Home > The Virtual Data Center e-zine
E-Book:
EMAIL THIS

The Virtual Data Center e-zine

26 Feb 2009 | SearchDataCenter.com

IT infrastructure news
Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us    Add to Google

For data center managers who have embarked on virtualizing a data center or for those already engaged in the process, Virtual Data Center e-zine explores the challenges--and the benefits. Take a look every month at the biggest issues for virtual environments, including virtualizing major applications such as databases and email, weighing storage architectures or mapping a VMware strategy based on business needs.




Virtual Data Center, October 2009 issue (Vol. 15)
Complying with today's regulations can be especially challenging in a virtualized environment. In this month's issue, IT experts Danielle Ruest and Nelson Ruest offer practical advice on how to make sure your virtual data center passes the compliance test. Also in this issue, Rick Vanover examines what you need to consider when buying hardware for virtualized systems, and Stephen J. Bigelow explains why it's high time to re-evaluate your storage needs:


Virtual Data Center, September 2009 issue (Vol. 14)
Several emerging technologies are beginning to influence how organizations deploy and manage networks within the virtual infrastructure. In this month's issue, Chris Wolf explores the latest networking options and their impact on data center connectivity. Also in this issue, Scott Lowe weighs the benefits and drawbacks of using server virtualization as part of a disaster recovery plan. Plus, Danielle Ruest and Nelson Ruest examine virtual appliances:


Virtual Data Center, August 2009 issue (Vol. 13)
Job descriptions in data centers are changing. As corporate budgets tighten, IT roles continue to expand while virtualization gains ground as a means to do more with less. Stephen J. Bigelow sheds light on how to balance technology and skill sets in Volume 13 of Virtual Data Center. Also included in this issue, Greg Shields describes virtualization options that don't need a hypervisor, and Danielle Ruest and Nelson Ruest. compare high-end hardware virtualization platforms:


Virtual Data Center, July 2009 issue (Vol. 12)
The proliferation of virtual machines has dramatically expanded the concept of configuration management in today's data centers. Stephen J. Bigelow sizes up the latest configuration management tools for you in Volume 12 of Virtual Data Center. Also in this issue, Edward L. Haletky offers tips on securing your virtual environment, and Brien M. Posey explains how to get the most out of your server, storage and network. Here is what's inside this issue:


Virtual Data Center, June 2009 issue (Vol. 11)
Data center managers need some help managing the growing number of virtual machines across the enterprise. In Volume 11 of Virtual Data Center, Stephen J. Bigelow describes how to select the best automation, monitoring and management tools for your environment. Have you wrapped up your latest virtualization project? Get advice from Eric Siebert on what to do to keep your virtual environment operating at peak efficiency. Also, learn how to get started on building an internal cloud from Burton Group analyst Chris Wolf. Check out these articles:


Virtual Data Center, May 2009 issue (Vol. 10)
In Vol. 10 of Virtual Data Center, learn how to optimize data center hardware and avoid VM sprawl. Stephen J. Bigelow offers valuable advice for data center managers on how to use virtualization to save money. Andi Mann outlines basic virtual systems management disciplines, such as chargeback and capacity planning, that can help IT develop an approach to future service delivery. Bigelow rounds out the issue with a how-to on virtual server backup. Take a look at this month's articles:


Virtual Data Center, April 2009 issue (Vol. 9)
In Vol. 9 of Virtual Data Center, learn how to become more assertive with your virtual machine placement. Nelson Ruest and Danielle Ruest make the case that a good VM placement plan can increase the workload density of servers. Bridget Botelho compares Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization with VMware's ESX hypervisor, and Stephen J. Bigelow helps you calculate the real costs of deploying any virtualization platform:


Virtual Data Center, March 2009 issue (Vol. 8)
For data-intensive data centers, downtime can be costly. In Volume 8 of Virtual Data Center, take a closer look at high-availability considerations with server virtualization. Stephen J. Bigelow examines how server virtualization technologies can augment high-availability issues, and virtualization expert Chris Wolf helps you navigate high-availability technology purchasing decisions. Bigelow finishes up the issue with an exploration of Terminal Services, which can reduce memory and storage requirements and enable more users to share an application at the same time.


Virtual Data Center, February 2009 issue (Vol. 7)
In Volume 7 of Virtual Data Center, Scott Lowe describes how cloud computing is designed, with a vision of dynamically scaled resources to handle varying compute loads and satisfy business needs for flexibility and rapid change. Nicole Harding asks Gartner Research Inc.'s John Pescatore about security considerations in cloud computing, and Raymond McDonald outlines why capacity planning tools can make or break a growing virtualized environment.


Virtual Data Center, December 2008 issue (Vol. 6)
Virtual Lab Management Planning Best Practices by Chris Wolf
To P2V or Not to P2V? by Nelson and Danielle Ruest
In our sixth installment of Virtual Data Center, Chris Wolf says that, for or IT shops, virtualizing test labs offers clear benefits in the way of better-managed resources and reduction of storage space—all in a low-risk environment. But with benefits come burdens, including networking, backup and recovery and high-availability concerns.
And Nelson and Danielle Ruest provide a reality check on physical-to-virtual (P2V) migrations. While vendors tout P2V as an easy, turnkey event, you have to do some housekeeping to get the benefits.

