VM /ETC

Posts Tagged ‘vmetc.com’

WOW! 3 full VIRTUMANIA podcasts are now available from iTunes!

Special guest Scott Lowe joins us in this latest episode to discuss high availability options for virtual machines. Marc Farley co hosts the show and Sean Clark returns again as the guest host. The following is the podcast summary:

VIRTUMANIA Podcast Episode 3 - High Availability For Virtual Machines. Rich Brambley (@rbrambley) of VMETC and Marc Farley (@3parfarley) of3Par and StorageRap.com with guests Sean Clark (@vseanclark) ofwww.seanclark.us and Scott Lowe(@scott_lowe) of blog.scottlowe.org of EMC. Our discussion this week focuses on high availability (HA) options for applications running on virtual machines. Talk includes application clustering decisions as well as hypervisor features and third party solutions that enable HA. We also look to the future with Cisco OTV and Long Distance Vmotion. Thanks to Greg Knieriemen (@knieriemen) of Chi Corporation for this Infosmack Production.

Listen to episode 3 with the embedded player below or use the badges underneath  to always get Virtumania epsiodes immediately when published.

Check out the VM /ETC VIRTUMANIA Page to listen to our past episodes as well as all the episodes of Infosmack.

The following short list of links offer more information on a couple of the topics mentioned in VIRTUMANIA Episode 3 that I found extra interesting:

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The VIRTUMANIA continues with Episode 2! Rick Vanover joins Marc and I again along with very special guest Jason Boche, the Virtualization Evangelist, for a recorded discussion about DR options in virtualized environments. The following is the podcast summary:

VIRTUMANIA Podcast Episode 2 – Virtulization Makes DR Easy. Rich Brambley (@rbrambley) of VMETC and Marc Farley (@3parfarley) of 3Par and StorageRap.com with guests and Rick Vanover (@rickvanover) of RickVanover.com and Jason Boche (@jasonboche) of Boche.net/blog. This week’s episode includes discussion about how virtualization has changed disaster recovery and site failover, explores various virtual machine backup and replication products, compares storage mirroring to purely physical solutions in the past, and thinks about DR technologies in the future. Thanks to Greg Knieriemen (@knieriemen) of Chi Corporation for this Infosmack Production.

Before, between, and after the important stuff we also have some fun with Virtumania Bucks, the ongoing danger of nipples in the data center (yes, we go there again!), and a new nickname for Greg Knieriemen.

Listen to the podcast with the embedded player or subscribe to get a weekly copy so you can listen when convenient.

Check out the VM /ETC VIRTUMANIA Page to listen to past episodes as well as episodes of Infosmack.

The following links offer more information on some of the VM Backup and DR products mentioned in VIRTUMANIA Episode 2:

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This is just a quick note to announce that VMETC.com is now optimized for most mobile browsers. I’ve configured the WPTouch plugin for the site so a mobile theme should show up automatically. Various mobile browsers and devices are supported including the iPhone and iPod Touch.  Bookmark the site in your mobile browser!

For quick access from the iPhone or iPod Touch open VMETC.com in the Safari browser, click the  ”+” icon on the bottom bar, choose “Add to Home Screen”, and then marvel at the Virtually Insane icon that appears among your other apps!

Leaving comments should also be an option from the mobile theme, but I have not fully tested that feature.

UPDATED 02.18.10 – Since there are still several mobile devices, Blackberrys, and other PDAs that do not have a browser supported by the WPTouch plugin (hopefully popular devices will continued to be added during the plug in’s devlopment),

I’ve created m.vmetc.com as an alternative for all mobile devices.

This URL is actually a redirect to my RSS Feed converted into a mobile site via Google Reader. You don’t have to open the URL in Google Reader (or any other RSS reader) , however. Just bookmark and use the URL. I learned about this quick and easy trick from an old LifeHacker article.

Although my busy VMware Partner Exchange 2010 schedule included various meetings, break out sessions, company dinners, conference parties, and vendor receptions, a daily dose of social networking was found in between it all. Oh yeah, Las Vegas was a part of the equation as well. Here’s a quick list of my extra curricular conference highlights:

• It “cost me” $140 to learn how to play Craps at the Tropicana, but I had a blast with my Softchoice co-workers while rolling some dice! At some point I was actually up $35, but that was a fleeting moment in time. I’m sure many others can tell similar stories with much larger amounts of cash than me.
• I can now personally guide anyone using all means of transport between the Mandalay Bay, Excaliber, The Luxor, New York, New York, and Tropicana casinos. My legs are tired, but I have some great memories scattered at various points now on that end of the Vegas strip!
• Like the Thirsty Bear was during VMworld 2009, The Nine Fine Irishmen seemed to be a common stop for me during PEX2010.

