New Training - VMware vCenter Operations Manager: Analyze and Predict [V5.0]

This course<http://mylearn.vmware.com/mgrreg/courses.cfm?ui=www_edu&a=one&id_subject=31492>, for experienced VMware vSphere personnel, teaches skills for the use of VMware vCenter™ Operations as a forensic and predictive tool. The course is based on VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0, VMware vCenter Server 5.0, and vCenter Operations Manager 5.0.

• Understand major and minor badges and their underlying metrics.
• Use these badges to find root causes of common operational issues in a vSphere environment.
• Perform capacity management and what-if analyses.
• Use the Operations tab, the Planning tab, the Alerts tab, the Analysis tab, and the Reports tab.
• Navigate the vCenter Operations Manager 5.0 user interface.
• Use heat maps and create a custom heat map.
• Use smart alerts to detect system issues.

Course Datasheet<http://mylearn.vmware.com/descriptions/EDU_DATASHEET_vCenterOpsMgrAnalyzePredict_V5_BETA2.pdf>

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Ntpronl/~3/jtLomRotNjc/2059-New-Training-VMware-vCenter-Operations-Manager-Analyze-and-Predict-V5.0.html

Top 5 VM Configuration Issues that Cause Performance Problems White Paper

This whitepaper by vExpert David Davis discusses the top five virtual machine configuration issues that cause performance problems, how to resolve them manually as well as provide information on automated tools that will make that process easier.

http://www.vkernel.com/resources/whitepapers/top-5-vm-configuration-issues

You can do it! Virtualize Oracle on VMware | Toronto VMware User Group

[http://tovmug.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/database-150x150.jpg]<http://tovmug.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/database.jpg>Hi Folks,

Here is a good 4-part video discussion on virtualizing Oracle on vSphere, enjoy!

Don Sullivan, VMware<http://www.vmware.com/>, Staff Systems Engineer and Jeff Browning, EMC<http://www.emc.com/>, Oracle <http://www.oracle.com/> Community webmaster sit down to discuss the benefits of virtualizing Oracle Database environments with VMware.

Have you done this already, share your story at our next VMUG meeting – I can be contacted at Toronto [at] vmug.com<http://vmug.com>

[http://img.youtube.com/vi/3tBJ_YZxg7g/default.jpg]<http://www.youtube.com/embed/3tBJ_YZxg7g>

VMware VSphere's Value In Virtualizing The Oracle Database Environment - Part 4


[http://img.youtube.com/vi/I0RERp8Airg/default.jpg]<http://www.youtube.com/embed/I0RERp8Airg>

VMware VSphere's Value In Virtualizing The Oracle Database Environment - Part 3


[http://img.youtube.com/vi/qhEyA0G9FvM/default.jpg]<http://www.youtube.com/embed/qhEyA0G9FvM>

VMware VSphere's Value In Virtualizing The Oracle Database Environment - Part 2

[http://img.youtube.com/vi/BgvXrp1RLRY/default.jpg]<http://www.youtube.com/embed/BgvXrp1RLRY>

VMware VSphere's Value In Virtualizing The Oracle Database Environment - Part 1

Original Post:
http://tovmug.com/?p=844

VMware Diagram & Icon Library (2012)

These are the official icons and diagrams of VMware. VMware allows the use of these icons and diagrams in derivative works by VMware Community members to illustrate virtualization concepts and IT architectures.

VMware PowerPoint Icons and Images - 2Q12<http://communities.vmware.com/thread/400678>

[http://www.ntpro.nl/blog/uploads/iconppt.png]<http://communities.vmware.com/thread/400678>

Original Post:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Ntpronl/~3/8r4RHscWjF0/2057-VMware-Diagram-Icon-Library-2012.html

EMC World: Day 1 – Pictures

Here's the first day of EMC World 2012 in pictures.

[http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-111720.jpg]<http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-111720.jpg>

getting ready for kenote[http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090635.jpg]<http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090635.jpg>

[http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090614.jpg]<http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090614.jpg>

[http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090624.jpg]<http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090624.jpg>

[http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090559.jpg]<http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090559.jpg>

[http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090550.jpg]<http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090550.jpg>

[http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090541.jpg]<http://www.sedha.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/20120522-090541.jpg>

Original Post:

http://www.sedha.com/?p=46

Manitoba VMUG Meeting - June 20th, 2012

Join us for the upcoming Manitoba VMUG meeting taking place on Wednesday, June 20, 2012.

Registration is now open and available to all VMUG members. This is a great opportunity to meet with your peers to discuss virtualization trends, best practices, and the latest technology!

Meeting Agenda

• 5:45 p.m. Registration and Refreshments
• 6:00 p.m. Welcome
• 6:15 p.m. ESTI Presentation: VMware View Technical Overview
• 7:15 p.m. ESTI Presentation: VDI Licensing Considerations
• 7:40 p.m. Break and Networking
• 8:00 p.m. Oracle Database on VMware Best Practices
• 8:40 p.m. Q&A and Prize Draws
• 9:00 p.m. Meeting Concludes

Visit the Event Details Page for the full agenda. Be sure to share this meeting information with your colleagues.

