mini PCs are a low-cost hardware alternative to servers that enable organizations to maintain maximum data center features and capabilities in remote office locations. Continue Reading
Enable AMD-V in BIOS to remediate error codes
If admins are experiencing error codes due to AMD-V being disabled, they can easily remediate this issue by entering BIOS and reenabling the virtualization extension. Continue Reading
Employ log management best practices to better analyze, protect data
Log files generate vast amounts of data, which negatively affects performance. As a result, admins should build logging strategies to prioritize and protect data.Continue Reading
Virtualization challenges that negatively affect your systems
Virtualization provides lower costs and improved productivity, but these benefits can be offset by certain challenges, such as unresponsive VMs and VM network latency.Continue Reading
Optimize Docker images on Windows for better system performance
Multiple layers in a Windows Docker image can cause resource contention. Optimization requires you to limit the number of layers that you use and minimize each layer's size.Continue Reading
Prepare for Windows Server 2008 end of life
Admins must prepare their workloads for the Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 end of support. Otherwise, they risk the possibility of significant security breaches.Continue Reading
5 common virtualization problems and how to solve them
Organizations can correct common problems with virtualization, such as VM sprawl and network congestion, through business policies rather than purchasing additional technology.Continue Reading
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Hyper-V vs. VMware comparison: What are the differences?
Hyper-V and VMware are in a perpetual battle for supremacy in the virtualization market. Although the two hypervisors have similar features, capabilities are somewhat different.Continue Reading
Defeat app killers and monster VM performance issues with ease
VM troubles got you down? Never fear: Some solutions to VM performance problems are as easy as looking in the right places and asking the right questionsContinue Reading
Top 25 VMware ESXi commands
This VMware ESXi command line cheat sheet is a must-have resource for IT professionals who maintain and troubleshoot ESXi.Continue Reading
Support Hyper-V security with these important protocols
A virtual environment's security can make the difference when it comes to malicious attacks, preventing unauthorized OS or firmware codes from running at boot time.Continue Reading
Micro VMs can present unique management challenges
The haphazard deployment of micro VMs can eventually lead to issues ranging from IP address depletion to serious performance problems resulting from extreme resource contention.Continue Reading
How resource contention affects VM storage performance
VM performance issues often occur when resource contention is present. Admins can check the number of IOPS requests and storage array connections to address any bottlenecks.Continue Reading
The virtualization and container skills gap widens
Businesses face organizational and management challenges as their support staff transitions from virtualization to a new development and management environment.Continue Reading
Compare the top 5 bare-metal hypervisors
Hypervisors such as VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix Hypervisor, RHV and Oracle VM Server for x86 provide value to enterprise-level data centers in different ways.Continue Reading
Virtualization cost-savings methods for IT administrators
The biggest costs in any virtualization environment tend to be licenses, hardware acquisition, support and maintenance, so that's where you should look for ways to reduce expenses.Continue Reading
Market evolves to address container security issues
Container use is gaining traction in virtual environments, but containers present unique security challenges that vendors and organizations must overcome.Continue Reading
Manage large volumes of VM data with these storage tactics
Admins can effectively virtualize large servers with storage tiering and disk allocation, but they must be wary of potential IOPS and redundancy issues.Continue Reading
Manage host, VM access with a Hyper-V administrators security group
Use Hyper-V roles to limit users to predefined levels of access. By creating security groups and managing them with PowerShell, you can implement role-based security at scale.Continue Reading
Generate a Hyper-V report to track clusters, nodes with PowerShell
It's difficult to navigate all the information related to Hyper-V nodes and clusters, so use PowerShell commands and scripts to generate reports and automate information retrieval.Continue Reading
Disaster recovery vs. backup: Plan for and prioritize VM workloads
Before admins design a recovery plan, they must plan out which VM workloads need a disaster recovery environment and which need backups. Weigh these factors before making the call.Continue Reading
Enable and disable Hyper-V secure boot with PowerShell
The manual process of enabling secure boot is time-consuming, so use PowerShell cmdlets and scripts to make it efficient to use secure boot in Hyper-V.Continue Reading
Top server sizing strategies for VMs
How many VMs can you put on a server? That depends on whether your hardware and virtual environment are well-matched. This tip offers four criteria to select the right servers.Continue Reading
Docker for Windows shows permission errors on shared volumes
Understand and work around one of the more common Docker for Windows errors -- permissions for shared volumes -- to read, write and execute to the shared volume.Continue Reading
Is your VM frozen? Isolate the cause and problem solve
Many issues cause VMs to become unresponsive, including invoking particular tasks, such as snapshots or migrations, resource configuration and infrastructure unavailability.Continue Reading
Common VM network latency causes explained
There are many potential causes of network performance problems when it comes to VMs. Familiarize yourself with the most common causes to aid in troubleshooting.Continue Reading
Mix test and production environments with hyper-convergence
Despite the enhanced separation that hyper-converged infrastructure can offer, it's better to mix environments and use rules to create a hardware-independent workload balance.Continue Reading
Troubleshoot common VM live migration errors
VM live migration errors in Hyper-V include connection issues, virtual switch mismatches and incompatible hardware. Learn more about these common errors and how to resolve them.Continue Reading
Use an IT outage communication plan to recover from a host crash
Efficiently recover from a host crash by maintaining transparency for your stakeholders and evaluating the resources available for a full root cause analysis.Continue Reading
Can virtual SAN performance create VM performance issues?
