From InfoWorld, David Marshall:
Pano Logic's silver box shines in 2008 and into 2009
Everyone loves a shiny, silver box. And Pano Logic hopes to capitalize on that with its virtual desktop solution.
Pano Logic CTO, Aly Orady, talks about the company's desktop virtualization solution and how it can help fight a challenging economy in 2009.
Q: How has this year been for Pano Logic?
A: As we close the books on the company's first full year of sales....
Click to read more..
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Microsoft Patch - Out of Band - Important
This alert is to provide you with an overview of the new security bulletin released (out of band) on Wednesday, December 17, 2008. Microsoft released security update MS08-078 to address a new vulnerability allowing remote code execution in affected versions of Internet Explorer. MS08-078 has a maximum severity rating of Critical for all versions of Internet Explorer. This security update was released outside of the usual monthly security bulletin release cycle in an effort to protect customers. We request that you take action immediately by first assessing and preparing your own systems and networks and applying the security update, then reaching out to your customers to assist them in securing their systems and networks by applying the update.
Details about this security update are below, but here are your key resources:
· The full bulletin for MS08-078 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS08-078.mspx.
· Attend the webcast hosted by Microsoft to address questions about this bulletin:
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 1pm PT or Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 11am PT
· We recommend that Microsoft partners use the Microsoft TechNet Security TechCenter as a source of security information: http://technet.microsoft.com/security
Executive Summary
This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. The security update addresses the vulnerability by modifying the way Internet Explorer validates data binding parameters and handles the error resulting in the exploitable condition.
This security update also addresses the vulnerability first described in Microsoft Security Advisory 961051.
Recommendations
Microsoft recommends that partners first assess their own systems and networks and apply this security update, then reach out and follow up with their customers to assist them in securing their systems and networks to help ensure that their computers are protected from attempted criminal attacks..
New Security Bulletin Technical Details
Identifier
MS08-078
Severity Rating
This security update is rated Critical for Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 6 SP1, and Internet Explorer 7.
Impact of Vulnerability
Remote Code Execution
Detection
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update.
Affected Software
Internet Explorer 5.01 (Windows 2000), Internet Explorer 6 (Windows 2000), Internet Explorer 6 SP1 (Windows XP and Windows Server 2003), and Internet Explorer 7 (Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008). For information about Internet Explorer 8 (Beta) please see the FAQ section of the bulletin.
Restart Requirement
The update will require a restart only if the required files are being used. If this occurs, a message appears that advises you to restart.
Removal Information
· For Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003: Use Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel or the Spuninst.exe utility
· For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008: WUSA.exe does not support uninstall of updates. To uninstall an update installed by WUSA, click Control Panel, and then click Security. Under Windows Update, click View installed updates and select from the list of updates.
Bulletins Replaced by This Update
None.
Full Details:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS08-078.mspx
Details about this security update are below, but here are your key resources:
· The full bulletin for MS08-078 is available at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS08-078.mspx.
· Attend the webcast hosted by Microsoft to address questions about this bulletin:
Wednesday, December 17, 2008 at 1pm PT or Thursday, December 18, 2008 at 11am PT
· We recommend that Microsoft partners use the Microsoft TechNet Security TechCenter as a source of security information: http://technet.microsoft.com/security
Executive Summary
This security update resolves a publicly disclosed vulnerability in Internet Explorer. The vulnerability could allow remote code execution if a user views a specially crafted Web page using Internet Explorer. Users whose accounts are configured to have fewer user rights on the system could be less impacted than users who operate with administrative user rights. The security update addresses the vulnerability by modifying the way Internet Explorer validates data binding parameters and handles the error resulting in the exploitable condition.
This security update also addresses the vulnerability first described in Microsoft Security Advisory 961051.
Recommendations
Microsoft recommends that partners first assess their own systems and networks and apply this security update, then reach out and follow up with their customers to assist them in securing their systems and networks to help ensure that their computers are protected from attempted criminal attacks..
New Security Bulletin Technical Details
Identifier
MS08-078
Severity Rating
This security update is rated Critical for Internet Explorer 5.01, Internet Explorer 6, Internet Explorer 6 SP1, and Internet Explorer 7.
Impact of Vulnerability
Remote Code Execution
Detection
Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer can detect whether your computer system requires this update.
Affected Software
Internet Explorer 5.01 (Windows 2000), Internet Explorer 6 (Windows 2000), Internet Explorer 6 SP1 (Windows XP and Windows Server 2003), and Internet Explorer 7 (Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2008). For information about Internet Explorer 8 (Beta) please see the FAQ section of the bulletin.
Restart Requirement
The update will require a restart only if the required files are being used. If this occurs, a message appears that advises you to restart.
Removal Information
· For Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003: Use Add or Remove Programs tool in Control Panel or the Spuninst.exe utility
· For Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008: WUSA.exe does not support uninstall of updates. To uninstall an update installed by WUSA, click Control Panel, and then click Security. Under Windows Update, click View installed updates and select from the list of updates.
Bulletins Replaced by This Update
None.
Full Details:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/bulletin/MS08-078.mspx
Friday, December 12, 2008
The Case of the Rebooting Virtual Desktop and the VMware Bug
Just got an email in my inbox. It solves the riddle of why the virtual desktop I use daily on my pano box reboots when it vmotions. I had turned off DRS for that individual machine to combat the problem.
Dear ESX 3.5 customer,
Our records indicate you recently downloaded VMware® ESX Version 3.5 U3 from our product download site. This email is to alert you that an issue with that product version could adversely effect your environment. This email provides steps you can take to correct any issues that you may currently have or prevent you from encountering the issue.
Title:A Virtual Machine may unexpectedly reboot when using VMware HA with Virtual Machine Monitoring on ESX 3.5 Update 3
Symptoms:Virtual Machines may unexpectedly reboot after a VMotion migration to an ESX 3.5 Update 3 Host OR after a Power On operation on an ESX 3.5 Update 3 Host, when the VMware HA feature with Virtual Machine Monitoring is active.
Problem Statement:A virtual machine may reboot itself when the following conditions exist:
Virtual Machine is running on ESX 3.5 Update 3 Host, either by virtue of VMotion or a Power On operation, and
Host has VMware HA enabled with the "Virtual Machine Monitoring" option active.
Virtual Machine monitoring is dependent on VMware tools heartbeats to determine the state of the Virtual Machines. With ESX Server 3.5 Update 3, after a VMotion or Power On operation, the host agent running on the ESX server may delay sending the heartbeat state of the Virtual Machine to the Host. VMware HA detects this as a failure of the Virtual Machine and attempts to restart the Virtual Machine.
Resolution:Note: Before you begin please refer to KB 1003490 for important information on restarting the mgmt-vmware service.
To work around this problem:
Option 1: Disable Virtual Machine Monitoring
1. Select the VMware HA cluster and choose Edit Settings from the right-click menu (note that this feature can also be enabled for a new cluster on the VMware HA page of the New Cluster wizard).
2. In the Cluster Settings dialog box, select VMware HA in the left column.
3. Un-Check the Enable virtual machine monitoring check box.
4. Click OK.
Option 2:
1. Disconnect the host form VC (Right click on host in VI Client and select "Disconnect" )
2. Login as root to the ESX Server with SSH.
3. Using a text editor such as nano or vi, edit the file /etc/vmware/hostd/config.xml
4. Set the "heartbeatDelayInSecs" tag under "vmsvc" to 0 seconds as shown here:0 true
5. Restart the management agents for this change to take effect. See Restarting the Management agents on an ESX Server (KB 1003490).