Be sure to visit our new Manitoba VMUG Workspace and subscribe to our listserv!  Connect with your fellow VMUG members in the forum, ask and answer questions about VMware, and get involved in your VMUG community.

 

Hot Off the ‘Virtual’ Press - VMware Insights Magazine - Issue 2

VMware Insights Magazine - the online magazine for your growing business

[http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef016766a8b50a970b-120wi]<http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef016766a8b50a970b-pi>Read how one growing business used virtualization and management tools to reduce costs and improve customer service.

Learn how to optimize your virtual environment with VMware IT management solutions.

Get the latest news on VMworld 2012 and other upcoming events, product updates, new offers, training tools, and more here<http://portal.sliderocket.com/vmware/VMware-INSIGHTS-2?src=blog>

Original Post:
http://blogs.vmware.com/smb/2012/05/hot-off-the-virtual-press-vmware-insights-magazine-issue-2.html

An introduction to Storage DRS

Today someone asked for a Storage DRS intro, I wrote one for our book a year ago<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005C1SARM/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=yellowbricks-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B005C1SARM&adid=16Q69JRGDTX1DHPRKTQM&> and figured I would share it with the world. I still feel that Storage DRS is one of the coolest features in vSphere 5.0 and I think that everyone should be using this! I know there are some caveats (1<http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2011/07/15/storage-drs-interoperability/>, 2<http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2011/09/07/does-srm-support-storage-drs-yes-it-does/>) when you are using specific array functionality or for instance SRM, but nevertheless… this is one of those features that will make an admin's life that much easier! If you are not using it today, I highly suggest evaluating this cool feature.

*** out take from the vSphere 5.0 Clustering Deepdive ***

vSphere 5.0 introduces many great new features, but everyone will probably agree with us that vSphere Storage DRS is most the exciting new feature. vSphere Storage DRS helps resolve some of the operational challenges associated with virtual machine provisioning, migration and cloning. Historically, monitoring datastore capacity and I/O load has proven to be very difficult. As a result, it is often neglected, leading to hot spots and over- or underutilized datastores. Storage I/O Control (SIOC) in vSphere 4.1 solved part of this problem by introducing a datastore-wide disk-scheduler that allows for allocation of I/O resources to virtual machines based on their respective shares during times of contention.

Storage DRS (SDRS) brings this to a whole new level by providing smart virtual machine placement and load balancing mechanisms based on space and I/O capacity. In other words, where SIOC reactively throttles hosts and virtual machines to ensure fairness, SDRS proactively makes recommendations to prevent imbalances from both a space utilization and latency perspective. More simply, SDRS does for storage what DRS does for compute resources.

There are five key features that SDRS offers:

* Resource aggregation
* Initial Placement
* Load Balancing
* Datastore Maintenance Mode
* Affinity Rules

Resource aggregation enables grouping of multiple datastores, into a single, flexible pool of storage called a Datastore Cluster. Administrators can dynamically populate Datastore Clusters with datastores. The flexibility of separating the physical from the logical greatly simplifies storage management by allowing datastores to be efficiently and dynamically added or removed from a Datastore Cluster to deal with maintenance or out of space conditions. The load balancer will take care of initial placement as well as future migrations based on actual workload measurements and space utilization.

The goal of Initial Placement is to speed up the provisioning process by automating the selection of an individual datastore and leaving the user with the much smaller-scale decision of selecting a Datastore Cluster. SDRS selects a particular datastore within a Datastore Cluster based on space utilization and I/O capacity. In an environment with multiple seemingly identical datastores, initial placement can be a difficult and time-consuming task for the administrator. Not only will the datastore with the most available disk space need to be identified, but it is also crucial to ensure that the addition of this new virtual machine does not result in I/O bottlenecks. SDRS takes care of all of this and substantially lowers the amount of operational effort required to provision virtual machines; that is the true value of SDRS.

However, it is probably safe to assume that many of you are most excited about the load balancing capabilities SDRS offers. SDRS can operate in two distinct modes: No Automation (manual mode) or Fully Automated. Where initial placement reduces complexity in the provisioning process, load balancing addresses imbalances within a datastore cluster. Prior to vSphere 5.0, placement of virtual machines was often based on current space consumption or the number of virtual machines on each datastore. I/O capacity monitoring and space utilization trending was often regarded as too time consuming Over the years, we have seen this lead to performance problems in many environments, and in some cases, even result in down time because a datastore ran out of space. SDRS load balancing helps prevent these, unfortunately, common scenarios by making placement recommendations based on both space utilization and I/O capacity when the configured thresholds are exceeded. Depending on the selected automation level, these recommendations will be automatically applied by SDRS or will need to be applied by the administrator.

Although we see load balancing as a single feature of SDRS, it actually consists of two separately-configurable options. When either of the configured thresholds for Utilized Space (80% by default) or I/O Latency (15 milliseconds by default) are exceeded, SDRS will make recommendations to prevent problems and resolve the imbalance in the datastore cluster. In the case of I/O capacity load balancing, it can even be explicitly disabled.

