At an EMC class I took recently, the instructor claimed that in testing she had done, correctly aligning the partitions on a physical Windows server resulted in 30% performance gains.  I'm not sure what, if anything the gain is for aligning the partitions in virtual disks, assuming the underlying VMFS LUNs are aligned (which by default they will be if they're created under ESX 3+ or vSphere).

That being said, this is the advice from the "Performance Best Practices for VMware vSphere 4.0" guide:

Make sure the system partitions within the guest are aligned. For further information you might want to

refer to the literature from the operating system vendor regarding appropriate tools to use as well as

recommendations from the array vendor.

This is a potentially useful tool -- a powershell script to check the partition alignment of your Windows VMs. (via Scott Lowe )

I haven't adjusted the partition alignment on my Linux VM templates yet. That's on my To Do list, hopefully for some time in the near future. I plan to do some before and after performance testing, and I'll post the results here when I do.

-Matt

http://www.devopsdays.org/ghent09/presentations/agile-infrastructure-teyo-tyree/project/project.html

sysadmin 2.0

Please contact Brent at breroger@cisco.com if interested.

Tech Lead Software Engineer

Location: San Jose, CA

Description

Cisco seeks a Software Engineer to define, design and build a flexible, scalable framework for your new data center network with Cisco Nexus Switches
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/netsol/ns340/ns394/ns224/index.html
Opportunity Snapshot:
In this role, you will have the opportunity to learn a wide range of the core Layer 2 technologies. This is an excellent opportunity to join Cisco’s latest acquisition in the Data Center space. The job involves working on a cutting edge storage product. We are looking for candidates who strive in a fast paced start like environment.
The work involves design and development in customized networking environment for some key system software.
You will be part of a fast paced team responsible for delivering quality code for large complex systems requirements. Open communications, empowerment, innovation, teamwork and customer success are the foundations of the team with "pay for performance" culture. Thus, you set your own limits for learning, achievements and rewards.

Responsibilities:
Participate on a project team of engineers involved in the development of software for our next generation data center switch product family, with emphasis in the layer 2 protocols area. Define, architect, design, and deliver new software protocols and features for the Nexus platform. Work also involves providing constant feedback to hardware and software teams for improvements. Write complete functional and design specs independently. Write portions of product spec. Design & Develop large portions of software independently and rapidly.

Required Skills:
•Three plus years of experience with Software platform experience.
-Three to ten years of overall software experience
•In depth Layer 2 protocol experience in Ethernet switching (any of the following protocols; VLAN, LACP,STP, IGMP, Multicast)
•Strong C programming skills.
•BSCS/CE is required MSCS/CE is preferred.

Desired Skills:
•In depth experience and expertise with ASIC hardware bringup/MAC/PHY programming
Experience with any of the following areas is a plus:
•RTOS embedded experience ( VxWorks, PSOS, Linux OS)
•Hands on experience on switch/router embedded system software development.
•Strong problem solving and software development/troubleshooting skills.
•Experience w/ IP routing

Please contact Brent at breroger@cisco.com if interested.

Senior Software Engineer-Layer 2 protocol

Location: San Jose, CA

Cisco seeks a Software Engineer to define, design and build a flexible, scalable framework for your new data center network with Cisco Nexus Switches
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps708/index.html

Opportunity Snapshot:
In this role, you will have the opportunity to learn a wide range of the core Layer 2 technologies. This is an excellent opportunity to join Cisco’s latest acquisition in the Data Center space. The job involves working on a cutting edge storage product. We are looking for candidates who strive in a fast paced start like environment.
The work involves design and development in customized networking environment for some key system software.
You will be part of a fast paced team responsible for delivering quality code for large complex systems requirements. Open communications, empowerment, innovation, teamwork and customer success are the foundations of the team with "pay for performance" culture. Thus, you set your own limits for learning, achievements and rewards.

Responsibilities:
Participate on a project team of engineers involved in the development of software for our next generation data center switch product family, with emphasis in the layer 2 protocols area. Define, architect, design, and deliver new software protocols and features for the Nexus platform. Work also involves providing constant feedback to hardware and software teams for improvements. Write complete functional and design specs independently. Write portions of product spec. Design & Develop large portions of software independently and rapidly.

Required Skills:
•Strong C programming skills.
•RTOS embedded experience ( VxWorks, PSOS, Linux OS)
•Experience in L2 Ethernet switching protocols (any of the following protocols; VLAN, LACP,STP, IGMP, Multicast) or SAN switching
•Hands on experience on switch/router embedded system software development.
•Strong problem solving and software development/troubleshooting skills.
•Two- five years of related work experience is required. Five plus years of experience is required.
•BSCS/CE is required MSCS/CE is preferred.

