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Gabriel Maciel's Blog : July 2008

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It seems that VMware is getting ready for next Monday when they are going to officially announce that ESXi will be free!


In the mean time, this is the list of the updated VMware products:



Enjoy!


Posted by Gabriel Maciel

0 Comments Permalink Tags: 3i, center, esx, esxi, vi, vi3, virtual, virtualization, vmware
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From Virtualization.Info:

VMware finally made the move that everybody predicted and was awaited for a long time: releasing its hypervisor for free.


During the Q2 2008 earnings call the company announced that before the end of July it will release the Update 2 for VMware Infrastructure 3.5 and that will give away the lightweight edition of the product, ESX 3i, for free.


The new 3i edition was introduced at the end of the last year.


It doesn’t change the characteristics of the hypervisor but fundamentally chances a part of its architecture, dropping the Console Operating System (COS) and reducing the overall system footprint to 32Mb.


The change allowed several OEMs to preload this edition of the hypervisor into their servers, through internal USB keys, Solid-State Drives (SSD) or hidden partition in the primary hard drives.


virtualization.info has learned some additional details about the move:


  • VI 3.5 and ESX 3i will continue to share a the large majority of the code base (so there will be an ESX 3i Update 2). There will be no delays on the release of both products.

  • ESX 3i will continue to have the same features that has today, without additional limitations

  • ESX 3i will continue to have the same APIs, allowing anybody to develop free or commercial alternatives to VirtualCenter (despite some features like VMotion cannot be replicated because of the VMware SDK limitations).

  • VMware will not require the purchase of any software & support subscription to access the product. Customer will be able to get the code without any restriction.

  • The customers that purchased the current version of ESX 3i directly from the VMware online store will be eligible for a rebate.

  • The ESX version that includes the Console Operating System (COS) will not be faded out (at least in the short timeframe). Most VMware customers are currently using that version and the company will support them for a long time.

  • VMware Server will not be faded out (as many could suppose). The company still sees the product as a valuable proposition for a different kind of audience.

You can read the full post here.


Posted by Gabriel Maciel

0 Comments Permalink Tags: 3i, esx, esxi, infrastructure, server, vi, vi3, virtual, virtualization, vmware
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Kim Blomgren from Tripwire kindly sent me an e-mail with information about the updated version of Tripwire ConfigCheck. Last moth I wrote a post about this free tool / utility and now it is very nice to see how in such short period of time Tripwire has improved it again. Here is the new information:


Tripwire, a leader in configuration assessment and change auditing for virtual environments, today announced the availability of Tripwire ConfigCheck™ for VMware ESX 3.0.  Tripwire ConfigCheck is a free utility that quickly assesses configuration settings for VMware ESX 3.0 and 3.5 hypervisors, determines potential configuration risks, and provides prescriptive remediation advice so that administrators can ensure greater security.


Tripwire ConfigCheck provides an immediate assessment of the configurations of a VMware ESX hypervisor, comparing them against VMware hardening security guidelines, which are best practice recommendations for optimal security in virtual environments, and provides remediation instructions if any are needed. With Tripwire ConfigCheck, customers gain immediate visibility into risks that might exist in their virtual environment due to misconfiguration and are advised of recommended fixes to any configuration settings that could present future risk.


With tens of thousands of visitors and downloads in the past month, Tripwire has been lauded for offering a free solution to a growing industry concern. “The massive popularity of Tripwire ConfigCheck speaks loudly to the market need for solutions that address the knowledge and skills gap in managing virtual infrastructure.  With this latest release, we leverage the best practices of VMware’s hardening security guidelines for 3.5 and 3.0.x environments increasing the overall value of the utility,” said Mark Gaydos, Tripwire VP of Marketing. 


In addition to offering immediate insight into unintentional vulnerabilities in virtual environments, Tripwire also provides a remediation guide containing the necessary steps to return both VMware ESX 3.0 and 3.5 hosts to a known, secure state.  Tripwire ConfigCheck and the Tripwire Remediation Guide are available for free and can be downloaded at www.tripwire.com/configcheck. 


Find more about ConfigCheck here.


Also, this is the link to the VMware Communities roundtable podcast where ConfigCheck was discussed.


Posted by Gabriel Maciel

0 Comments Permalink Tags: esx, infrastructure, virtual, virtualization, vmware, security
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This is an interesting post Leo Raikhman wrote about the ESX / VC installation best practices:

I get asked this all the time: what is best practice installation procedure?

I don’t know that there is such a thing - every environment is slightly different but here’s my general outline for ESX 3.5 + VirtualCenter 2.5 attached to Fibre SANs.