Before anyone forgets, SDRS can be enabled on fully populated datastores and environments. It is also possible to add fully populated datastores to existing datastore clusters. It is a great way to solve actual or potential bottlenecks in any environment with minimal required effort or risk.

Datastore Maintenance Mode is one of those features that you will typically not use often; you will appreciate it when you need. Datastore Maintenance Mode can be compared to Host Maintenance Mode: when a datastore is placed in Maintenance Mode all registered virtual machines, on that datastore, are migrated to the other datastores in the datastore cluster. Typical use cases are data migration to a new storage array or maintenance on a LUN, such as migration to another RAID group.

Affinity Rules enable control over which virtual disks should or should not be placed on the same datastore within a datastore cluster in accordance with your best practices and/or availability requirements. By default, a virtual machine's virtual disks are kept together on the same datastore.

For those who want more details, Frank Denneman wrote an excellent series about Datastore Clusters which might interest you:

Part 1: Architecture and design of datastore clusters.<http://frankdenneman.nl/2011/09/architecture-and-design-of-datastore-clusters/>
Part 2: Partially connected datastore clusters.<http://frankdenneman.nl/2011/10/partially-connected-datastore-clusters/>
Part 3: Impact of load balancing on datastore cluster configuration.<http://frankdenneman.nl/2012/01/impact-of-load-balancing-on-datastore-cluster-configuration/>
Part 4: Storage DRS and Multi-extents datastores.<http://frankdenneman.nl/2012/01/sdrs-and-multi-extents-datastores/>
Part 5: Connecting multiple DRS clusters to a single Storage DRS datastore cluster.
<http://frankdenneman.nl/2012/04/connecting-multiple-drs-clusters-to-a-single-storage-drs-datastore-cluster/>Part 6: Aggregating datastores from multiple storage arrays into one Storage DRS datastore cluster.<http://frankdenneman.nl/2012/04/aggregating-datastores-from-multiple-storage-arrays-into-one-storage-drs-datastore-cluster/>

Some other articles that might be of use:

* SDRS and Auto-Tiering solutions – The Injector<http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2011/08/05/sdrs-and-auto-tiering-solutions-the-injector/> (Duncan)
* Storage DRS Load Balance Frequence<http://frankdenneman.nl/2012/05/storage-drs-load-balance-frequency/> (Frank)
* SDRS Out-Of-Space avoidance<http://frankdenneman.nl/2011/09/sdrs-out-of-space-avoidance/> (Frank)
* Storage vMotion and the mirror-mode driver<http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2011/07/14/vsphere-5-0-storage-vmotion-and-the-mirror-driver/> (Duncan)

The following video will give an overview of the above mentioned features… worth checking.

"An introduction to Storage DRS<http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2012/05/22/an-introduction-to-storage-drs/>" originally appeared on Yellow-Bricks.com<http://www.yellow-bricks.com>. Follow us on Twitter<http://www.twitter.com/DuncanYB> and Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yellow-Bricks-virtualization-blog/132292893499196>.
Available now: vSphere 5 Clustering Deepdive. (paper<http://www.amazon.com/dp/1463658133/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=yellowbricks-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1463658133&adid=07SG91DX7FQT2HS66PMM> | e-book<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005C1SARM/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=yellowbricks-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B005C1SARM&adid=16Q69JRGDTX1DHPRKTQM&>)


Original Post:
http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2012/05/22/an-introduction-to-storage-drs/

VMware Released View 5.1 and Launched Horizon Application Manager 1.5

Now available: VMware View 5.1, VMware Horizon Application Manager 1.5 and a public beta program for the Project Octopus cloud data synchronization and collaboration service.

http://www.vmware.com/end-user-computing/

VMware View Evaluator's Guide

The purpose of this document is to support a self-guided, hands-on review of VMware View 5. The content is intended to show how easily you can set up a VMware View 5 environment so you can evaluate both new and important capabilities. These capabilities include creating and managing virtualized desktops, and validating the suggested use cases.

The guide is divided into the following main sections:

1. Key New Features of VMware View 5

2. Description of VMware View Components

3. Setting Up a View Evaluation Environment

4. Evaluation Tasks

An appendix includes the evaluation tasks from the View 4.6 Evaluator's Guide, so that you can test those features if you have not yet done so. This document assumes you have basic knowledge of VMware vSphere™ or VMware ESX™ or ESXi™, and are comfortable configuring networking and storage in a virtual environment.

http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/view/VMware-View-Evaluators-Guide.pdf

Registration for VMworld 2012 US is Now Open

IT is undergoing a top to bottom transformation…Are you ready?

Take advantage of the best educational opportunity to expand your knowledge, maximize your investments and gain greater competitive edge with cloud and virtualization solutions at VMworld 2012.

Register now<http://www.vmworld.com/?scr=VMworld2012-0511-blog-YOURVERTICAL>

VMworld enables you to:

* Choose from over 300 expert led breakout sessions and hands-on labs highlighting key trends and strategies to help empower your organization
* Collaborate with knowledge experts and share experiences in focused group discussions and one-on-one meetings
* Leverage, network and share best practices with the VMware community
* Engage with more than 250 technology partners showcasing leading innovations

Register<javascript:void(0);> by June 8 for the best rates and learn how to transform the way you work.