Monitor the performance of your VSAN and VMs to ensure one isn't affecting the other. Performance metrics and alerts can make it easy to spot VSAN issues before they affect VMs.Continue Reading
How can VSAN network requirements affect performance?
Virtual SAN network configuration problems can detract from performance and availability. Update your drivers and check that no security products are blocking connections.Continue Reading
How do VSAN compatibility issues affect performance?
Effective VSAN performance requires compatible hardware and software. Review compatibility guides and use diagnostic tools to keep your system updated.Continue Reading
KVM troubleshooting in six simple steps
To troubleshoot common KVM issues, start by checking the logs. Then, isolate the issue and check the VM status using virsh commands. Finally, check the disk space, memory and networking.Continue Reading
How do you reconnect a Hyper-V virtual switch to your VMs?
Save time by using PowerShell commands to reconnect your VMs to a new Hyper-V virtual switch. Different commands can access single VMs or many VMs whether they are local or remote.Continue Reading
How do you extract an ISO file before booting a VM?
Take advantage of PowerShell commands to clear ISO files from your VMs before booting and ensure their configuration is set to boot from the virtual hard drive, not the ISO.Continue Reading
Overcome hybrid cloud deployment challenges
Before adopting a hybrid cloud, think about how it will benefit the business and the ultimate goal. Also, hire IT staff with the appropriate level of expertise and start small.Continue Reading
Manage private cloud performance and troubleshoot issues
Management tools intended for private clouds are key to troubleshooting performance issues because they provide insight that traditional virtualization management tools might not.Continue Reading
512e disks attempt to bridge the gap between 512n and 4Kn
It's important to ensure that your OS and hypervisor support 512e and 4Kn disks, but there are always alternatives to work around any incompatibilities.Continue Reading
Retrieve a Hyper-V event log with the Get-EventLog cmdlet
Use the Get-EventLog PowerShell cmdlet with the desired parameters to retrieve a Hyper-V event log. This command gets errors and warnings and exports them as a CSV file.Continue Reading
Taking charge of VM allocation, troubleshooting methods
Long-term virtual infrastructure health leads to business growth. To achieve this, you must master virtual machine capacity planning and troubleshooting techniques.Continue Reading
Preserve Hyper-V security from Meltdown and Spectre vulnerabilities
Protect Hyper-V VMs from Meltdown and Spectre security vulnerabilities, and install patches from Microsoft. Watch out for future revisions, performance impacts and recalls.Continue Reading
Expand KVM storage with virsh commands
With a few steps -- the creation of files, the addition of XML code and the execution of commands -- you can use the virsh command-line interface to add storage to existing VMs.Continue Reading
Migrate cloud applications back to on-premises applications
In the cloud frenzy, it's easy to lose sight of what to do if the cloud doesn't work. With time, patience and cost planning, administrators can migrate applications back on premises.Continue Reading
Address bulk VMM agent updates with PowerShell automation
The SCVMM agent upgrade process is a regular, but sometimes laborious, part of VM management. Use PowerShell to make light work of bulk updates through commands and loops.Continue Reading
Creating a private cloud with minimal issues
If you consider security, performance, scalability, expertise, network visibility and service management when creating a private cloud, you avoid problems down the road.Continue Reading
Troubleshoot System Center Orchestrator RunBook issues
By referencing various log files, like the Real-Time Log and the Historic Log, and checking the Orchestrator Runbook Audit History page, you can more easily locate the point of failure.Continue Reading
When backing up VMs, overcome any issues you encounter
Common problems with VM backups include low disk space, low memory, interdependencies and so on. Learn how to overcome these issues and more with this expert advice.Continue Reading
Understand Azure VM boot diagnostics
Enable Azure VM boot diagnostics with Azure Portal or PowerShell to capture logs that can help you troubleshoot boot failures and obtain screenshots to see the VM's current state.Continue Reading
Solve common vCPU troubleshooting issues
Performance problems can be caused by a number of things, including overprovisioning and poor vCPU selection and assignment to VMs. Use these strategies to correct mistakes.Continue Reading
Force a full or delta Azure AD synchronization with these methods
PowerShell is just one way to trigger AD synchronization when troubleshooting, making configuration changes or ensuring a consistent copy of on-premises AD.Continue Reading
Troubleshoot Azure AD synchronization issues with these strategies
Identifying AD synchronization issues is easy, but fixing them can be tricky. Resolve synchronization errors and ensure user accounts are operational with these best practices.Continue Reading
Solve these common NIC team problems in Hyper-V
