For a great overview of the entire U1 release check out Rick Vanover’s post vSphere 4.1 update 1 released from his Rickatron Blog and via his Servers and Storage Column/Blog at TechRepublic.

The rest of this post contains cut and pastes from the Release Notes and some commentary about them from me. I want to stress again that these are issues that have now been fixed!

Finally, I’ll point out the one huge VM backup issue (that I can think of right now) that still does not appear to be resolved.

• Cannot take quiesced snapshots of Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 virtual machine running vCenter Server 4.1 When creating a snapshot of a Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 virtual machine that has vCenter Server 4.1 installed, the snapshot operation might fail to complete. This issue occurs on Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 virtual machines when the ADAM database is installed. The issue is resolved in this release.

The change from 2008 to 2008 R2 has caused quite a few applications to stumble, so it is good to see that VMware users can now install vCenter on the latest and greatest OS from Microsoft running as a virtual machine without having to worry about various hassles, not to mention coming up with a separate backup or business continuity solution for arguably one of the most important VMs in the environment.

• Creation of large .vmdk files on NFS might fail. When you create a virtual disk (.vmdk file) with a large size, for example, more than 1TB, on NFS storage, the creation process might fail with an error: A general system error occurred: Failed to create disk: Error creating disk. This issue occurs when the NFS client does not wait for sufficient time for the NFS storage array to initialize the virtual disk after the RPC parameter of the NFS client times out. By default the timeout value is 10 seconds. This fix provides the configuration option to tune the RPC timeout parameter using the esxcfg-advcfg -s <Timeout> /NFS/SetAttrRPCTimeout command.

Although specific to users of NFS storage, this one was definitely a head scratcher. Possible scenarios where this problem could rear it’s ugly head include full VM restores and even VM replication. Add the possibility of dedicating a large .vmdk as the backup repository for your backup server VM.

Let me know if I missed any other resolved issues specific to VM backups.

The issue still unresolved

Unfortunately, nothing in vSphere 4.1 U1 appears to address the loss of connectivity when committing snapshots for VMs using Change Block Tracking (CBT) while running on NFS storage.  This leaves VMware admins stuck between a rock and hard place – disable CBT or move VMs off of NFS. More about the problem can be found in VMware’s KB Article:

Virtual machine freezes temporarily during snapshot removal on an NFS datastore in a ESX/ESXi 4.1 host

© Rich for Gestalt IT, 2011. | vSphere 4.1 U1 Released. Fixes Specific For VM Backups
Read more posts categorized as All, Server Virtualization

For those who do not know, the vExpert Award was introduced by VMware in 2009. Best described as an award similar to Microsoft’s MVP, I was lucky enough to be named one of the 300 vExperts awarded last year. Check out my acceptance speech post from last February. All joking aside, the award distinguishes those “who have significantly contributed to the community of VMware users over the past year.”

The application process is not a contest or an election campaign, so if you have a candidate that may not be as well known in the vEcosphere already but has significantly contributed to the VMware and virtualization community be sure to fill out an application for him/her. All it takes is one application to recognize someone for their efforts in 2009!

© Rich for Gestalt IT, 2010. | Nominate 2010 vExperts Now
Read more posts categorized as Server Virtualization

So we were pleased to hear about the new podcast put together by Rich Brambley of Gestalt IT and VM/ETC with help from just about everyone else we know, especially including the InfoSmack crew of Marc Farley and Greg Knieriemen.

We heartily recommend subscribing to Virtumania and InfoSmack – both are amazing resources!

If you’re curious about Virtumania, take a look at the following video. vExpert Rodney Haywood interviews Rich Brambley, talking about the origin of the podcast, the name, and the theme. Rich also hints what the future holds.

© Stephen Foskett for Gestalt IT, 2010. | Rich Brambley Talks About His VIRTUMANIA Podcast
Read more posts categorized as Events, Exclusive, Featured, Server Virtualization

I explained my most recent personal evolution of media gadgets to point out that many devices are podcast capable, so even if you don’t have an iPod you probably can still subscribe with most any portable device. The point is any mp3 player could be used to broaden your virtualization and general technical knowledge. The trick is figuring out how to find, subscribe, and sync the content to your device with the least amount of effort.

For those looking for other software options,

I’ll quickly mention a couple of alternatives to iTunes with native ability for subscribing to podcasts or transferring files to your device:

• Winamp
• MediaMonkey
• doubleTwist
• CopyTrans Manager

Winamp requires a plug-in to work with iPod Nanos and earlier models, but my recently updated iPod Touch 3G doesn’t seem to work yet. I never tested the Touch 2G and Winamp personally. MediaMonkey and doubleTwist read my iPod Touch just fine. All 3 can sync with my iPods, and Blackberrys, and according to their web sites just about all other mp3 players and cell phones with media playing features.

Since the other options do not seem to handle video as well, I primarily use CopyTrans for manually transferring mp4s. CopyTrans does not allow you to subscribe to podcasts, however.

In some cases when your media player software is not able to do the job, you can use a RSS reader to subscribe and download podcasts and then sync to the player as you would any other mp3s.