Stay Connected ...

Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/vmworld>

Twitter<javascript:void(0);>

LinkedIn<http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2028037&trk=anet_ug_hm&goback=%2Egdr_1333474009594_1>

YouTube<http://www.youtube.com/vmworldtv>

Google+<javascript:void(0);>

Original Post:

http://blogs.vmware.com/smb/2012/05/registration-for-vmworld-2012-us-is-now<http://blogs.vmware.com/smb/2012/05/registration-for-vmworld-2012-us-is-now-open.html>

Detailed vForum Agenda

For those who have been looking for a more detailed agenda for next week’s vForum, you can download it from the link below:

 

Winnipeg vForum Agenda: https://www.box.net/shared/997f292c0935ee3e321f

 

Shameless plug, come see me and Christina Garcia from VMware at 11:20 for:

Maximize your vSphere investment with vCenter Operations

 

If for some reason you are unable to download it, please e-mail me and I’ll send you a copy.

 

Hope to see you all out for this great event,

Mike Yallits

Mike.Yallits@esti.ca

 

Cool Tool - Cloud Resource Meter

[http://www.ntpro.nl/blog/uploads/crm-logo.serendipityThumb.png]<http://www.ntpro.nl/blog/uploads/crm-logo.png>
6fusion's Cloud Resource Meter<http://www.cloudresourcemeter.com/> is a VMware vApp that allows you to profile any vSphere 4.1 or 5.0 environment and evaluate the cost of running that environment in the cloud – all for free and all right from the vSphere Console. Cloud Resource Meter installs in your VMware vSphere environment in minutes and allows users to view "real time" computing consumption information at a glance for the entire system, any vSphere grouping of VMs, or for each VM in the infrastructure.

Cloud Resource Meter comes in two versions Free and Pro. When you sign up and download the application, you are automatically set up with the Free Plan. If you need more, you can choose to upgrade to the Pro Plan from within the application. Take a look at the intrudcution video here<http://youtu.be/IMN2WCNO38g>.

Original Post:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Ntpronl/~3/Q-prrzpw-G8/2045-Cool-Tool-Cloud-Resource-Meter.html

New vSphere Storage Appliance (VSA) Whitepapers now published

A quick post today to let you know that VMware has just published some new performance whitepapers on the vSphere Storage Appliance. The performance evaluations were carried out by Principled Technologies with a view to measuring real-life workloads on the VSA. One looks at the performance with a RAID-5 configuration, the other looks at the performance with a RAID-6 configuration. You can get the whitepapers from the VSA landing page here<http://www.vmware.com/products/datacenter-virtualization/vsphere/vsphere-storage-appliance/resources.html>. Hope you find them useful.

Get notification of these blogs postings and more VMware Storage information by following me on Twitter: [http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef014e8a7e2282970d-800wi] <http://twitter.com/#%21/VMwareStorage> @VMwareStorage<http://twitter.com/#%21/vmwarestorage>

http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/05/new-vsphere-storage-appliance-vsa-whitepapers-now-published.html

Virtualization and the VMware Vision for SMBs

Part 1 – Introducing Russ Stockdale

I'm Russ Stockdale - Vice President and General Manager of Small and Midsize Business (SMB) at VMware. In my role I'm responsible for VMware's SMB solutions<http://bit.ly/KMKNaC>, product marketing and go-to-market efforts across the product lines that cater to our SMB customers.

[http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef0168eb0c2c9d970c-320wi]<http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef0168eb0c2c9d970c-pi>I work with the product teams across VMware to develop product strategy, positioning and the right solutions for SMBs while working closely with our sales and partner teams to make sure that we're delivering the right product experience and services to our customers.

I came to this role through my position at Mozy where I first joined as chief marketing officer and held the position of VP of Product and Program Management as well as, most recently General Manager of the business, a role I still hold today. Mozy gave me the opportunity not only to work with a number of SMB customers but to run an SMB business and see first hand the challenges that SMBs are faced with on a daily basis. I think this has given me a unique perspective in my current role delivering solutions for SMBs.



From school and throughout my career I've had a passion for solving problems with technology and making that technology accessible to the masses. I've been lucky enough to work on some pretty big projects to that effect, including making desktop OSs more user friendly with early versions of Windows and making the Internet more accessible by working on the team that delivered the first versions of Internet Explorer. This has contributed to my perspective in my current role, making enterprise-class technology and solutions accessible to customers of all sizes.

Connecting enterprise class solutions with the unique requirements of SMB customers can be a challenging task, but I have some brilliant engineers and solution strategists on my side. In addition, the sales and partner "feet on the street" that you, our customer, work with are some of the finest in the industry. We're all here to help you, take advantage of the efficiencies and possibilities that virtualization has to offer.