6. Reconnect the host in VC ( Right click on host in VI Client and select "Connect" )
Please consult KB 1007899 for further details on managing packages already registered.Please consult your local support center if you require further information or assistance. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this issue may cause you. Your satisfaction is our number one goal.
Dear ESX 3.5 customer,
Our records indicate you recently downloaded VMware® ESX Version 3.5 U3 from our product download site. This email is to alert you that an issue with that product version could adversely effect your environment. This email provides steps you can take to correct any issues that you may currently have or prevent you from encountering the issue.
Title:A Virtual Machine may unexpectedly reboot when using VMware HA with Virtual Machine Monitoring on ESX 3.5 Update 3
Symptoms:Virtual Machines may unexpectedly reboot after a VMotion migration to an ESX 3.5 Update 3 Host OR after a Power On operation on an ESX 3.5 Update 3 Host, when the VMware HA feature with Virtual Machine Monitoring is active.
Problem Statement:A virtual machine may reboot itself when the following conditions exist:
Virtual Machine is running on ESX 3.5 Update 3 Host, either by virtue of VMotion or a Power On operation, and
Host has VMware HA enabled with the "Virtual Machine Monitoring" option active.
Virtual Machine monitoring is dependent on VMware tools heartbeats to determine the state of the Virtual Machines. With ESX Server 3.5 Update 3, after a VMotion or Power On operation, the host agent running on the ESX server may delay sending the heartbeat state of the Virtual Machine to the Host. VMware HA detects this as a failure of the Virtual Machine and attempts to restart the Virtual Machine.
Resolution:Note: Before you begin please refer to KB 1003490 for important information on restarting the mgmt-vmware service.
To work around this problem:
Option 1: Disable Virtual Machine Monitoring
1. Select the VMware HA cluster and choose Edit Settings from the right-click menu (note that this feature can also be enabled for a new cluster on the VMware HA page of the New Cluster wizard).
2. In the Cluster Settings dialog box, select VMware HA in the left column.
3. Un-Check the Enable virtual machine monitoring check box.
4. Click OK.
Option 2:
1. Disconnect the host form VC (Right click on host in VI Client and select "Disconnect" )
2. Login as root to the ESX Server with SSH.
3. Using a text editor such as nano or vi, edit the file /etc/vmware/hostd/config.xml
4. Set the "heartbeatDelayInSecs" tag under "vmsvc" to 0 seconds as shown here:
5. Restart the management agents for this change to take effect. See Restarting the Management agents on an ESX Server (KB 1003490).
6. Reconnect the host in VC ( Right click on host in VI Client and select "Connect" )
Please consult KB 1007899 for further details on managing packages already registered.Please consult your local support center if you require further information or assistance. We apologize in advance for any inconvenience this issue may cause you. Your satisfaction is our number one goal.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Yellow-Bricks Article- Fixed or MRU for Storage
Great post by Duncan Epping:
Fixed or MRU, what will it be…
I had a question from a fellow blogger about the Fixed/Most Recently Used setting for a SAN’s path policy.... read more
Fixed or MRU, what will it be…
I had a question from a fellow blogger about the Fixed/Most Recently Used setting for a SAN’s path policy.... read more
VMware and Symantec Partner with VCS
I was just forwarded an interesting article on the new-found relationship between Symantec and VMware. Some readers may be familiar with Veritas Clustering Services (VCS) and it's integration with VMware. From my own experiences, I always thought it was a great idea. I had seen VCS in action with the x's (linux, unix, etc), and had seen a demo of it in action with VMware about a year ago. We even recommended it to a customer, but unfortunately the Symantec sales team and the distributor had no idea how to quote it and it took about 3 different transfers on the phone to get someone who knew what we were talking about. To me it seemed like someone said "hey it works in linux, esx is kinda linux, lets brand it." Now I don't know if that is what really happened, but it wasn't fully baked.
I guess the past is the past and now Symantec is on the virtualization fast track. The new VCS integration is now a little smarter. It now understands that a vmotion is not a host failure, it is more application aware and also integrates with the ESX host and the guests. However powerful that may be, the best part of the article was of course the drama. The author hints at how the new change of guard at VMware and the soon to be change of guard at Symantec may have sparked the reconciliation and buried the confrontational past.
Link to Article in SearchDisasterRecovery.com
Update:
Another article in the sister site to SearchDisasterRecovery.com has an article describing how VCS can integrate with vCenter to provide high availability on the vCenter side. It bridges the gap that we currently have with either using MSCS or putting vCenter in the ESX world as a vm.
Link to Article in SearchServerVirtualization.com
I guess the past is the past and now Symantec is on the virtualization fast track. The new VCS integration is now a little smarter. It now understands that a vmotion is not a host failure, it is more application aware and also integrates with the ESX host and the guests. However powerful that may be, the best part of the article was of course the drama. The author hints at how the new change of guard at VMware and the soon to be change of guard at Symantec may have sparked the reconciliation and buried the confrontational past.
Link to Article in SearchDisasterRecovery.com
Update:
Another article in the sister site to SearchDisasterRecovery.com has an article describing how VCS can integrate with vCenter to provide high availability on the vCenter side. It bridges the gap that we currently have with either using MSCS or putting vCenter in the ESX world as a vm.
Link to Article in SearchServerVirtualization.com
Thursday, December 4, 2008
VMware View with Composer Virtual Desktops - Screenshots
I just got done doing a 20vm test deployment with Composer linked clones. One thing I noticed is that time to deploy isn't much less than the old fashioned way. I haven't had a chance to try it on an enterprise class system and SAN (right now I am using a 3 HP c-class blades with 8GB of RAM each and and HP AIO SAN. All vmotion / ISCSI / Live network traffic runs over just 2 nics). Anyway, the big news is that the space savings is amazing. Inside the wizard for the Desktop Collection I specified that the personality drive should be 512 and mapped as a D drive. After the desktops were deployed I checked the datastores and found that there were 2 VMDKs, 1 was a replica, the other was a 1.3GB VMDK. I will dig into it deeper, but I figured I would post some screenshots while I was working on it.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Vizioncore vOptimizer Pro - Comments on first look at demo
This morning I was able to see fist hand a demo of Vizioncore's new storage optimization tool, vOptimizer Pro. My first impressions on the ergonomics of it were that it was clean and simple and very "vReplicator" like. The workflow was easy to understand and could be configured in minutes. As for features, what the product tackles is the problem of vm space under-commit and over-commit. Based on rules the product will scale the virtual machine's storage up or down based on rules.
For those managers out there and people in charge of budgets, it is important to note that you can assign cost per Gigabyte to your datastores. This is used for reporting after an optimization pass to show cost savings from using the product overall or by pass (this type of thinking was a real plus in the old vCharter but now missing in vFoglight).
There were only a couple of negatives I saw. The first one is a current necessary evil; you have to shut down the running vm to optimize. This is due to application quiescence and system stability. I understand the need, however it does not take away from the fact that a maintenance window must be created and services will be offline. I have found that one of the major selling points and strategic directions of virtualization is "online all the time" (see also VMware Fault Tolerance). The only other minor negative is that it is only supported on a physical box. This is due to licensing issues, and I am sure that it would run fine virtually, however YMMV when getting support.
As for pricing, like all Vizioncore products, you get a lot for your money. The pricing is going to be $299 per ESX host socket (like all thier other products, even vReplicator now) list price. Obviously if you go through a reseller you will get a better price (please email me to get a quote from my company if you would like).
