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Cloud Computing, Virtualization, .NET / SQL Server Development

Microsoft Virtualization e-Learning Courses (Free)

Oct 30

Posted by Anil Desai in IT Tips, Management, Systems Admin, Virtualization | No Comments

Microsoft is working hard to get IT pros to understand its many different virtualization products and technology.  The list includes Hyper-V, App-V, Terminal Services, and the recently-released System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2008 management product.  It can be really challenging to keep up-to-date on all of this new technology (especially when some of these things are potential game-changers).  If you’re willing to invest the time, Microsoft has made numerous e-Learning courses available for online access or download:

Free virtualization e-learning collection

Take Microsoft E-Learning Collection 6333: Exploring Microsoft Virtualization Technologies for free! Collection 6333 includes the following:

Click on the links for the entire Collection, or for individual courses to add them to your e-Learning Library.  You’ll need to login with a Windows Live ID to activate the content.

Personally, I’ve used dozens of e-Learning courses (mostly free ones, I’ll admit) to learn the technical details that aren’t always readily available on the product marketing web sites.  Most courses are fairly in-depth (including code samples where appropriate), but there are usually some rough edges that seem to be remnants from beta versions of the courses.  Overall, though, I think they’re an excellent resources.  And, all of the courses listed above are available for the convenient and affordable price of free.

CS TechCast on Struggling Entrepreneur

Oct 28

Posted by Anil Desai in IT Tips, Presentations, Webcasts | No Comments

Recently, it seems that both techies and non-techies have been really interested in the pros and cons of starting their own businesses and working on their own.  With all of the economic issues and uncertainty in the U.S., it’s to be expected.  In fact, at one point, I thought about creating a blog focused on tips and advice for those that are considering working independently in IT and other industries.  It somehow fell lower on the list of priorities (making an article on time management and prioritization a good candidate for an ironic first posting).  Of course, there are numerous online resources that are provide some really good information for people that are thinking of “taking the plunge” (or for those that are already knee-deep in it).

Struggling Entrepreneur is one such site, and it has recently re-published a CS TechCast interview that I recorded a few months ago.  You can access podcast 67 – Freelance Entrepreneur as IT Consultant and Author for free online.  Here’s an excerpt from the introduction:

When you have the technical skills, knowledge, abilities and experience in the ever-changing world of IT, you may have the burning desire to branch out on your own and establish your own services firm in the form of being an IT consultant–either as a specialist or generalist.

But the key questions you may have may leave you pondering:

– Do you specialize or diversify?

– What about keeping your skills up to date?

– How do you ride through the slow times during IT “peaks and valleys” of IT projects and engagements with clients?

– What about the administrative burden of running your own IT consultancy (e.g., taxes, accounting, sales, marketing, promotion, etc.)?

Hear what a successful IT consultant has done in order to stay ahead of the IT technical curve and yet keep loyal customers and accept exciting and key engagements focusing on state-of-the-art IT technologies.

Check out the full podcast and also all of the other great content on Struggling Entrepreneur.  I’m also recording a new interview with Fred Castaneda tomorrow.  I’m looking forward to it and will post a link when it’s available.  Stay tuned!

Webcast: Network-Attached Storage (NAS) and Virtualization

Oct 15

Posted by Anil Desai in Management, Storage, Virtualization, Webcasts | No Comments

I recently recorded an on-demand webcast, sponsored by Hewlett-Packard.  The webcast, titled NAS and virtualization: Right scenarios, right choices, right deployments.  From the abstract:

Virtualization has brought next-generation network-attached storage (NAS) beyond the limitations of the old NAS architectures. View this webcast with virtualization expert Anil Desai to learn more about this evolution and get tips on best fit scenarios and deployment techniques.

Deciding the best place for NAS implementation is very hard in the complicated world of the new data center. In this webcast, Anil Desai describes the right NAS scenarios, right choices and the right deployment options for your infrastructure.

The Webcast is available for free, but registration with TechTarget’s Bitpipe.com is required.

Managing Virtualization with SLAs and Charge-Backs

Oct 8

Posted by Anil Desai in Management, Virtualization | No Comments

The seventh chapter of my eBook, Managing Virtual Environments, is now available for download from the Embotics web site.  This chapter focuses on ways in which organizations can bring order to their data centers by communicating and enforcing Service Level Agreements (SLAs).  From the introduction:

The implementation of new technology often comes with new challenges. While a pessimist might point out that many IT departments and the businesses that they support are resistant to changes, there’s an opposing view: Often, new technology such as virtualization can provide a compelling reason to address organization-wide operational and management issues. The major challenge faced by most IT teams is the constant struggle to meet business requirements while staying within budget. Overall, the goal is for technology investments to remain aligned with business initiatives. Virtualization is attractive for just these reasons: It provides unprecedented flexibility and agility to data center resources.

