Category Archives: VMware

Introducing EMC’s VNX Storage Analytics Suite (and Early Access Program)

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imageWith VMworld in full swing, today EMC finalized the announcement of the new VNX Storage Analytics Suite (and you can try it out on the show floor).  You may remember that this was demoed first at EMC World.  As development was nearing completion, you may remember my call for beta testers (I hope you got in and got a chance to try out the technology).  Now we can start getting as excited as the software will be available for general consumption in Q4 of 2012.

 

imageThe VNX Storage Analytics Suite will offer you a an extensive platform to proactively identify bottlenecks, balance workloads and pinpoint the root cause of potential problems around health and performance.  The software is available as a stand alone product as well as integration for VMware’s vCOps Enterprise platform.  Pairing the two together allows you to have a full end-to-end visibility of your entire infrastructure from virtual machine to lun and every point in between.

 

imageFor those of you who are already familiar with vCOps, you will be presented with same interface just with extra options for looking at metrics.  The charts and display is the same.  Green is still good and Red is still bad.  This allows you to quickly visualize the health of your arrays (both block and file) using a simple “Performance-at-a-glance” tab.  Armed with this knowledge, you’ll be able to attach the problem directly instead of waiting for someone to tell you there is a slowdown in the environment.

 

imageBesides general health information, you can dig down into the specifics of utilization on the array.  In the picture to the right, you’ll be able to see the results (both historically and in real time) of enabling fast cache on your array and what it did to the overall health of your environment.  By focusing on the performance of the array and the pool disks, Fast Cache was able to increase the throughput of the SP while decreasing the strain on the spinning disk storage.

 

By this point you might be saying “Sean, this is so cool, I can’t wait until Q4!  How can I get my hands on this now?”.  Well for those of you who did not participate in the beta (and those of you who did and want to see the results of your feedback) there is good news.   EMC is going to be doing an Early Access program, it won’t cost you a penny, and I’ve got all the details right here!  The bad news is that it’s limited to 100 customers and it’s filling up fast.

 

If you may remember during the beta program I was asking people to email me if they wanted in.  This time I have no control over the process and you must go through your TC.  Before I tell you just how to get in, I need to make sure you have what is required in your environment.  You will need to meet the following prerequisites:

  • vCenter Operations Manager 5.0.1 Enterprise or higher (vApp distribution)
  • EMC VNX series system (Block: R31 OE version 05.31.000.5.720 and higher and VNX OE R32 version 05.32.000.5.006 and higher; File: VNX OE 7.0.35 and higher).

Seems simple enough, right?  Now on how to get in, as I said before you will need to contact your TC or Account Representative.  Have him or her place a Sales Evaluation order in Direct Express using Model # SASCONN-T90 and complete an RPQ.  Again, this is a no cost evaluation period and if you are selected, you will receive further instructions.  At the end of the preview period (which I believe is somewhere in Q4), you will be given the opportunity to purchase a license or uninstall the software.

 

If you are attending the show, please let me know your thoughts about the software in the comments section below.

Configuring VASA for use with a VNX

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vnxWhen VMware introduced vSphere 5 to the world, one of the enhancements was a new API for storage arrays that provides vSphere with information as to the configuration and performance of your storage array.  For more information on VASA, please see this article from The Virtualization Practice.  VASA on a VNX (and other EMC arrays) historically used to be configured using an SMI-S provider.  This older configuration method has been covered very well by EMC vSpecialist Craig Stewart and can be found here.

 

Starting with VNX OE for FILE 7.1 and VNX OE for BLOCK 05.32, the VNX now has native VASA support.  This eliminates the need for the SMI-S provider and allows you to point vSphere directly to the control station and SP.  It really is a 1-step implementation and I will show you below.  And there is only 1 caviot to this, and it is VASA for the BLOCK and FILE are done separately.  if you are using, FC, FCoE, or iSCSI connections, you will want to use the BLOCK example, and if you are using NFS, you will want to use the FILE example.

 

You will want to start in vSphere by going to Home > Administration > Storage Providers.  From there you would click on “add…” to configure your connection.

