Mark Vaughn's Weblog

Weblog of Mark Vaughn, and IT professional and vExpert specializing in Enterprise Architecture, virtualization, web architecture and general technology evangelism

Year: 2010 (Page 3 of 4)

Evolution of the Virtual Appliance

April 15, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Back in 2007, I was fortunate enough to beta test one of the early virtual appliances, BEA Systems’ WebLogic Server Virtual Edition, and speak about it at both the BEAWorld and VMworld conferences. Unfortunately, the marketplace did not embrace the cutting-edge technology of virtual appliances three years ago. Since then, however, the virtual appliance marketplace has become more mature.

In my latest article for searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com, I take a look back at the pioneering work by leaders like Guy Churchward (led development of BEA’s WebLogic Server Virtual edition), and today’s innovators like John Gannon (with VMTurbo, distributing their products as virtual appliances). This is a technology who’s time has come, and will only gain a more broad acceptance as technologies like vApp from VMware continue to reshape the application delivery landscape.

Read the full article at:
http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/news/column/0,294698,sid94_gci1509878,00.html

What impact will virtual appliances have on how the operating system is traditionally viewed? Be looking for my next article that will take a look at this topic.

iPad review

April 10, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I will begin by admitting that I am an Apple fan. I do not own a modern Mac, but I own two iPhones and use an iMac at work (and am anxiously awaiting the release of the i5 MacBook Pro). I love the iPhone, and have found at it has almost replaced my home PC for e majority of my daily usage (email, web surfing, Facebook, twitter, LinkedIn, etc).

At home and work, my iPhone is a constant companion. So, when I heard rumors of the iPad, I was intrigued from the very beginning. However, I am skeptical and needed to know it would deliver on the promises…or at least have good reason to believe. I avoided pre-ordering and decided to instead reserve one at my local Apple store. That way, I could actually look at it in person before making the financial commitment, and still be guaranteed one should I want it.

To pull the trigger on this purchase, I needed the iPad to be exactly what Steve Jobs said it would be: positioned right in between the iPhone and a laptop, offering value and functionality that neither had. I wanted an easy user experience, high quality graphics, quality materials, long battery life and an improved user experience. I did not just want a bigger iPhone, I wanted something that would leverage the increased size to offer new features.

In the interest of full disclosure, when I went to the Apple store about 10am on April 3 (waiting to let the lines die down before I went), I was 97% sold. It would have taken an unpleasant surprise to make me chose not to pick up my reserved iPad.

I was planning to make this a new home media device, maybe even using it as a photo frame. It would be for my kids to play games like Smack Talk, for my wife and I to check email and social networking updates, and for ad hoc web browsing or book reading around the house. Although these would still be a great use for a second iPad, I quickly began to see that my initial iPad would be a business tool. I will do a follow up post on the iPad as a business tool, and stick to a simple review of the iPad for now.

First, when you open the box you are looking at what looks like a small MacBook Pro screen. You have a brushed aluminum body with a vivid glass screen and display. The picture quality is amazing. It boots fast, even from a cold boot. The new processor is a clear performance improvement over that of my iPhone 3Gs. I also found the weight and form factor to be pleasant, not too heavy or bulky and easy to carry.

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Yes, I was the geek that took his Apple Newton to the iPad launch

The new layout for mail, calendar, contacts and notes was very impressive, making good use of the increased screen real estate. The sound quality was actually a little better than I expected. Some of the upscaled iPhone apps like Facebook look grainy, while other upscaled apps like Brothers in Arms look pretty good. Then there are apps like Pandora and The Weather Channel that have been reworked for the iPad, and they look amazing.

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There has been a lot of buzz around the iPad as an eReader, and it lives up to the hype. iBooks look amazing and are very simple to download. You can also highlight words to open a selection box allowing for copy, search, dictionary look ups and bookmarks. You can drag your finger along the bottom of the book to quickly jump to any page in the book, swipe your finger to turn the pages, or use quick keys in the upper right to adjust font size and brightness or to perform a word search. Having used my PDA phone/iPhone as a Bible reader for over 4 years, I have found the ability to perform word searches in books to be a huge plus. You can also simply search for the word “free” in the iBooks bookstore and you will find thousands of free books. For most books, you can also download a free sample of the book that will include the first 30 pages or so.

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Typing in portrait mode is a true hunt and peck experience, but I have found the landscape keyboard to be very useful. In fact, I am typing this entire post from the WordPress app on my iPad. It only take s a few seconds to adjust to the keys, and a fee minutes to kick the poor habit of not watching what my pinky fingers are doing. At first, I had a tendency to let my pinky fingers rest on the keyboard and this generated a lot of unwanted keystrokes.

