vcdx133

Evolution of Storage – What is your strategy?

The Chinese saying, “May you live in interesting times” certainly applies here. Right now so many new storage technologies are emerging, that if you are an infrastructure decision maker, you would be having a hard time selecting the right technology. The trick is to formulate a strategy that leverages the existing infrastructure you already have, but provides agility and scale for the future at a reduced cost. Continue reading Evolution of Storage – What is your strategy?

VMworld 2014 – MENA session voting

I know, not another request for VMworld voting. Thanks to Shiv Diddee, VMware TAM Team Lead (MENA), for compiling this post.

Continue reading VMworld 2014 – MENA session voting

Tech101 – EMC Symmetrix VMAX & PowerPath/VE

My VCDX design architecture was based upon the EMC Symmetrix VMAX 20K. I spent a lot of time with EMC SMEs learning everything I could about it. The first step was learning the major building blocks of the VMAX and how it all fits together. The examples I provide below are with the vSphere ESXi host being the consumer of VMAX storage services. Continue reading Tech101 – EMC Symmetrix VMAX & PowerPath/VE

KB 2040375: vCPU Hot-Plug disables vNUMA

This operational risk/misconfiguration was detected by a visiting SQL server consultant from Microsoft at my organisation recently. Just goes to show how you can achieve the VCDX and still know nothing. Continue reading KB 2040375: vCPU Hot-Plug disables vNUMA

KB 2050288: vCenter Log Export – NMI reset of Responsive Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8 VM

Here is an Operational Risk that should be mitigated with an update of your Operational Procedures and Administrator training/awareness. This exact issue impacted my organisation recently. Continue reading KB 2050288: vCenter Log Export – NMI reset of Responsive Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8 VM

Host Design – Scale Up or Scale Out?

When you first start learning about virtualisation as an architect, the first design question you will learn is: “Scale Up or Scale Out?” The basis of the question is quite simple: “Do I buy a small number of hosts with a large amount of resources, or do I buy a large number of hosts with a small amount of resources?” Simply put: “Can I afford to put all of my eggs in one basket?” The answer to that question varies, depending on the business requirements and constraints of your customer. Continue reading Host Design – Scale Up or Scale Out?

End-to-End Network QoS for vSphere 5.1 with Cisco UCS and Nexus

This article builds upon the white papers and blogs that are available (listed below) and provides a VCDX-style guide to design decisions that need to be considered for End-to-End Network Quality of Service for vSphere 5.1 with the Cisco Unified Computing System (UCS) and Cisco Nexus switches. Continue reading End-to-End Network QoS for vSphere 5.1 with Cisco UCS and Nexus