Before you encounter noncompliant hardware, integrated security errors and configuration issues, read this expert advice so you know what to do when the time comes.Continue Reading
Container performance troubleshooting challenges and tips
Assessing the impact of containers on application workloads can be extremely challenging, partially because of how quickly containers are spun up and down compared to VMs.Continue Reading
Simplify the VM troubleshooting process with these basic tips
Tools like Windows Performance Monitor and adjustments to memory, CPU and disk usage metrics can reduce the stress of the VM troubleshooting process.Continue Reading
Check configuration settings for SCVMM service templates
A misconfigured SCVMM service template can cause serious headaches. Before deploying service templates in production, validate them with SCVMM Manager or PowerShell.Continue Reading
What are the most common mistakes made when creating a VMware DR plan?
DR planning mistakes are easy to make. Avoid selecting a tool that doesn't meet your needs or that's overly complex, carefully consider the replication site and test frequently.Continue Reading
What to do with used server equipment after virtualization
If virtual consolidation has left you with extra server hardware, put those boxes to good use and give old servers new life.Continue Reading
Address these storage issues to help find bottlenecks
Drive configuration, server connection and storage backplanes are all things that can affect application latency. Start with these items when looking for storage bottlenecks.Continue Reading
Identify bottlenecks and resolve VM performance problems
Some of the infrastructure components behind slow performance include CPU, memory and networking. These tips will help you find and eliminate those bottlenecks.Continue Reading
Recognize and address application performance issues
When monitoring your environment, you need to know the difference between bottlenecks and faults and understand performance data and application limits.Continue Reading
How to defend your VMs and virtualization hosts against cyberattacks
In an increasingly virtualized world, there's always the risk of falling prey to a cyberattack. The best way to prevent an attack is to have a solid security plan in place.Continue Reading
Use log analysis tools to help you find problems in your data center
Log analysis tools do the heavy lifting when it comes to identifying the root cause of issues occurring in your data center, but they come with their own challenges.Continue Reading
End the battle between the system admin and the security team
System administrators and security personnel need to set aside their differences in order to maintain security and performance levels and to protect their bottom line.Continue Reading
Prevent a rogue server from bringing down your data center
Don't let unplanned changes take a toll on your virtualized environment. Stop rogue servers in their tracks by identifying them and then deciding whether to keep or remove them.Continue Reading
Eliminate Hyper-V slow network performance with these tools and tips
Network performance can make or break your virtual environment. With Hyper-V networking tools, you can maintain fast network performance and ensure your resources are distributed evenly.Continue Reading
IT cost reduction strategies for your virtual environment
When developing IT cost reduction strategies, you need to figure out how you can take full advantage of your virtual environment, while still minimizing potential risks.Continue Reading
Use resource control to address costly storage issues
With resource control, you'll not only be able to overcome storage resource challenges, but you'll be able to effectively support an expanding infrastructure.Continue Reading
Solve extreme storage and configuration problems within a storage infrastructure
Configuration problems and extreme storage demands can take a serious toll on your storage infrastructure. Fortunately, with the right tools, these issues are easy to remedy.Continue Reading
Identify and overcome issues in your storage subsystem
Issues in your storage subsystem can create bottlenecks that drastically effect storage performance. Identify these issues early on by running benchmarks and analyzing your results.Continue Reading
Respond to your first hypervisor host crash
Though the benefits of virtualization outweigh the risks, a host server crash is extremely visible and causes concern with management. Be prepared to respond with efficiency.Continue Reading
Tracking down storage latency in VMs
Where can storage performance or latency problems occur in virtualized systems?Continue Reading
Storage may be to blame for that I/O bottleneck
A disk I/O bottleneck, resource contention, misconfigurations and other problems will degrade the performance of virtual machines. When too many VMs are competing for limited resources, results will inevitably suffer. This chapter looks at tactics ...Continue Reading
Don't waste valuable data center resources on overprovisioning
From monitoring CPU usage to right-sizing VM allocation, there are a number of precautions administrators can take to prevent overprovisioning.Continue Reading
How can testing improve nested hypervisor performance?