To make typing even better, Apple has finally embraced the HID protocol within bluetooth. HID, or Human Input Device, will allow a bluetooth keyboard to be paired to the iPad (and soon the iPhone wi OS4). I have an old ThinkOutside folding bluetooth keyboard that I used to use with my previous PDAs and Windows Mobile phones. This was the first thing I tested on my new iPad, and it worked perfectly. Though I am not using it now, it does make typing much easier. Another advantage of the bluetooth keyboard is that you get rid of the on-screen keyboard and regain that screen space.

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iPad with my folding bluetooth keyboard and a MiFi hotspot

For a case, I recommend the black folding portfolio case from Apple. Apple is simply calling this product e “iPad case”, and it folds back to make a stand. This can be used to either hold the iPad upright for display or at a slight angle to improve typing. I would strongly recommend this case. I also hope to add a screen protector soon, as finger smudges do tend to build up on the screen. I currently use the Power Support anti-glare film on my iPhones, and plan to buy one of these for my iPad as soon as it is available. I have found these to be very good at both reducing finger smudges and reducing glare outdoors.

For battery life, I have been very impressed. Even with bluetooth and wifi turned on all the time, and with a great deal of daily usage, I am getting two days out of each charge. Here is a link to a more deliberate battery test from Cali Lewis.

Overall, I am very pleased with my purchase. When I truly believe in something, I can be a pretty effective spokesperson. In the last week, I know of 4 people that have left a demo of my iPad and gone straight to the Apple store to buy one. My only challenge is how to balance this between being a home media device and a business tool…without having to buy a second one. In fact, the support for distinctive users would one of my few complaints.

I have been open with my likes, so I will be open with my dislikes. I wish that I could separate my content from that of other users. For now, if I want to share this with my family, I may have to stop syncing it with my work email. I cannot risk an accidental deletion or an errant email being sent from that account. Given that I am constantly tied to my iPhone with access to my work email, this may not be much of a sacrifice…but still an inconvenience. I would also like to see a common file store for all apps to place files in. All in all, those are my only two wishes. I have a few ore things that I would “like” to see, but I already know they are on the horizon with iPhone OS4.

I also chose the WiFi version of the iPad, without built in 3G. I could not stand to pay another monthly fee for internet service that was tied to one device. My thoughts were that I would either get a mobile hotspot like the Verizon MiFi or hope that Apple/AT&T will fulfill their promise to enable tethering on the iPhone. You can also jailbreak an iPhone to make it a mobile hotspot, but have always been very reluctant to do that with a device I rely on so heavily.

I will follow this post up with one on business uses for the iPad, and another on my favorite apps. For now, I will close this off and upload fit to my server. I will still use my computer to do a final review and to add some images. I can do that from this app, but I need to get this post completed. Maybe I will explore more of these new WordPress features in a follow up post.

Microsoft Hypervisor and OS Support Conflict of Interest

April 1, 2010 / / 0 Comments

A few weeks ago, I followed some back and forth commentaries comparing Microsoft’s Hyper-V to VMware’s vSphere. There was a lot of discussion on the features of Hyper-V and vSphere, which touched on the support of guest operating systems. It was in the discussion of guest OS support that I realized there was a conflict of interest, on the part of Microsoft, as both the creator of the Windows operating systems and the Hyper-V hypervisor.

You can read my article on this on TechTarget at http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/news/column/0,294698,sid94_gci1443339,00.html

Here is some background data that was not in the article. These are the “back and forth commentaries” that I mentioned:

This started with an InformationWeek article by Elias Khnaser, that inspired a response by Chris Steffen on the Microsoft Virtualization Team Blog. From there, Eric Gray added his thoughts and then Nicholas Weaver did a great write-up of his thoughts on the topic. At this point, Ben Armstrong (Virtualization Program Manager at Microsoft) added a comment to Nicholas’ blog and Nicholas followed that with a second post. Follow all of that? Now you see why it is not in the article.

VMWorld Session Submission Tips

March 23, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I have seen some inquiries on twitter and message boards asking for tips on submitting a paper for VMWorld 2010. As a presenter at the last few VMworld conferences, and a former contributor to the content selection committee, I came up with these tips.

Disclaimer: Several of my presentations were spawned through beta participation, with me providing the user perspective. In that sense, I did not have to submit proposals for my presentations in 2007 and 2008. In other words, I am sure that there are others with more experience than me at submitting a paper for a conference session, to VMWorld or any other public conference, so please take this as a starting point for the conversation. I hope others will contribute more tips so this list will grow in value. I have already incorporated one or two points from Chris Harney and Joachim Heppner that were offered in another discussion thread.

