Tips

Tips

• Spotlight on Hyper-V 3.0 high availability and redundancy

  IT admins will have more help improving high availability with new redundancy and predictive failure analysis features in Microsoft Hyper-V 3.0.  Continue Reading

• Using Linux Virtual Machine Manager in mixed Xen, KVM shops

  The Linux Virtual Machine Manager can control both Xen and KVM at the same time, and setting it up is simple.  Continue Reading

• Using SCVMM PowerShell cmdlets to customize Hyper-V live migrations

  SCVMM PowerShell cmdlets add granular flexibility to Hyper-V’s baseline Live Migration technology. These SCVMM cmdlets will improve performance and reduce administration effort.  Continue Reading

• Home labs for virtualization: Easier than ever to build

  Having a home lab helps IT pros sharpen their virtualization skills. Now, more than ever, building a home lab is within reach.  Continue Reading

• Improving business agility through capacity planning and VM management

  Business agility is essential for organizations looking to stay competitive in today’s economy. Server virtualization and capacity planning are two ways to address that need.  Continue Reading

• What the Cisco Nexus 1000V means to Hyper-V virtual networking

  Hyper-V 3.0 adds support for the Cisco Nexus 1000V, which is welcome news for enterprises that need granular control over virtual networking.  Continue Reading

• Debunking virtualization and ROI calculation myths

  Contrary to popular belief, virtualization does not always guarantee a positive ROI calculation. Deconstructing common myths will help organizations separate fact from fiction.  Continue Reading

• Simplifying virtual networking with Converged Network Adapters

  Converged Network Adapters are ideal for virtual networking consolidation. They don’t discriminate, passing both FCoE and TCP/IP traffic.  Continue Reading

• Local storage for virtualization: Will it catch on?

  Local storage is making a comeback. Storage and virtualization vendors are utilizing local disks, providing a cheaper alternative to shared storage.  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

• Using virtualization to speed up IT service requests

  Virtualization increases IT efficiency and streamlines IT service requests, which equates to improved service-delivery times and ROI.  Continue Reading

• Hyper-V 3.0 to feature major virtualization scalability improvements

  Microsoft Hyper-V 3.0 will feature drastically improved virtualization scalability, addressing Hyper-V R2’s current hardware, memory and cluster limitations.  Continue Reading

• Calculating virtualization ROI using unconventional factors

  Calculating ROI for a virtual data center is a tricky endeavor. For a true assessment, you’ll need to include several, unconventional metrics.  Continue Reading

• Overcoming Hyper-V Live Migration limitations with PowerShell cmdlets

  Hyper-V Live Migration still has a few shortcomings, but these Windows PowerShell cmdlets can help you get around them.  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

• Calming fears about cloud provider service outages

  Cloud provider service outages are worth the trouble, because there are ways to limit the downtime while still reaping the benefits of a hybrid cloud.  Continue Reading

• Optimizing Xen virtualization for Oracle databases

  After adjustments, Xen virtualization can run Oracle databases without a performance hit. Just be careful about the Oracle’s finicky support policies.  Continue Reading

• Beating cloud security pessimists: The case for VM security

  There are lots of people out there who say the cloud has poor VM security, but a few simple points about cloud security can beat their misguided arguments.  Continue Reading

• Windows PowerShell cmdlets for XenServer management

  You can make Citrix XenServer management easier by using Windows PowerShell cmdlets. The XenServer PowerShell snap-in is handy for automating tasks.  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

• 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

• Hardware migration: How server clustering can help you ditch old hosts

  Getting rid of obsolete hardware is no easy task, but with a hardware migration, you can move VMs to new hosts with little downtime.  Continue Reading

• Oracle virtualization 101: Installing Oracle VM Server and Manager

  Hop in and take a test drive with Oracle VM. The Oracle virtualization platform is easy to install, but it involves three different components.  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

• Using KVM virtualization in the enterprise: RHEV or RHEL?

