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2011's top 10 tips on data centre, cloud and server virtualisation
A collection of top 10 expert tips on data centres, cloud computing, server virtualisation and VDI for IT professionals to recap the technology highlights and how-tos of 2011. Feature
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Top five virtualisation case studies of 2011
Our recap of 2011's most popular case studies shows how other IT users conducted their virtualisation projects and all about their challenges and the efficiencies they achieved. Feature
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2011: Year in review
guide
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Microsoft licensing, pricing and features mini guide
Find valuable information on Microsoft licensing, pricing and features in this collection of expert advice, news, blogs and podcasts. Learning Guide
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The appeal of Citrix licensing: Hypervisors and per-server licenses
While Citrix chooses to license its XenServer technology on a per-server basis, VMware, its main competitor, opts for the counting-CPU-sockets approach. Expert Advice
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VMware licensing, pricing and features mini guide
Find VMware licensing, pricing and feature information in this collection of tips, news, blogs and podcasts. Learning Guide
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Virtual Data Centre Europe E-zine
Whether you’re building a new data centre, managing an existing facility, or considering cloud computing/managed services, our Data Centre Europe e-zine addresses IT pros' everyday challenges. Feature
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UK directory for server, platform users: Windows, Unix, Linux user groups
This server and platform user group directory includes contact details and future meetings for a selection of groups located in the UK. Linux, UNIX, Windows user groups and more. UK User Groups
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UK user group directory: Servers and platforms
This directory for UK user groups includes server and platform groups and links to other groups in TechTarget’s UK IT user group directory. UK User Groups
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A guide to virtual data centre planning, design and licensing
Read expert advice on data centre planning, virtual data centre design and software licensing management in this series of articles by a Quocirca analyst. Guide
- See More: Essential Knowledge on Virtualisation management and strategy
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SEPA reaps cost savings running Oracle on VMware
SEPA’s IT team was warned of the complexities of virtualising Oracle database and apps. But strategic design and testing helped it run Oracle on VMware vSphere and reap benefits. News | 11 May 2012
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Mobile virtualisation tools unpopular, despite IT consumerisation
Budget constraints, availability of native apps and limited choice prohibit mobile virtualisation tools from gaining popularity, despite the rise of BYOD and IT consumerisation. News | 08 May 2012
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Microsoft Windows 8 VDI licensing adds BYOD licensing complexity, cost
Microsoft’s VDI licensing option in Windows 8 requires customers pay fees to allow user devices such as iPads to access Windows-based corporate virtual desktops. News | 26 Apr 2012
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FlexPod validated by Microsoft for private cloud: News roundup
FlexPod shared infrastructure’s validation by Microsoft for private cloud; a UK power company’s virtualisation project; and OnyxCloud’s storage upgrades are this week’s highlights. News | 23 Apr 2012
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IT pros pushed to upgrade to XenApp 6.5 by July 2013
IT pros must upgrade to XenApp 6.5 after Citrix announced EoL status prior to pre-v6.5 versions, coinciding with Windows Server 2003 EoL. News | 10 Apr 2012
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Desktop virtualisation helps data centres prepare for consumerisation
UK businesses and data centres aren’t prepared for IT consumerisation, but building a virtual desktop infrastructure can help. News | 28 Mar 2012
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VKernel vOPS customers gain Quest integration sooner than anticipated
VKernel vOPS now includes Quest vFoglight and vOptimizer, just months after the merger. Is the knee-jerk integration right for tomorrow’s cloud infrastructures? News | 14 Mar 2012
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Palmer's College scores on virtualisation, data centre consolidation
Palmer's College's virtualisation and data centre consolidation project did not just improve IT efficiency and scalability, but also saves on data centre cooling costs. Case study | 03 Feb 2012
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Virtualisation, cloud and compliance are top priorities for IT in 2012
A TechTarget study finds that IT pros’ main priorities for 2012 are virtualisation, cloud computing and compliance. Experts show how they can carry these out with limited budget. Research analysis | 26 Jan 2012
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Virtualisation technologies: hits and misses of 2011
Amid a slew of virtualisation products and management suites that emerged in 2011, some products such as Spring platform impressed users, while others such as VMware MVP didn’t. News | 19 Dec 2011
- See More: News on Virtualisation management and strategy
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VMware vSphere 5: Storage software galore
With features such as VMFS-F, VASA and VM storage profiles, vSphere 5 is VMware’s “storage release”. Learn how these capabilities help virtualisation admins add value. Tip
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Troubleshooting bogus vCenter icons in VMware vSphere 5
The new vCenter icons that VMware introduced in vSphere 5 are buggy and issue false alarms. Here are some workarounds until the vendor issues a fix. Tip
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Take storage pressure off hypervisors by using dedicated disk arrays
Making hypervisors and virtual servers work overtime to cope with data explosions affects their performance. Some IT pros are using dedicated disk arrays for storage management. Tip
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Demystifying VMware Site Recovery Manager and its role in DR