Despite its technical benefits and the ability to lower operational costs, many IT managers have found that they are unable to keep pace with the needs of the users they support. In some cases, cost overruns lead to budget constraints which, in turn, can slow business growth. Personnel and expertise are limited, and it often seems that no matter how well-planned the infrastructure is, there’s some portion of the environment that fails to meet requirements.

Returning to an optimistic view, virtualization provides an excellent opportunity for organizations to implement methods to address these issues. This chapter focuses on the topics of Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and charge-backs – two methods of improving coordination, communications, and priorities within a business. As in previous chapters, the goal is to maximize the benefits of virtualization while minimizing costs and related management overhead.

You can download chapters from this eBook for free (registration required) from the Embotics Knowledge Center.

The State of Microsoft Virtual Server (MSVS)

Oct 3

Posted by Anil Desai in Management, Microsoft Hyper-V, Microsoft Virtual Server, Virtualization | No Comments

When new technology comes out, IT people often tend to discard the old (or, sometimes, begrudgingly live with it).  Sometimes, however, older solutions are perfectly useful for certain purposes.  I recently wrote an article for TechTarget’s SearchServerVirtualization.com web site that focuses on the superceded-but-still-relevant Microsoft Virtual Server.  From the article’s introduction:

We techies tend to look forward to new technology with good reason. In most cases, new products and services improve upon old technology. But migration in production environments can be slow. So what about existing technology? A good case in point is Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 (MSVS). MSVS is available for free and is a perfectly viable option for many environments. In this tip, I’ll look at when, where and why you might want to use MSVS rather than its newer replacement, Hyper-V.

You can read the entire article for free: See Microsoft Virtual Server still viable management option.

Managing Hyper-V Security

Sep 24

Posted by Anil Desai in Microsoft Hyper-V, Security, Virtualization | No Comments

I still remember some of my first questions when working with an early test version of Hyper-V (previously known under a wide variety of different names).  OK, I admit that it wasn’t all that long ago.  One of my main questions was related to managing permissions for virtual machines.  After all, not every user (or administrator) should have full permissions on each VM.  Well, Hyper-V does provide flexible and manageable methods for setting up roles and permissions. 

My recently SearchServerVirtualization.com article, Managing Hyper-V’s Security Permissions, describes the details.  From the introduction:

The burdens of managing security permissions are rarely seen as exciting, but they’re an essential duty to which we systems administrators are sworn to carry out. In this tip, I’ll talk about how you can configure and manage permissions for your Hyper-V host servers.

We all rely on a variety of different security methods to ensure that only authorized users can access data center resources. Specific components of overall security range from physical access limitations to network authentication and permissions management. Virtualization brings with it some new requirements, namely the ability to specify which types of actions users can take on host systems.

It’s certainly possible for administrators to manage virtual machines when they don’t have access to the guest OSes themselves. The ability to granularly define authorization rules is essential for production servers. Fortunately, Hyper-V provides methods for defining and maintaining these permissions. But, as you’ll soon see, it’s not an entirely intuitive approach.

The article provides details, steps, and screenshots that help describe the use of the powerful (but unfortunately nick-named) AzMan.

Hyper-V in Review: Strengths and Drawbacks

Sep 8

Posted by Anil Desai in Best Practices, Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtualization | No Comments

It has been several months since Microsoft’s Hyper-V has become officially available.  Since then, there have been some twists and variations, including a dedicated Hyper-V Server product that doesn’t require any Windows Server licenses (I’ll write about that sometime in the future).  It seemed like a good time to take a small step back and re-assess the state of Hyper-V.  In the early days, there was no shortage of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) being cast at the product.  Just a few months later, most experts seem to agree that Hyper-V is ready for the Enterprise and is a perfectly-viable option for data center deployments.

My recent SearchServerVirtualization.com article, Assessing Hyper-V’s Benefits, limitations looks at some of the details.  From the article’s introduction:

Earlier this year, the letters "ESX" were synonymous with server virtualization and VMware seemed to be the only practical game in town. It has now been a few months since a stealthy little software behemoth from the Pacific Northwest released its serious virtualization contender. And in that time, things have changed. In this tip, I’ll highlight some of the post-release considerations for Hyper-V.

Hyper-V’s strengths and weaknesses
Hyper-V’s primary strength is probably its ready availability in the data center. If you’re running Windows Server 2008 on 64-bit hardware, you’re just minutes away from enabling an industrial-strength Hypervisor. Hyper-V’s management tools should be familiar to anyone who manages Windows systems, and the last few months have shown that it is a stable and reliable option for the data center.

