Archive
Archive for the ‘Top 10 List’ Category
- Understanding Performance in a Virtualized Environment (VMworld 2007) - A VMworld 2007 presentation on understanding virtulization performance and overhead as well as dispelling common myths.
- Interpreting Performance Statistics in VI3 (VMworld 2007) - A VMworld 2007 presentation on understanding and interpreting VirtualCenter/ESX statistics in the VI Client and esxtop.
- Performance Tuning Best Practices for ESX Server 3 - A white paper from VMware with performance tips that cover the most performance-critical areas of Virtual Infrastructure 3.
- Top 12 ways to Improve Guest Server Performance under VMware ESX Server - A VMworld 2006 presentation with 12 tips for configuring hosts, virtual machines and guest environments for best performance.
- Performance Monitoring and Capacity Planning - A VMworld 2006 presentation on performance tuning methodologies and approaches.
- ESX Workload Analysis: Lessons Learned - A VMworld 2006 presentation on performing workload analysis and performance analysis of virtual workloads.
- VMware ESX Server: Best Practices for Performance - A presentation from EMC World 2007 with recommended performance practices and benchmarking guidelines.
- VM Performance Monitoring and Logging - A VMUG presentation from VMware on performance monitoring and using log files.
- ESX3 Performance Tuning - A VMUG presentation from Long View Systems on performance tuning ESX hosts and virtual machines.
- Performance Tuning for VI3 - A VMworld 2006 presentation on basic performance concepts, tools, technologies and recommendations.
- VMware Infrastructure 3 Security Hardening - A white paper from VMware with tips on securing ESX servers, VirtualCenter and Virtual Machines.
- Security Design of the VMware Infrastructure 3 Architecture - A white paper from VMware describing the security architecture of VI3 including networking, storage, service console and the hypervisor.
- Security Hardening and Monitoring of VMware Infrastructure 3 - A VMworld 2007 lab manual that covers real-world examples of securing VI3.
- VMware ESX Server - Providing LUN Security - A white paper from VMware written in response to LUN security concerns that have been raised.
- CIS ESX Server 3.x Security Benchmark - Center for Internet Security (CIS) recommended guidelines for securing ESX servers.
- CIS Virtual Machine Security Benchmark - Center for Internet Security (CIS) recommended guidelines for securing Virtual Machines.
- Security Architecture Design and Hardening VI3 (VMworld 2007) - A VMworld 2007 presentation on the security design of VI3 and recommended hardening steps.
- VI3 Security Risk Assessment Template - A great document from Xtravirt to help assess and mitigate security risks with VI3.
- Security in a Virtualized Environment (VMworld 2007) - A VMworld 2007 presentation comparing physical to virtual security.
- Virtualization Security Playbook - A compilation of 8 good virtual security articles.
- SAN Configuration Guide - A big guide from VMware on SAN background, installation and management.
- SAN System Design and Deployment Guide - Another big guide from VMware on designing and deploying SAN environments to use with VI3.
- Design, Build and Manage your SAN Environment using VI3 - A VMworld 2007 presentation from VMware that discusses how VMware Infrastructure 3 can solve SAN management problems by providing solutions such as managing multiple hosts/clients from sprawling, multipathing management without the high cost and complexity, cluster file system for HA solutions, LUN security, and storage consolidation. This is a vendor neutral session providing topics for SAN architects and administrators ideas on ways to best deploy VMware Infrastructure 3 on SAN.
- NFS & iSCSI - Performance Characterization and Best Practices - A VMworld 2007 presentation from VMware that provides a performance-oriented overview of the technology along with performance troubleshooting techniques and best-practice recommendations in typical ESX Server deployment. Up-to-date performance data, a review of performance optimizations available currently and a preview of features in upcoming releases are also be presented.
- Choosing and Architecting Storage for your Environment - A VMworld 2006 presentation on selecting and architecting the right storage solution for your ESX environment.
- ESX Storage Virtualization Insights - A TSX 2007 presentation on the ESX storage stack, VMFS vs. RDM and multi-pathing.
- Network Appliance and VMware ESX Server 3.0 Storage Best Practices - A white paper from Netapp with general best practices and recommendations on using storage with ESX.
- iSCSI, NAS and IP Storage Configuration for Vmware ESX Server - A VMworld 2006 presentation on using iSCSI and NAS instead of a SAN with ESX.
