VMworld 2010 General Session, Day 4
blog.scottlowe.org: The VMworld 2010 general session on Thursday, September 2, gets kicked off by pictures of the party last night & opening remarks by Rick Jackson around innovation and… Read more >

VMworld BUZZ
View tweets, news and blog coverage for all 4 days at VMworld. Read more >

News reel of ALL VMworld 2010 announcements. Click here >

Live from VMworld 2010: Day 4
Alessandro Perilli – The second keynote is usually more technical than the first one, but as readers know, the first keynote already was a split between vision/strategy and technology/roadmap, with both… Read more >

Gabe Knuth and Brian Madden VMworld Expo Hall Notes
A video of Teradici’s booth demos, MokaFive demos their bare metal hypervisor, Wyse PocketCloud 2.0 for iPad, iPhone, and Android, Wyse R-class thin client running RemoteFX. See all the videos and commentary >

Virtualization Draws Record Crowd to VMWorld 2010
eWeek images and commentary from this years festivities. Read more >

VMware throws a good party. I’m basing that on what I hear from other attendees since I don’t go to a lot of them outside of these conferences. Not that I’ve got 17,000 people I like to hang out with on weekends to practice anyway. I’ve noticed over the years that they make an effort to have a bit of everything so that everyone has the opportunity to have a good time. Bravo!

Maybe I’m getting old, but a week of late nights ‘networking’ and catching up with old friends takes its toll. Couple that with hours of PowerPoint slides each day, and you’ve got a bunch of tired people wandering around Thursday morning. I understand that a lot of people traditionally use this as their travel day, so we’ll see if that holds true this year as well.

I learned a few non-IT things last night: ‘Yerba buena,’ the name of the garden north of Moscone where part of the VMworld party was held, means ‘good herb.’ No, not THAT one! Apparently, when Sir Francis Drake arrived, there were mint plants all over the area and the place became ‘Yerba Buena’ … the name was changed to San Francisco later.

Even though it was another late conference night, I’m up and ready to get going. I really respect the people who can continue their exercise regimen while at these things. Nice work, people. I salute you. I just crawl out of bed in search of coffee like a zombie looking for ‘braains!’

Got more learning to do, bags to pack, hotel to leave, train, plane… where did I park, again?

My everyday life is probably less interesting for everyone else than one of these conferences, but I miss my family and it will be good to get home tonight.

Best quote at this year’s event: Cloud is about provisioning services, not VMs

Takeaway from the conference: You need to fix your IT organization prior to doing anything cloud. Unless you’re mature enough to provision services today, cloud isn’t going to do a lot for you.

Below is a recap of the last couple sessions I attended:

Session MA8237 – vCloud Director Technical Overview

This was another good session — once I got into the routine, I was able to get into the sessions I wanted. The sessions that I was able to get into showed a high degree of quality. Every seat in the room was taken — not unexpected due to the fact that this is a brand new product for most of us.

VMware’s direction is to logically separate the Producer from the Consumer roles within an organization. The Producer/Cloud Administrator is responsible for the Infrastructure configuration (hardware, clustering, vCenter). With respect to consumption, there are two roles: admin and user. The administrator is responsible for service catalog creation and maintenance (templates, ISOs, etc.), while the user creates and uses VMs — technically, vApps that contain VMs.

vCloud Director is subject to the new per-VM licensing model and will list at $250/VM. This does not include Chargeback, which is a recomended component at $50/VM. Apparently, there is an introductory bundle for $100/VM that includes both of these components. If the other per-VM licensed products are to be taken as an example, this will be licensed in packs of 25.

vSphere Enterprise licensing is the minimum level to support VCD, but Ent+ is recommended to greatly simplify networking. Also, as of v1.0, VCD requires Oracle 10g or 11g for the back end. A separate database server is recommended.

There are two versions of View 4.5 available now with features that I will list below. There is an Premier license that includes the full Suite of VMware VDI related products and the Enterprise edition with covers the base View VDI install.

So what does VMware promise that View 4.5 can delivery on? It now offers Windows 7 support which can increase speed and reduce the cost and complexity of migrating to Windows 7. Some other important benefits are Simplified Desktop Management and Application Management via VMware ThinApp.