All in all this is a product that is well worth the money, will show an immediate ROI, and should be in every virtualized datacenter. As soon as I get my copy I will have some youtube demos up.
The aforementioned scenario explains the meat of the product, but there is so much more. It also provides for optimization of Windows partitions based on the 64k block offset (Link to VMware doc on topic). And in the future will be able to optimize Windows VM's even more by removing unwanted services and other tweaks.For example if you have a 5gig vmdk on ServerA with 4gig used and a 50gig vmdk with 5gig used on ServerB and applied a rule that said you should have 50% freespace available, it would resize ServerA to 8gig (enlarge vmdk) and would resize ServerB to 10gig (shrink vmdk).
For those managers out there and people in charge of budgets, it is important to note that you can assign cost per Gigabyte to your datastores. This is used for reporting after an optimization pass to show cost savings from using the product overall or by pass (this type of thinking was a real plus in the old vCharter but now missing in vFoglight).
There were only a couple of negatives I saw. The first one is a current necessary evil; you have to shut down the running vm to optimize. This is due to application quiescence and system stability. I understand the need, however it does not take away from the fact that a maintenance window must be created and services will be offline. I have found that one of the major selling points and strategic directions of virtualization is "online all the time" (see also VMware Fault Tolerance). The only other minor negative is that it is only supported on a physical box. This is due to licensing issues, and I am sure that it would run fine virtually, however YMMV when getting support.
As for pricing, like all Vizioncore products, you get a lot for your money. The pricing is going to be $299 per ESX host socket (like all thier other products, even vReplicator now) list price. Obviously if you go through a reseller you will get a better price (please email me to get a quote from my company if you would like).
All in all this is a product that is well worth the money, will show an immediate ROI, and should be in every virtualized datacenter. As soon as I get my copy I will have some youtube demos up.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
VMware View Install - First Tip
So I couldn't wait to install VMware View 3 for the first time outside of beta and should have RTFM (see also Mike Laverick). Anyway for those of you who read first then install, here is the link to the admin guide. Link to guide.
More to come on the install and the performance of VMware View + Composer!!
More to come on the install and the performance of VMware View + Composer!!
Monday, December 1, 2008
Article on Next Generation VI the VDC-OS
I just read the following article and found it very informative. Not only did it have a lot of good information on the new Virtual DataCenter - Operating System (VDC-OS) that will be VI4 with parts and pieces, but it also has great quotes from Paul Maritz and analysts in the virtualization world.
From Virtualization Review by Keith Ward:
Link to Article
From Virtualization Review by Keith Ward:
Link to Article
VMware View (VDM 3) To Launch
In browsing around on the topic of VMware View I ran into this article. I have been beta testing the software for the last month and it finally helps get past the hurdle of ROI when you consider the cost of storage:
Article found @ channelregister.co.uk by Chris Mellor:
VMware to cut desktop VM storage by 90%
View 3.0 launch preps for virtual desktops to become standard
By Chris Mellor
Posted in Enterprise, 2nd December 2008 00:02 GMT
VMware is rebranding its Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) technology as VMware View, and having virtual desktops built from a generic golden master and user-specific files that cut VDI storage space by up to 80 per cent......
Read the rest of this article.
Article found @ channelregister.co.uk by Chris Mellor:
VMware to cut desktop VM storage by 90%
View 3.0 launch preps for virtual desktops to become standard
By Chris Mellor
Posted in Enterprise, 2nd December 2008 00:02 GMT
VMware is rebranding its Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) technology as VMware View, and having virtual desktops built from a generic golden master and user-specific files that cut VDI storage space by up to 80 per cent......
Read the rest of this article.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Upgrade VirtualCenter Database from SQL Express
Article from the VMGuy:
What happens when I outgrow SQL Express for Virtual Center?
Thanks to Ryan for sending in this request. As many of you know, when you install Virtual Center (VC) in your environment it requires a database. By default, you may use SQL or Oracle. If you do not have a database server handy, you can use the included MS SQL 2005 Express database engine. This included SQL Express engine is supported by VMware in production environments up to 5 physical ESX hosts or 50 Virtual Machines.
What happens when we outgrow that? Can we upgrade in-place? The good news is, yes you can..........
Click to read the rest
What happens when I outgrow SQL Express for Virtual Center?
Thanks to Ryan for sending in this request. As many of you know, when you install Virtual Center (VC) in your environment it requires a database. By default, you may use SQL or Oracle. If you do not have a database server handy, you can use the included MS SQL 2005 Express database engine. This included SQL Express engine is supported by VMware in production environments up to 5 physical ESX hosts or 50 Virtual Machines.
What happens when we outgrow that? Can we upgrade in-place? The good news is, yes you can..........
Click to read the rest
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
ThinApp - VMware's Application Virtualization - Try It
For those out there that weren't aware, VMware acquired Thinstall in January (along with Foedus) and rebranded it ThinApp. Thinstall was a company that provided application virtualization. Application Virtualization is a very vague term, as Citrix, Softgrid (now App-V owned by Microsoft), and even web based apps can be classified as virtualized. Each vendor does it differently, but the end result is delivery of an application without having to install it the traditional way.
In lay mans terms, ThinApp allows you to create distributable msi's / exe's that behave like standalone apps. Remember the applications on Windows 95 that would just run when you clicked the exe, no registry, no writing to system32? Well that's the idea here. What happens under the covers is that an administrator uses a clean machine / snapshot method of capturing an install. Then the ThinApp software uses it's intelligence to to create a project. From that project an administrator can create exe's and/or msi's for delivery. When delivered through logon script etc as and exe the user can launch the exe without admin privileges and all dll's / registry entries are put into a virtual space. So the app thinks it has full access to the system, when in fact it is writing to a harmless virtual space. The MSI works very similarly, however it can also be deployed via Group Policy / SMS / etc and provides a better method of file association.
One of the major benefits of delivering applications this way is that there is no dependence on build of machine. As long as you are running Windows, the application will run. It runs in it's own space, so it is even possible to run ie5 / ie6 / ie7, all at the same time. The other major benefit comes from the fact that you are just launching a file. If ie7 was pushed out for example and you wanted everyone to run ie8, you would just need to replace the exe or shortcut target on the file server. There are also options for offline applications etc.
If anyone has any questions or would like more information, please email me at Morgan.Hamilton@dyntek.com.
- Try ThinApp'd Firefox and more here: http://www.thindownload.com/
In lay mans terms, ThinApp allows you to create distributable msi's / exe's that behave like standalone apps. Remember the applications on Windows 95 that would just run when you clicked the exe, no registry, no writing to system32? Well that's the idea here. What happens under the covers is that an administrator uses a clean machine / snapshot method of capturing an install. Then the ThinApp software uses it's intelligence to to create a project. From that project an administrator can create exe's and/or msi's for delivery. When delivered through logon script etc as and exe the user can launch the exe without admin privileges and all dll's / registry entries are put into a virtual space. So the app thinks it has full access to the system, when in fact it is writing to a harmless virtual space. The MSI works very similarly, however it can also be deployed via Group Policy / SMS / etc and provides a better method of file association.
One of the major benefits of delivering applications this way is that there is no dependence on build of machine. As long as you are running Windows, the application will run. It runs in it's own space, so it is even possible to run ie5 / ie6 / ie7, all at the same time. The other major benefit comes from the fact that you are just launching a file. If ie7 was pushed out for example and you wanted everyone to run ie8, you would just need to replace the exe or shortcut target on the file server. There are also options for offline applications etc.