- Comparison of Storage Protocol Performance - A VMware performance study comparing Fibre Channel, Hardware iSCSI, Software iSCSI and NFS.
- Configuring iSCSI in a Vmware 3 environment - A white paper from VMware on using and configuring iSCSI in your ESX environment.
- Top Support Issues and How to Solve Them - Batch 1 - A VMworld 2007 presentation on troubleshooting storage issues including multipathing, vmfs, SAN snapshots and VCB.
- Top Support Issues and How to Solve Them - Batch 2 - A VMworld 2007 presentation on troubleshooting issues with the service console, networking, VM snapshots, vmfs and extents.
- Tips for Troubleshooting ESX Server 3.x Faults - A VMworld 2007 presentation on troubleshooting ESX faults including hardware, host, VMM, Guest OS and application faults.
- Troubleshooting VMware Infrastructure 3 - A VMworld 2007 lab manual with troubleshooting tips for the networking, VirtualCenter, vMotion, Virtual Machine, DRS/HA and more.
- VI3 Advanced Diagnostics Logs Analysis - A VMworld 2007 presentation that provides in-depth detail on the ESX server logs and how to use them to troubleshoot problems.
- VI3 Networking - Advanced Configurations and Troubleshooting - A VMworld 2007 presentation on troubleshooting virtual NIC’s, switches and other networking functions.
- Using esxtop to troubleshoot performance problems - A VMware Tech Note on how to use the esxtop utility to troubleshoot performance problems.
- Troubleshooting Vmware ESX Server 3 and Vmware VirtualCenter 2 - A VMworld 2006 presentation with tips for troubleshooting ESX, VirtualCenter, Licensing Server, VC Database and vMotion.
- VirtualCenter 2 Diagnostics - A VMworld 2006 presentation covering how to troubleshoot problems with VirtualCenter.
- Performance Troubleshooting - A VMworld 2006 lab manual with detailed information on performance troubleshooting.
- VMware vSphere 4 Cheat Sheet - A cheat sheet document from VMware on vSphere that outlines new features, editions, entitlements and comparison tables to other virtualization products.
- vSphere 4 Pricing, Packaging and Licensing Overview - A white paper from VMware that outlines the various vSphere and VMware vCenter Server editions and the latest changes to pricing, licensing, upgrade paths and Support and Subscription (SnS) entitlements.
- vSphere Key Features & Benefits Summary - A table that outlines all the different features in vSphere and which ones are included in the different vSphere editions.
- vSphere Editions Comparison - A simple comparison checklist that shows all seven editions of vSphere and which of the larger features are included in each one.
- vSphere Pre-requisites Checklist - A checklist from VMware that describes the requirements and pre-requisites necessary to begin planning for the upgrade of an existing VMware Infrastructure to VMware vSphere.
- VMware vSphere: Got 64-bit hardware? - Unlike VI3 which supports both 32-bit and 64-bit server hardware, vSphere will only support 64-bit server hardware. This article explains what 64-bit hardware is and how to tell if your servers are 64-bit capable or not.
- What’s New in VMware vSphere 4: Virtual Networking - A white paper from VMware that provides an overview of the new features and capabilities to virtual networking under VMware vNetwork which is the new name to describe the collection of networking technologies for optimally integrating networking and I/O functionality into vSphere.
- What’s New in VMware vSphere 4: Performance Enhancements - A white paper from VMware that outlines the key performance enhancements of vSphere, organized into following categories: Scalability Enhancements, CPU/Memory/Storage/Networking, Resource Management and Performance Management.
- What Is New in VMware vSphere 4: Storage - A white paper from VMware that provides information about the storage enhancements in vSphere including the following: Virtual Disk Thin Provisioning, Improved iSCSI Software Initiator Efficiency, New vCenter Storage Capabilities, Dynamic Expansion of VMFS Volumes, Enhanced Storage VMotion, Pluggable Storage Architecture and PV SCSI and Direct Path I/O
- The Path to vSphere Unleashed - A four part video series that details the transition to VMware vSphere from VMware Infrastructure 3 (VI3), covering the VMware VirtualCenter management components, the VMware ESX host migration methods, the virtual machine upgrades (VMware Tools and virtual hardware) and implementing the VMware vSphere licensing.
