Category: virtualization archive

  • Saving time with the AutoLab for vSphere

    Earlier this year, I started building up a few labs for a little work, and a little learning.  (Three Labs for three reasons).  Not too long after that is when I started playing around with the AutoLab.  For those not familiar with what the AutoLab is, it is most easily described as a crafty collection…

  • Diagnosing a failed iSCSI switch interconnect in a vSphere environment

    The beauty of a well constructed, highly redundant environment is that if a single point fails, systems should continue to operate without issue.  Sometimes knowing what exactly failed is more challenging than it first appears.  This was what I ran into recently, and wanted to share what happened, how it was diagnosed, and ultimately corrected.…

  • Multipathing in vSphere with the Dell EqualLogic Multipathing Extension Module (MEM)

    There is a lot to be said about the Dell EqualLogic Multipathing Extension Module (MEM) for vSphere.  One is that it is an impressive component that without a doubt will improve the performance of your vSphere environment.  The other is that it often not installed by organizations large and small.  This probably stems from a…

  • Three Labs for three reasons

    Chalk up 2012 as the year I started paying attention to what everyone in the Virtualization world was doing for their vSphere home/portable labs.  Well, it was 2011 to be more precise, but I just didn’t act on it until this year.  Since I decided to dive into a lab head first, I thought I’d…

  • Dell EqualLogic’s newest Host Integration Tools for Linux (v1.1)

      It was just last September that I wrote about Using the Dell EqualLogic HIT for Linux (HIT/LE) Version 1.0.  At the time, the HIT/LE was beginning to play an important role in how we housed large volumes of data, and I wanted to share with others what I learned in the process.  While it…

  • VDI for me. Part 5 – The wrap up

      Now that VMware View is up and running, you might be curious to know how it is working.  Well, you’re in luck, because this post is about how View worked, and what was learned from this pilot project.  But first, here is a quick recap of what has been covered so far. VDI for…

  • VDI for me. Part 4

      Picking up where we left off in VDI for me. Part 3, we are at a point in which the components of View can be installed and configured.  As much as I’d like to walk you through each step, and offer explanations at each point, sticking to abbreviated steps is a better way to…

  • VDI for me. Part 3

      In VDI for me. Part 2, I left off with how VMware View was going to be constructed in my environment.  We are almost at the point of installing and configuring the VMware View components, but before that is addressed, the most prudent step is to ensure that the right type of traffic can…

  • VDI for me. Part 2

      In VDI for me.  Part 1, I described a little bit about our particular interests and use cases for VDI, and how we wanted to deploy a pilot project to learn more about it.  So now what?  Where does a person start?  Well, deployment guides and white papers for VMware View will tell you…

  • VDI for me. Part 1

      It doesn’t take long for those in IT to see the letters “VDI” show up on the radar.  Maybe a morning digest of RSS or twitter feeds might be all it takes.  But the subject of Desktop Virtualization can be a difficult puzzle to piece together if you haven’t already invested in it.  There…