  They sound alike, but RHEV and RHEL are pretty different. Red Hat’s KVM virtualization products offer different levels of KVM management capabilities.  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

• Top 3 issues facing VMware at VMworld 2011

  VMware will have to deal with the vSphere 5 licensing fallout and push itself as a true cloud vendor at VMworld 2011.  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

• Server consolidation project planning: Three steps to success

  As the Boy Scouts always say: Be prepared. With a server consolidation project, you can prepare for consolidation in three distinct phases.  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

• Understanding hosted and bare-metal virtualization hypervisor types

  Choosing a hypervisor shouldn’t be a game of eeny meeny. You have to consider the hypervisor types, such as bare-metal virtualization hypervisors.  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

• Open source Xen hypervisor in the Linux kernel: Does it matter?

  The open source Xen hypervisor has fought hard, but KVM is the new top dog in open source virtualization.  Continue Reading

• Server consolidation's final phase: VM monitoring and migration

  Once you’ve gathered all your server consolidation project data, you’re ready to perform the virtual server migration. And don’t forget VM monitoring.  Continue Reading

• Legacy OSes and virtual server migration challenges

  Server virtualization is challenging, but it’s even more tricky when you have to coax old legacy servers or a legacy OS onto new virtualization hardware.  Continue Reading

• A guide to Hyper-V features for the VMware administrator

  For every VMware action, there’s a Hyper-V reaction. VSphere and Hyper-V features have many similarities, but their vendors speak different languages.  Continue Reading

• Virtualization storage thin provisioning and lifecycle planning

  Thin provisioning means you can flexibly add storage and expand virtual hard disks when needs rise, but don’t overprovision. You could end up with poor performance and low physical capacity.  Continue Reading

• Determining the consolidation ratio in your server consolidation project

  Once you know what makes your servers tick, you can analyze that data and decide on a consolidation ratio for your server consolidation project.  Continue Reading

• Memory allocation: An art and a science

  Server consolidation is great, but without a strong memory allocation strategy, you could fall victim to resource oversubscription.  Continue Reading

• Virtualization platform pioneering: Hyper-V licensing for VMware admins

  If you're a VMware admin who wants to use Microsoft's virtualization platform, you need to understand Hyper-V licensing first.  Continue Reading

• Virtualization storage provisioning: Improving storage performance

  To avoid wasting virtualization storage capacity, you need to allocate the right amount to each application and monitor vigilantly.  Continue Reading

• Server consolidation project, phase one: Data collection

  To maximize savings and keep mistakes at a minimum, approach a server consolidation project in stages. In phase one, collect data on the contents of your servers.  Continue Reading

• How a virtual server cluster brings high availability to test and dev

  Testing is a good way to check performance and capacity. Increase high availability in your virtual testing environment with a virtual server cluster.  Continue Reading

• Avoiding CPU contention and bottlenecks

  Bottlenecks can leave your VM twiddling its thumbs. Luckily, there are several techniques to prevent CPU contention and maximize performance.  Continue Reading

• DMZ setup: Ditching virtual machines for Platform as a Service

  Using Platform as a Service to host DMZ workloads brings cloud computing benefits to your DMZ setup. It’s easier to scale and less complex to build.  Continue Reading

• Virtualizing Exchange Server 2010: Hardware requirements and more

  Resources, storage and hardware, oh my! Following these requirements for virtualizing Exchange Server 2010 will keep performance in tip-top shape.  Continue Reading

• How DMZ design improves VM security in the cloud

  With VM hosting in the cloud, your main concern is VM security. But with a solid DMZ design, you can keep VMs properly isolated.  Continue Reading

• RHEV 3.0 management: No Windows, new opportunities

  Without the Windows requirement, managing RHEV will never be the same. RHEV 3.0 includes browser-based management and a host of new RHEV-M features.  Continue Reading

