The Digital DoorMatt : Virtualization

Red Hat joins SVPP

digitaldive — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:38:54 GMT

Whenever I talk about virtualization, a common question I get asked is around our supported guest OS’s for Hyper-V. Well, Microsoft and Red Hat have announced that they will support each other’s platforms, at last! Red Hat has joined Microsoft’s Server Virtualization Validation Program, whilst Microsoft will be listed in the Red Hat Hardware Certification List, once certification and validation is complete.

Microsoft and Red Hat recently signed agreements to test and validate our server operating systems running on each other’s hypervisors. Customers with valid support agreements will be able to run these validated configurations and receive joint technical support for running Windows Server on Red Hat Enterprise virtualization, and for running Red Hat Enterprise Linux on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V or Hyper-V Server 2008. You can see Red Hat’s news release here, and watch a public webcast discussing this news.

Take a look at the announcement on the Microsoft Virtualization blog, which includes Q&A about the announcement.

Hyper-V drives real cost savings

digitaldive — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 19:10:10 GMT

I’ve just read a great article showing how Hyper-V has driven $250,000 in cost savings for a customer, as well as showcasing its scalability and resilience.

Take a look here: http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2009/02/09/guest-post-virtualization-drives-250-000-in-real-savings.aspx

Hyper-V Management from Windows 7

digitaldive — Wed, 21 Jan 2009 19:11:54 GMT

I’m having fun playing with Windows 7, and am pleasantly surprised at how well rounded and stable it is, especially for a Beta! However, I wasn’t so happy when I found the Hyper-V remote management tools for Vista wouldn’t install! :(

However, I’ve found out that there is a version for Windows 7 – hoorah! And I’ve also learnt that the update will be compatible with Hyper-V R2 when it’s released. Double hoorah!

Of course, being a guy, I didn’t read the manual (well in this case, the blurb which precedes the download), which meant a few minutes hunting for a non-existent management tool! What you must do, after installing the update, is turn the feature on in Windows. So after installing the update:

Go to Control Panel.
In the Programs and Features area, click Turn Windows features on or off.
If you are prompted by User Account Control to enable the Windows Features dialog box to open, click Continue.
In the Windows Features dialog box, expand Remote Server Administration Tools.

The above is an abridged version of installing the update. Download the update and full instructions from: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=82516c35-c7dc-4652-b2ea-2df99ea83dbb&displaylang=en

Virtualization - more than cost cutting

digitaldive — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 16:36:00 GMT

I've recently started my exploration into Virtualization, which in a nutshell is the ability to create multiple "virtual" servers on a single physical one. Naturally the first thing that comes to mind is the cost-savings this technology brings, i.e. the direct cost saving of running many severs whilst only shelling out for a single physical server rack or box. But there's more to it then that.

First of all, think about the space you will save by having only one server replacing many. Real-estate costs can be pretty high, depending on where your located. If you've got a data centre in London you know what I'm talking about!

Then there's the power savings. Again, by having one physical server in the space of many, your cutting your electricity bill drastically, not only for the servers themselves, but for infrastructure requirements (air conditioning, lighting etc.)

The agility of your organisation can also be improved through virtualization. Essentially you can have one box doing many different tasks, based on how you configure it. How cool would it be to have an Exchange server running by day, and an SQL server doing some number-crunching at night? Furthermore, one server can include business continuity and disaster recovery, making such an arduous and critical infrastructure simple.

Virtualization is a key feature of Windows Server 2008, which is being launched soon, giving the ability to consolidate servers, manage business continuity and disaster recovery, test and develop, and creating a dynamic IT environment (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/virtualization/default.mspx).

Click the diagram to learn more about virtualization. There's some fascinating stuff out there...