Installing VirtualCenter 2.5:

  • Install SQL 2005 + SQL Native Client
  • Patch SQL 2005 to SP2 + associated updates
  • Enable SQL clustering if relevant.
  • Create SQL DB with SQL-authenticated user as db_owner for the msdb and newly created databases (for VMware VirtualCenter and VMware Update Manager)
  • Create an ODBC connection with above information on targeted VC server
  • Install VirtualCenter
  • Add VirtualCenter server IP to Exchange Relay Access rulesets
  • Configure VirtualCenter SMTP settings, alarm definitions and Message of the Day
  • Copy/install sysprep/deployment tools files
  • Create required customizations
  • Create a datacenter object
  • Create a cluster object
  • Configure HA + advanced HA with VM HA monitoring
  • Configure DRS + separation rules
  • Install Update Manager - sync ESX host updates with VMware downstream servers
  • Configure VirtualCenter certificates as per this article from the excellent VM/ETC

Read the full post here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

0 Comments Permalink Tags: 3i, infrastructure, it, security, reference, server, storage, technologies, vi, vi3, virtual, virtualization, vmware
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"As virtualization of network DMZs becomes more common, demand is increasing for information to help network security professionals understand and mitigate the risks associated with this practice. This paper provides detailed descriptions of three different virtualized DMZ configurations and identifies best practice approaches that enable secure deployment."

Read the full article here: DMZ Virtualization with VMware Infrastructure.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

0 Comments Permalink Tags: infrastructure, it, security, server, technologies, vi, vi3, virtual, virtualization
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Here you have the best links and articles for the past week:

  1. ESX Server Security Technical Implementation Guide via US Department of Defense
  2. Why Virtualization Amplifies The Disconnect Between Security and IT Operations, And What You Can Do About It via Virtualization Security
  3. Upgrading your Active Directory to Windows Server 2008 via Sander Berkouwer's Blog
  4. Well, that's interesting news - now what? via Virtual Geek
  5. Optimize My IT via VMware
Enjoy!

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

0 Comments Permalink Tags: best_of_the_week, esx, infrastructure, it, management, microsoft, security, technologies, vi, vi3, virtual, virtualization
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Via VMware Knowledge Base:

"Comparison of VMware Converter editions:

VMware Converter Starter:

  • Free product to convert physical machines into virtual machines.
  • Support needs to be purchased on a per incident basis.
  • Small scale single server conversions.
  • Quick backups / clones of a small number of servers.
  • Hot cloning.
  • Local conversions to Workstation, VMware Server, Player, GSX, and ESX.
  • Remote conversions to standalone virtual machines (Workstation, VMware Server, Player, and GSX). Note: If ESX Server or Virtual Center is the destination for the remote conversion, then VMware Converter Enterprise is required.
  • No license required.

VMware Converter Enterprise:

  • Enterprise-class product for managing and automating large scale conversions.
  • Support is included in support for Virtual Center Management Server.
  • Large scale server consolidation projects.
  • Centralized management of multiple simultaneous conversions.
  • Hot cloning.
  • Cold cloning (using a boot CD).
  • Local conversions to Workstation, VMware Server, Player, GSX, and ESX.
  • Remote conversions to all destinations, including ESX Server and Virtual Center.
  • A license file is required for enterprise features of VMware Converter Enterprise."

More information here and here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel


0 Comments Permalink Tags: tools, vi, vi3, virtual, virtualization, vmware
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And the winners for this week are:

  1. Top 5 things to know about Hyper-V via Windows Virtualization Team Blog
  2. Deploying Windows Server 2008 with slipstreamed Hyper-V RTM (Part 2) via John Howard's Blog
  3. If A Virtualization Misconfiguration Or Security Vulnerability Exists Within An “ESX Appliance,” Does It Really Exist? via Virtualization Security
  4. Virtualising (Domain Controller) Servers via Mark Empson's Blog
  5. Virtualization's Impact on IT Operations - Part Two via Virtual Strategy Magazine
Enjoy!

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

0 Comments Permalink Tags: best_of_the_week, esx, infrastructure, it, management, microsoft, security, server, technologies, virtual, vi, virtualization, vmware, hyper-v
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If you want to see a couple of nice videos about Microsoft Windows 2008 and Active Directory check the links below:

Part 1: In this video from TechEd 2008, Microsoft senior technical product manager Justin Graham discusses some of the lesser known improvements made to Active Directory with Windows Server 2008. Here you'll get details on features such as stickiness prevention and fine-grained password policies, plus info on what new auditing enhancements to AD mean to administrators.

Part 2: In part two of our interview on Active Directory from TechEd 2008, Microsoft senior technical product manager Justin Graham explains how the read-only domain controller can help improve branch office security. Graham also provides details on the application compatibility considerations that administrators should be aware of before deploying an RODC with Active Directory in Windows Server 2008.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

0 Comments Permalink Tags: infrastructure, microsoft, server, technologies
0

Via NTPRO.NL:

Chris Skinner, a Technical Trainer over at VMware created a document for clustering VirtualCenter 2.5 with MSCS. Feel free to distribute to clients and colleagues. A special thanks to Seva and Charu for challenging Chris to do this based on their VC2.0 document. This paper documents the steps to successfully implement a high availability solution for VirtualCenter 2.5 using Microsoft’s cluster services. There are some basic requirements to start the process. Microsoft requires Active Directory for cluster services. Additionally, Windows 2003 Enterprise server or higher will be necessary. This document was compiled from several sources. It demonstrates creating a VC cluster on the same ESX host (cluster-in-a-box) with a SAN-based quorum disk. The hyperlinks at the end of the document has more detailed information for other types of configurations, such as, cluster-across-boxes and physical-to-virtual.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

0 Comments Permalink Tags: clustering, center, infrastructure, server, virtual, vmware, virtualization
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Gabriel Maciel Ottawa

 Member since: Mar 11, 2008

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