From Yellow Bricks (Duncan Epping):

I’ve been doing VMware Design Reviews lately and so are my colleagues of the PSO department. A Design Review is quick scan of your design documentation by a VMware consultant. The consultant will hold your docs against best practices and propose changes to the design.

One of the things we encounter on a regular base is that admins took the easy path for their Storage Design zoning. So what’s zoning? In short: a way to partition your fabric into smaller subsets. These small subsets provide you with a better security and less interference...

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

I posted before how important I consider it is to use VMware Workstation as a learning platform for the VI environment and I am now very pleased to see that Xtravirt has updated its document explaining how to install VMware ESX 3.5 on Workstation 6.5 Beta. Here is the announcement:

"In 2007, like others in the global VMware community, Xtravirt developed a common methodology to install and run VMware ESX 3.x on VMware Workstation 6 together with a shared storage solution based upon an iSCSI software target. We called it ‘VI3 in a box’.

This allowed users and professionals in the IT community to create simple and cost effective VI3 infrastructures to test, learn about and demonstrate these environments.

Upon the release of VMware ESX 3.5 we found that this methodology did not continue to hold true. Although still possible to install ESX 3.5, when attempting to start a nested Virtual Machine on the ESX VM, the ESX VM panics, and a stop message appears.

However, with the release of VMware Workstation 6.5, build release 99530, a revised solution now exists.

This white paper documents the process to install and configure ‘VI3.5 in a box’."

You can access the updated document here.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

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

"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

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.

• 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."

In what it seems to be the Top 10 things you must read about VMware series, Eric Siebert wrote the top 10 about VMware Networking:

1-VI3 Networking – Concepts and Components: A VMworld 2007 presentation (you will need to sign-in) describing the VI3 network architecture and how to properly configure it.

2-VI3 Networking - Advanced Configurations and Troubleshooting: A VMworld 2007 presentation (you will need to sign-in) on advanced virtual networking topics with tips for troubleshooting problems.

3-VMware ESX Server 3 802.1Q VLAN Solutions: Provides concepts and configuration tips for using 802.1Q VLAN tagging with your vSwitch configurations.

4-Integrating Virtual Machines into the Cisco Data Center Architecture: A white paper written by Cisco on ESX server networking architecture and integration with Cisco network devices.

5-Networking Performance in VMware ESX Server 3.5: A white paper from VMware comparing virtual to physical networking performance.

6-Network Throughput in a Virtual Infrastructure: A white paper from VMware that outlines the considerations that affect network throughput.

7-ESX3 Networking Internals: A VMware TSX 2007 presentation on the internals of how ESX vSwitches function.

8-High Performance ESX Networking: A VMware TSX 2007 presentation on ESX network design considerations.

9-How To Configure Networking from the Service Console Command Line: A VMware KB article on setting up networking via the CLI.

10-Server Virtualization – Network Implications and Best Practices: A presentation from Cisco on network virtualization architecture and design considerations for Cisco networks to support virtual environments.

Posted by Gabriel Maciel

Another week, another 5 interesting articles to read!

1. Deploying VI with Cisco via VMware Networking Blog
2. 10 Gigabit Ethernet and VMware - A Match Made in Heaven via Virtual Geek
3. So, how **EXACTLY** does VM HA's admittance algorithm work? via Virtual Geek
4. How does basic networking work in Hyper-V? via John Howard's Blog
5. Virtualization of Domain Controllers part Deux via Jane Lewis's Blog