  • Most important – PICK A TOPIC THAT YOU ARE PASSIONATE ABOUT.
  • Review VMware’s “Call for Papers Guide“
  • Don’t hit them with 30 slides, but 2-4 that cover your main points in bullets. It is expected that you will “beef up” the slide deck later if accepted.
  • Be sure to address the benefits some one would walk away with after attending your session
  • Plan out your submission, don’t just log in and fill out bios and descriptions.
  • Put in a very good description, trying to be brief and to the point. You may want to work on a few drafts of your description to get it right.
  • If you are a vendor, find a user to partner with. If you are a user, find another user or a vendor to partner with. This adds value and can potentially combine two sessions into one that will draw more people.
  • Have a catchy title (a little cheese can be tolerated here, just make sure it helps catch attention and does not turn people off). Reviewers are looking through hundreds of submissions, you may lose them if your title does not catch their attention.
  • Highlight any previous speaking experience in your bio, give them some assurance that you will be able to present well.
  • If you have never presented before, team with someone else that has. Best way to get experience without getting thrown to the wolves…it also lends experience to help get approved if you don’t have that on you own.
  • Don’t just say you want to discuss a topic (i.e. “virtualization”), show how you will add value and bring something new to the conversation
  • Look to Gartner/Forrester/other analyst top 10 market priorities and try to hit some of those topics. No guarantees, but that is an indicator of what people are looking for. DO NOT LET THIS LIMIT YOU – some of these topics are overhyped and talked to death.

There you go, my short list of submission tips. Please leave comments, I know there is more/better advice out there to be given.

Synergy – can’t Mac, Windows and Linux just get along?

February 26, 2010 / / 0 Comments

If you have read my twitter bio, then you know that I love Linux and Macs and that I don’t mind using Windows when I must. In fact, many techies fall into some variation of that niche. Both at work and home, this means that we frequently have more than one computer. I found myself regularly running Linux and Windows side-by-side, and eventually added an iMac to that setup to test the limits power drain for one cubical.

From left to right, my setup was an iMac -> XP laptop (+LCD with extended display from XP laptop) -> LCD for Linux. To avoid clutter, I did what most people did and connected everything to a KVM (keyboard – video – mouse) switch. Because I actually used all of these displays to multitask, I only used the KVM to share the keyboard and mouse. At least that is what I did before I found Synergy on SourceForge.

Synergy is a client/server application that allows one computer to share a keyboard and mouse between several computers, supporting UNIX, Linux, Windows and Mac OSX. The application contains both the client and server applications, so you pick the computer to run in “server” mode, storing the configurations and sharing the keyboard/mouse. Every other computer will run the client and connect to the server.

Based on the defined relationships, as the cursor leaves one monitor, it will appear on another computer’s monitor, as if they were one computer with multiple displays. To make it even better, copy/paste functions follow the mouse. Simply by moving the cursor off the side of my iMac, I move it onto my XP laptop. I can then copy text, move the cursor back from my laptop to my iMac and paste that text into an application. This can be extended to multiple computers on multiple OS’s.

Here is a video demonstrating Synergy (not mine)

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Now the configuration can be interesting. In the server configuration (a file on UNIX, Linux and Mac but done within a GUI on Windows), you first define each of the computers to be used. The next step is to define the location of each computer’s screen, or at least how you want the screen layout to work. For instance, using my work layout listed above, my server config file would look like this:

section: aliases
    mac:
        imac.mvaughn.us
    laptop:
        laptop.mvaughn.us
    linux:
        opensuse.mvaughn.us
end

section: links
    mac:
        right = laptop
    laptop:
        left = mac
        right = linux
    linux:
        left = laptop
end

I assigned aliases to each of my computers, and linked those back to the fully qualified domain names (remember, this works over the network).  The tricky part here is to define ALL of your relationships. If only stated that the laptop was to the right of the mac, moving my cursor off the right side of the mac would make it appear on the left edge of the laptop screen…but I would not be able to move the cursor left to get back on the mac screen. That is why I also had to define that the mac is to the left of the laptop.