- The Path to vSphere Unleashed Pt 1 - VMware VirtualCenter Management Components
- The Path to vSphere Unleashed Pt 2 - VMware ESX Host Migration Methods
- The Path to vSphere Unleashed Pt 3 - Virtual Machine Upgrades (VMware Tools and Virtual Hardware)
- The Path to vSphere Unleashed Pt 4 - Implementing VMware vSphere Licensing
- Day 1 (Tuesday) Paul Maritz Keynote also here and here - Several links from the Day 1 keynote including the official webcast and live blogging with commentary. This keynote introduced some of the new concepts and products that Vmware has planned for the future.
- Day 2 (Wednesday) Stephen Herrod Keynote also here and here - Several links from the Day 2 keynote including the official webcast and live blogging with commentary. This keynote was much more technical then the previous days keynote and contained many details on upcoming features in VMware products.
- Virtual Data Center OS also here and here - Several links on the new VDC-OS concept that VMware introduced at VMworld including the official VMware page that describes the many new components included in it.
- Cisco Nexus 1000V vSwitch also here - The long awaited Cisco vSwitch was announced at VMworld, these links describe its features and technical specifications.
- Virtualization.info wrap-up also Part 2 and Part 3 - Great conference wrap-up coverage from Alessandro at Virtualization.info providing information and commentary on the events, products and announcements at the show.
- Tech Target coverage - Tech Target provided many good blog posts, news reports, videos and more at VMworld, this link is to the page that contains all the links to their coverage.
- Best of VMworld 2008 awards announced - The Best of VMworld awards showcased many great products at VMworld, this link details all the winners and finalists in a multitude of categories.
- Brian Madden’s roundup of the desktop/application vendors at VMworld 2008 also Part 2 and Part 3 - Brian Madden’s great coverage of some of the many vendors that displayed their products in the Solutions Exchange at VMworld.
- New feature demonstration videos: VMware DVS (Distributed vSwitch) demo video, VMware FT (Fault Tolerance) demo video, VMware VirtualCenter Host Profiles demo video and VMware Storage vMotion demo video - Demonstration videos for some of the exciting new features that are planned for the next major release of ESX.
- VMworld 2008 - EMC Wrap-up - Part I - Chad Sakac’s wrap-up summary of VMworld including summaries and links to the many session presentations provided by EMC.
- VMware Infrastructure 3 architecture - A white paper from VMware that provides a general overview of the VI3 architecture and features.
- VMware Infrastructure 3: Pricing, Packaging and Licensing Overview - A white paper from VMware that describes the all of VI3 feature, licensing and pricing models that are available.
- Introduction to VMware Infrastructure - A manual from VMware that provides information about the features and functionality of VI3.
- Tips and Tricks for Implementing Infrastructure Services on ESX Server - A white paper from VMware that provide advice on leveraging key features of VMware Infrastructure for deployment of infrastructure services for system administrators who are new to VMware Virtual Infrastructure.
- Configuration Maximums for VMware Infrastructure 3 - A document from Vmware that lists all the configuration maximums for virtual machines, VirtualCenter and ESX host servers.
- Security Design of the VMware Infrastructure 3 Architecture - A white paper from VMware that describes the security features and design that are part of VI3 architecture.
- SAN System Design and Deployment Guide - A huge guide from VMware that describes how to design and deploy virtual infrastructure systems using VI3 with SANs.
- ESX Server Architecture - A VMworld 2007 session on that provides a technical overview of the ESX Server architecture including an overview of the VMkernel and its support for virtual machines, an overview of the ESX Server storage and networking architecture, and an introduction to resource management concepts and features in ESX Server.
- Using VMware Infrastructure for Backup and Restore - A white paper from VMware that covers virtual disk files and methods for backing up and restoring your virtual environment.
- Scaling Your Virtual Infrastructure - Getting Started - A VMworld session with planning tips for designing a Vmware virtual infrastructure including what type of resources to prepare, time constraints and how to operationalize your virtual infrastructure.
- The Role of Memory in VMware ESX Server 3 - A white paper from VMware that describes the advanced memory management features of ESX.
- Understanding Performance in a Virtualized Environment - A VMworld 2007 presentation on understanding virtulization performance and overhead as well as dispelling common myths.