What is included with VMware View 4.5

• VMware vSphere for Desktops – #1 Virtualization hypervizor
• VMware View Manager – Central Management for Desktops
• VMware ThinApp – Agentless Application Virtualization solution
• VMware Composer – Create Desktop images and linked clones
• VMware vCenter Server for Desktops – Management for vSphere Server
• VMware View Client – Allows access to desktops in Datacenter now with Local mode for offline use
• VMware vShield Endpoint – Enables offload and centralization of AntiVirus & Malware scanning

Brian Suhr is a Senior Virtualization Engineer and Architect working for HP Enterprise Services. He’s worked in the IT Industry since 1991, and worked for several companies. He runs the blog virtualizetips to document tips and problems encountered during his projects and reads. A VMware Certified Professional (VCP VI3.5) MCSE on Windows NT – 2000, Cisco CCNA/CCDA. Brian is currently working on upgrading my VCP to vSphere and will be pursuing VMware Certified Design Expert (VCDX) next.

Session BC7803 – Planning and Designing an HA Cluster that Maximizes VM Uptime 
You may not think there is a lot to talk about since HA is ‘just a feature,’ but I am sure Duncan Epping (the presenter) had a hard time cramming all of what he knows into a 45 minute slide presentation.  There are several nuances with regard to HA’s configuration, although it can be enabled by clicking a checkbox.  I am certain this was an eye-opener for some people.  

For a session without ‘cloud’ anywhere in the title, I was surprised that it was in a huge room and pretty full.  The group definitely wouldn’t have fit in the ‘normal’ rooms.

Session MA9800 – How to get from a VMware cluster to cloud?
I had high expectations for this session, and I did like the way it was approached.

Just because you have a cluster of machines that have ESX/i on them and you’ve managed to get vMotion running does not mean that you’ve got a cloud.  In fact, you have completed the simplest part of the process: getting the technology in place.  The real work involved with Cloud is the process changes that must occur inside the organization to support a cloud model.  Not just from the support side, but from the consumption side as well.

A cloud implies instrumentation — it must be *able* to be monitored and it must be monitored.

Session TA8051 – Infrastructure Technologies to Long Distance VMotion – What Is “VM Teleportation”?
Chad ‘virtual geek’ Sakac presented VPLEX current and future technology, including the capability of stretching a virtual volume across distance and performing a ‘vTeleport,’ which is basically a long-distance vMotion against that distributed volume.  It is so much more, though, since a VM actually accesses its data locally from the site where its compute is being hosted. Cool stuff.

Currently available for synchronous distances (<5ms latency… ~100km), this is something to watch if you’ve got that kind of infrastructure.  

Many warnings about the dangers of stretching a VMware cluster across distance and the interactions with HA and DRS… Split-brain could be bad. Really bad.

While product-focused, not a “salesy” presentation: just talking about the architecture and capabilities. I think this is the type of session people are looking for.

Session TA7121 – Next Generation VM Storage Solutions with vStorage API for Array Integration
Highly informative session on what, exactly, this VAAI stuff is doing, and what other options are possibly coming.

vStorage is a family and there is a roadmap. I was familiar with the Data Protection (VCB++) and had heard of the VAAI, but there are other paths being explored as well. vStorage API for Thin Provisioning and Storage Awareness both look very interesting.

Imagine deploying a VM into a storage cloud.  That cloud can ensure and report performance as well as handle reclamation of dead space (thin provisioned, and allocated, then no longer needed) within the array.

VMware is looking at tighter integration with the storage array in order to streamline and optimize performance. Rumors that the 2tb VMFS limit will be removed shortly…maybe in VMFS5?

Optimization with respect to locking… In vSphere 4.1… SCSI locking is going away eventually, in favor of ATS (atomic test and set) locking at the block level.

Also in 4.1 are optimizations for Full Copy and Block Zero for duplicating and provisioning VMDKs — those tasks are offloaded to the supported arrays (requires firmware update) and reduce load on storage network and ESX host.

- By Doug Baer, Principal Consultant & leader of the Virtualization Practice, IT Partners in Phoenix

Extending the management capability of the MokaFive Suite to lower management and license costs

VMWORLD (Booth #1736), SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – MokaFive™, the virtual desktop management company, today announced a technology preview of MokaFive BareMetal Player, which installs directly onto users’ machines and allows them to run virtual desktop images without the need of a host OS. VMworld attendees can be among the first to see MokaFive BareMetal Player in action at booth #1736.

For company-owned machines, BareMetal Player extends MokaFive’s industry-leading management capability to include the entire desktop software stack, thus eliminating the management and licensing costs of a host OS. Better yet, MokaFive BareMetal delivers on performance, including exceptional handling of 3D graphics such as those required by Windows 7 Aero.

“MokaFive Suite is already the broadest client-side virtualization solution in the industry, allowing customers to access their standard desktop image on corporate and personal machines,” said Purnima Padmanabhan, Vice President of Product Management at MokaFive. “With BareMetal Player, we’re also the most complete solution. For company-owned machines, MokaFive can manage the entire software stack, allowing customers to avoid the cost and burden of managing a host OS.”

