It never ceases to amaze me how fast our world can change around us. The quote "Life moves pretty fast. You don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." from the classic 1980's movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off has never been more true. I really believe that virtualization is one of those technologies that have recently caused our world of Information Technology to accelerate at rates that have never been seen before. If we don't take some time to stop and look around us, we might just be missing some awesome new things. I want to take a few moments today to take Ferris's advice and stop to look at the world of virtualization and what it means to those of us in IT.
Let me preface my statements by openly admitting that when virtualization first came onto the scene a number of years ago, I thought it was an overhyped non-issue, particularly for those of us working for mid-sized or small businesses. Let's face it; with the lack of scalability available from Microsoft's Virtual Server product line and the high cost of other virtual server solutions, I was right. These frustrations caused most of us to give up on the failed promises of virtualization and to go back to running our networks in the real physical world.
All that being said, I am thrilled to be able to say that Microsoft's release of Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, combined with the System Center product line, truly does bring virtualization to all IT organizations in a way that is both cost-effective and easily managed. Let's touch on some of the more important features that Microsoft's recent product releases have brought to the table, as well as some very exciting new capabilities that soon to be released products will be making available.
Here are the high points of these game changers on a product by product basis.
Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2
Microsoft touts 5 areas of improvement in Hyper-V R2 from the original Hyper-V RTM, but I really want to concentrate on 2:
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2
Like Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 has undergone many improvements in the areas of performance and compatibility. The cross platform capabilities of VMM 2008 R2 have also been improved, allowing for even better control of VMware hosts that might exist in your environment.
The biggest addition to VMM 2008 R2 however, is the ability to control and queue Live Migrations between Hyper-V hosts. Combining the monitoring capabilities of System Center Operations Manager 2007 R2 with Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 makes it possible to monitor the resources of physical host servers and move virtual machines to the most appropriate host based on performance and availability, all with no effect on your end users.
While we are discussing the updates to VMM2008 R2 I want to be sure to include 2 products that I feel do not get enough recognition by those working in the small and mid-size markets.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Workgroup Edition
The Workgroup edition of Virtual Machine Manager gives you all the same capabilities of VMM 2008 with the one limitation that it will only manage up to 5 physical host servers. This allows for the management of up to 20 virtual servers using 5 Windows Server Enterprise licenses, which will make virtualizing a large part of any mid-sized business an extremely cost-effective possibility. In the event that a company outgrows the Workgroup Edition, making the upgrade to the full version of VMM 2008 R2 is a simple process.
System Center Essentials 2007/2010
System Center Essentials 2007 has been around for over 2 years and is a very good management product for small and mid-sized businesses. SCE allows administrators to more proactively manage their networks by making it possible to monitor, update, and install software to both client and server systems all from one console. With the release of Systems Center Essentials 2010 in early 2010, SCE will soon include virtual machine management capabilities built into the management console. Organizations with fewer than 50 servers will be able to deploy, manage and move virtual servers in their environments all from one window. The combination of virtual machine management with machine administration all within one central application also brings forward the ability to deploy and move virtual machines based on resource utilization of the available physical host servers while at the same time tending to the administration of the operating systems on both the physical hosts and virtual guests of your network. As with the Workgroup Edition of Virtual Machine Manager, if an organization outgrows System Center Essentials, they will be able to upgrade to Operations Manager.
I hope that this helps to highlight some of the great new advances that Microsoft is making in the world of virtualization. Whether we are deploying a single server or building out a whole new domain; what once took months, now takes days or even hours; what once took 10 power supplies to run, now takes 2; what took 30 fans to cool, now needs only 6. With the obvious cost savings that are there to be had, and the minimal investment that is required to get started, let's all stop looking around and get busy building our virtual worlds.
Hello Everyone!
I am Chris Avis and I have been working as an IT Evangelist for Microsoft for the last 6 years. I started out in this role in Southern California then moved to Redmond, WA about 4 years ago. I love speaking to ANYONE about the cool products and technologies that we have to offer. Some of my favorite products and technologies are Windows Server/Client, networking, and Exchange. I have been a somewhat active blogger for the past few years at http://blogs.technet.com/chrisavis and I use Twitter - @chrisavis. I am also on Facebook so feel free to reach out to me through these avenues.
I am excited about participating in the Because It's Everybody's Business because.....well.....the name says it all - It is Everybody's Business! We all use a wide array of technologies in our everyday work and lives and I enjoy helping make sense of it all. I hope to contribute in the areas I noted above as well as other areas that I am familiar with.
Outside of work I have a tendency to still geek out by helping friends and family keep their systems up and running. But I do enjoy shutting it all down now and then by going hiking, camping and Letterboxing. When I have to be indoor and usually rocking out to Guitar Hero or hunting down the Horde in World of Warcraft.
I have worked in the IT industry for the past 15 years; working as both an IT Professional, and an IT Manager, over that span of time. I have spent those years building network infrastucture using the many different products that Microsoft makes available. I started with Microsoft business products such as Windows 3.11 for Workgroups, Windows Server 3.50 and Exchange 4.0 from their initial releases and have worked with them up to their current versions; Window 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Exchange 2010.
What I have found through the years is that the trick to building a really effective business network is not a lack of great products from Microsoft; rather, the problem usually is finding the right combination of products to use to build the best business solutions to specific business problems. This is where my role in the BIEB program comes in. I plan to show how the whole Microsoft puzzle fits together when the "Cool" of the new products wears off and the "Why?" of the business world sets in. I will be helping to fit all the pieces together as a total solution.
I have been active in the IT Pro community for over 10 years leading a number of different user groups in the U.S. as well as being involved in many different online communities and forums. I am very proud to have been named as an MVP by Microsoft in 2007 for my work with System Center Operations Manager 2007 and System Center Essentials 2007. I am also currently serving as the Chairman of the Board for Culminis North America; a volunteer organization helping to support IT Pro user groups around the world. Serving in this position I am in regular contact with IT Professional experts throughout the United States and Canada and I will work to bring their joint point of view, as well as opinions and solutions, to the BIEB program.
In my free time, I love to spend my time with my family and friends (usually showing them the wonders of the latest and greatest Windows Mobile phoneJ). I also really enjoy singing and playing keyboards as well as cooking, especially barbeque and Cajun cuisine. If it's hot, it's good! I keep up regularly through FaceBook, LinkedIn and Twitter, although I tend to only use Twitter when I am at events so that keeping up with my every move may actually be of some value.
I am really looking forward to spending the coming months with you building new solutions with all the great new products that Microsoft is releasing this year; because it IS everybody's business!