• Cloud management with Microsoft Concero: Battling VMware vCloud Director

  Microsoft Concero offers better virtualization integration, but VMware vCloud Director has the edge when it comes to other cloud management criteria.  Continue Reading

• Data deduplication reduces storage requirements: Law firm case study

  One large law firm objected to document storage requirements. Along with virtualization, storage consolidation and data deduplication overruled.  Continue Reading

• DMZ design: Bringing virtualization and security admins together

  DMZ design is often a source of conflict between IT admins and security pros. With virtualization, it’s possible to consolidate trust zones in your DMZ setup.  Continue Reading

• Cloud performance monitoring: No one-size-fits-all solution

  Nobody said moving to cloud would be easy. Without a strong cloud performance monitoring strategy, your applications may not fulfill their potential.  Continue Reading

• How virtualization performance monitoring increases ROI

  Performance monitoring can improve resource allocation and increase efficiency, boosting virtualization performance and increasing your ROI.  Continue Reading

• Reducing virtualization storage requirements with thin provisioning

  Storage requirements can make virtualization storage management tricky, but thin provisioning provides a flexible way to allocate storage space.  Continue Reading

• Storage space savers: Tiered storage, consolidation, data deduplication

  Sometimes, virtualization storage just needs its space. You can save space with tiered storage, data deduplication and storage consolidation.  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

• Server consolidation planning: Easy on the memory overcommit

  When you commit to a server consolidation strategy, don’t overdo the overcommit. Memory overcommit can impair VM performance if you exhaust resources.  Continue Reading

• Private cloud architecture: Ditching trial and error for frameworks

  When it comes to private cloud architecture, data center design best practices are hard to come by. Luckily, some early adopters are leading the way.  Continue Reading

• Private cloud strategy: A four-step plan for success

  To get the benefits of cloud computing, you need a solid cloud strategy. Prepping for private cloud computing begins with the assets you already have.  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

• Best of VMworld 2011 Awards criteria

  The Best of VMworld 2011 awards will take place on the show floor at VMworld 2011. For the deadlines, categories and rules, see our nomination form.  Continue Reading

• Server consolidation strategy pitfalls: Over-consolidation

  With server consolidation, it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. Over-consolidation can stretch resources to their limits.  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

• FCoE considerations with virtualization: Support, SAN integration

  Fibre Channel over Ethernet can improve network reliability, but not all vendors support FCoE, and it can be tricky integrating it with network switches and adapters.  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

• 10 GbE: Cutting cabling, boosting virtualization network management

  Embrace the new age of 10 Gbps Ethernet. On a virtualization network, you can aggregate traffic on just two 10-GbE NICs instead of several 1-GbE NICs.  Continue Reading

• KVM networking in RHEL 6 with network address translation

  RHEL 6 uses network address translation for KVM networking. By changing the NAT configuration files, you can customize your setup.  Continue Reading

• Automating Windows OS deployment in virtual infrastructures

  Free is good. Free and automated is even better. There are lots of dynamic Windows OS deployment methods, but some may not fit your infrastructure.  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

• Combining virtual server backup methods for a complete strategy

  Out of many, one: That should be your virtual server backup motto. Combine snapshots and scripting with other VM backup services for the most complete backup strategy.  Continue Reading

• How many VMs should you put on a LUN?

  LUN configuration can improve virtual machine performance. When deciding how many VMs to put on a LUN, the size of your infrastructure is an important consideration.  Continue Reading

• Virtual server cluster size: What’s the magic number?

  Just because you can put a lot of hosts in a cluster doesn’t mean you should. Right-sizing a virtual server cluster is a difficult endeavor.  Continue Reading

• LUN configuration best practices to boost virtual machine performance

  LUN configuration plays a key role in tweaking VM performance. With the right hardware, disk type and RAID level, VM storage helps run more VMs per host.  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

• Server cluster sizing: How many VMs is too many?