I thought I would list the Virtualization, storage, and technology podcasts that are currently in my sync schedule and hopefully get some feedback and recommendations from VM /ETC readers – both on great podcasts I’m missing and other tips for transferring and listening to them. This is by no means an exhaustive list. Let me know about other great podcasts I might be missing!

Maybe I can convince Eric Siebert to add a new category to his popular vSphere-land.com Top 10 Lists and rankings?

My Current Podcasts (in alphabetical order)

I’m providing both a link to each podcast web site as well as the RSS feed. I’m also including the description provided by the podcast hosts themselves. Follow the site link to find the options for subscribing with your media player software or enter the RSS feed to start downloading the podcast .mp3s to your computer via your favorite feed reader.

• BrianMadden.com Daily Podcast

This daily podcast is like an audio version of BrianMadden.com. In each episode we discuss the day’s main story and the conversation from the previous day.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/brianmadden/rss

• Cranky Geeks

CrankyGeeks, hosted by PC Magazine contributing editor John C. Dvorak.  Each week a group of expert panelists discuss the most controversial topics in tech. CrankyGeeks airs on Wednesdays at 3:30pm eastern, and can be downloaded at www.CrankyGeeks.com

http://www.crankygeeks.com/index.xml

• gdgt weekly

You may know Peter Rojas and Ryan Block as the guys behind Engadget and Gizmodo, but they’re back with gdgt – the ultimate online destination for all things gadgety and electronic. Tune in every week as Peter and Ryan discuss the latest goings on in the world of gadgets.

http://feeds.gdgt.com/gdgt/podcast-mp3/

• GeekBrief.TV

Geek Brief TV is a Video Podcast with news about tech tools and toys featuring Cali Lewis. The format is fast, fun, fresh and flirty.

http://www.geekbrief.tv/feed/

• Infosmack

Greg Knieriemen and Marc Farley discuss current events and strategies around the data center with the leaders in the industry. Topics include data storage, networking, storage virtualization, server virtualization (VMware) and backup.

http://infosmack.podbean.com/feed/

• Storage Soup

A SearchStorage.com podcast covering the top stories in enterprise data storage from week to week, also featuring interviews with industry experts.

Storage Soup Podcast RSS Feed

• TechStuff Podcast

How do fiber optics work? How about the Sony PSP? Join Chris and Jonathan as they discuss a wide array of technological topics and trends in TechStuff, a podcast from HowStuffWorks.com.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/podcasts/techstuff.rss

• Tekzilla

Tekzilla feeds your tech hunger! Patrick Norton and Veronica Belmont bring you hands on reviews of the latest gear, tips and tricks that improve the tech you already own and conversations with the most informative experts around.

http://revision3.com/tekzilla/feed/quicktime-large/

• This Week In Virtualization

Get virtualization news and find out how it affects IT managers and systems administrators in this weekly server virtualization podcast. Learn about the latest server virtualization market news from VMware, Microsoft, Citrix Systems and other virtualization vendors.

http://itknowledgeexchange.techtarget.com/this-week-in-virtualization/?feed=podcast

• VMware Communities Roundtable

VMware experts talk about VMware news, interesting virtualization posts, and what’s happening in the VMware Communities.

http://recordings.talkshoe.com/rss19367.xml

I recently found the post 15+ Podcasts Every Geek Should Listen To. The list contains several of the podcast I’ve already mentioned, but several more that I have not checked out myself yet. I plan on adding a few to my subscription list and see what sticks!

As I mentioned previously, I want this post to not only be my podcast suggestions to readers but I am searching for new content myself. Let me know your suggestions!

© Rich for Gestalt IT, 2010. | Options For Virtualization, Storage, And Technology Podcasts
Read more posts categorized as Server Virtualization, Storage

All that being said, I wanted to offer my thoughts on what I think could help both sides during future GestaltIT Tech Field Days (yes, it looks like there will be others!)

Watching CLI Demos Is Like Listening to the Ballgame On The Radio

I’m not saying using CLI demos, configuration, or hands on labs are bad, but watching text scroll down a screen is not exactly engaging either. If CLI commands are the method of configuring the product’s features then so be it, but

Rather, after you tell me the product has a capability then show me the results from the user’s perspective, or in other words, a screen shot of “My Computer” or “Disk Manager” before and after better explains what actually happened. That’s a simple example. But the point is a few images are worth a thousand commands when you want to high-lite what the product does.

The Server and Network Guys Need To Understand What It Needs Before They Care About How It Does It

Look, I know the GestaltIT crowd is mostly storage gurus, and as one of a few server and network engineers I’m not who the sponsors prepared for. But, don’t count me out! Fact is, your storage product needs servers and networking to do it’s thing. My kind needs to understand the infrastructure your product requires before we entertain your technology.