Of course, Hyper-V is not without its limitations. Virtualization experts are quick to point out that it doesn’t support live migration of VMs between servers and doesn’t allow administrators to over-commit memory (VMware provides both features). But, Hyper-V provides numerous options based on clustering, so building highly-available Hyper-V deployments is possible and supported. Users of this new product on the enterprise virtualization scene will need some time before completely trusting this candidate over the incumbents.

The full article is available for free and provides details related to support policies, and technical pros and cons of Microsoft’s latest virtualization product.

Webcast: Managing VM Sprawl

Sep 1

Posted by Anil Desai in Management, Virtualization, Webcasts | No Comments

I recent recorded a webcast, sponsored by Computer Associates (CA), titled Managing Virtual Machine Sprawl: Best Practices.  From the abstract for the presentation:

Virtual Machine (VM) Sprawl is an issue that is common with organizations that have dipped their toes in virtualization. It can cause issues with system management, security, resource optimization and lack of IT control, as well as workload management including software, hardware and services.

Virtualization expert Anil Desai reviews the definition of VM sprawl including impacts ad challenges, best practices for end-to-end management and centralizing administration and benefits of workload automation.

The free webcast is an overall description of the many different causes and effects of the rapid proliferation of unmanaged VMs and some suggestions on how IT departments can gain (or regain) control over their environments.

SQL Server 2008 RTM Requires Visual Studio 2008 SP1

Aug 7

Posted by Anil Desai in Databases / SQL Server, Development | 2 Comments

While SQL Server 2008 has reached the release (RTM) stage, there’s a potential gotcha that’s going to prevent many of us from upgrading right away.  The issue is that the SQL Server 2008 installer requires you to have installed Service Pack 1 for Visual Studio 2008 in order to complete the setup process.  If you can’t yet meet this requirement, you’ll receive the following error message:

A previous release of Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 is installed on this computer. Upgrade Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 to the SP1 before installing SQL Server 2008.

The issue is described in Microsoft Article 956139: Visual Studio 2008 SP1 may be required for SQL Server 2008 installations.  Unfortunately, the article seems to leave out an important point: The release version of Visual Studio 2008 SP1 is not yet available (you can download and install the Microsoft Visual Studio 2008 Service Pack 1 Beta, but it won’t meet the installation requirement).  So what can you do? 

It looks like we’ll all have to wait until the final release of VS 2008 SP1.  You can also read more about what features are included in the update at the VS 2008 SP Beta site.  Microsoft currently states that it will be available by August 11th, so it shouldn’t be too much longer.  Still, a better-coordinated release process (and bigger warnings) would have been helpful.

SQL Server 2008 Final Release Available

Aug 7

Posted by Anil Desai in Databases / SQL Server, Development | No Comments

After what seems like an eternity in development, Microsoft SQL Server 2008 has finally been released.  That’s right – this latest version is not a beta version, a CTP, an RC, or anything of the sort.  MSDN and TechNet Plus subscribers can download the RTM bits now.  Physical media should make it’s way to users within the next few weeks.  Here are some links to articles that might help smooth the transition to SQL Server 2008:

That should be plenty of leisure reading to get everyone up to speed on the latest version of SQL Server.  While there’s no rush to upgrade many existing installations, the list of improvements and new features in the latest version provides some compelling reasons to do so.

One note of warning: If you’re running Visual Studio 2008, you might have to wait a few more days before you can install or upgrade to SQL Server 2008.  I’ll post about that separately.

Webcast: Virtualization Backups – Products and Processes

Aug 1

Posted by Anil Desai in Backup / Disaster Recovery, Management, Virtualization, Webcasts | No Comments

My webcast, Options for backup in Microsoft virtualization platforms: Best of products and processes, sponsored by Dell, Inc. is now available for free download (registration is required).  Here’s the abstract:

Virtualization expert Anil Desai explores backup products and capabilities in Microsoft virtual environments. This webcast will look at Windows-based features and options for performing backups, as well as the capabilities of other products such as Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager.

Users of Microsoft Virtual Server and the upcoming Hyper-V platform have several different approaches for protecting their virtual machines. This webcast will look at Windows-based features and options for performing backups, as well as the capabilities of other products such as Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager. The presentation will help attendees determine which backup method is most appropriate for each type of workload, and their options for meeting those requirements.

Optimizing Hyper-V Performance

Jul 28

Posted by Anil Desai in Best Practices, Management, Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtualization | No Comments

If you’re in touch with your geeky side, there’s a good chance that you’re always looking for ways to squeeze more performance out of your IT investments.  This is especially true for situations that involve virtualization, where some of the primary motivation is reducing costs through server consolidation. 