 

VNX OE for FILE 7.1 VASA configuration example

You will start by naming this connection.  I chose VNX FILE to make it easy to distinguish between block and file connections.  You will then use the URL as follows: https://<ip.or.dns.of.control.station>:5989/vasa/services/vasaService.  The username/password would be one local to the control station (such as nasadmin or root).  The global accounts from the storage domain will not work here.  When it’s all said and done you should have something like the photo below:

VASA_VNX_FILE

You will probably be prompted to verify the SHA fingerprint, so just click yes and soon you’ll see your new provider listed with the following information:

VASA_VNX_FILE_2

 

VNX OE for BLOCK 05.32 configuration example

Just like the VNX OE for FILE example, you will start off by using a name.  This time the URL will be pointing to the SP.  The url will be as follows: https://<ip.or.dns.of.SP>/vasa/services/vasaService.  Please note the lack of a port specification as by default https uses port 443.  For the password you will want to use a storage domain account (such as sysadmin).  If you configured it correctly, it should look something like this:

VASA_VNX_BLOCK

 

Since I have a very basic configured array in the lab, I see provider information like this:

VASA_VNX_BLOCK_2

 

After you have successfully configured your providers, you can go and setup your storage profiles.  Go to Home > Management > VM Storage Profiles and add a new profile.  From there you can select from a multitude of options to pick the one that best matches the lun you are using for storage.

VASA_VNX_STORAGE_PROFILES

It really is that simple!  For more information on VASA on the VNX, read the Virtualization for EMC® VNX Release Notes (EMC Support credentials required).

Got a VNX and vCOps? We need your help!

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imageIf you remember during EMC World 2012, the USD team showed off a preview of our new storage analytics package that would come as either a stand alone application or as a plugin for VMware vCOps.  As we move ever closer to a final product, we have entered the private beta phase.  This is where we need your help.

 

USD Engineering will be running a private beta between August 8th and August 29th and the test plan should take about 2 days to complete.  What you need is the following (UPDATED):

 

  • A VNX running recent code.  Both File 7.0 & 7.1 and Block 5.31 & 5.32 should be acceptable (this can be production or non production)
  • vCOps running the Enterprise or Enterprise+ (this must be a non production / test instance)
  • The name of your EMC contact (preferably a TC)
  • Please also indicate if you are a customer or a partner

You may need to sign an NDA, I’m not 100% on that but the team running the beta will be able to confirm.  Space is limited and we only have a few slots left so there is no guarantee that you will be accepted into the program.  If you are interested, please send an email to “sean.dot.thulin.at.emc.dot.com” with your contact information and what you have available as equipment (make / model of VNX and software version installed) and I will forward it on to the team.  Act fast as we are almost ready to start!

The NEVMUG Summer Slam is just 1 week away!

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NEVMUG 025It was about 6 months ago that I was writing about the NEVMUG Winter Warmer.  It was my first VMUG and it was great.  For a free conference / user group, it was packed full.  The presentations were great, the sponsors had great break out sessions, and the conversations with attendees were inspiring.

 

Now it’s time to do it all over again, this time in Maine.  On Thursday, July 19th, the Virtualization Technology User Group will be presenting the New England VMware User Group Summer Slam in Brunswick, Maine.  The day will be filled with vast amounts of knowledge transfer via keynotes (including one by Chris Colotti of VMware), break out sessions (which will feature speakers such as Mike Foley, Ed Haletky, and Luigi Danakos), and the sponsors EXPO.  Once it’s all said and done, there will be a giant lobster bake over at Gritty’s.

 

I’ll be walking around, taking photos (and live tweeting a few for those of you who can’t make it), and taking in all that the NEVMUG has to offer.  I’ll also be heading up the night before, so if you want to grab a late drink and some food, hit me up on twitter.  For more information about the NEVMUG Summer Slam, go to the VTUG website.

The NEVMUG is only 2 days away!

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NEVMUG

The New England VMware User Group Winter Warmer is an event I’ve been looking forward to for a while.  I’ve heard a lot of good things from this and the one during the summer over the years.  Unfortunately I’ve never been able to attend one in the past, so this will be my first VMUG ever.