If anyone has any questions or would like more information, please email me at Morgan.Hamilton@dyntek.com.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Pano VDS 2.5 Officially Released
From an email:
Pano VDS 2.5 is now available for upgrading existing Pano deployments. A complete version of the Pano Manager Virtual Appliance will be available on 12/1 for new installations.
Pano VDS 2.5 is a significant release offering a number of new features and enhancements for both end users and administrators. For more information on this release, please click on "What's New."
For end users:
• Console Direct™ technology – Pano Console Direct technology provides a superior experience to end users whether running office productivity applications or viewing Flash videos on sites like YouTube or CNN. Console Direct connects directly to the Windows console session, bypassing RDP and its limitations altogether.
...And More. Click on "What's New" for details
For administrators:
• Online Help – Product instructions, workflow checklists, troubleshooting tips and FAQs are now all available from one convenient online help system. The online help system leads administrators through the workflow of common tasks step by step and also allows them to quickly search for their topic of interest.
...And More. Click on "What's New" for details
Thanks,
Pano Logic Customer Support
support@panologic.com
Pano VDS 2.5 is now available for upgrading existing Pano deployments. A complete version of the Pano Manager Virtual Appliance will be available on 12/1 for new installations.
Pano VDS 2.5 is a significant release offering a number of new features and enhancements for both end users and administrators. For more information on this release, please click on "What's New."
For end users:
• Console Direct™ technology – Pano Console Direct technology provides a superior experience to end users whether running office productivity applications or viewing Flash videos on sites like YouTube or CNN. Console Direct connects directly to the Windows console session, bypassing RDP and its limitations altogether.
...And More. Click on "What's New" for details
For administrators:
• Online Help – Product instructions, workflow checklists, troubleshooting tips and FAQs are now all available from one convenient online help system. The online help system leads administrators through the workflow of common tasks step by step and also allows them to quickly search for their topic of interest.
...And More. Click on "What's New" for details
Thanks,
Pano Logic Customer Support
support@panologic.com
Friday, November 21, 2008
vOptimizer Info Released
vOptimizer Pro is Coming Soon!
On Wednesday, December 3, at 10:00 a.m. CDT, Tom Edwards and Chris Page, will be presenting the new version of Vizioncore's vOptimizer Pro - an innovative virtual machine storage optimization and rightsizing/reclamation solution that helps to manage virtual machine sizing, sprawl and growing enterprise storage costs.
This solution performs a fully automated partition adjustment of any ESX based virtual machine, via an innovative process of mounting an offline virtual machine, inspection of the virtual machine’s file system and guest OS, followed by a (NTFS) resizing of the virtual machine’s partition. vOptimizer Pro reduces virtual machine failure risk by enabling the periodic rightsizing of virtual machines that are in danger of running out of space. The whole process is fully automated, based on preconfigured profiles and settings for free space allocation and executed via calendar schedules.
Key features include:
Fully automated storage resizing/reclamation process
Wizard and user-friendly customizable profiles enable easy setup of storage resizing jobs
Recovery of costly enterprise storage by increasing virtual machine density on ESX servers
Administrators can specify the amount of space for specific categories of virtual machines (Web Servers, VDI, etc.)
Full VMware® VirtualCenter integration
Reports depicting cost savings to assist with quantification of data center efficiencies
Storage resizing template configurable by percentage or absolute free space
Throughput optimization and latency decrease with option for fully automated 64KB Block Partition Alignment
On Wednesday, December 3, at 10:00 a.m. CDT, Tom Edwards and Chris Page, will be presenting the new version of Vizioncore's vOptimizer Pro - an innovative virtual machine storage optimization and rightsizing/reclamation solution that helps to manage virtual machine sizing, sprawl and growing enterprise storage costs.
This solution performs a fully automated partition adjustment of any ESX based virtual machine, via an innovative process of mounting an offline virtual machine, inspection of the virtual machine’s file system and guest OS, followed by a (NTFS) resizing of the virtual machine’s partition. vOptimizer Pro reduces virtual machine failure risk by enabling the periodic rightsizing of virtual machines that are in danger of running out of space. The whole process is fully automated, based on preconfigured profiles and settings for free space allocation and executed via calendar schedules.
Key features include:
Fully automated storage resizing/reclamation process
Wizard and user-friendly customizable profiles enable easy setup of storage resizing jobs
Recovery of costly enterprise storage by increasing virtual machine density on ESX servers
Administrators can specify the amount of space for specific categories of virtual machines (Web Servers, VDI, etc.)
Full VMware® VirtualCenter integration
Reports depicting cost savings to assist with quantification of data center efficiencies
Storage resizing template configurable by percentage or absolute free space
Throughput optimization and latency decrease with option for fully automated 64KB Block Partition Alignment
Thursday, November 20, 2008
First Thoughts - Equallogic ASM-VE
Today I installed Equallogic Auto Snapshot Manager / VMware Edition V1 for the first time. The first thing I had to do was upgrade the controller firmware to 4.0.2 from 3.x. It took about 20 minutes once I could get telnet to cooperate (use putty not DOS). No problems, quick reboot, then you have to open up a new browser because the old java gui that is loaded in the browser cache is not valid. Then I went through the documentation of ASM/ VE and found that it requires the newest version of Java, so I installed.
The install of ASM / VE was very simple. You put in the IP and credentials for Virtual Center, then the IP and credentials for the Equallogic Group. It installs in about 2 minutes and starts the services and verifies installation. Once up you log in via a web gui and it looks very Equallogic (if you can use that as an adjective?). Pretty much just shows the hierarchy of VirtualCenter. You have options to take Smart Copies and setup schedules for Smart Copies. Smart Copies are snapshots of the running virtual machine, it's memory state (optional), and any attached iSCSI rdm's. (optional). This is very similar to Microsoft DPM as it takes point in time snapshots for rollback.
One thing that I wish would be included would be the ability to put a Smart Copy online and mount the vmdk to recover files (much like vRanger). As it is, this is just a rollback technology. That being said, the size of the snapshots are extremely small and don't grow like VMware initiated snapshots. So in practice, I believe that this feature allows administrators to create snapshots of vm's prior to doing updates, etc. without the fear of snapshot overgrowth leading to LUN crashing. Now if there was a way to add this as an option to the snapshot process inside of VirtualCenter (also Update Manager as well) and it has file recovery options it would make for one killer app.
I plan on adding more information as the testing proceeds and will add screenshots.
The install of ASM / VE was very simple. You put in the IP and credentials for Virtual Center, then the IP and credentials for the Equallogic Group. It installs in about 2 minutes and starts the services and verifies installation. Once up you log in via a web gui and it looks very Equallogic (if you can use that as an adjective?). Pretty much just shows the hierarchy of VirtualCenter. You have options to take Smart Copies and setup schedules for Smart Copies. Smart Copies are snapshots of the running virtual machine, it's memory state (optional), and any attached iSCSI rdm's. (optional). This is very similar to Microsoft DPM as it takes point in time snapshots for rollback.
One thing that I wish would be included would be the ability to put a Smart Copy online and mount the vmdk to recover files (much like vRanger). As it is, this is just a rollback technology. That being said, the size of the snapshots are extremely small and don't grow like VMware initiated snapshots. So in practice, I believe that this feature allows administrators to create snapshots of vm's prior to doing updates, etc. without the fear of snapshot overgrowth leading to LUN crashing. Now if there was a way to add this as an option to the snapshot process inside of VirtualCenter (also Update Manager as well) and it has file recovery options it would make for one killer app.