At VMworld, MokaFive will be demonstrating BareMetal Player, and many of its key features:

• Broad hardware support, allowing companies more sourcing alternatives
• Optimized performance, including 3D graphics support
• Automatic refresh of the full software stack, including everything above the host BIOS
• Ability to run a single image across Windows, Macs and machines running BareMetal Player
• Full administrator policy control via the MokaFive Console, including the ability to remotely destroy the image on a lost device
• Support for multiple images on the same machine, allowing separate personal and locked down corporate desktops

MokaFive BareMetal Player is expected in early 2011, with a beta program available later this year.

Stratus technologies held an after party Tuesday night after VMworld at the Thirsty Bear Pub. 

Attendees mingled with industry experts, the Stratus Technologies team, as well as analyst and owner of the blog Virtualization Tips and Ramblings - Chris Wolf.

Thanks to the Thirsty Bear Pub for the beer and appetizers! 

If you missed the “NO FEAR” Fiesta and would like the opportunity to learn more about Stratus, please feel free to contact the following team members: 

Jennifer Heiberg – Jennifer.Heiberg@stratus.com 

Bill Grady – Bill.Grady@stratus.com

Maybe my perspective has changed, or maybe VMware’s has changed — maybe both.  When I attended the early VMworlds, the technology was the centerpiece of the show.  I know I wanted to hear about the new stuff like ESX 3, HA or DRS, see a demo of ‘Continuous vMotion’ at the keynote. Back then, it was getting people excited about that kind of thing, and fostering acceptance that this virtual platform thing would work.  Today, that acceptance is almost assumed and we’re moving on to how it can help drive the business.

No longer are the IT guys working behind a locked door.  In order to provide business value, someone has to be able to communicate with the business — and not just at the CxO level.  For us IT types, that can be scary.

While talking with a few customers last night about their justification for attending this conference, I heard something interesting. VMworld is a conference that attracts vendors from across disciplines: network, storage, operating systems. Just like the core product, the conference brings all of these groups together. Why go to several conferences when you can come to one and take care of all at once?

- By Doug Baer, Principal Consultant & leader of the Virtualization Practice, IT Partners in Phoenix

VMworld TV on YouTube – Click here to watch >
Videos from VMworld 2010 – Take a look through the VMware Express Virtualization Tour truck. Check out the videos >

VMworld 2010 Day 3 Roundup
Data Center Knowledge – Another day of announcements continued Wednesday from the VMworld 2010 conference in San Francisco. Read more >

Watch Steve Herrod’s Keynote at VMworld 2010 - Click here >

Rethink IT: VMware blog from the virtual data center to the cloud
We’re excited about announcing vCloud Datacenter Services at VMworld 2010 because they’re the first examples of a globally consistent enterprise-class hybrid clouds. Let me explain what that means and why it’s important. Read More >

Wikibon Blog: Full coverage from the VMworld floor
Day 2 VMworld 2010, and vCSD Puts VMware Security Front and Center. Read their blogs >

An impression of the Insane Awesome Hands-on Labs at VMworld 2010
Eric Sloof – NTPRO.nl: This year to give VMworld Attendees the best possible hands-on experice, a huge VMware team worked out a huge infrastructure of 2 datacenters in the Cloud (internet) and one on-site, to provide a fully self-serviced lab system with. Read more >

VMWorld video: Maritz on the future of the operating system
“Between the Lines” ZDnet blog – VMware CEO Paul Maritz anticipates the changing role of the operating system. Check out the video >

VMware acquires Integrien, TriCipher for IT-as-a-Service Era
During the opening keynote at VMWorld today, Steve Herrod, CTO of VMWare, announced the acquisition of Integrien, a provider of real-time application and infrastructure performance & analytics. Read more >

VMware’s Maritz virtually pronounces death of Windows
Virtually Speaking blog, Paula Rooney – Maritz, who is CEO of VMware, said during his keynote today that virtualization and new application frameworks combined represent the de facto operating system for the IT-as-a-Service era since the two layers of the new stack handle all of the hardware and application services once provided by operating systems… Read more >

Session DV7706: View Composer Technical Deep Dive and Best Practices
blog.scottlowe.org – This is a liveblog of VMworld 2010 session DV7706, with presenter(s) are Jeff Whitman and Jim Yanik, both with VMware. Read more >

View more VMworld 2010 articles >

Consistently Top 10 Grossing Business Application; Updated with New Features Including the First and Only Virtual Desktop Video Streaming Solution and a New Premium Service Offering

VMworld 2010 Conference

SAN FRANCISCO–Today at VMworld 2010, Wyse Technology, the global leader in cloud client computing, announced the upcoming availability of Wyse PocketCloud 2.0 for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Wyse PocketCloud 2.0 can be purchased from the iTunes App Store. Wyse PocketCloud is also available for viewing at VMworld 2010 along with demonstrations of the latest cloud computing and desktop virtualization hardware and software solutions at Booth #521.