Many of the company’s products I learned about this week were first time introductions for me. By nature of the GestaltIT Field Day’s objective, the sponsors of the future events will be lesser known technologies too. Take some time to explain a logical view of your solution. I’m not talking about the marketing either (although GestaltIT attendees have the expertise represented too). For example, if you have a hardware appliance that optimizes my storage than show me a Visio, photo, or whiteboard where to put it in the data center. Be sure we understand the implementation and connectivity first. Then I’m ready for a deep dive on why your technology works, but until I can visualize where it sits in the rack and what talks to it, I’m content to take your word that your “black magic” works – and yes, telling me it is “black magic” is OK while I’m understanding where it goes. Show me the actual “ingredients” of your “potion” at the end. In some scenarios, the tour of the data center and the hands on exploration of the hardware could be more effective before the presentation as opposed to the traditional “on the way out” time slot.

My 2 cents: a suggested outline for presenting

• Welcome – Introduction to product
  • use case: how technology solves specific problems
  • target customers
  • Infrastructure architecture and requirements
• Photos, samples, tour, etc. (get the audience out of their seats!)
  • Model nos. and their capabilities
• Technology deep dive (sit them back down)
• Hands on Labs, demos, etc (have support for questions beyond the scope of the script)

We’re going to debate about using the technology, and that’s a good thing

In the end, the best part about the group of Tech Field Day attendees is that we are a mix of technology perspectives, and those perspectives created invaluable discussions on the bus, at the dinner table, and at the bar. Those talks are where it all comes together for us. The group discussion was so beneficial that we are considering building in time between sessions in future event scheduling to allow us to meet and debrief.

To illustrate the importance of  this, there were several sessions this week where I personally missed the point. I either tuned out, was distracted with email or tweets, or I couldn’t visualize the way the technology made a difference. However, later each day I got the chance to question those in the group that understood – sometimes to the frustration of many. As a collective we struggled to understand what we saw from the holistic perspective: networking, storage, and servers. The result was that everyone ended up considering the technology in ways slightly differently than our own, first impressions. The key is the chemistry of the group allows these debates!

Help us have these discussions by making sure all the data center perspectives (server, networking, security, and storage) are covered by the presentation.

© Rich for Gestalt IT, 2009. | Tech Field Day: Thoughts About Presenting To Engineers
Read more posts categorized as Events, Server Virtualization

Like crop circles, the following are some posts that caused me to wonder “what if?”.

First, there was a rumor about a virtualized version of Microsoft Office.
latoga labs – Rumor: Microsoft Office Virtualization Edition

“I heard an interesting rumor this week that Microsoft is planning on updating their licensing model in the near future for Microsoft Office to introduce a virtualization version. The way it was described to me is that if you want to migrate your physical desktops to virtual desktops and run Microsoft Office on them, you will need to purchase a special Office Virtualized Edition.”

Interesting no doubt, but the more I think about this rumor it really starts to sound like a reason to justify making companies pay for another Office license – as if the first Office license can’t P2V with the OS? I have not heard anything else since about “Virtualized Office”.

Next there was the  announcement that Microsoft has identified a market opportunity for a low cost version of Server 2008 designed to run on low-end servers. To fulfill this need, Microsoft released Server 2008 Foundation, which comes pre-installed on hardware when purchased through original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Paul Thurrott’s post Windows Server 2008 Foundation Preview explains Microsoft’s vision for this version:

“Microsoft saw a glaring hole in its product line, one that was not filled by the consumer-focused Windows Home Server or the overly-functional SBS. This year, it’s possible to purchase perfectly capable low-end servers for well under $1000. So it doesn’t make sense that Microsoft’s lowest cost infrastructure server, Windows Server 2008 Standard, costs $500. Clearly what the company needed was something that offered core Server features but came in well under that price.”

Which makes me wonder if Microsoft would ever create a similar edition for virtual instances of server 2008?

Finally, the biggest news about a virtual edition of a Windows operating system was XP Mode in the upcoming Windows 7.

Again a post from Paul Thurrott along with Rafael Rivera - Secret No More: Revealing Windows XP Mode for Windows 7

“XP Mode consists of the Virtual PC-based virtual environment and a fully licensed copy of Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3). It will be made available, for free, to users of Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, and Ultimate editions via a download from the Microsoft web site. (That is, it will not be included in the box with Windows 7, but is considered an out-of-band update, like Windows Live Essentials.) XPM works much like today’s Virtual PC products, but with one important exception: As with the enterprise-based MED-V (Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization) product, XPM does not require you to run the virtual environment as a separate Windows desktop. Instead, as you install applications inside the virtual XP environment, they are published to the host (Windows 7) OS as well. (With shortcuts placed in the Start Menu.) That way, users can run Windows XP-based applications (like IE 6) alongside Windows 7 applications under a single desktop.”

My understanding of XP Mode is that it is a specialized VM edition of Windows XP.

What If?

Would it not be nice if a “Windows Server v12n Edition” existed? How about Windows Desktop V12N? Stripped of the extra drivers and applications. Licensed per virtual machine. Free to migrate between virtual hosts. Allow the hot add and remove of virtual RAM and CPU. Operating systems tweaked to be easily cloned for dynamic demand. Applications written so that they could be duplicated as needed with services that could self load balance. Able to leap tall buildings …

Is my head in the clouds, and, for that matter, are these crop circles just a hoax?

© Rich for Gestalt IT, 2009. | What If Microsoft Virtualization Editions Existed?
Read more posts categorized as All, Cloud Computing, Server Virtualization