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My CEO came up to me lately and asked me to give me a range of possiblities of Storage devices to use with VMware. Immediately I came up with Netapp, Dell EqualLogic en Lefthand(HP) storage vendors. But if you take a look at MKB(middle and small business term used in the Netherlands) these can still be very expensive.

Now Lefthand is the one I know that has VSA, Virtual Storage Appliance to use within VMware. You can use the host-attached storage of your hosts as an ISCSI SAN... that's cool.

Is anyone out there familiar with other, 'cheaper' storage systems that can be used for small business?

Please mail me @ ronald.martens@helionit.nl

Most organizations are required to show a positive and quick return on investment (ROI) for almost every IT project. We've used both total cost of ownership (TCO) and ROI analysis for the last few years to prove the value of server virtualization in a data center, but not everyone recovers their investment in the time they originally anticipated.

For instance, I recently talked to a few customers for whom we performed Server Consolidation Assessments 2-3 years ago, and I was surprised to find out that they were only able to virtualize 20% of their infrastructure, in spite of the proposed 85%. After analyzing each particular situation, I noticed that they scaled back VM conversion due to lack of resource availability, both from a physical engineering standpoint, in addition to financial.

So in these types of scenarios, until you actually convert everything over and finish the project, your TCO actually increases (since you have to run existing systems and the new virtual infrastructure, shared storage arrays etc.), and the ROI will take longer to achieve.

While the above mentioned situation isn't typical, it can happen, and here are some ways to avoid it:

1 - Commit to not only the hardware/software investments but also the resources required to execute the project

2 - Commit to a reasonable timeframe for implementation and conversion. If you are trying to convert 200 servers and have two employees that have 'other' responsibilities, you are probably not going to get much done. Also, consider downtime windows which can limit your conversion timeframe.

3 - Scrutinize the ROI analysis thoroughly. Some customers may find later on that they cannot convert physical servers to virtual machines due to I/O or other hardware dependencies, lack of vendor support, unanticipated 'virtual' licensing models, etc. and this can very easily increase TCO and reduce ROI. So the advice here is, scrub the virtualization candidate list thoroughly to make sure you can indeed virtualize each server and then recalculate the TCO/ROI.

4 - Develop a Migration Plan for Physical-to-Virtual (P2V) conversions. In many situations, a P2V project affects multiple application groups so you have to put effective Communications, Logistics and Fallback Plans in place.

5 - Consider outsourcing design, implementation and P2V work to a VMware VAC Partner if you do not have internal resources available. Many partners can customize solutions to meet your specific needs and timelines.

Hopefully this gives you an insight as to ways to reduce TCO with virtualization and keep your ROI on track with the original plan.

Nathan

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Alright, time to talk desktops. Many of our customers are talking about virtualizing and streaming operating systems to desktops, laptops, blades and even thin clients, so this has quickly become a topic we discuss on a daily basis.

In this post, I'll cover what you need to use something like Citrix Provisioning Server to stream a desktop OS down to a PC, as well as how to license properly for centralized VMs.

Streaming a Desktop Operating System
You need Software Assurance (SA) to do this! So, if you want to use something like Citrix Provisioning server to 'stream' a Windows Vista or XP OS down to blades, desktops etc; the rights to do this exist in Vista Enterprise, which you can only get as a part of Software Assurance. For more information:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/enterprise/benefits/licensing.mspx

Virtualize Desktops, connect via a Windows Desktop
If you have a desktop, laptop, or basically a device that is capable of running a Windows Operating system, you need to purchase VECD (Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktop) for Software Assurance from Microsoft. This is an add-on, per desktop subscription license which is termed the same as your Software Assurance.

If you do not have Software Assurance on your desktops, you no longer need to purchase it (if within 90 days of desktop purchase) and then add VECD for SA. You can now purchase VECD for Thin Clients and use it on PCs that do not have SA.

Virtualize Desktops, connect via a Mac
You can purchase a Windows Vista Volume Upgrade License/SA for your Macs, and then install Windows Vista Enterprise via Apple Bootcamp or VECD for SA to access a centralized desktop VMs. You can even PXE boot your Mac to Citrix Provisioning Server due to the benefits of Software Assurance.

Virtualize Desktops, connect via a Thin Client
If you have a thin device that is unable of running a full Windows desktop operating system, you can purchase VECD for Thin Clients. This is subscription-based as well, and is available via Open Value, Select, Enterprise and Campus/Academic agreements.

That should cover almost every option of licensing Windows desktops for virtualized environments and streaming. Just remember that you can't 'move' your OEM licenses that come with PCs; those live and die with the hardware. You can add Software Assurance to them to get Vista Enterprise, diskless benefits etc, and even subscribe to VECD for SA. However, if you throw away that PC, you lose the OEM license and everything that goes with it. You can 'move' your SA to another OEM PC based on the term left, but that can be pretty complex, so you should talk to your CDW Microsoft Licensing Specialist about that.

Hope this helps.

Nathan

It's good to know RCLI, to get information and enable features on your ESXi host, such as snmp. But, I'm having an issue with enabling snmp. I'm receiving an error that says something to the sort, Remote.fault... something or other. Very frustrating.

Well, when I figure it out I'll post a document. On the plus side, my flavor coffee this morning is tasty.