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

Here you have the links / posts for the last week!

1. Deploying Windows Server 2008 with slipstreamed Hyper-V RTM (Part 1) via John Howard's Blog
2. A Look at Some VMware Infrastructure Architectural Advantages via Virtual Reality
3. Arghhh.... Oh (that damn VM HA thing) via Virtual Geek
4. The Virtualization Administrator is dead ! via Virtualfuture.info
5. The Gift of Time via Life as a Healthcare CIO

Another nice article from Eric Siebert:

1-Understanding Performance in a Virtualized Environment: A VMworld 2007 presentation (you will need to sign-in) on understanding virtualization performance and overhead as well as dispelling common myths. 

2-Interpreting Performance Statistics in V13: A VMworld 2007 presentation (you will need to sign-in) on understanding and interpreting VirtualCenter/ESX statistics in the VI Client and esxtop. 

3-Performance Tuning Best Practices for ESX Server 3: A white paper from VMware with performance tips that cover the most performance-critical areas of VI3.

4-Top 12 ways to Improve Guest Server Performance under VMware ESX Server: A VMworld 2006 presentation (you will need to sign-in) with 12 tips for configuring hosts, virtual machines and guest environments for best performance.

5-Performance Monitoring and Capacity Planning: A VMworld 2006 presentation (you will need to sign-in) on performance tuning methodologies and approaches.

6-ESX Workload Analysis, Lessons Learned: A VMworld 2006 presentation on performing workload analysis and performance analysis of virtual workloads. 

7-VMware ESX Server, Best Practices for Performance: A presentation from EMC World 2007 with recommended performance practices and benchmarking guidelines.

8-VM Performance Monitoring and Logging: A VMUG presentation from VMware on performance monitoring and using log files.

9-ESX3 Performance Tuning: A VMUG presentation from Long View Systems on performance tuning ESX hosts and virtual machines.

10-Performance Tuning for VI3: A VMworld 2006 presentation on basic performance concepts, tools, technologies and recommendations.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

And here you have the the best articles for the past week:

1-Significant Networking Problem with Hyper-V via Scottlowe.org

2-The Case For And Against Stretched ESX Clusters via Virtual Geek

3-VMFS Storage Sizing for Maximum Performance via VM /ETC

4-Disaster Recovery in the Datacenter via VMware Podcasts

5-ROI Analysis: Virtualization via InformationWeek

Enjoy!

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Virtualization + Security were the news headlines this past week. More specifically, Tripwire announced ConfigCheck as a free utility capable of providing recommendations for hardening your VMware environment. Here is the official announcement:

Tripwire ConfigCheck TM is a free utility that rapidly assesses the security of VMware ESX 3.5 hypervisor configurations compared to the VMware Infrastructure 3 Security Hardening guidelines. Developed by Tripwire in cooperation with VMware, Tripwire ConfigCheck ensures ESX environments are properly configured—offering immediate insight into unintentional vulnerabilities in virtual environments—and provides the necessary steps towards full remediation when they are not.

1. Ensure recommended ESX configurations
2. Discover possible vulnerabilities
3. Deploy virtualization safely and securely
4. Increase security posture of the entire enterprise
5. Easily implement security and compliance best practices
6. Reduce configuration drift

This is kind of new (6.5 beta build 91182), so I wanted to write about how important it will be for any IT professional / enthusiast to have the ability to run ESX 3.5 / ESX 3i in VMware Workstation 6.5 when the final release is ready.

You see, this will not only be good because it could potentially give you the chance to test patches or scripts, but also because it allows you to "learn" about the environment without having to spend a lot of money.

We all know that VMware's licensing is not cheap, nor is the hardware to run the VI3 environment, and that is why I believe VMware should always try to "facilitate" the usage and testing of all its products without having to purchase expensive equipment.

Consequently, having now and in the future the chance to run ESX 3.5 / ESX 3i in VMware Workstation 6.5 is a very welcomed opportunity to experience one of the best virtualization products we have seen so far!

More information and print screens here and here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Via NTPRO.NL:

"Rick Wininger posted some interesting information about the new VCDX certification and the number of VCP's worldwide. He was present at the VMware Partner Xchange in San Diego and talked to a number of VMware badged employees. As for the VCDX, VMware is not planning to make money on the exam. They had to write their own test engines for both exams from scratch. As for the review board, initially the panel will consist of VMware PSO's. After that, any of us who have passed the entire track, will sit on the board where people will have to defend their design to us. There are over 20000 VCP's worldwide, however they do not expect more than 100 (one hundred) VCDX worldwide. It will be expensive due to travel costs, but that will be about it. He does know that VMware is toying with the idea of interim certification, but that is still in discussion."

You can view the original link here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel