VMware Clarifies Microsoft SVVP Validation Status:

Please see this site for a discussion about the certification process and status...and even a challenge if you need something certified. There is also a FAQ.

Great central links place for VMworld 2008 info:

I give credit to this as I learned about it from http://www.ntpro.nl.

But the VMworld 2008 collection of links is here: http://vmware-land.com/VMworld2008.html

VMworld 2008 ESX 4 beta demonstration videos:

VMware Fault Tolerance (the best HA possible)
http://download3.vmware.com/vdcos/demos/FT_Demo_800×600.html

VMware DVS (VNetwork Distributed Virtual Switch)

http://download3.vmware.com/vdcos/demos/DVS_Demo_800×600.html

Host Profiles
http://download3.vmware.com/vdcos/demos/Hostprofiles_Linked_VC_800×600.html

Original source of this info was www.rtfm-ed.co.uk

VMworld 2008- Day1:

I attended three instructor led labs today, Site Recovery Manager, Powershell scripting, and a third lab as a non-preregistered guest: VMware Life Cycle Manager. Overall I would say this was a very productive day with some very valuable hands-on experience. The SRM lab guys were very tired after being up all night due to some technical problems, which only allowed 2 out of the 4 rows of stations to be operational. But then this was the 8am first run of the Lab and there was still much learned in the session.

For me, I am wanting very little powerpoint presentation and more hands-on time. Some of the labs (SRM for example) spent over 1 hour just on the ppt stuff we all have seen before if you have been to any of your local Vmware stuff or VMUG events. This left very little time for hands-on and for the part you really want out of the labs. So my suggestinon VMware, less ppt, more using the products time..and I like a structured instructor led approach, not just read the PDF manual and follow the steps. Save that for the self-paced labs. The Life Cycle Manager got top pick for me, followed by the Powershell scripting lab, based on how the labs were run.

Well, off to the vendor Solutions Exchange Expo, probably the 2nd best reason to attend VMworld. With over 200 vendors all with solutions related to your virtual needs it is often overlooked as one of the best aspects of the show.

Hope to see you there!

Very excited to be attending VMWORLD 2008 next week:

I sure hope you are signed up to attend VMworld, the largest virtualization event in the country. Although created by VMware and some partners, the even is really mean't to be a celebration of knowledge of this technology that is allowing us to rethink how we work and redesign our datacenters. So, no matter what Hypervisor fan you are...you really should be at this event!
With 300 breakout sessions, 13 instructor-led and five self-paced labs, nearly 8,000 total lab seats, and more than 200 sponsors and exhibitors it is THE event to attend for anyone into virtualization.

If you not attending though, be sure to watch the Keynotes LIVE here starting next tuesday at 8am (vegas time).

Good VMware Video:

You might want to watch this video from the EMC World Las Vegas Event held in May of 2008. In particular the LAST video by Dr. Stephen Herrod Chief Technology OfficerVMware.

In addition, remember there is free training videos located at http://www.vmware.com/a/webcasts/recorded/

Properly Organizing for Virtual Infrastructure:

This Network World article is really hitting on some fundamental realities that I have been preaching for some time now in our own organization. As Virtual Infrastructure redesigns our datacenters and the skill sets have to increase, companies will have to reevaluate how they've organized IT. They also will need to reward those increasing there virtualization skills and taking on new responsibilities as datacenters are redesigned. Some good quotes from the article:

...The skill set required for this technology is only going to increase, as is the number of mission-critical applications hosted on a virtual architecture," he says. "So, its relevance is going to increase every year for the foreseeable future.

...virtualization has necessitated a higher level of trust among already integrated systems and network teams, as well as a higher skill level.

...The application administrators and developers need to be brought in to play along with the server, storage and network teams.

...At least get folks from different silos together, maybe monthly, to talk about virtualization best practices, product selection criteria and management processes

New PowerShell Plug-In for Virtual Center:

A new startup company, Icomasoft, has opened up a beta program for a new plug-in for VC that will be a must have for Powershell use in ESX environments. You can apply to the beta program at this link.

Many impressive capabilities are mentioned as the source of the new here. 

New Cross-Platform Hypervisor Management tool!

Virtual administrator should keep an eye of further developments of a new management tool from a company called BlueBear. They are developing a tool called Kodiak. It will eventually manage VMware (now), Xen, and Hyper-V. 

The really interesting part is it being cross-platform, it runs on Windows, Linux, and Max OS X.

ESX 3.5 Update 2 Validated by Microsoft now for support!

It is official now per this press release:

VMware ESX is the Industry’s First Hypervisor to be Validated by Microsoft, Offers Customers Expanded Support Options for Microsoft Applications

This is great news as qustions about Microsoft support have and having to work around their support confusion have been a big issue for some in moving foward with virtualization.

Further confirmation is available at this Microsoft Team Blog link.

SearchMyVM-New Google-like Search tool for ESX Server Environments:


Got an email today from VKernel mentioning their new tool. Might be a very good new market for this as in larger environments it can be difficult locating a particual VM. From the email:

"As dynamic virtual environments continue to rapidly grow in size and scope, it is becoming increasingly more difficult to find even the most basic information," said Alex Bakman, founder and CEO of VKernel. "Our SearchMyVM virtual appliance enables users to easily query and find the information they are looking for. By making it a free product, we can help IT administrators find information quicker as well as demonstrate how simple all of our virtual appliances are to use and deploy."

You can download the product from http://www.vkernel.com/downloads/SearchMyVMBeta/.

UPDATE: After loading this tool I think all ESX admins are going to find this really handy. Especially those not trying to learn the powershell stuff.

• Simple appliance import in VC 2.5 in the open OVF format
• start the appliance, answer question about DHCP or not and time sever (appliance runs Suse Linux)
• Access the appliance via browswer, add your virtual center server or ESX server
• see the examples provided or better yet the help area for even more examples

Some quick examples I did:

vm.name:vmiamlookingfor --find a particular vm

host.datastores.freespace<100gb>

vm.cdroms.object.cdroms.connected=true --vms with cd connected