I plan on adding more information as the testing proceeds and will add screenshots.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Akorri Adds Plug-In for VMware vCenter to BalancePoint Performance Management Software
Littleton, MA, November 18, 2008
– Akorri, Inc., the leader in performance and capacity management for the virtualized data center, today announced the availability of the BalancePoint™ Plug-In for VMware vCenter - a new capability sold with its award-winning BalancePoint software solution that allows VMware administrators to use BalancePoint directly from their VMware vCenter console, simplifying the management of virtualized environments.
“The BalancePoint Plug-in for VMware vCenter provides ‘single pane of glass’ management of a virtualized data center from within the vCenter console,” said Jeff Boles, Sr. Analyst, Taneja Group. “BalancePoint complements the element management aspects of vCenter by providing end-to-end performance management for all virtual and physical infrastructure components. This type of detailed insight goes well beyond basic utilization monitoring, and is absolutely critical to companies when they virtualize business-critical production applications.”
“We are excited to further our integration through our new Plug-In capability,” said Tom Joyce, President and CEO of Akorri. “Our goal is to simplify the management of heterogeneous virtualized server and storage environments. By adding this plug-in we have taken an important step towards providing a unified management experience, which is essential for our VMware customers.”
About Akorri
Akorri performance and capacity management software with advanced analytics provides automated visibility and analysis across IT silos to help enterprises fix problems, optimize utilization and improve performance in the virtualized data center. Certified for VMware environments, Akorri BalancePoint virtual appliance provides visibility into the root cause of performance issues through deep drill down into server and storage resources, and the ability to understand both server and storage virtualization. BalancePoint enables IT organizations to optimize performance and capacity to meet service level objectives at the lowest possible cost. For more information, visit http://www.akorri.com/.
-###-
Akorri, BalancePoint, Cross-Domain Analysis and the Akorri logo are trademarks of Akorri, Inc. All other trademarks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.
Media Contacts
Lisa AlloccaRed Javelin Communications for Akorrilisa@redjavelin.com+1.978.470.2227
Lisa CreweAkorrimailto:lcrewe@akorri.com?subject=Press+1.978.431.1263
Post from Akorri Website
– Akorri, Inc., the leader in performance and capacity management for the virtualized data center, today announced the availability of the BalancePoint™ Plug-In for VMware vCenter - a new capability sold with its award-winning BalancePoint software solution that allows VMware administrators to use BalancePoint directly from their VMware vCenter console, simplifying the management of virtualized environments.
“The BalancePoint Plug-in for VMware vCenter provides ‘single pane of glass’ management of a virtualized data center from within the vCenter console,” said Jeff Boles, Sr. Analyst, Taneja Group. “BalancePoint complements the element management aspects of vCenter by providing end-to-end performance management for all virtual and physical infrastructure components. This type of detailed insight goes well beyond basic utilization monitoring, and is absolutely critical to companies when they virtualize business-critical production applications.”
“We are excited to further our integration through our new Plug-In capability,” said Tom Joyce, President and CEO of Akorri. “Our goal is to simplify the management of heterogeneous virtualized server and storage environments. By adding this plug-in we have taken an important step towards providing a unified management experience, which is essential for our VMware customers.”
About Akorri
Akorri performance and capacity management software with advanced analytics provides automated visibility and analysis across IT silos to help enterprises fix problems, optimize utilization and improve performance in the virtualized data center. Certified for VMware environments, Akorri BalancePoint virtual appliance provides visibility into the root cause of performance issues through deep drill down into server and storage resources, and the ability to understand both server and storage virtualization. BalancePoint enables IT organizations to optimize performance and capacity to meet service level objectives at the lowest possible cost. For more information, visit http://www.akorri.com/.
-###-
Akorri, BalancePoint, Cross-Domain Analysis and the Akorri logo are trademarks of Akorri, Inc. All other trademarks used or mentioned herein belong to their respective owners.
Media Contacts
Lisa AlloccaRed Javelin Communications for Akorrilisa@redjavelin.com+1.978.470.2227
Lisa CreweAkorrimailto:lcrewe@akorri.com?subject=Press+1.978.431.1263
Post from Akorri Website
vFoglight Red CPU "wheel" caught in the wild
I have been testing vFoglight for a while and have been waiting for a red CPU "wheel" to pop up. Well I finally saw it when I had a Linux box go out of control!
VMware Command Cheat Sheet
Very nice pdf cheatsheet that shows ESX Commands.
Cheat Sheet
Originally posted on blog:
http://www.fejf.de/
Cheat Sheet
Originally posted on blog:
http://www.fejf.de/
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Dell / Equallogic partner with ExaGrid to provide cost effective data dedup backups!
Equallogic has partnered with ExaGrid to provide a cost effective backup and dedup solution. For those of you that are Dell/Equallogic customers this is something to look at.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Dell / Equallogic - Auto-Snapshot Manager /VMware Edition software update
Dell/Equallogic just released new software for their PS line. It allows for integration with ESX. Excerpt and link below:
Auto-Snapshot Manager/VMware Edition
Automated, Integrated, and Scalable Protection for Virtual Machines
Benefits of Deploying Auto-Snapshot Manager VMware Edition:
High performance, space-efficient hypervisor-aware SAN-based snapshot support
Automated, consolidated virtual machine backup and recovery
Scalable HW-based solution for online data protection of virtual infrastructure
Reduced snapshot space overhead and enhanced ESX Server performance
Fast recovery of virtual machines and VMFS DataStores
Easy to navigate GUI with both SAN and VMware-centric views
Snapshot policies logically assigned to virtual machine hierarchies
http://www.equallogic.com/partners/view.aspx?id=4281
Auto-Snapshot Manager/VMware Edition
Automated, Integrated, and Scalable Protection for Virtual Machines
Benefits of Deploying Auto-Snapshot Manager VMware Edition:
High performance, space-efficient hypervisor-aware SAN-based snapshot support
Automated, consolidated virtual machine backup and recovery
Scalable HW-based solution for online data protection of virtual infrastructure
Reduced snapshot space overhead and enhanced ESX Server performance
Fast recovery of virtual machines and VMFS DataStores
Easy to navigate GUI with both SAN and VMware-centric views
Snapshot policies logically assigned to virtual machine hierarchies
http://www.equallogic.com/partners/view.aspx?id=4281
Vizioncore vFoglight Video v1.0
I made this video to show some of the functionality and features of Vizioncore (Quest) vFoglight. This is a great window into an ESX environment. I will try to clean up the video and add some narrative. If anyone is interested in a webex demo, please contact me.
Veeam Configurator 2.0 Released
Just got this in email. I guess Veeam wanted to get a jumpstart on VMware who is planning on having a single point of configuration for all hosts in ESX4 / VDC-OS.
Looking for "Host Profile" functionality today?
Veeam Configurator 2.0 has it!
Available now!
Veeam Configurator 2.0 automatically discovers ESX and ESXi configurations across your enterprise and creates Veeam host profile templates. These templates can then be applied to groups of VMware hosts, and periodic scans will uncover inconsistencies and help you enforce policy compliance. You can also use them to quickly provision new or re-build existing hosts.
Features include:
Automated discovery
Change management & reporting
Compliance auditing
Change simulation
and more!
See how it works in your own environment.
Looking for "Host Profile" functionality today?
Veeam Configurator 2.0 has it!
Available now!