VMware Site Recovery Manager (SRM) simplifies disaster recovery, but managing it is tricky if users don’t know how it handles VMware snapshots and how it affects backup software. Tip
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How IT can convince stakeholders of the value of technology projects
IT professionals must take data centre measures to convince stakeholders of the business value of technology projects. This will help IT emerge as a valuable business resource. Tip
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Addressing security across the systems architecture
It is important to secure every element of systems architecture for overall security. But as system complexity increases, a traditional approach to security may not do the job. Tip
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VCP 5 FAQs: Mastering the VMware Certified Professional test
VMware Certified Professional test examines a professional’s knowledge of VMware products. This Q&A will help professionals maximise their success when taking the new VCP 5. Tip
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Consumerisation of IT: How to strategise enterprise device management
Amid the rising consumerisation of IT, the traditional “one-size-fits-all” strategy can fail. IT must develop an open approach to consumerisation of devices and use VDI. Tip
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More meticulous testing validates SSL certificates
VMware has introduced rigorous checks, changing how users manage SSL certificates in VMware View 5. Learn the steps to request fully-trusted certificates using Thawte. Tip
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Troubleshooting VM performance, capacity management woes
Problems stemming from performance and capacity management are big worries for virtualisation administrators. But there are tool sets and metrics they can use for troubleshooting. Tip
- See More: Tips on Virtualisation management and strategy
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virtualisation
In IT, virtualisation is the process of creating logical computing resources from available physical resources. Definition
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guest virtual machine (guest VM)
A guest virtual machine (guest VM) is the software component of a virtual machine (VM), an independent instance of an operating system (called a guest operating system) and its associated software and information. Definition
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host virtual machine (host VM)
A host virtual machine is the server component of a virtual machine (VM), the underlying hardware that provides computing resources to support a particular guest virtual machine (guest VM). Definition
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VMware Europe 2010 User Awards preview
In preparation for VMworld Europe 2010 in Copenhagen, virtualisation experts and award judges Mike Laverick and Gabrie van Zanten discuss the show's winning projects. Podcasts
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SEPA reaps cost savings running Oracle on VMware
SEPA’s IT team was warned of the complexities of virtualising Oracle database and apps. But strategic design and testing helped it run Oracle on VMware vSphere and reap benefits. News
-
Mobile virtualisation tools unpopular, despite IT consumerisation
Budget constraints, availability of native apps and limited choice prohibit mobile virtualisation tools from gaining popularity, despite the rise of BYOD and IT consumerisation. News
-
Microsoft Windows 8 VDI licensing adds BYOD licensing complexity, cost
Microsoft’s VDI licensing option in Windows 8 requires customers pay fees to allow user devices such as iPads to access Windows-based corporate virtual desktops. News
-
FlexPod validated by Microsoft for private cloud: News roundup
FlexPod shared infrastructure’s validation by Microsoft for private cloud; a UK power company’s virtualisation project; and OnyxCloud’s storage upgrades are this week’s highlights. News
-
VMware vSphere 5: Storage software galore
With features such as VMFS-F, VASA and VM storage profiles, vSphere 5 is VMware’s “storage release”. Learn how these capabilities help virtualisation admins add value. Tip
-
IT pros pushed to upgrade to XenApp 6.5 by July 2013
IT pros must upgrade to XenApp 6.5 after Citrix announced EoL status prior to pre-v6.5 versions, coinciding with Windows Server 2003 EoL. News
-
Desktop virtualisation helps data centres prepare for consumerisation
UK businesses and data centres aren’t prepared for IT consumerisation, but building a virtual desktop infrastructure can help. News
-
Troubleshooting bogus vCenter icons in VMware vSphere 5
The new vCenter icons that VMware introduced in vSphere 5 are buggy and issue false alarms. Here are some workarounds until the vendor issues a fix. Tip
-
Take storage pressure off hypervisors by using dedicated disk arrays
Making hypervisors and virtual servers work overtime to cope with data explosions affects their performance. Some IT pros are using dedicated disk arrays for storage management. Tip
-
VKernel vOPS customers gain Quest integration sooner than anticipated
VKernel vOPS now includes Quest vFoglight and vOptimizer, just months after the merger. Is the knee-jerk integration right for tomorrow’s cloud infrastructures? News
- See More: All on Virtualisation management and strategy
About Virtualisation management and strategy
Once you've picked your virtualisation platform then the true challenges begin. Whether your data centre is expanding a virtualisation deployment or just beginning to delve into virtualisation technologies, you need a solid virtualisation strategy to manage these complex, ever-changing, virtualized systems. Your virtualisation strategy needs to encompass tools for monitoring, tracking virtual machines and troubleshooting virtual servers and tools to perform physical-to-virtual, virtual to-physical and virtual-to-virtual (P2V, V2P, V2V) server migrations, as well as backup, recovery and business continuity technologies to prevent data centre downtime and to ensure better virtual machine performance. You also need to consider virtual server sprawl and server consolidation strategies as well as tools for virtual machine security. This section offers virtualisation management news, technical advice, vendor comparisons and practical how-to information on creating a well-managed virtualisation environment. We compare virtualisation platforms, native and third-party management tools for virtual environments and offer advice on how to construct a virtualisation environment based on your data centre requirements and company's needs.