- ESX Server CPU Scheduling - A VMworld 2007 presentation that provides an in-depth look at the sophisticated ESX Server CPU scheduler. It also covers some of the most common performance related issues with single- and multi-processor VMs with specific hints for how to deal with them.
- VMware Infrastructure 3 in a Cisco Network Environment - A document that is a collaboration between Cisco and VMware. It documents a set of suggested best practices for deploying VMware Infrastructure (VI) 3.x and VMware ESX Server 3.x in a Cisco network environment. The document provides details regarding the internal constructs of the ESX Server and their relation to external Cisco network devices are discussed.
- Resource Management Guide - A manual from Vmware that discusses resource management for VI3 environments. Its focus is on the following major topics: Resource allocation and resource management concepts, virtual machine attributes and admission control, Resource pools, Clusters, Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), High Availability (HA), advanced resource management options and performance considerations.
- SAN Configuration Guide - A guide from VMware that explains how to use an ESX Server system with a Storage Area Network (SAN). It also discusses conceptual background, installation requirements, and management information.
- Understanding “Host” and “Guest” Memory Usage - A VMworld 2007 presentation that defines the “host” and “guest” memory terms and answer some common questions related to them. It also discusses a variety of memory management concepts, such as virtual memory, large page support, memory pressure, and memory reclamation techniques and also provides some best practices around memory management.
- Timekeeping in VMware virtual machines - A white paper from VMware that describes how timekeeping hardware works in physical machines, how typical guest operating systems use this hardware to keep time, and how VMware products virtualize the hardware. The paper also describes several known timekeeping issues you may encounter and how to correct or work around them.
- Security Design of the VMware Infrastructure 3 Architecture - A white paper from VMware describing the security architecture of VI3 including networking, storage, service console and the hypervisor.
- VMware Virtual Machine File System: Technical Overview and Best Practices - A white paper from VMware that gives a technology overview of VMFS, including a discussion of features and their benefits. It also provides best practices and architectural considerations for deployment of VMFS.
- Getting the Green Light for Your Virtual Infrastructure - A VMworld 2007 presentation from VMware on the benefits of virtualization as well as the financial and commerical aspects. Covers virtualization strategies, communication methods and the development of business plans and cost models. Will also show you how to make the strongest case for virtual infrastructure so you can get the green light to begin your deployment.
- Making Business Sense of Virtualization - A VMworld 2007 presentation from Deloitte that covers the business benefits and impact of virtualization. Also covers business drivers and justifcation as well as several case studies.
- Reducing Server Total Cost of Ownership with VMware Virtualization Software - A white paper from VMware that examines how VMware virtualization software reduces total cost of ownership (TCO) in server envi¬ronments and provides almost immediate return on investment (ROI).
- Accelerate your ESX Deployment and Developing your Virtualization Strategy and Deployment Plan - Two white papers from Glasshouse, the first both illustrates the benefits of moving quickly to build your VMware ESX-centric infrastructure, and suggests a framework that will help you to accelerate your deployments. The second one outlines the process that GlassHouse uses with their clients in developing a “virtualization strategy,” and how they further assisted them in developing a plan to “get there.”
- Innovative Uses and Benefits of using VMware Virtualization - A VMworld 2007 presentation from Adaptis that shares a real life success story on using VMware virtualization at Adaptis, including what theye did right and what they could have done better. Also provides solid, convincing ammunition for the ROI of virtualization and discusses how they have reduced implementation costs.
- Breaking Down Barriers to VMware Technology Adoption - A VMworld 2007 presentation from VMware that addresses the common barriers to VMware technology adoption, along with proven ways to manage them or avoid them. Looking closely at the common barriers that exist in an organization will help you balance deployment efforts and speed time-to-value.
- Building the Virtualized Enterprise with VMware Infrastructure - A white paper from VMware that clarifies how adopting VMware infrastructure - the combination of server, storage and networking virtualization technologies - as a fundamental IT strategy helps organizations to reduce infrastructure costs, respond faster to business needs and increase the consistency and predictability of operations.
- Dispelling Virtualization Myths - A VMworld 2007 presentation from VMware that addresses myths regarding virtualization so that you can make an educated decision, fully embrace the technology, and start reaping its benefits. The myths covered will include topics such as production use cases for virtualization in today’s data centers, virtualization architectures, and key questions that organizations have about virtualization offerings from different vendors.