Not all hypervisors and OSes can play nice with others. The best method for avoiding complications down the road is to thoroughly test your nested virtualization deployment.Continue Reading
Adding an additional virtual bridge to a KVM environment
Virtualization expert Sander Van Vugt offers tips to simplify the process of adding a second software bridge to your KVM environment to run VMs in an isolated SDN.Continue Reading
How should I address memory errors in a virtualized system?
Many hypervisors have features that can prevent memory-related problems from escalating into devastating server crashes.Continue Reading
IT resource management and virtual server housekeeping tips
Without regular monitoring, sprawl and overallocation can waste expensive compute and storage resourcesContinue Reading
To prevent VM sprawl, put data first and tools second
The creation of too many VMs and the continued existence of unused VMs plague modern IT infrastructure. This three-part guide looks at the ongoing battle against virtual machine sprawl, with a focus on strategies and tools for tracking VM lifecycles...Continue Reading
Fixing virtualization performance issues
It can be difficult to run an effective virtualized environment. Keeping it optimized and making good use of performance data are ongoing concerns for busy virtualization admins. This e-book series looks at best practices for getting the most out of...Continue Reading
Is storage causing ESXi network performance problems?
How do you determine whether storage is causing network performance issues on an ESXi server?Continue Reading
How do I measure network latency in VMware ESXi?
Network latency can kill application performance. Learn how to test for and identify bottlenecks in your VMware environment.Continue Reading
Essential policies for configuring VMs in a lab environment
Lab VMs can be an effective tool for testing out software in a safe environment. However, if configured incorrectly, lab VMs can pose serious risks to production environments.Continue Reading
How to find problem VMs and solve virtualization sprawl
With the advent of virtual infrastructure and "free" VMs, administrators are seeing a rise in VM sprawl, making environments difficult to manage. In order to combat this issue, you must first locate any and all problem VMs.Continue Reading
Virtualization can ease Windows Server upgrade challenges
Upgrading an OS or application can be a complex and time-consuming process, but cloning and snapshots can make the process easier.Continue Reading
Can you improve the performance of VM management tools?
What factors influence the performance of VM management tools, and how can I identify bottlenecks in management-level performance?Continue Reading
Will server performance testing and diagnostics slow down my VMs?
Will diagnostics slow down my server's performance, and should I turn off performance data collection in production machines?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
How can I prevent sprawl and VM lifecycle problems?
Discovering which VMs are necessary and which are just taking up space can be difficult if you don't have a strategy in place.Continue Reading
When legacy Windows OS won't play nice with your hypervisor
Try these troubleshooting options if you need to run an unsupported version of Windows as a guest OS on your VM.Continue Reading
Are data center outages an unavoidable reality?
Virtualization and automation software has enabled faster response to outages, but high-profile companies are still plagued by downtime.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
Benefits of flash storage: More VMs per host
Flash storage represents a significant investment, but it can increase performance and may help save money in other areas.Continue Reading
Answers to your burning DRS load-balancing questions
VMware's DRS is able to move virtual machines from an overloaded host to one with more space -- as long as there are no hiccups. Administrators can prevent any miscues by being prepared.Continue Reading
The ongoing battle between hyper-converged vendors
Businesses used to rely on partnerships between companies to get the different top products but now hyper-converged vendors have expanded to offer more products of their own.Continue 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