I have recently written two articles for SearchServerVirtualization.com that cover the  topic of monitoring and optimizing your VMs that are hosted on Microsoft Hyper-V.  Some might be obvious, but others are somewhat cleverly-disguised.  The first article, Optimizing Hyper-V performance: Monitoring tips focuses on ways in which you can make sure your host servers and VMs are running smoothly.  From the introduction:

How can you be sure whether your Hyper-V host servers and virtual machines (VMs) have been optimally configured? Installing and enabling Microsoft Hyper-V and creating VMs is a fairly straightforward process; but the techie tendencies in all of us seems to nag the question "Isn’t there something more I should do to improve performance?" This tip targets system administrators who have deployed Hyper-V and want to ensure that they’ve made the most of host servers and VMs.

The second article, Optimizing Hyper-V performance: Advanced fine-tuning provides details on Integration Services, synthetic vs. emulated drivers, and ways in which you can improve overall performance of storage and network resources.

I hope these articles will serve as a useful checklist for Hyper-V management.  If you have any further suggestions, feel free to leave them as comments here or on SearchServerVirtualization.com.

Managing Virtualization: The Art of War

Jul 18

Posted by Anil Desai in Articles, Management, Virtualization | No Comments

ArtOfWarMy latest article for Virtual Strategy Magazine is now available for free online.  This one covers some best practices and suggestions for keeping tracking of VMs and keeping IT departments in control of all of their physical and virtual systems.  From the introduction to Managing Virtualization: The Art of War:

"The direct use of force is such a poor solution to any problem, it is generally employed only by small children and large nations." – David Friedman

Make no mistakes, my friends. Virtualization technology is serious business. The stakes are high and the stakeholders are highly-motivated. War is a dirty word, and we did not choose this situation. However, today, we are called upon to defend ourselves against a vicious and unforeseen onslaught of virtual machines. They have attacked from every direction, and we now find ourselves in the middle of a battle for control. These once gentle automatons now threaten our very way of life within the IT department. Their unmanaged proliferation must be stopped here and now.

This will not be an easy fight, so heed these words carefully. The fate of entire data centers hangs in the balance, and mismanagement of one or a few VMs could tip the balance in favor of the enemy. But rest assured, my friends: There is hope, if only we allow cooler heads to prevail. Batten down the hatches, up the irons, release the Jolt! Cola, and prepare for Managing Virtualization: The Art of War.

Migrating from MSVS to Hyper-V

Jul 15

Posted by Anil Desai in Microsoft Hyper-V, Microsoft Virtual Server, Virtualization | No Comments

With the official release of Microsoft’s Hyper-V, I’ll bet that many systems administrators are weighing their options for moving existing VMs to their platform.  Fortunately, there are several approaches that will work, each with it’s own blend of pros and cons.  My recent SearchServerVirtualization.com article, Migrating from Microsoft Virtual Server to Hyper-V covers the details.  From the article:

Birds have the right idea: Why not move to where the weather’s better? Sure, it takes a lot of time, effort and energy to cross entire continents, but the trip is often worth it. The same can be said of platform migrations, as technical advantages may come with potential difficulties. Now that Microsoft’s Hyper-V is finally available as an official, fully-supported platform on Windows Server 2008, many IT managers might be thinking about migration.

If you’ve been standing on the sidelines waiting for the official release of Hyper-V, you no longer have any excuses for waiting to at least deploy it in a test environment. If you’ve been working with the beta and release candidate versions, you’re probably ready to deploy some production virtual machines (VMs) with Microsoft’s latest virtualization product. If your data center environment has an existing investment in Microsoft Virtual Server (MSVS) 2005, this article will help you decide why and how you might want to migrate.

Assuming to decide to make the move, the general process is fairly painless (even if you choose to do it completely manually).  Such is the price of keeping up with technology, and I think most administrators will find that they’re much happier after the move to Hyper-V.

Microsoft Hyper-V Guide

Jul 1

Posted by Anil Desai in Management, Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtualization | No Comments

If you’re having trouble making sense of Microsoft’s Hyper-V and would like to get up and running quickly, TechTarget’s SearchServerVirtualization.com has a handy resource.  The Microsoft Hyper-V Guide provides a handy overview and index to other articles and screencasts (including several written by me).  From the introduction to the Guide:

Hyper-V is the latest virtualization product from Microsoft. The new hypervisor platform works with Windows Server 2008 to create and manage a virtual infrastructure. As with any virtualization platform, Hyper-V makes for a more efficient data center, maximizing resources and reducing costs.

Hyper-V consists of a 64-bit hypervisor that can run 32-bit and 64-bit virtual machines concurrently. Hyper-V virtualization works with single and multi-processor virtual machines and includes tools such as snapshots, which capture the state of a running virtual machine.

Hypervisor-based virtualization with Microsoft’s newest offering promises more efficient virtual machine hosting as well, with new "synthetic" drivers.

For more information on Hyper-V, consult the resources in this introductory guide.

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