This task is not as simple as selling an enterprise solution to an SMB customer or making a stripped down version of an enterprise offering at a lower cost. While cost is often a factor, SMBs still need the right mix of features and functionality that cater to their unique challenges. In many cases the challenges SMB customers are faced with every day are very different from their enterprise counterparts. I go into this more in the following video<http://bit.ly/ISGDmf>.

In the coming weeks I'll elaborate on the points that I covered in this video including:

* The challenges that SMBs are faced with and how these challenges can stand in front of the goals of the business.
* The unique characteristics of SMBs and how this contributes to the complexities in the IT environments.
* The VMware vision for SMBs to overcome today's IT challenges and take full advantage of what virtualization and the cloud have to offer.

I look forward to hearing your opinions and feedback and I hope that my posts not only provide some insight into VMware solutions but also a venue for discussion.

~ Russ Stockdale

Original Post:
http://blogs.vmware.com/smb/2012/05/need-title.html

Now available in Rough Cuts - The Official VCP5 Certification Guide

[http://www.ntpro.nl/blog/uploads/ShowCovervcp5.serendipityThumb.jpg]<http://www.ntpro.nl/blog/uploads/ShowCovervcp5.jpg>
The Rough Cuts service from Safari Books Online gives you exclusive access to an evolving manuscript that you can read online or download as a PDF and print. A Rough Cuts book is not fully edited or completely formatted, but you'll get access to new versions as they are created.

This is the first and only official guide to VMware's new VCP510 (VCP 5) exam. Organized to follow VMware's newest exam blueprint, it's also designed from the ground up to be both engaging and enjoyable. Author Bill Ferguson acts like a "study buddy," encouraging virtualization professionals, anticipating their questions, and helping them gain both mastery and confidence. Throughout, he provides many illustrations, tables, figures, screenshots, and realistic sample test questions - all designed to help readers learn more, learn faster, and remember more of what they learn. Coverage includes: * Understanding how virtualization can best be integrated into today's real-world IT environments * Recognizing what to change, and what to leave alone * Planning, installing, configuring, and upgrading vCenter Server and VMware ESXi * Planning and configuring vSphere networking and storage * Deploying and Administering Virtual Machines and vApps * Establishing and Maintaining Service Levels * Performing basic troubleshooting * Monitoring vSphere implementations * Managing vCenter Server alarms * Preparing for the future of VMware virtualization.

Table of Contents:

1. Planning, Installing, Configuring and Upgrading vCenter Server and VMware ESXi
2. Planning and Configuring vSphere Networking
3. Planning and Configuring vSphere Storage
4. Deploying and Administering Virtual Machines and vApps
5. Establishing and Maintaining Service Levels
6. Performing Basic Troubleshooting
7. Monitoring a vSphere Implementation and Managing vCenter Server Alarms

http://www.pearsonitcertification.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0132965658

VMWare Forum Winnipeg - May 15, 2012

VMWare is hosting a user forum on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 for a full day virtualization and cloud forum at the Fairmont Winnipeg.

Join an innovative group of VMWare users to network, share ideas, and learn how to get the most out of your VMware solutions. See how you can build, extend, and manage your virtual infrastructure.

This is a great opportunity to meet with your Winnipeg based peers to discuss virtualization and cloud trends, best practices, and the latest technology! Join us following the event for a cocktail reception and chance to visit with VMware staff, customers, and partners.

Agenda

• 08:00 a.m - Registration, Networking, Continental Breakfast
• 08:45 a.m - Welcomes and Introductions
• 08:55 a.m - VMware Keynote
• 09:25 a.m - Customer Guest Speaker Presentation
• 10:20 a.m - Morning Break
• 10:30 a.m - Partner Presentation Breakouts
• 11:20 a.m - Partner Presentation Breakouts
• 12:05 p.m - Lunch and Keynote Presentation from Trend Micro
• 01:15 p.m - Vendor Forum
• 02:00 p.m - VMware Presentation Breakouts
• 02:50 p.m - Afternoon Break
• 03:10 p.m - Afternoon Keynote Presentation from Mitel
• 04:00 p.m - Cocktail Reception & Raffle Prizes

Register in advance at :   http://info.vmware.com/content/7339_REG

Backup Design for vCloud Director Tenant vApps Whitepaper

A new whitepaper was recently released by VMware called Backup Design for vCloud Tenant vApps<http://www.vmware.com/resources/techresources/10279> to help provide guidance to partners looking to design and build backup solutions for tenant vApps running in vCloud Director. The document covers the complete process for a backup and restore of a vApp or individual Virtual Machines running in vCloud Director. It also covers several different use cases related to the backup and restore process and provides recommendations on the specific scenarios.

The process involves leveraging three key VMware APIs:

* vCloud API<http://pubs.vmware.com/vcloud-api-1-5/wwhelp/wwhimpl/js/html/wwhelp.htm> - vApp Metadata processing
* vSphere API<http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.wssdk.pg.doc_50%2FPG_Preface.html> - Virtual Machine Configuration
* VDDK<http://pubs.vmware.com/vsphere-50/index.jsp?topic=%2Fcom.vmware.vddk.pg.doc_50%2FvddkPreface.html> - Virtual Disk Content

The white paper also provides some sample code using C# but you also have the option of using any of the supported vSphere and vCloud SDKs in your actual application.

