March 30th, 2010
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Unless you have been under a rock in the world of virtualization, you realize that both "Cloud" and "VDI" have been the hottest topics on blogosphere, twitterverse, web, and anywhere in between. Personally I think that they have received more buzz than they have really earned at this stage of the game. However that is to be expected as the hypervisor is regulated more and more to a standard in the IT, even though it still has a lot of room to grow.
Even though I have been following the Cloud and VDI buzz, I still felt that both were still lacking a true calling and/or definition. Especially when you are talking about the cloud, you can ask five people what "Cloud" is and you are likely to get several different answers. It is getting defined standards, but it is still growing. VDI on the other hand was better defined, but I felt it was still trying to find a place outside of the "secure" or "centralized" management. Let’s face it there are other ways to do the same thing and not take a hit on the TCO/ROI.
When I read a recent article announcing lesser know VDI start-up Virtual Bridges deal with Rackspace on a solution using their VDI (Verde) product in the Cloud managed by Rackspace, it really hit me. VDI + Cloud = clear blue skies for businesses. Yes, I know there are other hosted desktop solutions. This article just happened to open my eyes a bit more than the other offerings that I have seen. Because of some of the unique features that Virtual Bridges, mentioned in my previous article, they have the infrastructure to expand as the needs of the cloud expand. Their model is better setup to scale than any of the major players like VMware, Microsoft, and Xen. Not to mention their offline mode "bridges" the traditional setup versus the cloud.
To me this opens both the Cloud and VDI to customers that may have not been inclined in the past. The Clouds are coming, we can all see them on the horizon. As more and more innovations and offerings like this come out, the more we will welcome the Clouds, knowing that Clouds do not always mean rain.
March 18th, 2010
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Microsoft is announcing their new features coming to their virtualization solution. It seems they are listening to customer demands and/or reacting to the expectations set by competitors like VMware and Citrix.
The most prominent features are…
- Remote FX: With Microsoft RemoteFX, users will be able to work remotely in a Windows Aero desktop environment, watch full-motion video, enjoy Silverlight animations, and run 3D applications within a Hyper-V VM – all with the fidelity of a local-like performance.
- Hyper-V Dynamic Memory: With Hyper-V Dynamic Memory, Hyper-V will enable greater virtual machine density suitable for servers and VDI deployments. This gives them the overcommit type functionality that many customers have cried out for. Event though in production environments I recommend against going too far over, it is useful and even more so in Test/Dev.
To read more on the announcement go HERE!
March 17th, 2010
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I will be working with Dell to deliver a seminar on Microsoft Hyper-V / System Center along with Dell EqualLogic SAN. This is targeted at the small and medium businesses. Read below for details and how to register.
Attend this complimentary technical seminar and learn how the Dell™ PowerEdge™ Servers and the Dell™ EqualLogic™ PS Series virtualized iSCSI SANs integrate directly with the Microsoft® Virtualization solution set. Our team will demonstrate Microsoft’s game-changing virtualization advantages highlighting the physical and virtual management features of the Systems Center family of products along with Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V™. The combination of our virtualized iSCSI SAN connected with Microsoft® Virtualization provides a fully virtualized infrastructure that simply and cost-effectively can deliver high availability, resiliency, flexibility, and scalability.
In this session, a live demonstration will show current Windows® Server 2008 Hyper-V™ capabilities, as well as the game changing combination of System Center Virtual Machine Manager and Operations Manager, Microsoft® Cluster Services and Live Migration that can enhance your virtualized storage and server infrastructure.
Attend this informative seminar for discussions on:
- Windows® Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V™ and the role of storage area networks (SANs)
- Core requirements to achieve high availability and resiliency in the virtual data center
- How a virtualized SAN infrastructure can simplify operations, reduce cost, and deliver scalability
- Microsoft® Virtualization / Dell Storage TCO and ROI
We will be giving away a Dell Mini 10!!
Hosted by: Dell & Microsoft
When: Thursday, March 15, 2010 from 11am to 2pm
Where:
Microsoft Corporation
200 E. Randolph Dr. Suite 200
Chicago, IL, 60601
Click HERE to Register!!
March 9th, 2010
1 Comment
I recently had a chance to look into a Start-Up in Austin, Tx called Virtual Bridges. Their primary focus is a "purpose built" VDI system called Verde. I found this an interesting prospect and product as most of the VDI offerings out there by the major players have taken their server virtualization projects and tweaked them to serve as a VDI solution. Because of that the end result is a complex infrastructure that requires several components and sometime third party products to build a robust VDI Infrastructure.
This is where the Verde product differentiates itself.
February 23rd, 2010
1 Comment
Via Technet Blog…
Attend this webcast to learn how to set up the foundation for a private cloud in your enterprise with the help of Dynamic Infrastructure Toolkit for System Center (DIT-SC) scenarios such as:
- Enabling independent hardware vendor and system integrator partners to extend the toolkit’s powerful extensible features.
- Simplifying IT scenario of end-to-end business unit IT (BUIT) on-boarding.
- Simplifying IT scenario of infrastructure request/allocation processes.
- Enabling end-user self-service portal for virtual machine provisioning.
Date: Thursday, February 25, 2010
Time: 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM Pacific Time (US & Canada)
Register Here
February 3rd, 2010
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The event will take place on Friday, February 12, 2010. It is a live event being simulcast to multiple locations. It will also be recorded and made available online a few days after the event. You do have to register to attend and to download the event.
All the details and registration are outlined on the registration page(s). There are multiple Live locations so watch the links for tickets to the the location you want to attend.
Though this is a community event and run completely by volunteers, they sure are doing things right. From the great speaker and topic lineup to the online element and simulcast they have thought of everything. Of course as you would expect at any community event, they will have plenty of stuff to give out to the attendees. They are serving lunch and will likely have snacks as well. Then at the end of the day, they have a bunch of stuff to be handed out for drawing prizes.
Check out the prizes so far… They will have a Windows Server 2008 R2 with 5 Client Access Licenses, Windows 7 Ultimate, Office 2007 Standard, Xbox 360 Game Console, Zune Docking Station, some Xbox games and accessories, many, many books, T-shirts, hats, backpacks, and lots more to come. Not all locations will have all prizes but rest assured, there will be plenty of giveaways at the LIVE events!
Go HERE for more details and registration information!