As you saw in the video demonstration, this can not only be used for side-by-side displays, but it can also go up or down to work with stacked displays. Many datacenters have a Network Operations Center (NOC), with a wall of large displays with some type of monitoring software showing the health of the infrastructure (this is the room that resembled the NORAD from War Games or NASA Mission Control). Imagine one computer in the back of the room, and any time the mouse leaves the top of that monitor it begins controlling input for the computers feeding the overhead displays. When an issue pops up, one person can quickly navigate all of the monitoring tools (being displayed from multiple computers) to drill in and correlate the data to better determine what is going on. In that type of scenario, Synergy makes the transition from desktop convenience to enterprise tool.

I strongly encourage you to spend a few minutes looking at this tool. The website is at http://synergy2.sourceforge.net, and it has some very good tutorials and other documents to help get you up and running. You’ll find a ton of additional features that I did not even touch on here.

Of all the tools I have stumbled across over the years, I would rate this as one of the most useful. Free tool, minimal investment in getting it setup, and it provides real value on a daily basis.

**For added convenience, put a wireless keyboard and mouse on the computer running in server mode and you can easily begin to think of all your computers as one seamless resource.

Too Big To Fail – VM Density and HA

February 18, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Over the last few years, we have heard the term “too big to fail” thrown around in many conversations. Often, this has been used to describe large organizations whose influence within a particular market has elevated them to a point where their failure would have a devastating impact on theirs or related markets. In the United States, this term has been used to justify government intervention where the cost of failure would outweigh the cost of intervention. Putting aside those financial and political arguments, let’s focus on the concept of “too big to fail” in a virtual infrastructure.

As hardware vendors continue to make dramatic leaps in processing power, it becomes easy to build a server capable of ridiculous virtual machine densities. But you should be careful, all that glitters may not be gold.

Read more on this topic in my article on SearchServerVirtualization. This is a discussion with no right or wrong answers, I welcome your thoughts.

Review – Foundation for Cloud Computing with VMware vSphere 4

February 18, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I just received a copy of “Foundation for Cloud Computing with VMware vSphere 4” by John Arrasjid (@vcdx001), Duncan Epping (@duncanyb) and Steve Kaplan (@roidude). I was one of the lucky people to receive a copy of this book by retweeting a message from Steve.

The timing of this book could not have been better. I am constantly working with project managers, client relationship managers and technical resources that are looking to better understand virtualization and how it relates to cloud computing. In fact, I am working on putting together a Virtualization Roadshow to deliver for several internal audiences. A similar roadshow was critical in gaining initial virtualization buy-in, and this second round is aimed at promoting internal cloud computing initiatives and driving for deeper adoption of virtualization. I can already tell you that “Foundation for Cloud Computing with VMware vSphere 4” will be the handbook to accompany many of these roadshow presentations.  This book covers a wide range of topics, with chapters ranging from “The Benefits of Infrastructure Virtualization” to “Migrating Virtualization Candidates”.

This is not a technical manual designed to walk you through a vSphere installation, this is the book that will explain why you need to develop a virtualization strategy and identify the key items that you will need to address in developing that strategy. This book is a must have reference source for people working with virtualization, whether you are deploying it, developing strategies around it, or simply looking for a better understanding of virtualization technologies and strategies.

This is the 21st book in the Short Topics series by USENIX, available on the SAGE website. In fact, I like this book so much that I will probably join SAGE to get access to more of the Short Topics series.

2 VCPs in 48 hours

February 12, 2010 / / 0 Comments

Finally, I am a VMware Certified Professional (VCP)…twice. The last week in January, I was able to pass the exams for my VCP3 and VCP4. On January 28, I passed my VCP 310 exam. That night, I decided to begin studying for my VCP410 exam. I only had 48 hours left to pass it without having to take a vSphere training course. I was fortunate to have some VCP4 friends that passed on some good notes (I will link to exam tips below). With a lot of cramming and a good amount of prayer, I passed the VCP410 on January 30.

Though I am proud of these accomplishments, I am disappointed that this kind of effort was required. I waited too long, let too many things get in the way and brought on the days of no sleep and hours of frantic studying that my last week of January became. I took my VMware 3 Deploy, Secure and Analyze course in the summer of 2007. In the summer of 2008, I quit using ESX 3 and moved my focus to beta testing ESX 4. Fast forward to Janaury 2010 and I am having to forget 18 months of ESX 4 data to pass the VCP 3 exam. Then, I had to switch gears and dump the ESX 3 settings and maximums so I could relearn the ESX 4 settings. I waited way too long to take the VCP 3, and did not give myself enough time to properly prepare for the VCP 4. I passed the VCP 4, but not with the score I would have liked. If I wanted to be an instructor, I would have to retake the VCP 4 for a higher score. I did it, but I cheated myself out of the more positive experience that it should have been. Moral of this story…when you take a qualifying VMware education course, spend a few weeks studying and take the VCP exam right away.