So if you are interesting in building a backup solution for vApps in vCloud Director, make sure you check out this awesome whitepaper<http://www.vmware.com/resources/techresources/10279>!

Original Post: http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/05/backup-design-for-vcloud-director-tenant-vapps-whitepaper.html

By William Lam, Sr. Technical Marketing Engineer

Making Things Easier with My VMware

[http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef0163052ee98d970d-800wi]<http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef0163052ee98d970d-pi>
Managing product licenses and support entitlements can be a time consuming task for any IT organization big or small. We know that the more products and vendors you add to the mix the more tedious this process can become. The recent launch of My VMware<http://bit.ly/JWiUxY> has taken on the challenge from our customers to make the process of managing your VMware licenses and support entitlements easier so you can focus on managing your VMware infrastructure and delivering more value to your business.

With <http://www.vmware.com/my_vmware/overview.html> My VMware<http://bit.ly/JWiUxY> we listened to feedback from you the customer to deliver features to:

* Reduce the number of portals to log into
* Make navigation easier with a more intuitive interface
* Simplify how you manage your support entitlements and product licenses
* Make downloads for releases, updates and evals fast and easy
* Improve access to support request and resources

This is just a few of the many new features that you can find in <http://www.vmware.com/my_vmware/overview.html> My VMware<http://bit.ly/JWiUxY>. Here's a list of links for more information:

* My VMware Resources<http://www.vmware.com/go/myvmware>
* My VMware login & registration<https://my.vmware.com/web/vmware/login>
* My VMware Help Articles<http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-18442>
* Top 10 things to know about My VMware<http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=2017468>
* Getting started with My VMware articles<http://blogs.vmware.com/kb/2012/04/my-vmware-is-easy.html>

Let us know how <http://www.vmware.com/my_vmware/overview.html> My VMware<http://bit.ly/JWiUxY> is making things easier in your environment in the comments below or on Twitter<http://bit.ly/IOFqwb>.

Original Post:

http://blogs.vmware.com/smb/2012/05/making-things-easier-with-my-vmware.html

ESXi Image Builder and Auto Deploy PowerCLI Quick Reference

Kyle Gleed, Sr. Technical Marketing Architect, VMware

To help the PowerCLI novice get started with Image Builder and Auto Deploy I put together the attached quick reference guides.

Working with the ESXi Image Builder and Auto Deploy cmdlets in vSphere 5.0 was my first experience using PowerShell/PowerCLI, and early on I know I spent a lot of time just trying to keep track of the different cmdlet names, let alone the syntax. As I've had several requests for some kind of Image Builder and Auto Deploy PowerCLI quick reference guide I suspect I'm not unique. I hope these will prove helpful.

Enjoy!

Download ImageBuilder5.0-PowerCLI-Quick-Reference-v0.2<http://blogs.vmware.com/files/imagebuilder5.0-powercli-quick-reference-v0.2.pdf>

[http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef0168eb44666f970c-800wi]<http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef0168eb44666f970c-pi>


Download AutoDeploy5.0-PowerCLI-Quick-Reference-v0.2<http://blogs.vmware.com/files/autodeploy5.0-powercli-quick-reference-v0.2.pdf>

[http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef0168eb446716970c-800wi]<http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef0168eb446716970c-pi>
Original Post: http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/05/esxi-image-builder-and-auto-deploy-powercli-quick-reference.html

End-User Computing Portfolio: Delivering a Better Desktop in the Post-PC Era

On May 2 VMware unveiled VMware View 5.1 and an updated portfolio of end-user computing solutions designed to empower a more agile, productive and connected workforce.

[http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef01676609cb99970b-500wi]<http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef01676609cb99970b-popup>
Our end-user computing portfolio is designed enable easy-to-manage, enterprise-class desktop applications virtualization solutions that effectively scale with your business as it grows. With VMware View, the industry's easiest to deploy and manage desktop virtualization solution, small and midsized organizations can take advantage of enterprise-class technology to deliver desktops as a service to end users in a cost-effective and streamlined manner. But that is just the beginning of today's news…

Products featured in this launch include:

VMware View 5.1: Simplifying the Delivery of a Better Desktop – VMware View 5.1<http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2012/05/whats-new-in-view-51.html> continues to enable the industry's best end-user experience while simplifying IT management for large-scale deployments and reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) associated with a virtual desktop infrastructure by up to 50 percent.

VMware vCenter Operations for View: Cloud Infrastructure Insight – Offered as a new add-on to VMware View, vCenter Operations for View<http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2012/05/announces-general-availability-of-vcenter-operations-manager-for-view.html> will enable administrators to have broad insight into desktop performance, quickly pinpoint and troubleshoot issues, optimize resource utilization, and proactively address potential issues in real-time.