Virtual Data Center, October 2008 issue (Vol. 5)
Virtualization Ups Ante on Server Hardware Choices by Richard Jones
Operating System Often Dictates Hardware Choice by Joe Clabby
Virtualizing Disaster Recovery Infrastructure by Pierre Dorion
In our fifith issue of Virtual Data Center , Richard Jones explains how choices about whether to go with rackmount or blade servers should be dictated by four components of your environment: CPU, memory, storage and network bandwidth. Joe Clabby then explains how your choice of operating system bears heavily on your hardware decisions. Finally, Pierre Dorion discusses a new and central use for virtualization: disaster recovery. Dorion discusses how shops now use VMware to architect their disaster recovery and business continuity strategies.

Virtual Data Center, August 2008 issue (Vol. 4)
Virtual SAP Becomes a Reality by Chris Wolf
Virtualizing SAP: For Many Shops, Still the Next Frontier by Lauren Horwitz
Managing Change in Dynamic Virtual Environments by David Davis
In our fourth issue of Virtual Data Center , Chris Wolf explains why virtualizing mission-critical applications like SAP -- a once-risky prospect -- should now be a serious consideration for IT shops. With changes to hardware and new technologies like Nested Page Tables, the lower latency and support for virtualizing these applications has made virtualizing SAP a reality. Lauren Horwitz details how one IT shop has embarked on virtualizing SAP in multiple data centers as part of its disaster recovery strategy -- with some caveats. Finally, David Davis discusses the seemingly opposing goals of virtual environments and change management and explains how the dynamic, rapid change of a virtualized data center can still benefit from change management tools like configuration management databases.

Virtual Data Center, June 2008 issue (Vol. 3)
Decoding the VMware Universe by David Davis
Virtual Desktop Delivery and Management Options by Schley Andrew Kutz
In our third issue of Virtual Data Center , David Davis helps parse the myriad VMware offerings and third-party tools in a virtual infrastructure so you can better determine the needs of your IT shop. And Schley Andrew Kutz provides what may be the most comprehensive guide to desktop virtualization options on the market today. Kutz indicates which offerings offer the most functionality and ease of use and what you can expect at various price points.

Virtual Data Center, May 2008 issue (Vol. 2)
Eliminate Bottlenecks, Improve I/O Performance by Chris Wolf
Should You Host Email on Virtual Machines? by Richard Luckett
What to Virtualize with Microsoft Exchange by Dustin Lema
In our second installment of Virtual Data Center , Chris Wolf details the various I/O bottlenecks that can occur throughout your physical architecture and walks you through the currently available tools to identify and rectify those chokeholds. Then Richard Luckett takes on the challenging question of whether companies should virtualize a mission-critical application like email and argues for its benefits. Last, Dustin Lema walks you through what should and should not be virtualized in Microsoft Exchange.

Virtual Data Center, March 2008 issue (Vol. 1)
Running Databases on VMs: The Time Is Now by Dave Welch
Storage Architectures for Virtual Environments by Barb Goldworm
In our inaugural issue of Virtual Data Center, Dave Welch argues that, contrary to popular wisdom, virtual machines are indeed ready to handle the workload of production databases. And Barb Goldworm takes on the unwieldy issue of storage, reporting on the emerging options that are potentially less costly and complex than storage area networks, and particularly Fibre Channel.



BROWSE BY TAG
Data center server virtualization,   Data center operations management,   Server virtualization,   SAN - data center,   Data center storage,   SearchServerVirtualization.com,   VIEW ALL TAGS

Digg This!    StumbleUpon Toolbar StumbleUpon    Bookmark with Delicious Del.icio.us    Add to Google



RELATED CONTENT
Data center server virtualization
Application performance monitoring firm targets cloud computing
How will KVM virtualization affect RHEL Xen users?
County government makes business case to update PA-RISC servers
Server hardware cost comparison: Is virtualization cheaper?
Reporter's notebook on AFCOM Data Center World: Day two
U.S. versus global data center trends: IT priorities vary
Users buying, configuring servers for virtualization
Blade server popularity cools
Xen vs. KVM: Verdict still out on dueling hypervisors
What does the future hold for Oracle's virtualization acquisitions?

SAN - data center
Sun Chemical updates two data centers to handle SAP integration
Sun refreshes server blades, adds storage option
IBM adds global replication to SVC
Learning Guide: Low-cost storage
Top five tips for improving network performance
Networked-attached storage has limits
How to use NAS gateways
How to help your SAN keep its cool
The slow move toward faster Fibre
Implementing a storage vision

SearchServerVirtualization.com
IBM VMworld news in brief
Dell offers data center consulting, updates PowerEdge: News in brief
U.S. Bowling Congress moves data center, halves energy costs
Dell expected to unveil new servers
Sun Microsystems ships AMD Shanghai processor in x64, blade servers
AMD releases 45-nm Shanghai Opteron processor on schedule
Data center power consumption: Key theme at DCD
IBM revs Power Systems servers, software
AMD discusses CPU and virtualization at VMworld 2008
Server purchasing decisions in 2008 reveal virtualization's imprint

RELATED GLOSSARY TERMS
Terms from Whatis.com − the technology online dictionary
unified computing system (UCS)  (SearchDataCenter.com)

RELATED RESOURCES
2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems
Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts
Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary




Data Center Virtualization and Storage
HomeNewsTopicsITKnowledge ExchangeTipsBlogsMultimediaWhite PapersEvents
About Us  |  Contact Us  |  For Advertisers  |  For Business Partners  |  Site Index  |  RSS
SEARCH 
TechTarget provides technology professionals with the information they need to perform their jobs - from developing strategy, to making cost-effective purchase decisions and managing their organizations' technology projects - with its network of technology-specific websites, events and online magazines.

TechTarget Corporate Web Site  |  Media Kits  |  Site Map




All Rights Reserved, Copyright 2005 - 2009, TechTarget | Read our Privacy Policy
  TechTarget - The IT Media ROI Experts