I’ve created a photo collage of some of the good times, and for those that are curious about the #PEX3WORD goings on last week I’ve got a summary report at the end of the post.

Photo Collage

Here’s a collage of images from my week captured with my cell phone camera. Popular Twitter names pictured in various images are vseanclark, vmdoug, theronconrey, djroberts, asweemer, sakacc (really small in front of the tailgate party big screen), herrod (on stage during keynote), stockberger, and bknudtson.

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The LackRack

Most of my colleagues have a home lab with at least some equipment that is rackable, but because of expense, room size, or the decor concerns of a much smarter significant other purchasing a data center rack is not possible (or advisable). In fact, our servers, storage and switches are stacked under a desk, piled in a corner, or hidden in a coat closet. Virtualization and server consolidation has helped reduce the total amount of hardware we need running at home, but we still end up with a makeshift and cluttered workspace that keeps us in the dog house.

Now, imagine this conversation:

Yes, going to IKEA with your Love is a dangerous undertaking, but it’s a reality to consider for your home lab.

The IKEA Lack tables are the perfect size

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I was lucky enough to have been invited as a guest on this week’s Infosmack podcast. Infosmack, sponsored by StorageMonkeys.com, is a weekly storage, virtualization, and infrastructure podcast hosted by Greg Knieriemann and Marc Farley covering top weekly news and issues in the data center. Greg Schulz, author of the StorageIO Blog, was is also a guest with me on this week’s episode. I had a great time recording the call and I am really excited about the final result available now for download.

Already one of the subscriptions listed in my recent post about podcasts relevant to virtualization administrators, Infosmack Podcast Episode #34 – VMware vs Hyper-V discusses several topics on the minds of the virtualization community right now including:

• VMware’s purchase of Zimbra
• VMware Go for ESXi
• VMware and Microsoft Clouds
• HP’s partnership announcement with Microsoft and Hyper-V
• HP LeftHand’s announcement of a iSCSI SAN for Hyper-V
• Backup strategy for virtualized environments

Check out Episode #34 and offer your thoughts in the comments here or on the StorageMonkeys.com episode page linked above. Honestly, the title makes the podcast seem more controversial than it really is, but it’s good discussion none the less! The four of us really thought through virtual infrastructure and various vendor cloud scenarios based on recent announcements, acquisitions, and partnerships forming recently.

While you are listening Subscribe to the Infosmack Podcast for new episodes every Monday and join the StorageMonkeys.com community too. If you are an aspiring blogger use storagemonkeys.com for an instant audience. You have the option to be authenticated with your Facebook account if you don’t want to create a new one.

Be sure to look me up as rich brambley and add me as a StorageMonkey friend.

Greg Schulz has also posted is summary of the podcast. Check out his StorageIO.com post Infosmack Episode 34, VMware, Microsoft and More. Greg also includes several links for extra info on the topics we discussed.

Another 6 months have come and gone and Eric Siebert has just updated his vsphere-land.com Top 25 VMware/Virtualization Blogs. I’m proud to say that VM /ETC remains in the top 10. As of the latest voting, this blog holds the number 7 spot. In my opinion, the number of VMware and virtualization blogs seems to have sky rocketed in 2009, and every blog is an incredible, quality virtualization resource. Considering I was lazy and missed the opportunity to publish a campaign post during the recent voting period, I am truly honored to remain in the top 10. Thanks to everyone who voted for vmetc.com! I am once again inspired to “keep up the good work”.

Siebert has published a couple posts explaining the total voting results and his process of determining the ranking order. It is a lot more complex than one might think. Check out these links for more info:

• The top blog full voting results

• And the winners of the top VMware/virtualization blog are…

If you did not already know, Siebert also maintains the vLaunchpad – a web page of links to all virtualization blogs, news, and resources. Look for the vLaunchpad to be updated soon with the latest rankings as well.