VMware Horizon Application Manager 1.5: Your Personal Cloud Broker – Offered as an on-premise, virtual appliance, VMware Horizon Application Manager 1.5<http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2012/05/vmware-horizon-application-manager-15.html> is a centralized policy and entitlement engine that will broker users access to applications, virtual desktops, and data resources. Integrating the application virtualization capabilities of VMware ThinApp, the VMware Horizon Application Catalog will benefit both IT and end-users by consolidating diverse applications types into a single, unified catalog.

VMware Project Octopus: Your Personal Data Cloud – VMware Project Octopus<http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2012/05/project-octopus-public-beta-now-available.html> will enable IT organizations to provide employees with an easy and secure way to share data and collaborate with anyone from any device. Deployed on-premise or accessed via a VMware service provider, VMware Project Octopus will provide the ability for IT to govern usage and set policies for data access and sharing within their organization or with external contributors.

VMware Personal Cloud Applications: Share More, Send Less – Comprised of VMware Zimbra<http://www.zimbra.com/> and VMware Socialcast<http://www.socialcast.com/>, VMware cloud applications connect employees to the knowledge, ideas, and resources they need to work smarter. As part of today's announcement, VMware Zimbra 7.2 now features support for Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions (S/MIME) for government deployments requiring encryption.

Want more information on the launch, check out the VMware EUC blog<http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/>.

Original Post:
http://blogs.vmware.com/smb/2012/05/end-user-computing-portfolio-delivering-a-better-desktop-in-the-post-pc-era.html

Project Octopus Beta

Original Post: http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2012/05/03/project-octopus-beta/

I've been using Octopus for months internally already as I already discussed in my enterprise social collaboration post<http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2012/01/31/enterprise-social-collaboration-solutions/> and I think it is an awesome tool! I would recommend everyone who is interested in an enterprise level file sharing solution, not unlike dropbox, to sign up for the beta as Octopus is the way to go!

Project Octopus is the successful marriage of Zimbra and Mozy technologies, with some additional code jointly developed by the two teams. Prior to GA release, it will be folded into Horizon, providing a centralized policy and entitlement engine that will broker user access to applications, virtual desktops and data resources. The result will be a simple, seamless end-user experience when accessing work resources across private and public clouds on whatever device the user chooses.

The beta is open to all<http://www.vmwareoctopus.com/> and will last through VMworld. Due to limited support resources, priority will be placed on customers with active engagements.

[http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef0163050c8d5f970d-800wi]

"Project Octopus Beta<http://www.yellow-bricks.com/2012/05/03/project-octopus-beta/>" originally appeared on Yellow-Bricks.com<http://www.yellow-bricks.com>. Follow us on Twitter<http://www.twitter.com/DuncanYB> and Facebook<http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yellow-Bricks-virtualization-blog/132292893499196>.
Available now: vSphere 5 Clustering Deepdive. (paper<http://www.amazon.com/dp/1463658133/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_til?tag=yellowbricks-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=1463658133&adid=07SG91DX7FQT2HS66PMM> | e-book<https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005C1SARM/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=yellowbricks-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B005C1SARM&adid=16Q69JRGDTX1DHPRKTQM&>)

Video - Provisioning Virtual Desktops with VMware View 5.1 and VAAI

Original Post:
http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/05/new-storage-features-in-vmware-view-51.html
Cormac Hogan<http://twitter.com/VMwareStorage>: Although this feature is a Technology Preview in View 5.1, it is another cool storage feature of the release. View desktops deployed on VMware's linked clone technology consumes CPU on the ESXi hosts, and network bandwidth when they are deployed on NFS datastores.

With this new Native NFS Snapshot feature via VAAI (vSphere Storage APIs for Array Integration), customers can offload the cloning operation to the storage array, minimizing CPU usage and network bandwidth consumption. Once again this enhanced VAAI functionality was introduced in vSphere 5.0 specifically for VMware View.

This feature requires a VAAI NAS plugin from the storage array vendor. Once installed and configured, customers will be able to use a storage array vendor's own native snapshot feature for deploying View desktops. Selecting this new desktop deployment method can be done via standard work-flows in View Composer.

New Storage Features in VMware View 5.1

Original Post:

http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2012/05/new-storage-features-in-vmware-view-51.html

VMware's flagship VDI product, VMware View, has a new release<http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2012/05/whats-new-in-view-51.html> coming out. I don't normally blog about EUC (End User Computing) or VDI as it is not my area of expertise. However VMware View 5.1 has a number of really neat new storage related features which are making use of enhancements which were first introduced in vSphere 5.0.

View Storage Accelerator

This first feature was originally called CBRC (Content Based Read Cache). This was initially introduced in vSphere 5.0. Although it is a vSphere feature, it is designed specifically for VMware View. With the release of View 5.1, the View Storage Accelerator feature can now be used to dramatically improve the read throughput for View desktops. This will be particularly useful during a boot storm or anti-virus storm, where many virtual machines could be reading the same data from the same base disk at the same time. The implementation of the accelerator is done by taking an area of host memory for cache, and then creating 'digest' files for each virtual machine disk. This feature will be most useful for shared disks that are read frequently, such as View Composer OS disks. It will be available 'out of the box' with View 5.1; no additional components will need to be installed. This feature will significantly improve performance. More here<http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2012/05/optimizing-storage-with-view-storage-accelerator.html>.