Veeam Configurator 2.0 automatically discovers ESX and ESXi configurations across your enterprise and creates Veeam host profile templates. These templates can then be applied to groups of VMware hosts, and periodic scans will uncover inconsistencies and help you enforce policy compliance. You can also use them to quickly provision new or re-build existing hosts.
Features include:
Automated discovery
Change management & reporting
Compliance auditing
Change simulation
and more!
See how it works in your own environment.
Install VMTools on a Linux Guest
I was recently asked how to install the VMTools on a Linux Guest. Below are excerpts from the latest Basic System Administration Guide:
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_35/esx_3/r35u2/vi3_35_25_u2_admin_guide.pdf
To install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Linux guest from X with the RPM
installer
1 Open a console to the virtual machine.
2 Power on the virtual machine.
3 After the guest operating system starts, right‐click the virtual machine and choose
Install VMware Tools.
The remaining steps take place inside the virtual machine.
4 Do one of the following:
If you see a VMware Tools CD icon on the desktop, double‐click it, and after
it opens, double‐click the RPM installer in the root of the CD‐ROM.
If you see a file manager window, double‐click the RPM installer file.
In some Linux distributions, the VMware Tools CD icon might fail to appear.
In this case, continue install VMware Tools from the command line.
5 When prompted, enter the root password and click OK.
The installer prepares the packages.
6 Click Continue when the installer presents a dialog box that shows
Completed System Preparation.
A dialog box appears with a progress bar. When the installer is done, VMware
Tools is installed. There is no confirmation or finish button.
7 In an X terminal, as root (su -), run the following file to configure VMware Tools:
vmware-config-tools.pl
Respond to the questions the installer displays on the screen. Press Enter to accept
the default value.
8 When done, exit from the root account:
exit
9 In an X terminal, open the VMware Tools Properties dialog box:
vmware-toolbox &
To install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Linux guest with the tar installer or
RPM installer
1 Open a console to the virtual machine.
2 Power on the virtual machine.
3 After the guest operating system starts, right‐click the virtual machine and choose
Install VMware Tools.
The remaining steps take place inside the virtual machine.
4 As root (su -), mount the VMware Tools virtual CD‐ROM image and change to a
working directory (for example, /tmp), as follows.
Some Linux distributions use different device names or organize the /dev
directory differently. Modify the following commands to reflect the conventions
used by your distribution:
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
cd /tmp
NOTE Some Linux distributions automatically mount CD‐ROMs. If your
distribution uses automounting, do not use the mount and umount commands
described in this procedure. You still must untar the VMware Tools installer to
/tmp.
NOTE If you have a previous installation, delete the previous
vmware-tools-distrib directory before installing. The default location of this
directory is:
/tmp/vmware-tools-distrib
5 Uncompress the installer and unmount the CD‐ROM image.
Depending on whether you are using the tar installer or the RPM installer, do one
of the following:
For the tar installer, at the command prompt, enter:
tar zxpf /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-5.0.0-.tar.gz
umount /dev/cdrom
Whereis the build/revision number of the Workstation release.
For the RPM installer, at the command prompt, enter:
rpm -Uhv /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-5.0.0-.i386.rpm
umount /dev/cdrom
Whereis the build/revision number of the Workstation release.
6 Depending on whether you are using the tar installer or the RPM installer, do one
of the following:
For the tar installer, run the VMware Tools tar installer:
cd vmware-tools-distrib
./vmware-install.pl
Respond to the configuration questions on the screen. Press Enter to accept the
default value.
For the RPM installer, configure VMware Tools:
vmware-config-tools.pl
Respond to the questions the installer displays on the screen. Press Enter to
accept the default value.
7 Log off the root account.
exit
8 Start your graphical environment.
9 In an X terminal, open the VMware Tools Properties dialog box:
vmware-toolbox &
NOTE If you attempt to install an rpm installation over a tar installation—or the
reverse—the installer detects the previous installation and must convert the
installer database format before continuing.
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vi3_35/esx_3/r35u2/vi3_35_25_u2_admin_guide.pdf
To install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Linux guest from X with the RPM
installer
1 Open a console to the virtual machine.
2 Power on the virtual machine.
3 After the guest operating system starts, right‐click the virtual machine and choose
Install VMware Tools.
The remaining steps take place inside the virtual machine.
4 Do one of the following:
If you see a VMware Tools CD icon on the desktop, double‐click it, and after
it opens, double‐click the RPM installer in the root of the CD‐ROM.
If you see a file manager window, double‐click the RPM installer file.
In some Linux distributions, the VMware Tools CD icon might fail to appear.
In this case, continue install VMware Tools from the command line.
5 When prompted, enter the root password and click OK.
The installer prepares the packages.
6 Click Continue when the installer presents a dialog box that shows
Completed System Preparation.
A dialog box appears with a progress bar. When the installer is done, VMware
Tools is installed. There is no confirmation or finish button.
7 In an X terminal, as root (su -), run the following file to configure VMware Tools:
vmware-config-tools.pl
Respond to the questions the installer displays on the screen. Press Enter to accept
the default value.
8 When done, exit from the root account:
exit
9 In an X terminal, open the VMware Tools Properties dialog box:
vmware-toolbox &
To install or upgrade VMware Tools on a Linux guest with the tar installer or
RPM installer
1 Open a console to the virtual machine.
2 Power on the virtual machine.
3 After the guest operating system starts, right‐click the virtual machine and choose
Install VMware Tools.
The remaining steps take place inside the virtual machine.
4 As root (su -), mount the VMware Tools virtual CD‐ROM image and change to a
working directory (for example, /tmp), as follows.
Some Linux distributions use different device names or organize the /dev
directory differently. Modify the following commands to reflect the conventions
used by your distribution:
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
cd /tmp
NOTE Some Linux distributions automatically mount CD‐ROMs. If your
distribution uses automounting, do not use the mount and umount commands
described in this procedure. You still must untar the VMware Tools installer to
/tmp.
NOTE If you have a previous installation, delete the previous
vmware-tools-distrib directory before installing. The default location of this
directory is:
/tmp/vmware-tools-distrib
5 Uncompress the installer and unmount the CD‐ROM image.
Depending on whether you are using the tar installer or the RPM installer, do one
of the following:
For the tar installer, at the command prompt, enter:
tar zxpf /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-5.0.0-
umount /dev/cdrom
Where
For the RPM installer, at the command prompt, enter:
rpm -Uhv /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-5.0.0-
umount /dev/cdrom
Where
6 Depending on whether you are using the tar installer or the RPM installer, do one
of the following:
For the tar installer, run the VMware Tools tar installer:
cd vmware-tools-distrib
./vmware-install.pl
Respond to the configuration questions on the screen. Press Enter to accept the
default value.
For the RPM installer, configure VMware Tools:
vmware-config-tools.pl
Respond to the questions the installer displays on the screen. Press Enter to
accept the default value.
7 Log off the root account.
exit
8 Start your graphical environment.
9 In an X terminal, open the VMware Tools Properties dialog box:
vmware-toolbox &
NOTE If you attempt to install an rpm installation over a tar installation—or the
reverse—the installer detects the previous installation and must convert the
installer database format before continuing.
Albany,NY - DynTek to Hold VMware Fast Track Class
DynTek - Albany, will be holding the VMware Fast Track Class. This class puts 2 classes into 1 vigorous week. Contact training@dyntek.com for more information.
Technical training for your design, implementation, and support engineers is critical to the success of new product deployments, product upgrades, delivering high levels of support for your users, and insuring the maximum return on your product investments. Trained engineers are better able to manage the existing environment and utilize the capabilities of the products you have implemented to their fullest.