Desired Skills:
Experience with any of the following areas is a plus:
•Experience w/ IP routing (any routing protocols like OSPF, ISIS, BGP)
•Fibre channel SAN Switching is a plus.
•Experience with high availability related to switch/router products is a plus
•Experience with forwarding software/drivers for any switch/router products is a plus

Senior Software Engineer (C developer with Layer 2 expertise)

Location:

San Jose, California

Cisco seeks a Software Engineer to define, design and build a flexible, scalable framework for your new data center network with Cisco Nexus Switches
http://www.cisco.com/en/US/products/hw/switches/ps708/index.html

Opportunity Snapshot:
In this role, you will have the opportunity to learn a wide range of the core Layer 2 technologies. This is an excellent opportunity to join Cisco’s latest acquisition in the Data Center space. The job involves working on a cutting edge storage product. We are looking for candidates who strive in a fast paced start like environment.
The work involves design and development in customized networking environment for some key system software.
You will be part of a fast paced team responsible for delivering quality code for large complex systems requirements. Open communications, empowerment, innovation, teamwork and customer success are the foundations of the team with "pay for performance" culture. Thus, you set your own limits for learning, achievements and rewards.

Responsibilities:
Participate on a project team of engineers involved in the development of software for our next generation data center switch product family, with emphasis in the layer 2 protocols area. Define, architect, design, and deliver new software protocols and features for the Nexus platform. Work also involves providing constant feedback to hardware and software teams for improvements. Write complete functional and design specs independently. Write portions of product spec. Design & Develop large portions of software independently and rapidly.

Required Skills:
•Strong C programming skills.
•RTOS embedded experience ( VxWorks, PSOS, Linux OS)
•Experience in L2 Ethernet switching protocols (any of the following protocols; VLAN, LACP,STP, IGMP, Multicast)
•Hands on experience on switch/router embedded system software development.
•Strong problem solving and software development/troubleshooting skills.
•Two- five years of related work experience is required. Five plus years of experience is required.
•BSCS/CE is required MSCS/CE is preferred.

Desired Skills:
Experience with any of the following areas is a plus:
•Experience w/ IP routing (any routing protocols like OSPF, ISIS, BGP)
•Fibre channel SAN Switching is a plus.
•Experience with high availability related to switch/router products is a plus
•Experience with forwarding software/drivers for any switch/router products is a plus

Estimados Usuario / Tecnicos / Fanaticos de Tecnologia Vmware:

Realice con exito una migracion de una infraestructura vmware IE3 a vSphere 4 sin problemas con un entorno

bastante obsoleto en cuanto a software :

Base instalada antes de la migracion:

vCenter 2.5

base de datos : MS SQL 2005

Cluster HA Vmware IE3 enterprise

Licencias 1 vCenter Foundation- 3 nodos IE3

Tareas realizadas antes de la migracion:

En vmware , acceder al portal de licencia y verificar los numeros de licencia

para poder migrar el vcenter y el esx.

Seguir los pasos de la guia :

http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vsphere4/r40/vsp_40_upgrade_guide.pdf

Migracion del vCenter :

1. Backup de la base de datos
   
2. Backup de los cert. SSL
3. Parar el Servicio Vmware Vcenter Server
4. Instalar desde el ISO la aplicacion
5. Reinicio del vCenter Server
6. Upgrade del vSphere Client
7. Conectarse al vCenter con el cliente vsphere y verificar : HOSTS / CLUSTERS / ETC

Migracion de los HOSTS

1. Conectarse al vCenter
   
2. Si hay un cluster configurado , desactivar HA y DRS
3. Poner el host en modo mantenimiento
4. Utilizar el vSphere Host Update Utility para conectarse al host que se actualizara
5. Seguir el Wizzard de actualizacion
6. Terminada la actualizacion , reconectarse al vCenter.
7. Reconectar el HOST.
8. Volver a poner actido el HA y el DSR

Cualquier duda .. consultarme :

ebonhoure@gmail.com

Hello all,

We are working on our application virtualization tools: BoxedApp SDK and BoxedApp Packer.

You can find them here:

http://boxedapp.com/

The first product is the SDK. The idea we had was to provide a set of functions for developers that allow to create virtual files and virtual regustry keys / values. And we've implemented it!