- Reducing Data Center Energy Costs with Virtualization - A white paper from VMware that discusses how virtualization technology can result in greatly reduced data center energy costs. Also covers how to calculate energy costs and potential savings by using virtualization in the data center.
- Critical Success Factors of Virtual Infrastructure Adoption - A VMworld 2007 presentation from VMware that provides critical success factors for the adoption of Virtual Infrastructure based on VMware Professional Services Organization experience, and identifies key factors required for technology adoption beyond the technical constraints.
- How Server Virtualization Impacts Data Security and PCI Compliance - A great webinar that handles the topic of how server virtualization impacts PCI compliance. This is often a misunderstood area as virtualization is not specifically covered in the PCI specification.
- How to Achieve Security and Satisfy Compliance - A VMworld 2007 presentation (free registration required) that covers ESX security practices and recommendations. Additionally it covers compliance requirements and how to asses your compliance readiness.
- Achieving Compliance in a Virtualized Environment - A white paper from VMware that discusses how to achieve compliance in a virtualized environment and how virtualization impacts compliance.
- Best Practices for Surviving Regulatory Compliance (VMworld 2007) - A VMworld 2007 presentation (free registration required) that covers PCI compliance and how it impacts VMware Virtual Infrastructure.
- Reducing the Scope of Your PCI Audit: Innovative Network Segmentation Using Host Intrusion Defense - A presentation (free registration required) from Third Brigade that covers how to segment your network to reduce the scope of your PCI audits.
- Staying PCI Compliant in Virtual and Physical Environments - A webcast from Tripwire that covers the challenges of virtualization for security and PCI compliance and best practices for proving control in a virtualized environment.
- Insights from an Auditor: Ensuring a Successful PCI Audit - A webcast from Tripwire that talks about common pitfalls of meeting PCI requirements and how to develop a strategy for assessing your payment card environment.
- Surviving Regulatory Compliance in the Virtual Infrastructure - A VMworld 2006 presentation on compliance rules for SOX, implications for VMware implementations and how to overcome security and audit issues.
- PCI Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) - The official documentation of the PCI standard. Contains the documentation of the latest PCI specification and a summary of changes between versions of the specifications.
- VMware Compliance Center - VMware’s compliance portal that contains links to documents that are compliance related.
- VMware VMotion and CPU Compatibility - A white paper from VMware that explains how VMotion works, the differences between CPU types and features, what CPU masks are and how to use them and what Enhanced VMotion is.
- Understanding CPU Compatibility Constraints for VMotion (VMworld 2007 - free registration required) - A VMworld 2007 presentation that explains the complexities behind CPU constraints with VMotion, problematic CPU features, compatibility groups of CPUs, relaxation of restraints and hardware support for enhanced VMotion compatibility.
- VMotion CPU Compatibility for Intel & AMD processors and how to override CPU masks due to CPU mismatch - KB Article 1991, KB Article 1992 & KB Article 1993 - Three VMware knowledgebase articles that cover specific CPU compatibility information for Intel and AMD processors and how to override CPU masks due to CPU mismatch within CPU brands.
- How to obtain, configure and use VMotion and how VMotion works - An article from Andrew Kutz that covers how to license VMotion, how to configure and use it and the technical details behind how it works.
- VMotion Compatibility - An article from Scott Lowe that covers CPU masks and how to understand them and set them properly to override CPU compatibility constraints.
- How to setup and use VMotion: A Screencast - A screencast from Andrew Kutz that shows how to setup and use VMotion. It covers how to configure it, potential gotchas and how to perform a VMotion migration.
- What is Enhanced VMotion Compatibility anyway? - An article from Dave Lawrence that explains the technical details about CPUID instructions and how Enhanced VMotion Compatibility helps to solve the problem of using incompatible CPUs with VMotion.
- Overview of VMotion migration compatibility error messages - A VMware knowledgebase article that covers the many possible error messages that may be experienced with VMotion and how to resolve them.
- Enhanced VMotion Compatibility (EVC) processor support - A VMware knowledgebase article that covers the Intel and AMD processors that are supported by Enhanced VMotion Compatibility.
- Live Migration with AMD-V Extended Migration Technology - A white paper from AMD that covers the challenges and technical details of using VMotion across incompatible CPUs and how CPUID instructions are used.