DynTek is hosting the VMware Fast Track class in Albany, NY from December 8th through 12th. The Fast Track class is the VMware authorized course, presented by Alternative Technology, a VMware Authorized Training Center. The class will be taught by a seasoned, vendor-certified instructor who is highly skilled engineer with years of practical "real world" experience.
This intensive, extended-hours training course covers the installation, management, and use of VMware ESX Server, VMware VirtualCenter, VMware DRS, VMware HA, VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB), VMware Converter, Storage VMotion, and VMware Update Manager. It combines the content from the 3.5 versions of the VMware Infrastructure 3: Install & Configure and Deploy, Secure, and Analyze training courses. The course reduces classroom time from 8 days to 5 days AND reduces your cost by $800.00. Upon completion of this course, you can take the examination to qualify as a VMware Certified Professional.
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, you should be able to:
• Perform manual and scripted ESX Server installations
• Understand and configure security on the Service Console
• Install, configure, migrate, manage, and monitor virtual machines using ESX Server and Virtual Center
• Utilize VMware Converter and VMware Update Manager
• Learn specific commands used to administer an ESX Server
• Configure and implement VMware HA, DRS and VCB
• Perform fault analysis in Virtual Infrastructure
Target Audience
This class is designed for experienced system administrators and system integrators who are responsible for scaling their organization’s deployment of VMware technology. This fast-track program is most suited for those willing to work hard to achieve superior VI skills with minimal time away from the office.
Prerequisites
• Willingness to participate in a demanding, high-intensity training experience
• Comfort with system administration using command-line interfaces
Technical training for your design, implementation, and support engineers is critical to the success of new product deployments, product upgrades, delivering high levels of support for your users, and insuring the maximum return on your product investments. Trained engineers are better able to manage the existing environment and utilize the capabilities of the products you have implemented to their fullest.
DynTek is hosting the VMware Fast Track class in Albany, NY from December 8th through 12th. The Fast Track class is the VMware authorized course, presented by Alternative Technology, a VMware Authorized Training Center. The class will be taught by a seasoned, vendor-certified instructor who is highly skilled engineer with years of practical "real world" experience.
This intensive, extended-hours training course covers the installation, management, and use of VMware ESX Server, VMware VirtualCenter, VMware DRS, VMware HA, VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB), VMware Converter, Storage VMotion, and VMware Update Manager. It combines the content from the 3.5 versions of the VMware Infrastructure 3: Install & Configure and Deploy, Secure, and Analyze training courses. The course reduces classroom time from 8 days to 5 days AND reduces your cost by $800.00. Upon completion of this course, you can take the examination to qualify as a VMware Certified Professional.
Course Objectives
At the end of the course, you should be able to:
• Perform manual and scripted ESX Server installations
• Understand and configure security on the Service Console
• Install, configure, migrate, manage, and monitor virtual machines using ESX Server and Virtual Center
• Utilize VMware Converter and VMware Update Manager
• Learn specific commands used to administer an ESX Server
• Configure and implement VMware HA, DRS and VCB
• Perform fault analysis in Virtual Infrastructure
Target Audience
This class is designed for experienced system administrators and system integrators who are responsible for scaling their organization’s deployment of VMware technology. This fast-track program is most suited for those willing to work hard to achieve superior VI skills with minimal time away from the office.
Prerequisites
• Willingness to participate in a demanding, high-intensity training experience
• Comfort with system administration using command-line interfaces
Panologic Announces Windows Native VDI Driver - Escape from RDP
We wanted to share some news with you about an exciting new chapter for Pano Logic.
We have just preanounced that Pano Virtual Desktop Solution 2.5 will be available on November 25th 2008. While it may seem like just a dot release, it represents the introduction of Console Direct technology, a significant addition that unleashes the Pano Solution from RDP and Terminal Server Session to dramatically improve user experience.
You can learn more about Pano VDS 2.5 and Console Direct Technology at a new web page http://www.panologic.com/why-pano/consoledirect .
I've included a copy of our press release below for your convenience.
If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line or contact your Regional Sales Manager.
Kevin Strohmeyer
Director of Product Marketing
Pano Logic DELIVERS FIRST WINDOWS NATIVE VDI SOLUTION
New Pano VDS release delivers users a fully native Windows user experience without using RDP, providing for optimized audio, video and native support for PC-compatible USB devices, purpose built for virtualization
MENLO PARK, Calif. – November 17, 2008 – Pano Logic™, developer of a server-based desktop virtualization solution, today announced Pano Virtual Desktop Solution (VDS) 2.5. The new release is the first desktop virtualization solution to optimize the Windows user experience without using the Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), which eliminates the dependence on Microsoft Terminal Services technology and provides native session support for Windows applications, video, and audio interfaces and native USB device drivers. These new capabilities are available through Console Direct™, a new technology in Pano VDS 2.5 that plugs directly into the Windows Operating System to deliver a fully native experience. In addition, new capabilities for Pano Manager improve IT’s ability to maintain and support virtual infrastructure through quick and easy role-based access for the help desk.
“With Pano Logic’s latest release, video has been significantly enhanced,” said Jeff Cunningham, director of information systems, AREC department, University of Maryland. “Additionally, the new role-based access controls allow me to assign role-based management for my Active Directory users.”
New features in Pano VDS 2.5 include:
Native Console Support – offering the ability via Console Direct to allow the Windows desktop to use its native interfaces for video, audio and USB devices. While other technologies use a Terminal Server Session with RDP, which doesn’t have access to all Windows native interfaces and therefore detrimentally affects user experience and device support, Console Direct enables the use of native drivers such as touch screens and smart boards that must communicate with the console session. Only Pano VDS allows the deployment of these interactive devices while maintaining zero management at the end-point.
Internet Video – delivering support of native video, audio and USB device drivers directly from the Windows operating system, ensuring quality video replay with any codec (including Adobe Flash Video) with no tearing and tight audio video synchronization.
Quick and easy role-based access through Active Directory – providing help desk staff the ability to have view-only access to the Pano Manager to look at alerts, statistics and connection status to quickly troubleshoot and resolve customer requests.
These new features further enhance the robust capabilities that are already a part of Pano VDS. Purpose-built from the ground up, the Pano Logic approach is to provide a zero management client and leverage a customer’s VMware server virtualization infrastructure to deliver a complete Windows desktop environment. Pano VDS can be installed in less than 60 minutes, and is centrally managed from the data center.
“Pano VDS sets the standard for desktop virtualization,” said Mike Fodor, vice president of product management at Pano Logic. “VDI is all about giving customers what they need without the headaches of a PC. To be successful at this, solutions need to deliver a rich user experience. Pano VDS is able to do this by eliminating the technical constraints of the past - that forced IT to be reliant on protocols like RDP - to deliver a robust, and easy to manage Windows experience.”
About Pano Virtual Desktop SolutionThe Pano Virtual Desktop Solution includes the hardware clients and software components required to turn your existing virtual infrastructure into a purpose-build virtual desktop solution. The key components of the solution are the:
Pano Device – Winner of the prestigious red dot award for design, the Pano device is a zero client with nothing to manage or maintain at the user end point. The Pano device connects keyboard, mouse, display, audio and USB peripherals over an existing IP network to an instance of Windows XP or Vista running on a virtualized server. The Pano device is power friendly, consuming only 3% of the energy consumed by a traditional desktop computer.
Pano Manager – A web-based management interface, deployed on your VMware VI3 infrastructure which enables administrators to automate virtual desktop deployment by integrating with existing directory services and VMware Virtual Center.