Now with BoxedApp SDK you can:

1. Load DLL from memory.

2. Using ActiveX without registration.

3. Embed .NET runtime into your application.

4. Start a process from a virtual file.

5. Create you own virtual file system: IStream-based virtual files.

Of course, no temporary files and no drivers.

x86 and x64 are fully supported.

All windows from Windows 2000 to Windows 7 are fully supported.

Samples for C++, Delphi, C#, VB6, VB.Net are available.

Also it's possible to license source code of the SDK. As far as I know, no such offers in the market, except BoxedApp SDK.

In its turn, BoxedApp Packer is an application tool to pack an input EXE with all necessary files (DLL, ActiveX, data files etc.) to a single EXE. The Packer is based on the SDK.

Quick links:

our forum: http://boxedapp.com/forum/

download: http://boxedapp.com/download.html

SDK overview: http://boxedapp.com/boxedappsdk/

Packer overview: http://boxedapp.com/boxedapppacker/

Order: http://boxedapp.com/order.html

Support: http://boxedapp.com/support.html

Thank you!

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/763926322

What are your organizational resolutions for 2010? For many of you, implementing a Business Continuity strategy has been an unfulfilled resolution due to the associated costs of hardware and the complexity involved. According to VMware, Business Continuity tops customers’ demand with 45 percent expressing that it is important for their organization. So where’s the challenge? While VMware presents you with many of the advanced features enabling business continuity, you still require the shared storage that unlocks those features. As a result, a Business Continuity strategy is put on the back burner thus exposing your organization to risk. In fact, 93% of companies that suffer significant data loss are out of business in five years!

Business Continuity plans will keep your organization up and running through interruptions but without the required shared storage, your organization is deprived of any of the features that enable this. Recently, StorMagic introduced the SvSAN, a virtual SAN that leverages the internal disks of your VMware server to give you shared storage. This smart technology prevents the need to invest in an expensive SAN or NAS and allows you to leverage advanced VMware features such as VMware HA, VMotion and DRS. The SvSAN also integrates directly into vCenter making it one of the easiest management tools on the market. In the process, you’ve taken the first step toward your Business Continuity initiatives. 

As you begin 2010, it’s time to implement your organization’s Business Continuity strategy. The SvSAN removes the traditional cost and complexity barrier to give your business the protection it deserves. Join us for this informative webinar discussing how to plan for your Business Continuity in 2010. You will learn about Business Continuity considerations and how the SvSAN can go to immediate work for your organization. In fact, why not get a kick start today and download our complimentary SvSAN HA Kit here.

The SvSAN HA Kit gives you the shared storage you need to unlock High Availability features such as VMware HA, VMotion and DRS.  Continuous access to datastores maintains online applications and constant accessibility. Attend this complimentary and informative webinar to learn how you can gain access to and put the power of the SvSAN HA Kit to use in your organization.

CLICK HERE TO GET YOURS!!

In the beginning of September, Tek-Tools Software announced a pre-release version of VProfiler, a virtualization management solution for early stage virtualized environments. Since then we have been getting questions about  the difference between vProfiler and our Flagship product Profiler for VMware.

Let’s compare these two products.

vProfiler

vProfiler is an extremely simple, easy-to-use, and powerful analysis, reporting,and monitoring tool, best suited for up to three ESX hosts.
vProfiler is designed so that small VMware environment administrators can deploy and start using it in minutes  to immediately understand how their resources are being utilized.

“With increasing frequency over the past several months, we have been encountering customers with a need for management and visibility of a relatively small virtualized environment, but they don’t need nor do they  have the budget for larger management frameworks.” says Ken Barth, president and CEO, Tek-Tools.

Created with the most common tasks a VMware administrator faces in mind, vProfiler answers common questions such as:

1. How many more VMs can I add to this host?
2. Which resource will I run out of first?
3. Which VMs are consuming the majority of my resources (CPU, storage, memory)?

1. Auto-discovery
2. Capacity planning
3. Performance monitoring on ESX hosts & VM guests
4. VMDK file utilization
5. Storage utilization trending & forecasting at the VMDK level
6. Storage mapping to SAN devices (Fiber Channel switches, arrays)
7. Real-time & historical analysis
8. Alerting

Hello Experts,

I have created a blog in which we can share our doccuments to complete the path for VCDX . If anybody can provide resources to guide for the correct path.

Cheers

Jas

Attached.

RELDATA unified storage systems greatly reduce storage management

complexity and operating costs while improving data/application

availability and business productivity. Consolidating SAN and NAS into

a single solution allows organizations to see, virtualize and protect

multi-vendor and multi-site storage environments.