32 ESXi nodes sharing NFS datastores

This storage feature is also quite significant. While VMware has been able to create 32 node clusters for some time, VMware View would only allow a base disk on an NFS datastore to be shared between 8 ESXi hosts for the purposes of linked clone deployments. View 5.1 lifts this restriction, and now 32 ESXi hosts can host linked clones deployed from the same base disk on a shared NFS datastore. This feature will significantly improve scalability.

View Composer API for Array Integration (VCAI) aka Native NFS Snapshots

Although this feature is a Technology Preview in View 5.1, it is another cool storage feature of the release. View desktops deployed on VMware's linked clone technology consumes CPU on the ESXi hosts, and network bandwidth when they are deployed on NFS datastores. With this new Native NFS Snapshot feature via VAAI (vSphere Storage APIs for Array Integration), customers can offload the cloning operation to the storage array, minimizing CPU usage and network bandwidth consumption. Once again this enhanced VAAI functionality<http://blogs.vmware.com/vsphere/2011/07/new-enhanced-vsphere-50-storage-features-part-3-vaai.html> was introduced in vSphere 5.0 specifically for VMware View. This feature requires a VAAI NAS plugin from the storage array vendor. Once installed and configured, customers will be able to use a storage array vendor's own native snapshot feature for deploying View desktops. Selecting this new desktop deployment method can be done via standard work-flows in View Composer. More here<http://blogs.vmware.com/euc/2012/05/view-composer-array-integration-tech-preview.html>.

I'm sure you will agree that these are very exciting features. By providing a read caching mechanism, offloading snapshots/clones to the storage array and supporting up to 32 hosts sharing a single base disk, VMware View 5.1 now has greater performance and scalability than ever before. Of course, there are many other enhancements, including a vCenter Operations Manager (vCOps<http://www.vmware.com/products/datacenter-virtualization/vcenter-operations-management/overview.html>) extension specifically for View, so please check out the View 5.1 news release<http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/vmw-euc-portfolio-05-02-12.html> on VMware.com<http://VMware.com>. For those of you using VMware View, this is definitely a release worth checking out.

[http://blogs.vmware.com/.a/6a00d8341c328153ef014e8a7e2282970d-800wi] <http://twitter.com/#%21/VMwareStorage> @VMwareStorage<http://twitter.com/#%21/vmwarestorage>

VMware has announced VMware View 5.1

VMware has announced View 5.1 - the new features and benefits are:


* VMware View Storage Accelerator – VMware View Storage Accelerator (formerly known as Content Based Read Cache) optimizes storage load and improves performance by caching common image blocks when reading virtual desktop images, helping to reduce overall TCO in VMware View deployments.
* VMware View Composer Array Integration (VCAI) – Offered in VMware View 5.1 as a Tech Preview, VCAI will leverage the native cloning abilities in the storage array to offload storage operations within a VMware View environment. As a result, VCAI improves provisioning speeds and management in View Composer and offers another solution for customers wanting to leverage other storage options.
* VMware View Persona Management – New in VMware View 5.1, VMware View Persona Management will extend to physical desktops, enabling IT organizations to preserve user settings across all Windows devices and streamline the migration from physical to stateless virtual desktops.
* VMware vCenter™ Operations for VMware View – Offered as a new add-on to VMware View, VMware vCenter Operations for VMware View will enable administrators to have broad insight into virtual desktop performance. Increased insight can empower administrators to quickly pinpoint and troubleshoot issues, optimize resource utilization and proactively address potential issues in real time.
* VMware View Administrator Enhancements – New performance enhancements to the administrator user interface will deliver faster response times for large-scale desktop environments in the tens-of-thousands. With VMware View 5.1, desktop provisioning with pre-created AD accounts simplifies the process and enhances compliance policy. Administrator enhancements also include editable locations for disposable disk drives.
* RADIUS Support – Support in VMware View 5.1 for RADIUS will enable greater choice for organizations looking to deploy two-factor authentication, while maintaining compatibility with existing choices.
* New VMware View Clients – Users will be able to connect to their VMware View desktop from a variety of mobile and fixed endpoints with updated clients for Mac, Windows and Linux desktops, thin or zero clients and Apple iPad, Android and Amazon Kindle Fire tablets. VMware View 5.1 with PCoIP® adapts to the end users' network connection to provide a high-quality, customized desktop experience over the LAN or WAN.
* VMware View Media Services Enhancements: VMware View 5.1 Local Mode will add multi-monitor support and expanded USB device compatibility, improving the user experience by enabling more peripherals to connect seamlessly into VMware View virtual desktops.
* VMware View Administrator Language Support – Globalization and localization of administrator UI provides a better experience for non-English speaking IT organizations and will enable greater adoption in additional markets. Languages will include French, German, Japanese, Korean and Simplified Chinese.

View 5.1 will be made available in Q2 2012

Original Post: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Ntpronl/~3/jcpJGikYBRE/2038-VMware-has-announced-VMware-View-5.1.html