Pano Desktop Service – A lightweight service residing within each Windows desktop virtual machine that links peripherals attached to the Pano device to the unmodified native Windows drivers.
About Pano LogicPano Logic develops virtualization-based software and hardware solutions that deliver superior desktop computing. The company is privately held, and backed by leading investment firms Velocity, Foundation Capital and Goldman Sachs. Pano Logic is headquartered in Menlo Park, California and has an office in Toronto, Canada. For more information about Pano Logic, visit http://www.panologic.com/.
We have just preanounced that Pano Virtual Desktop Solution 2.5 will be available on November 25th 2008. While it may seem like just a dot release, it represents the introduction of Console Direct technology, a significant addition that unleashes the Pano Solution from RDP and Terminal Server Session to dramatically improve user experience.
You can learn more about Pano VDS 2.5 and Console Direct Technology at a new web page http://www.panologic.com/why-pano/consoledirect .
I've included a copy of our press release below for your convenience.
If you have any questions, please feel free to drop me a line or contact your Regional Sales Manager.
Kevin Strohmeyer
Director of Product Marketing
Pano Logic DELIVERS FIRST WINDOWS NATIVE VDI SOLUTION
New Pano VDS release delivers users a fully native Windows user experience without using RDP, providing for optimized audio, video and native support for PC-compatible USB devices, purpose built for virtualization
MENLO PARK, Calif. – November 17, 2008 – Pano Logic™, developer of a server-based desktop virtualization solution, today announced Pano Virtual Desktop Solution (VDS) 2.5. The new release is the first desktop virtualization solution to optimize the Windows user experience without using the Microsoft Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP), which eliminates the dependence on Microsoft Terminal Services technology and provides native session support for Windows applications, video, and audio interfaces and native USB device drivers. These new capabilities are available through Console Direct™, a new technology in Pano VDS 2.5 that plugs directly into the Windows Operating System to deliver a fully native experience. In addition, new capabilities for Pano Manager improve IT’s ability to maintain and support virtual infrastructure through quick and easy role-based access for the help desk.
“With Pano Logic’s latest release, video has been significantly enhanced,” said Jeff Cunningham, director of information systems, AREC department, University of Maryland. “Additionally, the new role-based access controls allow me to assign role-based management for my Active Directory users.”
New features in Pano VDS 2.5 include:
Native Console Support – offering the ability via Console Direct to allow the Windows desktop to use its native interfaces for video, audio and USB devices. While other technologies use a Terminal Server Session with RDP, which doesn’t have access to all Windows native interfaces and therefore detrimentally affects user experience and device support, Console Direct enables the use of native drivers such as touch screens and smart boards that must communicate with the console session. Only Pano VDS allows the deployment of these interactive devices while maintaining zero management at the end-point.
Internet Video – delivering support of native video, audio and USB device drivers directly from the Windows operating system, ensuring quality video replay with any codec (including Adobe Flash Video) with no tearing and tight audio video synchronization.
Quick and easy role-based access through Active Directory – providing help desk staff the ability to have view-only access to the Pano Manager to look at alerts, statistics and connection status to quickly troubleshoot and resolve customer requests.
These new features further enhance the robust capabilities that are already a part of Pano VDS. Purpose-built from the ground up, the Pano Logic approach is to provide a zero management client and leverage a customer’s VMware server virtualization infrastructure to deliver a complete Windows desktop environment. Pano VDS can be installed in less than 60 minutes, and is centrally managed from the data center.
“Pano VDS sets the standard for desktop virtualization,” said Mike Fodor, vice president of product management at Pano Logic. “VDI is all about giving customers what they need without the headaches of a PC. To be successful at this, solutions need to deliver a rich user experience. Pano VDS is able to do this by eliminating the technical constraints of the past - that forced IT to be reliant on protocols like RDP - to deliver a robust, and easy to manage Windows experience.”
About Pano Virtual Desktop SolutionThe Pano Virtual Desktop Solution includes the hardware clients and software components required to turn your existing virtual infrastructure into a purpose-build virtual desktop solution. The key components of the solution are the:
Pano Device – Winner of the prestigious red dot award for design, the Pano device is a zero client with nothing to manage or maintain at the user end point. The Pano device connects keyboard, mouse, display, audio and USB peripherals over an existing IP network to an instance of Windows XP or Vista running on a virtualized server. The Pano device is power friendly, consuming only 3% of the energy consumed by a traditional desktop computer.
Pano Manager – A web-based management interface, deployed on your VMware VI3 infrastructure which enables administrators to automate virtual desktop deployment by integrating with existing directory services and VMware Virtual Center.
Pano Desktop Service – A lightweight service residing within each Windows desktop virtual machine that links peripherals attached to the Pano device to the unmodified native Windows drivers.
About Pano LogicPano Logic develops virtualization-based software and hardware solutions that deliver superior desktop computing. The company is privately held, and backed by leading investment firms Velocity, Foundation Capital and Goldman Sachs. Pano Logic is headquartered in Menlo Park, California and has an office in Toronto, Canada. For more information about Pano Logic, visit http://www.panologic.com/.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
ESX 3.5 U1 10Gbps Ethernet Document from VMware
This is a link to a VMware published technical document outlining tests of ESX 3.5 U1 (applies to recent U3 as well) w 10Gbps network adapters. Below is an excerpt from the Conclusion section:
Conclusion
The results presented in the previous sections show that virtual machines running on ESX 3.5 Update 1 can efficiently share and saturate 10Gbps Ethernet links. A single uniprocessor virtual machine can push as much as 8Gbps of traffic with frames that use the standard MTU size and can saturate a 10Gbps link when using jumbo frames. Jumbo frames can also boost receive throughput by up to 40 percent, allowing a single virtual machine to receive traffic at rates up to 5.7Gbps. Our detailed scaling tests show that ESX scales very well with increasing load on the system and fairly allocates bandwidth to all the booted virtual machines. Two virtual machines can easily saturate a 10Gbps link (the practical limit is 9.3Gbps for packets that use the standard MTU size because of protocol overheads), and the throughput remains constant as we add more virtual machines. Scaling on the receive path is similar, with throughput increasing linearly until we achieve line rate and then gracefully decreasing as system load and resource contention increase. Thus, ESX 3.5 Update 1 supports the latest generation of 10Gbps NICs with minimal overheads and allows high virtual machine consolidation ratios while being fair to all virtual machines sharing the NICs and maintaining 10Gbps line rates.
KB - Modifying HAL for Processor Count in a Windows Virtual Machine
This is a good kb from VMware regarding changing the HAL (not from 2001:A Space Odyssey) after changing the virtual processors from multi to uni or vice-versa. This will greatly improve performance and efficiency of the CPU especially on database servers in my experience.
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1003978
http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1003978
Best Practices for ESX 3.x Local Partitioning
These are the recommended partition settings according to VMware's VI Architecture Design document.
VMware Distributed Power Management (DPM) Video
Videocaster drummonds1974 posted this great demo of VMware's cluster feature, Distributed Power Management (DMP). While it is still officially considered experimental, I have set it up successfully in production sites. DPM uses DRS type logic to determine the minimum number of ESX hosts that are needed to run all guests while still staying within the parameters of your HA rules. Great idea for "Going Green".
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Welcome to the vOptimize blog. The purpose of this forum is to provide a collection of new, and linked information to help end users better their virtual environments. There will be posts of new and compelling products, procedures, and notes from the field. Please stay tuned as this blog is ramped up!
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