“In the past year we’ve seen PocketCloud grow from an emergency IT resource to an essential app for anyone on the go looking to remotely access their media, documents and applications.”

Wyse PocketCloud is a remote desktop application that has been extremely successful in the iTunes app marketplace, and is ranked among the top 10 business applications since it was introduced at VMworld 2009. It allows end users to access their files, desktop and applications on any physical or virtualized infrastructure via a choice of popular, well supported protocols. Wyse PocketCloud is VMware Ready™ Certified for VMware View™ for the entire family of Apple iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad), with seamless integration into a pre-existing VMware View™ environment with no special setup or software required.

“Wyse PocketCloud is an amazing combination of practicality and potential. The University of Toledo is already using Wyse PocketCloud on the iPhone to access our VMware View™ agent on the fly; saving us from having to bring our laptops on vacation with us,” according to Joshua Spencer, Team Lead at The University of Toledo. “In the near future, however, we are looking at Wyse PocketCloud on the iPad as a way to arm our students and medical residents with convenient, reliable – but most of all, secure – computing environments that will improve both the patient experience and that of our residents and medical staff.”

“With Wyse PocketCloud celebrating its one-year anniversary at VMworld 2010, we are excited to unleash a collection of new features for our current and future users,” said Daniel Barreto, GM, Mobile Cloud Business Unit at Wyse. “In the past year we’ve seen PocketCloud grow from an emergency IT resource to an essential app for anyone on the go looking to remotely access their media, documents and applications.”

Wyse PocketCloud provides secure mobile display and control of physical or virtual instances of Microsoft Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Remote Desktop Services, and Terminal Services features in Windows Server products.

“Remote desktop access has long been an essential component of IT strategy,” according to Vittorio Viarengo, vice president, End User Computing Products, VMware. “With the introduction of PocketCloud for Android phones, in addition to the apps already available for the iPhone and iPad, Wyse has teamed with VMware View™ to make remote access an anytime/anywhere proposition.”

“Rather than carrying around laptops to demonstrate all of the new EMC integration points with VMware at VMworld this week, the EMC vSpecialist team is using PocketCloud on iPads to access their virtual desktop images,” said Wade O’Harrow, Global Director, vSpecialist, EMC. “This is a real world use case of virtual desktop power users running on iPads with PocketCloud, instead of their laptops which typically have high speed processors, 8GB of ram and solid state disks! Given the heavy computing use of an EMC vSpecialist, this shows how robust a virtual desktop can be.”

Wyse PocketCloud for iPhone and iPad also includes the new Wyse PocketCloud Premium. Wyse PocketCloud Premium enables a richer and more intuitive interaction with the multimedia, files and applications in your Windows desktops. Wyse PocketCloud Premium and other features of Wyse PocketCloud require the Wyse PocketCloud Windows Companion which can be downloaded at no cost from www.wyse.com/pocketcloud

New in Wyse PocketCloud for iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad):

• Auto Discovery: Secure hassle-free access to your devices with minimal setup, no technical know-how needed
• VNC Support: Connect to your Mac, and Home editions of Windows
• External Monitor support on iPhone 4 and iPad (requires Apple’s VGA adapter): Share your desktop on an external display
• Performance improvements made for iOS 4
• iPhone 4 retina display support

Wyse PocketCloud Premium

• Video Streaming: Stream media video files (mpeg, wmv, avi) from your remote desktop to your device anywhere over WiFi and 3G
• File Browser: Quick access to applications, files and active applications
• Need a file and don’t know where you put it? Finding files is easy with desktop and folder search
• Thin Browser enhancements: Use your remote desktop’s Internet Explorer bookmarks and history

Pricing and Availability

In response to the overwhelming demand and success of Wyse PocketCloud, and to acknowledge VMworld 2010, our promotional pricing will continue at $14.99. All customers using Wyse PocketCloud 2.0 will have access to the new Wyse PocketCloud Premium that enables new and innovative capabilities during your remote desktop experience. Wyse PocketCloud Premium will be available in 3 month and 12 month increments at $2.99 and $9.99 respectively. All versions will be available at the iTunes App Store.

