Here is just another example of companies that are choosing Hyper-V and Microsoft Virtualization. It's also a good example of how to plan on VM density and growth.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/server_virtualization/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=218100715&pgno=1&queryText=&isPrev
Network World and PC World picked out their best and worst of Windows 7 and WIndows Server 2008 R2. Best features #1 and #2 are both Virtualization related.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/165844/best_and_worst_of_windows_7_and_windows_server.html
This is a great article on why one Microsoft partner, MaximumASP, went with a Hyper-V based solution for their new scalabe virtual hosting service. While MaximumASP is Microsoft partner, they evaluated almost every vendor in the segement before deciding on the Microsoft solution. The insights on hosting virtual machines and the benefits of integrated physical and virtual management are invaluable.
http://rcpmag.com/Articles/2009/06/01/Finding-a-Virtual-Solution-in-Its-Own-Backyard.aspx?Page=1
This is a great listen for those who want to learn a little more about what's next with Microsoft Virtualization!
http://www.dabcc.com/media.aspx?id=445
One of the touted new features of vSphere is the inclusion of a Fault Tolerance (FT) capability. As with many solutions, it's a catch-all solution to having highly available VMs. This blog post just covers some of the limitations around using the FT solution.
http://vmjunkie.wordpress.com/2009/06/11/why-you-may-want-to-leave-ft-alone-for-now/
This has nothing to do with Virtualization but it's fun to look at anyway. This forum had a user who loaded Windows 7 on his Pentium II 266 with 128MB of RAM. Maybe we could replicate this in a VM?
http://forum.thewindowsclub.com/windows-hardware-devices/28053-windows-7-dinosaur.html#post135619
I think this article asks some good questions about how to implement security in Virtualization and whether small code means more security.
http://www.infoworld.com/d/virtualization/top-security-concerns-in-virtualization-environment-603
This is a follow-up to post that I last made on whether customers should upgrade to vSphere. One of the big things in vSphere is the new Enterprise Plus SKU, which is a cost upgrade for all existing ESX customers. This news posting details the issues surrounding the pricing to upgrade to vSphere. It's not a surprise given the current economic times.
http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/news/article/0,289142,sid94_gci1359167,00.html
A lot of customers I've been talking to are really starting to recognize that the upgrade to vSphere is not just a simple version upgrade. It's really something to be evaluated and considered before making the decision. I saw this blog article that gives some good things to consider relative to an upgrade.
http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/virtualization-pro/should-you-upgrade-to-vmware-vsphere-4/
Another article I had read a couple weeks ago, about what to consider relative to Cloud computing and what CIOs and other should be thinking about.
http://www.informationweek.com/blog/main/archives/2009/05/should_googles.html;jsessionid=43QIIXC2YR4XAQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN
In case some of you missed it on Friday, the Release Candidate for Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 is now available for download!
http://www.virtualization.info/2009/06/virtual-machine-manager-2008-r2-hits.html
This is another great article
http://www.internetnews.com/dev-news/article.php/3820691/New+Technologies+Showcase+ITs+importance.htm
that goes into the role that virtualization plays in future IT. Thomas Bittman from Gartner and others really get into not just the importance of Virtualization and Cloud in IT but also why it's important to use them properly. Virtualization, like any other technology, needs to be properly implemented and managed to get the most out of them. Use incorrectly, they can even potentially have a negative impact on IT.
I saw this article a couple weeks ago
http://www.tek-tools.com/wordpress/index.php/214/virtualization/3-ways-to-get-the-most-out-of-virtualization
and I wanted to highlight it because it really addresses issues that most people forget, the non-technical areas that drive a virtualization deployment. I think that often there is a little too much focus on the technology and not enough on the implementation, such as integration with existing processes, personnel, and groups.
Another interesting article on Green IT in general.
http://www.reuters.com/article/gwmEnergy/idUS316413205820090527
It's interesting to see Green IT from more than just a virtualization perspective. According to the survey, Virtualization is a top Green IT projects.
In my job, I spend a lot of time meeting with customers and users, talking about Microsoft Virtualization and their virtualization needs. One of the items that customers raise with me is whether having high availability (HA) VMs means that they don’t have to cluster their applications anymore, with SQL being a good example. In most cases, the answer is no. With SQL Clustering, you get clustering and failover at the application level.
Most HA solutions in the virtualization realm don’t work at the app level. Live Migration (or VMotion) is great for planned downtime, but what about unplanned downtime? Failover clustering works at the VM level for unplanned downtime but the VM will restart when an event occurs. Even fault tolerant VMs are not the solution, as they only account for failures at the host level, not the app.
To get application level failover, what you really need is guest clustering, where you cluster the VMs. You treat the VMs like the physical servers as before and cluster at that level, rather than at a virtualization level. The great news is that recently, the Microsoft SQL Server team updated their support policy to include guest clustering. Now, you can have a supported guest failover clustering solution for Microsoft SQL Server. An this solution works not only for Hyper-V, but for SVVP validated hypervisors.
-Edwin
Welcome to the new Virtualization Planet blog. What I'm trying to do here is post some of the latest Virtualization news, Microsoft and non-Microsoft, in one location you can follow. In the coming days, weeks, and months, we'll be posting key Microsoft news but also industry news and musings. I look forward to keeping everyone up to date!
Edwin YuenSenior Technical Product ManagerMicrosoft Virtualization