  Even server clustering has its limits. Hypervisors and hardware can restrict how many hosts and VMs a server cluster can hold.  Continue Reading

• IT resource management: A new approach for the virtual era

  Once you’ve virtualized, you shouldn’t rely on old IT resource management methods. Take a look at your supply of resources and the demands of VMs.  Continue Reading

• Shared storage considerations: Management, throughput, costs

  Shared storage is ideal for virtualization storage because it allows for VM flexibility. Many admins are turning to network-attached storage for easier setup and management.  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

• Creating virtual machines with Oracle VM VirtualBox 4

  In Oracle VM VirtualBox 4, creating virtual machines is simple, and you have several options for hardware settings, memory and virtual NICs.  Continue Reading

• Keeping up with the KVM storage options

  If KVM were a reality TV show, it would be pretty trouble-free. KVM storage can be customized for optimal performance, and it’s easy to manage with logical volumes.  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

• Oracle VM VirtualBox 4: An overview

  It’s easy to overlook Oracle VM VirtualBox, with all the other hosted virtualization products out there. But your small environment can take advantage of many VirtualBox features.  Continue Reading

• A VMware admin's guide to the XenServer command line

  If you're a VMware admin, don't just stick with what you know. Understanding the XenServer CLI can come in handy if you have to master XenServer management.  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

• Using Windows virtual desktops in a server consolidation project

  If you want the best ratios in your server consolidation project, don’t overlook Windows virtual desktops. Disabling unnecessary services can cut resource usage.  Continue Reading

• IT certifications for the well-rounded virtualization admin

  Virtualization certifications are valuable, but if you really want to strut your stuff and expand your skills, earn IT certifications for networking, OSes and apps.  Continue Reading

• Memory overcommit and multiple processors: Too much of a good thing

  You don’t always need to over-assign memory and processing resources. In fact, memory overcommit and multiple processors can weaken performance.  Continue Reading

• The future of software licenses in a virtual world

  Software licenses just want to fit in. But in virtual infrastructures, software licensing has an increasingly confusing role to play as vendors come out with new licensing methods.  Continue Reading

• How Hyper-V Dynamic Memory improves your server consolidation plan

  Virtual memory allocation with Hyper-V Dynamic Memory can help boost your server consolidation plan. But beware VMs that take more memory than they actually need.  Continue Reading

• Virtualization certification options: VMware, Microsoft and Citrix

  Want to get certified for virtualization? There are many virtualization certification options. Start your journey by deciding which is right for you.  Continue Reading

• Top five P2V conversion roadblocks

  The P2V conversion process doesn’t always run smoothly. Downtime, hardware incompatibility and outdated applications can foil your P2V migration plan at any stage of the game.  Continue Reading

• Virtual memory management techniques: A beginner's guide

  There are lots of virtual memory management techniques, including ballooning and memory compression. You can use these methods to control resource sharing among colocated VMs.  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

• Software license agreements aren’t made to be broken

  Software license agreements get foggy when virtualization enters the picture. Many violations are only discovered by accident, but that can be avoided if departments work together.  Continue Reading

• Using P2V conversion for virtualization disaster recovery

  Not all servers are good VM candidates. But with P2V conversion, you can still protect the leftovers in a virtualization disaster recovery strategy.  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

• Top 5 tips for P2V conversion success

  The process of converting physical machines into VMs doesn’t always run smoothly. There are five easy ways to ensure your P2V conversions go off without a hitch.  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

• Software licensing challenges: How virtualization obscures CPU usage

  When it comes to software licensing, virtualization changes the game. It’s more difficult to pinpoint processors and ensure that you purchase the right number of software licenses.  Continue Reading

• From Xen to KVM: Making sense of changes in RHEL 6

  Migrating VMs from Xen to KVM virtualization sounds daunting, but Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 includes tools to ease the transition. These migration tools are among other new virtualization features in RHEL 6.  Continue Reading