Tips

Tips

• Kata Containers, gVisor offer more secure container strategies

  Kata Containers and Google gVisor present different approaches to using VMs for container security. Evaluate their advantages to get insight into the future of container security.  Continue Reading

• Troubleshoot Host Guardian Service with guarded fabric diagnostics

  Take advantage of the built-in guarded fabric diagnostic tool to discover and resolve common issues that can afflict Host Guardian Service and guarded fabric deployments.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-V Integration Services and VMware Tools improve OSes

  Hyper-V Integration Services and VMware Tools are similar utilities with a few small differences. One is that Hyper-V Integration Services supports fewer guests than VMware Tools.  Continue Reading

• 5 skills every Hyper-V administrator needs to succeed

  Windows Server skills aren't complete without these five Hyper-V skills, which range from failover clustering to storage, and remain essential for virtualization administration.  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

• AIOps use cases address complexity in virtual data centers

  The ever-growing complexity of virtual infrastructures is making management a struggle, but an AIOps platform can enable admins to transform raw data into useful information.  Continue Reading

• Meet Hyper-V cluster requirements to maintain high availability

  Hyper-V high availability is important for failover, so check that Hyper-V clusters meet the proper requirements, which range from hardware management to network configuration.  Continue Reading

• Meet data center compliance standards in hybrid deployments

  Data center compliance is a moving target that shifts with standards and technologies. Don't get sidetracked by the complexity -- prioritize performance while maintaining compliance.  Continue Reading

• Cloudlets extend cloud power to edge with virtualized delivery

  Cloud computing power for IoT and mobile devices is within reach due to the capabilities of cloudlets, which use virtualization and small data centers to extend computing power.  Continue Reading

• VMware vCenter and vSphere licensing and pricing explained

  VMware vSphere and vCenter are licensed and priced in various ways depending on the desired support, the size of the environment and the required functionality.  Continue Reading

• Design data center redundancy based on cloud outage lessons

  Public cloud providers have had catastrophic outages, but IT administrators can learn from cloud redundancy failures and successes -- and apply them to on-premises infrastructures.  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

• How to realize server virtualization energy savings

  Virtualizing servers is one of the most effective steps to reduce energy consumption, especially when the hypervisor and VM placement are taken into account.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-V VM template creation made easy

  Creating Hyper-V VM templates is a straightforward process, but there are a few things you should consider, such as template creation source and administrative password assignment.  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

• Understand the ins and outs of private cloud architecture

  Private clouds are based on server virtualization, but they aren't the same. Organizations must consider private cloud's specific use cases in comparison to server virtualization.  Continue Reading

• Use Microsoft SCVMM to clone a VM

  There are some requirements you must meet to clone VMs with SCVMM, but the steps to clone an existing VM -- whether it's running, paused or shutdown -- are fairly simple.  Continue Reading

• Direct NVMe performance with virtualization and storage tiers

  Non-volatile memory express technologies have a host of benefits, but admins must use virtualization and storage tiers to best target NVMe performance boosts.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-V vs. vSphere high availability features

  Compare VMware vSphere and Microsoft Hyper-V HA approaches to see how they keep VMs and other workloads online when a host server crashes.  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

• Get to know the Hyper-V processor compatibility mode feature

  Hyper-V processor compatibility is relatively easy to use, but it disables some advanced CPU features and is only intended for specific circumstances on a temporary basis.  Continue Reading

• Incorporate NIST security and virtualization recommendations

  Review NIST virtualization security recommendations with this overview of hypervisor security guidelines, including tips on VM lifecycles and hypervisor platform management.  Continue Reading

• Top five SCVMM 2016 features to look out for

  SCVMM 2016 provides new features, such as Nano Server management, and enhancements to existing networking and security features to better manage the entire virtualization stack.  Continue Reading

• Design a custom Hyper-V Integration Services component

  The steps for creating a new component of Hyper-V Integration Services include registering an app, creating and binding a Hyper-V socket, and compiling server and client apps.  Continue Reading

• Use VMware vSphere templates to manage VMs at scale

  VM templates in vSphere enable IT administrators to manage large environments by rapidly deploying fully configured VMs using the content library interface.  Continue Reading

• Create VM templates without encountering errors

  Creating a VM template is a fairly straightforward process. Even so, it's a good idea to familiarize yourself with Microsoft's documentation to avoid common mistakes.  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