 

So since this is my first VMUG, I’m not quire sure what to expect.  Greg Stuart did an excellent post on what the VMUG is and what to expect from it.  Just like it says in his blog post, I expect to be bombarded with a wealth of knowledge from people who are very passionate about virtualization.  I’m also looking forward to tech demos and hands on labs from the sponsoring vendors that make this event possible.  The event schedule is as follows:

 

  • 08:00 a.m. Registration and Networking
  • 09:00 a.m. What Oracle DBAs need to know about Virtualization
    • Cloud: vCloud Director Deep Dive: Paul Lembo/Chris Colotti
    • Healthcare: ISV Case Study : Scott Carpenter
  • 10:00 a.m. Building Your Cloud Infrastructure with VMware
  • 11:00 a.m. Scott Davis; VMW End User Computing Innovations for 2012
  • 12:00 p.m. Lunch
  • 01:30 p.m. Breakout Session 1
  • 02:00 p.m. Breakout Session 2
  • 03:00 p.m. Breakout Session 3
  • 04:30 p.m. Happy Hour / Giveaways
    • Sponsor Expo is open all day.

 

This looks like a very full day and I expect it to be very busy.  You can register for the event here and keep and eye out for Matt Brender and myself as we may be recording interviews for an “I Tech Therefore I Tool Around” podcast.  See you there!

I Tech Therefore I Tool Around – Episode 02 – The Home Lab

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DSC_0022So our first episode of the “I Tech Therefore I Tool Around” was a smashing success!  Matthew Brender and I had a great time recording and we learned a lot about the process that goes into making a podcast.  The feedback from our listeners was great as well.

 

With that experience and knowledge in hand, we recorded our second podcast.  In this episode, we talk about the why and the how of building a home lab.  I touched upon my home lab during my blog post about the VCP4  Our special guest, Luigi Danakos, talks about his need for a home lab and how he acquired one without spending a dime.  We also touch on several blog posts that inspired our builds.  These are all great resources for building a home lab, so check them out:

 

A slight apology for Luigi as he was still getting over an illness and can be heard coughing every now and then during the recording (I cut out as much as I could).  Be sure to check out Matt’s post on this experience.

 

Click HERE to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

Or click HERE (or on the icon) to download the MP3 directly!

New version of VMware View Client for iPad released!

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VMwareFor those of you who don’t have update notifications enabled on your iPad, VMware released a new version of their View client for the iPad.  Version 1.2 brings a number of changes (as well as a new look and feel) to the client.  Click here to download the new client and read below for a list of changes.

  • Embedded RSA soft token simplifies login to desktop <=== My favorite!
  • Optimized for VMware View 5 with improved performance
  • Support for iOS 5 including AirPlay
  • Presentation Mode for use with external display and AirPlay
  • Background tasking to move between Windows and iOS apps
  • Updated look and feel
  • Integrated online help
  • Buffered text input for multibyte text entry
  • Now in French, German, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese
  • Bug Fixes

What is Backup Academy?

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Last week I was asked by Rick Vanover to review a new community project he was putting together called Backup Academy.  The site, located at www.backupacademy.com, is dedicated to IT and Storage professionals who are looking to learn the basics of performing backups and recovery of a virtual environment.  This site is product / vendor neutral and is supported by experts in their respective fields.

Backup Academy greets you with an introductory video that is narrated by Rick as well as an introduction to all 5 current professors.  The initial group offers information from the following people:

 

These 5 experts have put together a total of 8 videos that cover a variety of backup and restoration topics:

    • Why virtual machine backups are different?
    • Core technologies used for virtual machine backup
    • Disaster recovery of VMware workloads
    • Backing up enterprise applications: Transaction consistency is key
    • Restore capabilities of VMware backups
    • VMware backup integrity tools
    • Best practices for VMware backups
    • Best practices for Hyper-V backups

Once you have completed these videos, you should have enough knowledge to earn you Backup Academy Certification.  This simple 35 question exam covers the material reviewed in the videos and ensures a basic understanding of backup and restore technologies in a virtual world.  I was able to pass the exam on my first try and I am now Backup Academy Certified.

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So I urge you all to checkout the website and learn as much as you can from the videos.  If you think you have something to offer in return, feel free to apply to be a professor.