To see my collection of VCP410 exam tips, go to http://blog.mvaughn.us/2010/02/11/vcp-4-exam-tips/.

VCP 4 Exam Tips

February 11, 2010 / / 0 Comments

I recently passed my VMware Certified Professional (VCP 410) exam, and wanted to share some of my experiences for those who may be preparing for the same exam.

I collected a lot of great resources while I was preparing, and I will share them here. I began with VMware’s VCP page at http://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrReg/plan.cfm?plan=12457&ui=www. That page will provide you with the certification path and provide a link to the all important VCP4 Blueprint. I also focused on the Changes to ESX Service Console for ESX 4.0 and the What’s New in VMware vSphere 4.0.

Other critical resources for me was Scott Lowe’s (@scott_lowe) book Mastering VMware vSphere 4, this is a great resource on vSphere and the index is extremely helpful in looking up terms and details. Whether you are taking the VCP 4 or not, this book is essential for anyone working with vSphere.

Another critical resource is Trainsignal’s VMware vSphere Training DVDs by David Davis (@davidmdavis). Not only does this have 18 hours of training on all kinds of topics, but it contains MP4 versions of the videos that I keep with me on my iPhone. That gives me 18 hours of video material for reference while I was studying or even performing my daily tasks. I picked the key areas I needed to focus on for the VCP 4 and listened to the audio while driving to and from work.

I was also fortunate to get a great email from John Blessing (@vTrooper). He sent me some notes that he and several others had been compiling in a Google Wave. Though I am not sure of everyone that contributed to the Google Wave, I believe it was started by Scott Lowe (@scott_lowe) and Denis Guydeen (@dguyadeen) Here are the contents from that email:

————————————————————–

Useful Documents

Useful Websites

Tips and Tricks

I imagined this area for those that have completed the exam and have some insights or useful information to share that might help others pass the exam.

Practice Exams

————————————————————–

For my studies, I focused on the VMware documentation, and on Matthijs van den Berg’s amazing study guide, VMware Certified Professional on vSphere 4 – Learning guide. Matthijs turned VMware’s 16 page VCP 4 blueprint into 53 pages of detailed notes on each item VMware noted. In reading this guide, I made another 11 pages of my own notes for details that I needed to research further (again using Scott Lowe’s book and David Davis’ video training). Another critical piece is access to a vSphere enviornment. At several points, I stopped and went back into vCenter to verify default settings or specific configuration options.

That is how I studied for my VCP 410 exam. There is a lot of information here, but the exam covers a lot of information. Not just the details of vSphere and vCenter, but also study up a little on VMware Server, VMware Player, VMware Workstation, VMware Fusion and the other VMware products. Though you should read up on the basics of all products, I mention these 5 products because they involve hypervisors; be aware of how they are alike and how they are different from ESX/ESXi.

I was on a real time crunch to get my exam completed. If I had more time to prepare, I would have spent more time on Simon Long’s (@simonlong_) blog, taking his VCP 4 practice exams.

I hope that these resources help you as much as they helped me. I would wish you luck, but don’t make this about luck. Make it about learning the subject matter and then showing what you have learned on the exam.

Be Good On Purpose

January 21, 2010 / / 0 Comments

You do a little online research, pick a mature technology that is well established, perform a quick install and everything just works. The sun is shining, deadlines are met, birds are singing and you are a hero. That scenario is not a stretch, it happens every day. Many tools have dedicated significant effort to making their installation “idiot proof”, but what happens next?

As your environment grows, cracks begin to emerge in the foundation of your new tool. They may start small, but they grow and spread. Where did these cracks come from, where will they appear next, what damage can they cause? At every step of the installation, you accepted the default settings and moved on. Each of those options were forks in the road and you took a direction, without knowing the options available and without knowing why. Now, you do not know where you are, how you got there or how to correct course.

Maybe you did everything right, but did you do it on purpose? If you do not know why your deployment was successful, if you did not develop and enact a careful plan to result in a solid environment…then you got lucky, at best. The initial results may look the same, but the long term results and the value provided will be miles apart.

Too often in IT, I meet people willing to simply get a task done and move on, literally leaving a mine field in their wake. It would be better to fail following a plan than to succeed without one. When you follow a plan, you can retrace your steps, correct course and move forward. When you have blind success, you create a false sense of security that can cripple an organization when things finally go “bump” in the middle of the night. Trust me…eventually, everything goes “bump”.

Be good, be bad, be deliberate or be careless, just do it on purpose.

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