VM /ETC

Archive for the ‘virtual iron’ Category

5 Linux-based Virtualization Companies to Watch on Ken Hess’s Linux Blog is a post about the 5 main server virtualization platforms based on Linux. Ken also mentions the only non Linux based hypervisor, Microsoft’s Hyper-V.

“There’s only one company that doesn’t use Linux for its server virtualization platform. Can you guess which one it is? If you guessed Microsoft, you’re correct. Microsoft is a newbie in the virtualization space but wants in and may make significant dents in the already well-established market that is significantly owned by VMware. For Windows-only virtualization, there may be some validity to the switch to Hyper-V.

For the rest of us, who are either too stubborn or too smart to make the shift to Hyper-V, what are our choices? The following is a list of 5 of the main players in Linux-based virtualization.”

Use the link above to read all of Ken’s original post for some brief info about each platform, but I am listing the 6 products and the links to their free versions for quick reference here. Ken does not discuss nor am I including free hosted platforms such as Microsoft Virtual PC or VMware Server. Read the rest of this entry »

So everybody and their mother has a virtualization product now. Too bad all the vendors could not standardize on the same key (or key combinations) that releases the mouse from a virtual machine’s (VM) console window. Until that day happens (don’t hold your breath) this post will be my listing of known host key or key combinations by vendor and product for when your mouse is stuck in a VM.

Please leave a comment on any products I have not included and I’ll update the list.

Updated 10.03.08 – corrected key combination for Mac versions and created separate rows for VMware Fusion and Parallels Workstation

One of the posts I used as a research reference was Common Virtualization Keyboard Shortcuts from x86virtualization.com. Check out this post for a complete listing all keyboard shortcuts for Microsoft and VMware products besides the one for escaping the mouse from the VM console.

I’ve written about using 2X ThinClientServer at home for free VDI already, so it’s public knowledge that I like the thin cient management product available from www.2x.com. Now, 2X and Virtual Iron have announced a partnership to provide VDI to small and medium businesses (SMB). The combination of these two vendors results in a solution where 2X ThinClient Server brokers user connections to virtual desktops hosted on Virtual Iron’s Xen based virtual servers. Not a bad solution for the SMB needing to host a small group of desktops.

I haven’t covered Virtual Iron much on VM /ETC partly because I haven’t had the opportunity to implement it, but mostly because I hear and see more about the other Xen based virtual host. Here’s some quick info from the Virtual Iron web site about this virtual infrastructure solution: Read the rest of this entry »

Packages including server hardware, Virtual Iron 4.0 and implementation services are now being offered from IBM and HP. Virtual Iron has also signed a reseller agreement with Dell. The combination of these new partnerships is positioning the VMware alternative as a highly visible choice for SMBs looking to migrate to a virtual datacenter.

An article from SearchServerVirtualization.com, Virtual Iron, IBM, HP package virtualization on blades for SMBs, reports on Virtual Iron’s new SMB strategy: Read the rest of this entry »

Quest is the parent company of Vizioncore. Look for some new VI monitoring tools from these guys soon, but for now check out:

vRanger (formerly ESXRanger) – is still the best VCB based solution for live VM backups IMHO. I am not sure of the general availability date, but the product will soon use MS VSS as well.

vReplicator (formerly ESXReplicator) – Service console based VM replication. The only solution that I know of at this time that goes the extra step and registers the replicated VM in the VI at the DR site.

vCharter – monitoring, drill down performance analytics, and charge back reporting tool

vMigrator –

“vMigrator provides a powerful tool that can support the upgrade process from ESX Server to VI3, by enabling smooth and seamless migrations to the new platform with minimal downtime even for complex environments.”

vOptimizer -

“vOptimizer is an advanced optimization solution that quickly and easily reduces a virtual machine’s virtual hard drive to the smallest size possible while optimizing Windows guest operating systems for speed and performance. “

vConverter – similar to VMware’s VMConverter in design but can also V2V

“vConverter enables fast and easy conversions without disrupting the source physical system during the conversion process. There are never any reboots, no need to visit machines being converted, no software to install on the source and no downtime. vConverter contains advanced disk and network I/O algorithms to ensure that the fastest possible conversions are executed, and extremely reliable block level cloning is performed to minimize any risk of data loss. “

vPackager – sounds like this product will give some competition to VMware’s LabManager

“With vPackager, customers can configure a Windows based VM with the applications and configurations they wish to distribute, then extract these changes to a compressed package. This package can be distributed without OS licensing implications and applied to similar VMs to merge the changes.”