• Build an IT maintenance plan around infrastructure needs

  Don't delay maintenance reboots. It's easy to forget to reboot hosts, tools and drivers, so use a reboot schedule to ensure your infrastructure remains functional.  Continue Reading

• Incorporate virtual private clouds in a hybrid IT environment

  Don't let the added complexity of VPCs deter you from integrating them with your hybrid cloud. Simply keep these configuration factors in mind to ensure seamless interoperability.  Continue Reading

• SCVMM PowerShell commands for server health checks

  Perform regular SCVMM health checks -- such as monitoring clustered shared volume utilization and host participation in SCVMM placement -- using simple PowerShell commands and scripts.  Continue Reading

• XCP-ng offers new hypervisor option for cost-conscious shops

  A new open source fork of Citrix XenServer includes many features proprietary hypervisors offer, but it's not likely to displace market leaders any time soon.  Continue Reading

• Manage VMM library servers with PowerShell

  Using PowerShell commands can save you time when searching for all the shares on a VMM library server, exporting and importing VMM library resources, and checking for VMM templates.  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

• Should you virtualize an edge computing server?

  The need to pack a lot of compute power into a small package leaves many wondering whether containers and serverless frameworks could replace virtualization at the edge.  Continue Reading

• SCVMM vs. Hyper-V Manager: Which tasks are best suited to each?

  Although SCVMM offers capabilities far exceeding those of Hyper-V Manager, Hyper-V Manager has the advantage of being simpler to use and not requiring an additional license.  Continue Reading

• Support a guest security policy with endpoint hardening

  Guest security relies not only on a series of tools and best practices, but also on a security mindset that starts with endpoint hardening and follows the deployment of every VM.  Continue Reading

• Serverless infrastructure demands new roles for IT admins

  Serverless technology is going to disrupt the data center, and IT administrators will need to shift their expertise from management to configuration and from servers to services.  Continue Reading

• Make the jump from a VMware SDDC to a hybrid cloud environment

  Get a handle on hybrid basics, such as new SDDC roles and VMware Cloud on AWS infrastructure, pricing and integration before taking your VMware environment to the cloud.  Continue Reading

• Fail at scale: Build failure into virtual infrastructure design

  It's better to be over-prepared than surprised. Design virtual infrastructure around the possibility that it might fail and have a plan in mind for when it does.  Continue Reading

• Manage all your Hyper-V snapshots with PowerShell

  Using PowerShell commands to take and remove Hyper-V snapshots, and to restore VMs to a previous state is easy and efficient, especially when working with bulk VMs.  Continue Reading

• Manage Hyper-V containers and VMs with these best practices

  Containers and VMs should be treated as the separate instance types they are, but there are specific management strategies that work for both that admins should incorporate.  Continue Reading

• Set up Hyper-V nested virtualization for production

  There are several considerations for using nested virtualization in Hyper-V production environments, including system requirements, networking, storage and memory considerations.  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

• Build an IT infrastructure plan from the ground up

  IT infrastructure improvements require careful planning that includes evaluating new technologies, such as converged and hyper-converged, and building for future flexibility.  Continue Reading

• Consider Hyper-V live migration requirements before configuration

  An effective live migration setup is key to a complete Hyper-V configuration. Consider these expert recommendations, such as limiting concurrent live migrations, to ensure success.  Continue Reading

• Prepare a Hyper-V configuration report with PowerShell

  Generate a report with valuable Hyper-V configuration information, such as the virtual disk path, using a PowerShell script to ensure your server settings match the design documentation.  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

• Manage Switch Embedded Teaming in Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V

  You can create and manage a Switch Embedded Team in Hyper-V using just a few PowerShell commands, but there are specific requirements and limitations you should be aware of.  Continue Reading

• Use Sysprep to generalize Hyper-V VMs for rapid deployment

  Microsoft's Sysprep tool enables rapid Hyper-V VM configuration and deployment through image generalization. Use commands to speed up configuration and disaster recovery.  Continue Reading

• Small-scale infrastructure testing requires transparency

  Use small-scale tests for a cheaper alternative to expensive, duplicate test environments, but be wary of limitations, such as hardware functionality and performance.  Continue Reading

