GREAT SETUP ADVICE FOR 10GIGE NETWORKING

VMware blogs is running a series of articles detailing specific setup suggestion around vSphere and 10GigE. I really like some of the suggestions just in this first article and plan to use this in our setup.

Get all the details here.

VMware Certified Advanced Professional

VMware has announced a new certification that I plan to go for. The next step up from just a VCP level.

You can find all the details on the VMware Certification site.

Upon accomplishing VMware Certified Professional on VMware vSphere 4 (VCP4) you are eligible to pursue our intermediate level certification: VMware Certified Advanced Professional (VCAP). Available in Datacenter Administration and/or Datacenter Design, this program is appropriate for VCP4s that are ready to further enhance their skills with the virtual infrastructure and add new, industry-recognized credentials to their list of accomplishments.

The VCAP4-DCA is directed toward System Administrators, Consultants and Technical Support Engineers who can demonstrate their skills in VMware vSphere and VMware vCenter technologies in relation to the datacenter, as well as their knowledge of application and physical-infrastructure services and their integration with the virtual infrastructure.

VPLEX/UNISPHERE/UIM/FAST/STORAGE API VIDEO DEMO COLLECTION

VPlex Configuration Demo: http://www.youtube.com/user/sakacc#p/u/9/cNvq-jJb4zw

VMWare Failover with VPlex Demo: http://www.youtube.com/user/sakacc#p/u/11/fKKhrI7A7Og

Unisphere - a new unified management and reporting interface for all EMC storage systems (excluding SYM) to manage, storage, archive, backup and replicate
Unisphere Demo: http://www.youtube.com/user/sakacc#p/u/6/mACVdai9YwE

FAST - version two of fully automated storage tiering now allows automatic sub-LUN level movement of data from Flash to FC to ATA optimizing performance and minimizing cost.  FAST Cache - leverages Flash to extend existing cache capacities for accelerated system performance and automatic absorption of unpredicted spikes in application workloads
FAST Demo: http://www.youtube.com/user/sakacc#p/u/5/_py3XRbryt0

VMWare APIs - new tools provide a single view, from within VMware vCenter, with full transparency and integration of storage, server, and virtual machine:
VMWare API Demo: http://www.youtube.com/user/sakacc#p/u/10/oKubyt6XBcI

EMC Ionix Unified Infrastructure Manager (UIM) turns Vblocks into integrated infrastructure - a "pool of pools", makes creating service offerings from those pools and subsequently end-to-end provisioning/deprovisioning simple - it allows PHYSICAL infrastructure to be elastic. It also makes managing MANY Vblocks as simple as managing one - and enables the set of Vblocks (end to end) to be partitioned into multi-tenant domains.
UIM version 2.0 Demo: http://www.youtube.com/user/sakacc#p/u/7/IjfyHIkWjmo

NEW VREFERENCE CARDS:

Forbes Guthrie again amazes us by offering up new vreference cards:

THINAPP/VMWARE VIEW: http://www.vreference.com/desktop-card/

ESXTOP/VSCSISTATS: http://www.vreference.com/esxtop-precis/

VSPHERE 4: http://www.vreference.com/vsphere4-card/

EMC VPLEX-VM TELEPORTATION: MORE INFO

More info is coming out about this major "virtual revolution" as big if not bigger than vmotion and storage vmotion.

See these links:

http://blog.scottlowe.org/2010/05/10/emc-vplex-launches-today/

http://virtualgeek.typepad.com/virtual_geek/2010/05/your-virtual-machine-teleporter-is-ready-are-you.html

Video:

ftp://ftp.documentum.com/vmwarechampion/Demonstration_Tools/EMC_World/2010/vplex-short.wmv

ftp://ftp.documentum.com/vmwarechampion/Demonstration_Tools/EMC_World/2010/ease-of-vplex.wmv

The following are a few highlights from the 2nd link above (be sure to see that link for all the info).

"vPlex means (to me) a vMotion where the VMDKs being acted on are immediately available in the other side – moving everything, and moving it instantly over geographic distance.

it starts immediately accessing storage on the other side...access anywhere"

"VPLEX enables a storage device is simultaneously presented at both the local and remote side in a read/writeable state in an active/active model – any IO can be served by any VPLEX node, by any port – at anytime."


"VPLEX is the first application of this core technology and is a shipping, generally available product, and can be used with ANY array."

vSphere advantage:

The answer is basic: It enables high performance, high availability geographically dispersed storage that's active/active – read/writeable on both sides.

• Use Case #1: vMotion between different vSphere ESX clusters being managed by a single vCenter.
• Use Case #2: stretching an vSphere ESX cluster across geographic distance.

ANOTHER REASON FOR VMSAFE FROM VMWARE

New attack bypasses virtually all AV protection! Researchers say they've devised a way to bypass protections built in to dozens of the most popular desktop anti-virus products, including those offered by McAfee, Trend Micro, AVG, and BitDefender (and most all others)! If a product uses SSDT hooks or other kind of kernel mode hooks or similar level to implement security features it is vulnerable!

This is why VMware's VMsafe protection is important...to do the protection before it can get to the guest OS.

For the full article please see this link: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/05/07/argument_switch_av_bypass/

VIRTUAL MACHINE TELEPORTATION!!

I got notice today of a VERY special announcement from EMC, on a new technology called vPlex! EMC vPlex allows you to "teleport" virtual machines (the VM and VMDK) across unlimited distances with no application disruption! The next BIG virtual technology!

For many more details and video please see this blog post! Works with VMware, Hyper-V, and Oracle VM 2.2.

Press announcement.