The virtualization myth | InfoWorld | Column | 2006-04-26 | By Tom YagerTom says "
There’s a lot more to it than a bunch of developers running Windows and Linux together" and indeed there is. He paints some attractive scenarios, one of which I've wondered about myself. Namely, software/applications should be delivered as a VM and not as a bunch of install disks. I shouldn't have to be concerned about correct installations if a company has already mastered a VM with the right drivers, etc. and can deliver the product to me in this ready-to-go form. Combine this with the ease of "giving" someone a copy of my server for support purposes after deployed and there is an overwhelming case for even more virtualization.
Why not VMware, Cisco?Yesterday I attended a seminar sponsored by Nortel and a presentation by Cisco at our
Carolina Cisco Users Group monthly meeting. Both meetings focused on IP telephony. However, neither one of these mentioned virtualization of any kind. I was disappointed despite knowing hearing the "v" word from these vendors would be a longshot. So let me tell you where I thought I needed to hear it and how Cisco specifically is missing the boat.
I've helped build our Cisco infrastructure over the past six years and VoIP has been part of the growth we've experienced. Specifically, the
Cisco Unified CallManager needs to be able to grow with the enterprise. Virtualization is the best way to make this happen. Not only could it provide more resources to the servers needed to run their software, it could simplify deployment by Cisco providing a VM guest pre-built and configured correctly. Quick deployments, redundancy and backups are all addressed in this scenario. Right now, we're stuck in the physical world. Please consider this change, Cisco. It only makes sense.
I'm anxious to see what kind of partnerships between Cisco and VMware may develop in the future. I've heard we need to keep our eyes open for some.
VMware User Group in Columbia, SC beginsI thoroughly enjoyed my time today meeting other VMware users and hearing about the variety of environments we have in our area. Tommy Walker, our VMware sales engineer, walked us through a quick overview of ESX 3.0/VC 2.0 and said all is on target for Q2. The improvements are significant and if you haven't taken a look, you need to
here. This is the presentation Tommy shared with us today. We'll also probably piggyback on the Charlotte group's website (
http://www.vmusers.org) for our web presence.
VMware Local User Group -- Columbia, SCI'm headed over to the South Carolina VMware User Group kick-off. Here's the schedule:
Date: April 21, 2006
Time: 11:00am to 1:00pm
Location: Training Concepts
250 Berryhill Road
Suite 502
Columbia, SC 29210
(803) 772-6441
Agenda:
Introduction to local VMware Team
VMware Users Group Introduction
Lunch provided
Topics for future meetings
Round Table Discussion
Q&A
Virtualization saves tax giant $1MAnother success story:
As the Monday U.S. deadline for filing taxes quickly approaches, tax preparation firm H&R Block says it has found a way to cut IT costs.
With the use of virtualization software from EMC subsidiary VMware, the tax firm estimates it has saved about $1 million on hardware purchases since rolling out the technology in June 2005, said Ron Rosenkoetter, senior systems engineer for H&R Block, in Kansas City, Missouri.
Virtual Appliances: VMTN AppliancesThe new Virtual Appliances Directory is available per the
VMTN blog.
Nice features to filter this ever-growing list. It's a really great list of usable VM's. I've just downloaded Fedora Core 5 to try it out.
Download | VMware ESX Server 2.5.3No longer beta, ready for download.
VMware-friendly change likely for Linux | Tech News on ZDNet Linux programmers are moving toward a change that would put virtualization software from VMware on a more even footing with open-source rival Xen....
"For a long time, it was thought that we'd just merge the Xen patches as-is and be happy. But then, Linux would only run on Xen," Morton said. Instead, VMware programmers suggested a documented, stable interface between the kernel and the hypervisor--and they're preparing one, he said.
"From a high-level design perspective, I think that VMware's point is a good one, and that a general kernel-to-virtual machine interface is a better thing than a Xen-only one," Morton said.
Definitely good news for VMware.
Dell CTO scores A on virtualization testInteresting post by David Berlind on how VMware may be too late in some of their recent moves. He highlights the recent
decision by XEN Source to license Microsoft's Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) format versus VMware's Virtual Machine Disk Format (VMDK) as evidence that the variety of players and options is making for a interesting race.
macosXrumors Exclusive: VMware being ported to MacVery reliable sources recently informed MacOSXRumors that VMware, the maker of virtualisation solutions for Windows and Linux, is currently porting its software on Mac OS X.
Sources told us that the company is already successfully running the Mac version of its software with Linux and Windows operating systems in its labs.
With the advent of
Boot Camp and
other vendors making Mac virtualization products, it seems expedient for VMware as the best of breed vendor in this space to be providing a product.
Update: virtualization.info highlights an article on
running VMware console for VMware Server on Mac OS X
virtualization.info: VMware launches Server beta 2Upgrade if you've installed beta 1. Snapshot features are very useful.
