Holy VM!

Looks like Netapp will be ditching it’s filerview and will be using a new interface based on Microsoft’s MMC  Console called Netapp System Manager. I think this is a great idea, but hopefully they have a Linux/Mac equivalent. Filerview in my opinion is very unfriendly and I hate the fact you cannot manager multiple filers with in one filerview console. The new version looks like it will add some great features such as being able manage multiple filers within one console, some integration with VMware, some great dashboards and wizards. Storage Nuts and Bolts did a great write up on it here.

After seeing all the great post lately with SRM in a box with the EMC Celerra simulator. I came across SRM Demo in a box with the Netapp simulator. This article was written by Tomas Ten Dam over at www.tendam.info . He has some great SRM post so check them out here.

With all the talk about budgeting for VMworld 2009 I thought I might add different take on the Conference. Just recently Netapp had to cancel their annual conference due to the current state of the economy. Apple recently announced that Steve Jobs will not be delivering the keynote at Macworld Expo this year. Apple also announced that they won’t be participating in next years conference. Microsoft also announced they will be combine their two Tech Ed conferences this year.

I think a lot of companies this year will be looking how they can reach customers in different ways via Webcast, Webex’s, User Groups, Online Communities, etc. Instead of shelling out hundreds of thousands to sponsor technical conferences.

A lot of companies these days are not willing to send their employees to Las Vegas for week conference. This ends up costing a substantial amount of money when you include travel, room, meals, conference fees, work hours, etc.

After attending VMworld 2008 one thing is for certain that this conference will be around for many years to come. So it would be best to budget now! I am already excited about VMworld 2009 and it is still 9 Months away.

One thing that would be nice is if VMworld could provide an online VMworld experience. This would include a live Webcast to all VMworld sessions, Live labs, and any other type of VMworld experience that could be provided over the Web.

If you have never been to VMworld I highly recommend it. The VMworld experience is like no other conference. The content is great and the party will leave you memories for life.

Ubuntu 8.10 has been released today. Listed are a few of the important updates to Ubuntu 8.10

• Nautilus 2.24.1
• OpenOffice.org 2.4.1
• GIMP 2.6.1
• Firefox 3.0.3
• Brasero 0.8.2
• Rhythmbox 0.11.6
• Pidgin 2.5.2

If you have not had the pleasure of using Ubuntu you should really check it out. Currently most of the sites are to busy to download 8.10, but hopefully the demand will die down soon.

Back in June 2008 I passed the VCP 301 Exam. I thought it would be nice to share some of the resources I used to pass the VCP exam. Below is a list of resources that were used when studying for the exam.

• Real World Experience
• VMware Product Guides located here
• VMware Courseware
• VMware Blueprint located here
• VMware Mock Exam located here
• Study Guides from other VMware Community users located here.

The VMware Product guides are where you will find the bulk of the information you will need to study. There are a lot of guides, but you really need to study all of them. The courseware material from the Authorized VMware course will also help a lot, but just isn’t as in-depth as the product documentation. The mock exam will give you a good feel for the type of questions that will be presented to you on the real exam. Then the study guides from other users I found will help you create your own study guide to prepare you for the exam.

Overall the VCP exam isn’t really difficult, but you will need to know a lot of in-depth information. You will also need hands-on experience with the products there is NO substitute for this. Also you will need to invest a good amount of time into studying.

I wish anyone taking this test good luck and hope you find the experience valuable. If there are any questions you have please feel free to leave comments.

For those of you wondering when the VMwolrd session and lab content will be available. The VMworld Website states the VMworld 2008 Session and Lab content will be available Friday 10/3.

Here is a great tutorial on how to speed up Ubuntu Linux. Most options would also work with any Debian based distro.  Check it out here.

Just upgraded VMware Workstation on my Vista Machine and the Unity feature is great. I also have upgraded Fusion which also includes the Unity feature and greatly improves Fusion on the Mac. Most of my testing has been with Fusion and it’s just a fabulous experience on the Mac. I feel that VMware has made some exceptional upgrades to Fusion which now out performs Parallels. It is great to see VMware putting this kind of work into their Fusion product. I will soon post my overall experience with VMware Fusion.

Tech Target will hold there annual Data Center Decisions Conference from Oct 23rd - Oct 25th in Chicago. This is a free conference and usually is valuable that includes some great speakers. This years Virtualization track will include the following presentations.

Getting Started: Planning and Implementing a Virtualization Project
Presented by George Crump, President and Founder, Storage Switzerland

Will Hyper-V change the Virtualization Game?
Presented by Nelson Ruest, Senior Enterprise IT Architect

Performance Tuning, Management and Optimization in a Virtual Infrastructure
Presented by David Davis, Director of Infrastructure, TrainSignal.com

Virtual Infrastructure High Availability: Upgrades and Best Practices
Presented by David Davis, Director of Infrastructure, TrainSignal.com

Production-level Virtual Environments: Architecture, Application and Hardware Considerations
Presented by Andrew Kutz, Senior Systems Specialist, University of Texas at Austin

Also included are the following tracks:

• Data Center Design
• Systems Management
• Disaster Recovery

You can find more information on the Conference here.

There is a lot of new VMware Fusion video tutorials posted on the VMware E-Learning Channel on YouTube. For some this is a great way to learn about the product. So check them out here.