To learn more about Wyse PocketCloud, please visit www.wyse.com/pocketcloud/

About Wyse Technology

Wyse Technology is the global leader in cloud client computing, leveraging its industry-leading thin, zero and cloud PC client solutions combined with its advanced management, desktop virtualization and cloud software – on any computing platform; desktops, laptops and next generation mobile devices. Wyse provides the most complete combination of software, hardware and service solutions for its more than 200 million users. Cloud Client Computing is the ultimate client computing solution for our time. It replaces the outdated computing model of the unsecure, unreliable, un-green and expensive PC. It delivers the most optimized security, reliability, total cost of ownership, and user experience with the lowest energy usage. It simply connects all the dots: Thin and zero client computing, unified communications, desktop virtualization and the web for users to reach the clouds – in a private, public, hybrid or government cloud. It is software. It is hardware. It is services. It is in business. It is at home. It is on the go. It is freedom – so users can focus on what is important. Wyse partners with industry-leading IT vendors, including Citrix®, CSC®, IBM®, Microsoft®, and VMware®. Wyse also partners with globally-recognized distribution and service partners along with its award-winning partner programs to service any customer, anywhere and anytime, in the world. Wyse is headquartered in San Jose, California, U.S.A., with offices worldwide.

For more information, visit the Wyse website at http://www.wyse.com or call 1-800-GET-WYSE.

Fusion-io Showcases How ioMemory Improves Virtual Machine and Virtual Desktop Deployments in a Shared Enterprise Environment at this Week’s VMworld

VMworld 2010 Conference
Booth #1700

SAN FRANCISCO–VMworld 2010 (Booth #1700)–Fusion-io, pioneer of a new flash-based memory tier (ioMemory), today set new standards for virtualization performance in desktop and server environments, by running 512 virtual desktops on a single VMware vSphere™ host on the show floor. Additionally at VMworld, Fusion’s ioMemory technology was demonstrated across a fully redundant, shareable, 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) iSCSI network. With Fusion-io, customers can now accelerate performance, maximize consolidation and virtualize even the most intensive workloads, driving a higher performing, more efficient enterprise infrastructure.

“At VMware, we strive to find partners that can help us advance the innovation and adoption of virtualization”

Fusion’s ioMemory technology reduces the challenges of highly transactional data input/output (I/O), which can increase capex and lower consolidation rates. With Fusion’s ioMemory, one server can now run more than 100 I/O-intensive VMs or support thousands of virtual desktops with a solution that easily scales linearly. One of these Fusion Powered virtual servers can be clustered to support high-performance cloud environments at a fraction of the cost and footprint of legacy storage solutions. Scaling and deployment is made easy by simply adding another node to the cluster, reducing up-front investment costs.

“At VMware, we strive to find partners that can help us advance the innovation and adoption of virtualization,” said Parag Patel, vice president, Global Strategic Alliances, VMWare. “Technologies such as Fusion-io enable greater consolidated workloads and are drivers for lowering total cost of ownership.”

With Fusion’s non-volatile, high-performance ioMemory, virtualization customers can now run any application, regardless of workload, on any standard server platform through Fusion’s OEM partners, HP, IBM and Dell. Enterprise customers can also make much more efficient use of their existing IT infrastructure with as much as a tenfold increase in the number of virtual machines each server can support. This enables organizations to truly unlock the benefits of virtualization in both enterprise compute and desktop environments without the need for massive system upgrades.

“Fusion-io is changing the way customers think about data-center architecture, driving further efficiency, consolidation and scalability into virtual platforms,” said Neil Carson, CTO of Fusion-io. “Fusion’s ability to efficiently handle the highly random access patterns prevalent in virtualized workloads, aids customers in reducing the cost and complexity of adding multiple virtual machines.”

Demonstrations of Fusion Powered solutions for virtualization are currently on display at VMworld 2010. Fusion-io is located at Booth #1700. Partners demonstrating Fusion-io in virtual environments include: Unidesk (Booth #1727), Atlantis Computing (Booth #1140), V3 (Booth #1740) and Voltaire (Booth #638), among others. Also look for Fusion-io and Datacore on Wikibon’s LiveTV, referencing use cases and customer implementations.

To learn more about Fusion-io, go to www.fusionio.com.

Follow Fusion-io on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/fusionio and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/fusionio.

About Fusion-io

Fusion-io, a leading provider of system, application & database acceleration, is unleashing the potential of performance-starved applications, allowing companies to rethink the way they architect their data systems. With a Fusion Powered data center, companies can increase productivity, shrink time to market and improve their customers’ experience, all with less hardware, less power, and less administration. Companies are seeing performance gains of many magnitudes and server consolidation from 3-10x. Fusion-io is powering innovation that helps companies do more with less.