Punching Clouds

VMworld 2010 is going to be loaded with an incredibly interesting amount of presentations. This year there many new things planned, but this year VMworld is bringing something truly special… the virtualization’s dynamic duo, the Chips (TV Show) of virtualization, the John & Ponch of virtualization, AKA Chris McCain, and I (being funny).  We have a couple of interesting topics for VMworld, and now that the VMworld sessions are now available for public voting, go and check all the sessions out and what’s going to be possibly available this years,  and vote for ours if you want to see them at VMworld 2010. We’ve submitted the following session:

VMworld 2010 Session:

Private Cloud – Business Continuity Section

Exploring the vSphere 4 Business Continuity Spectrum

Session Id: BC7521

This session will explore all of the business continuity options available within a vSphere 4 virtual infrastructure. The session will define the various types of data tragedies that can occur and how to plan and react to these events. Attendees will learn how to apply defined Recovery Point Objectives (RPOs) and Recovery Time Objectives (RTOs) to the various vSphere 4 business continuity features.

Technology and Architecture Session

Breaking Down the Distributed Virtual Switch Starring the Nexus 1000v

Session Id: TA7523

This session will break down the components of the distributed virtual switch. Attendees will learn how to implement and manage a DVS including a look at implementing the Cisco Nexus 1000v. Topics covered will include VLANs, PVLANs, DVS security, and granular DVS port management.

Virtualization 101 Section

Managing vCenter Server Certificates

Session Id: V17522

This session will detail certificate management for vCenter Server. Attendees will learn how to implement a trusted Public Key Infrastructure using Microsoft Active Directory Certificate Services along with the steps to allow vCenter to use self-issued certificates.

We’ll also be around to discuss some of the punching topics about the vSphere Resource Kit , and some other cool projects. Check out Chris’s blog, which is yet another dynamic duo creation. Hopefully we will see you all at VMworld 2010.

Lock and Load it up, baby!  Now that VMware vSphere 4 is available to the public, everyone can download and play around with the different technologies that accompany this brilliant product. I’ve gathered a library of videos created by VMware in which the development team, those wizards behind the magic, discusses the functionality and logic of their work.  If you want to know more about specific features and what they can bring to your environments, this video library offers indispensable yet comprehensible peaks into this trailblazing new product. Enjoy!

vSphere 4 Video Library

vSphere 4 Performance Advancements

vSphere 4 High Availability

vSphere 4 vStorage VMFS/Volume Grow

vSphere 4 Distributed Resource Scheduler

vSphere 4 Nexus 1000V

vSphere 4 Enhanced Storage VMotion

vSphere 4 Dynamic Storage Provisioning

vSphere 4 Host Profiles

vSphere 4 vCenter Server Linked Mode

vSphere 4 Storage Management Improvements

vSphere 4 Fault Tolerance

vSphere 4 Distributed Power Management

vSphere 4 vNetwork Distributed Switch

Take note: Lots of changes are coming to VMware’s Virtual Infrastructure.  VMware has improved and expanded its virtual architecture light years beyond their Virtual Infrastructure 3 platform.  The soon to be released VSphere 4 platform is not limited to minor updates in components and technology – rather, this release ushers in major performance enhancements across the board in products, capacity, security, and networking.  This is not just a facelift, but a thorough architectural reworking.

Similar changes are in the works for Cisco.  One of the hottest topics in the virtualization and the networking communities is the Cisco Nexus 1000v, a Cisco product that utilizes VMware’s new networking technology.  There is an immense deal of enhancement and performance with this product. Cisco had developed the Nexus 1000V, a software virtual machine designed specifically for server virtualization environments. So far getting your hands on this Cisco product has been very tough and its beta program has been heavily guarded. Even if you had access to the Cisco beta, you would still need to get your hands on the VMware beta program in order to test the new vNetwork Distributed Switch technology.  In order to hold you over until the release, I’ve gathered a few videos that will give you an idea of what to expect from this product.  So, don’t sit on your hands until release day; this is the best time to start learning about the Cisco Nexus 1000v Distributed Switch.  Enjoy!

Cisco Nexus 1000v Series Switches

Cisco Nexus 1000v Demonstration

Cisco Systems and VMware, Inc made a joined announcements about the release of the Cisco Unified Computing System. This is Cisco’s next-generation data center platform, designed mainly to improve IT responsiveness to rapid changing business demands.  The Unified Computing System will accelerate the delivery of new simple, reliable, and secure services with end-to-end migration support of virtualized and non-virtualized systems.  With this release, Cisco officially extends its presence in data centers beyond routing, switching, and Voip technology and hardware. The company will now be a major competitor in the x86 server market, and their customers will be able to implement a complete technology solution that will cover all angles of the data center. The Unified Computing System is powered by the industry’s best virtualization platform developed by VMware, and it may become the backbone of future cloud computing architectures.  See what VMware President and CEO Paul Maritz has to say about the benefits of the collaboration between the two companies. Read the official announcement made by VMware, which describes how VMware contributes to make the Cisco Unified Computing System an extremely powerful solution. Watch Cisco’s own John Chambers, Chairman and CEO, talk about the vision and business benefits of this new product.

There has been a lot of buzz on the internet lately about VMware and Cisco, and a lot of it has to do with the collaboration between the two companies and new network features coming to VMware’s vSphere platform. Cisco has developed a virtual switch specifically for VMware that’s called Cisco Nexus 1000v Virtual Switch. I was aware of this, but today I came across an article from TechConnect Magazine titled “Cisco Serious about VMware Takeover” which talks about Cisco wanting to acquire VMware. Read the article and let me know what you think.   Would this be a good thing?