The next great virtualization platform

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Two weeks ago, VMware held their annual gathering of all things virtual.  Las Vegas was buzzing with technology from all parts of the globe.  While I did not attend in person, I was there in spirit (or in the cloud as some would put it).  There were many great announcements that came out of the conference.  While many revolved around vSphere 5 and storage technology, there was one particular announcement that caught my attention.

 

On August 30th, VMware announced their new venture called Horizon Mobile.  This new virtualization platform allows for a user to run a separate virtual phone on their android device.  This effectively offers the user both a work phone and a personal phone on the same hardware with just the push of a button.  This benefits both the user and the supporting organization behind it.  IT departments will be allowed to push out corporate policy changes to mobile devices without effecting the personal usage of a phone.  On top of this, a business would not have to incur the extra cost of having to issue a separate device to an employee when all they will need to do is just push out a software update.  The same goes for retrieval after an employee has left the organization as all that is needed is a remote wipe of the business OS instead of trying to track down the hardware.

 

With the rise of the android personal phone, most users do not want to carry a second one just to be able to receive work calls and email.  The two mobile instances will be separated at the core, but allow for some overlap.  In a world where android viruses are starting to become more present, any such mayhem caused to the personal side of a phone will not effect the business side.  On the other side of the spectrum, if the user is working on a business email and gets a personal phone call, a notification will pop up and allow them to answer while not leaving the virtual instance on the phone.

 

HorizonManager03Combined with this is the Horizon Mobile Manager.  This application is the heart and sole of the mobile instance, allowing for application and policy changes to the work side of the phone as well as a health check of the mobile instance.  A separate application catalogue has also been included to ensure that all proper licenses can be handled by the company instead of the user.  VMware has even included the option to push out these changes as an Over-The-Air update to phones connected to a cellular network.

 

This new tech also raises several questions as to how you can have two completely separate phones under one piece of hardware.  The current market for GSM technology ties everything to the SIM card in the phone.  Your mobile number and data usage are all tracked on this.  This means that you cannot get two different phone numbers for the same phone and raises a few questions.

  • How will you be able to answer your work phone calls and your personal ones on the same device without additional hardware?
  • How will corporate and personal voice/date usage be accounted for since most providers do not offer an unlimited plan anymore?
  • Who will be responsible for possible software problems inside the virtual instance?

 

I search around for the answer to these questions and did not come up with much.  However since this announcement was nothing more than a preview of things to come, I assume things will all be ironed out when it launches in a few months.

 

The tech demos I saw also showed a lack of an in handset security feature.  While I might not be so keen on lending someone my work phone to play with or make a call, I would be more likely to lend them my personal phone.  All the demos showed off how a user can switch to the other profile with just the press of a button.  What I’d like to see is some sort of pin code protecting this feature.  If I lend my phone to a friend and they accidentally hit the button, they could start making calls from my work number without even knowing it.

 

SamsungGalaxySIISo “Why is this so important to me?” you may be asking yourself.  As it just so happened, I recently purchased the new Samsung Galaxy SII phone and have been enjoying it.  I’ve overclocked the dual core cpu up to 1.6Ghz while decreasing the voltage to maintain battery life.  This works very well for me with this announcement as Samsung was listed as one of the hardware partners and several press announcements and blogs have indicated that Horizon Mobile is being designed to launch initially on the Galaxy SII.

 

I look forward to the coming months as more information comes out and I hope to be one of the few people who get to launch with this application.

 

For more information on Horizon Mobile and the Horizon Mobile Manager, check out the website http://www.horizonmanager.com/

V0dgeball for a Cause

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It seems like only a year ago Chad Sakac and Christopher Hoff decided to have a dodge ball competition at the end of VMworld 2010. This year the battle is back and bigger than ever. Not only do they have more teams and a bigger venue, but this year they playing for a good cause and all proceeds will be going to the Wounded Warriors Project.

 

The Wounded Warriors Project is a charity that helps aid veterans that were injured in the line of duty. Having never served myself, I can only imagine what these people went through on the battle field and I think we can all do our part in helping them off the battlefield.

 

If you want to attend the event, you can find more details here. Whether you are attending the event in person or not, I urge you to donate to the cause by clicking this link. While I myself will not be attending this year, I wish all teams the best of luck!