• Enable rapid provisioning of VMs with SCVMM SAN copy

  Achieve VM rapid provisioning with SCVMM by creating a SAN copy template from either an existing or new VM. Then select the required options when deploying the template to the host.  Continue Reading

• Evaluate private cloud service providers in the market

  Red Hat, Microsoft and VMware all provide private cloud environments that offer security and compliance, but it's important to consider other business needs, as well.  Continue Reading

• Top 5 features to look for in private cloud services offerings

  When evaluating private cloud services, consider offerings that provide an intuitive self-service portal, RBAC, capacity planning and policy enforcement for tenant workloads.  Continue Reading

• Amazon Virtual Private Cloud 101: Features, pricing and more

  Evaluate the key features of Amazon Virtual Private Cloud, learn about its advantages and disadvantages, and consider pricing and best practices before implementing the platform.  Continue Reading

• Expedite Ansible KVM provisioning with automation

  Creating KVM virtual machines with virsh and virt-install can be onerous. Use Ansible to automate deployment with templates and modules or to extend to functions like cloning.  Continue Reading

• Manage KVM at scale with these best practices

  KVM management is easy when VM density is low, but managing hundreds or thousands of VMs can present a challenge. Plan ahead, configure the right drivers and optimize for scale.  Continue Reading

• Understand major private cloud services advantages

  Consider the benefits of private cloud services before jumping on the public cloud bandwagon. There's more to private clouds than control over infrastructure and better security.  Continue Reading

• Limit the size of VMware hosts to control VM density

  Large VMware hosts can be advantageous, but VM density can have unforeseen consequences during a system failure. Evaluate VM functionality to ensure you're ready for a disaster.  Continue Reading

• Create a private cloud in SCVMM with these factors in mind

  The process of creating a private cloud with System Center Virtual Machine Manager starts with getting to know major private cloud components and calculating resource requirements.  Continue Reading

• Compare virtual private cloud server providers

  Cost is an important factor to consider when evaluating different VPC providers, but the kind of hardware and data lines the providers offer plays a role, too.  Continue Reading

• Virtual private cloud vs. private cloud differences explained

  Virtual private clouds and private clouds differ in terms of architecture, the provider and tenants, and resource delivery. Decide between the two models based on these distinctions.  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud vs. private cloud: What's the difference?

  Private clouds, which are owned and operated by the business, provide security, but they have certain limitations. Hybrid clouds incorporate both private and public cloud deployments.  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud advantages and disadvantages explained

  Hybrid cloud is touted as providing the best of both private and public clouds, but this type of infrastructure comes with its own pros and cons, such as flexibility and complexity.  Continue Reading

• Best practices for sizing a server

  Serving sizing requires a number of comparisons, especially between having a few large servers or many popcorn servers. Compare use cases to find what fits.  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

• Enable resource metering in Hyper-V to collect usage data

  Easily monitor resource utilization for your Hyper-V VMs by first enabling the resource metering feature and then collecting data with a few PowerShell commands.  Continue Reading

• Hybrid cloud providers offer different architecture types

  Hybrid cloud means different things to different vendors; some set aside part of the public cloud for private cloud purposes and others simply support an on-premises private cloud.  Continue Reading

• Migrate virtual machines from development to production

  Administrators must prepare carefully before moving test or development VMs to production. Check connectivity, security, compliance and licensing before beginning a migration.  Continue Reading

• Hunt zombie VMs and control virtualization sprawl

  VM tagging is an effective tactic for discovering and eliminating zombie VMs. Cut useless VMs, redundant data and confusing configurations to enable efficient resource consumption and limit VM sprawl.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-V Manager update in Windows Server 2016 replete with features

  Microsoft developed several improvements to Hyper-V Manager in Windows Server 2016. These new Hyper-V features improve VM management with added security and flexibility options.  Continue Reading

• Considerations for creating a VM for a development environment

  Just because admins are working in a test/dev environment doesn't mean they can be lax about creating VMs. There are several items to consider, including licensing and compliance.  Continue Reading

• Add virt-manager to your set of KVM management tools

  KVM virt-manager provides a useful and simple VM management GUI. The console enables VM creation, deletion and troubleshooting. Learn the basics of its management and installation.  Continue Reading

• Get cloud computing certified, but don't abandon virtualization

  Cloud certification training can help an IT administrator's career, but it's only practical if it aligns with your company and you don't forgo virtualization upkeep.  Continue Reading

• Create SCVMM user roles to define management, tighten security

  Using SCVMM user roles provides granular control in a virtual infrastructure. By defining a delegation model, admins also ensure that the infrastructure is more secure.  Continue Reading

• Mount an ISO file to a virtual DVD drive with PowerShell

  It's easy to manage external media from PowerShell. It's worth noting, however, that the command syntax varies depending on whether you're referencing an IDE or SCSI drive.  Continue Reading

• Virtualization trends in 2018 signal edge technology disruption

  New technologies build on virtualization and threaten disruption. Virtualization administrators must familiarize themselves with what's coming and plan their careers accordingly.  Continue Reading

• Nutanix Acropolis hypervisor components and capabilities

  Nutanix hypervisor components, including controller VMs, and Prism, its management control plane, help simplify management. Learn more about how these components work together.  Continue Reading

• Hype for future of container development gets dose of reality

  Realistic timelines have replaced the big promises of container disruption. Virtualization administrators should expect security and microservices features as the market matures.  Continue Reading

• Meet these SCVMM 2016 requirements before upgrading

  Before upgrading to SCVMM 2016, ensure that you meet its hardware requirements, including SCVMM 2012 R2 and Update Rollup 9 or later, and have a supported version of SQL Server.  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

• Small business virtualization grows in mature market

  Virtualization isn't only for large enterprises anymore. New technology at cheaper prices has made SMB virtualization practical, while increased competition has made it necessary.  Continue Reading

• Customize a Hyper-V network adapter for security, performance

  Look beyond basic network adapter settings in Hyper-V to enable features like IPsec task offloading, DHCP guard, protected networks, port mirroring and NIC teaming, among others.  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

• Bulk manage a Hyper-V server group with PowerShell

  With only a few steps, you can use SCVMM to bring a Hyper-V server under management. This is limited, however, so use the SCVMM Command Shell to bulk manage Hyper-V servers.  Continue Reading

• Evaluate VMware, public cloud provider integration

  Hybrid cloud providers don't yet have the seamless integration they promised. VMware cluster admins need to evaluate available options in order to formulate a VMware cloud strategy.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-V cmdlets for daily operational tasks

  With simple scripts, enable or disable VM Integration Services and Live Migration on Hyper-V hosts, reset VM replication stats, grant or revoke VM access, and optimize VHD files.  Continue Reading

• Copy files from the host to a Hyper-V machine

  There are many ways to copy files from the host to a Hyper-V machine, including Enhanced Session Mode and the Copy-VMFile PowerShell cmdlet. Follow these steps for each method.  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

• Use virt-install to install VMs from the command line

  Learn the basics of virt-install, including standard use cases, executing it on CentOS 7, different command-line options and the creation of kickstart files.  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

• Execute PowerCLI commands to manage VMware infrastructure

  PowerCLI cmdlets like Get-VM can be built out to obtain information about VMs in a VMware infrastructure, including those with attached CD-ROMs and those with snapshots.  Continue Reading

• PowerShell commands for Hyper-V update bulk VM configuration

  Admins who don't have access to SCVMM can make configuration changes to multiple Hyper-V VMs at once with a few PowerShell scripts and the ForEach loop approach.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-V PowerShell commands to delete and re-create VMs

  Use PowerShell cmdlets to remove and re-create a Hyper-V VM in development. This includes removing VHDs, reconfiguring the VM and installing the OS in the new VM.  Continue Reading

• Achieve virtualization abstraction with Infrastructure as Code

  Infrastructure as Code offers virtualization admins a framework of automation tools, configuration management and DevOps methods that can replace manual processes.  Continue Reading

• The virtual infrastructure manager leads data center collaboration

  Virtualization is increasingly central to the data center, but it often remains isolated. Admins need to set an example of openly communicating about virtualized infrastructure.  Continue Reading

• Guide your virtualization, IT investment strategy with 2017's top tips

  2017 presented virtualization admins with the development of new technology and products. Read the year's best tips on how to compare functionalities, weigh costs and make investments.  Continue Reading

• Perfect your virtual processor management best practices

  Proper vCPU allocation can be difficult to achieve, but if you have a good understanding of the technology and take advantage of these helpful features, it will be within reach.  Continue Reading