The IT Management & Cloud Podcast

IBM Smart Cloud, Enterprise and Enterprise+ Overview

You've probably heard that . These offerings are oriented around the requirements IBM is getting from larger companies - they're hoping to match the feature sets to existing work-loads and application types. While at the IBM Cloud Forum where IBM announced these offerings, I sat down with IBM's Jan Jackman and CohesiveFT's Craig Heimark to talk about these offerings. Jan tells us about the two Smart Clouds and the types of work-loads people are using cloud for; Craig goes over how CohesiveFT partners with IBM to secure these work-loads and help manage the stacks. IBM is a client and sponsored this podcast.

Tivoli Live - service manager demo with CJ Paul

IBM recently extended it's SaaS-based IT Management suite, Tivoli Live, by adding in a bundle of features under the banner of "service manager." More than just a service desk, it comes with an asset manager, configuration management, a service catalog, and mor Disclosure: IBM sponsored this video and is a client.

Tivoli Live - service manager Overview with Phil Fritz

IBM recently extended it's SaaS-based IT Management suite, Tivoli Live, by adding in a bundle of features under the banner of "service manager." More than just a service desk, it comes with an asset manager, configuration management, a service catalog, and more. Disclosure: IBM is a client and sponsored this video.

Interview with Austin Radiological Association - Overview and use of AccelOps integrated data center and cloud service monitoring platform from an end user perspective - Short

Discussion of using AccelOps, short version. RedMonk.com TV Michael Cote, Industry Analyst Demo with Austin Radiological Association Overview and use of AccelOps integrated data center and cloud service monitoring platform from an end user perspective. Sponsored by AccelOps: www.accelops.net

Demo with Austin Radiological Association - Overview and use of AccelOps integrated data center and cloud service monitoring platform from an end user perspective

Demo of using AccelOps, short version. RedMonk.com TV Michael Cote, Industry Analyst Demo with Austin Radiological Association Overview and use of AccelOps integrated data center and cloud service monitoring platform from an end user perspective. Sponsored by AccelOps: www.accelops.net

Makara Update with Issac Roth - a Platform as a Service (PaaS) system

Check out this quick, 7 minute interview for Makara's progress and some interesting commentary on who's interested in cloud and PaaS right now. Last week I ran into Issac Roth, CEO of Makara, and asked him to give a quick update on how his company, Makara, is doing with their PaaS platform. Over lunch at the Rackspace SaaS Summit we'd discussed Makara, the pros and cons of various public cloud providers (always a fun topic), and adoption of cloud technologies, esp., of course, PaaS. We get into some of that in the interview. Also, we talk about migrating applications to the cloud and the types of applications Makara sees being migrated. While cloud computing has been focused on Infrastructure as a Service of late, in comparision, the layer right above IaaS, Platform as a Service, has only gotten slight attention. The idea of a PaaS is, in my own simplifications, to provide the frameworks, middleware, and other "stuff" built on-top of raw infrastructure needed to create and deliver applications. I don't know about you, but I find applications slightly more interesting than servers, network gear, and storage.

The Role of Automation in Cloud Computing - a RedMonk/CA Webinar

Check out the webinar at http://monk.ly/autocloud.Disclosure: CA Technologies is a client and paid for webinar participation.

Zenoss Open Source Survey Overview

RedMonk client Zenoss recently did a couple surveys over its user base asking about open source, virtualization, and cloud computing use. Zenoss' Mark Hinkle and I go over the results of that survey in this brief video, with plenty of the charts and graphs to follow.The results were interesting, and in my experience have been matching up with both anecdotal data and other surveys I've been looking at. The adoption of open source in IT Management seems to have gone more mainstream than not; virtualization seems to be VMWare, Hyper-V, and then Xen or KVM; and while lower costs drive rabid interest in using cloud, most prospective users are still concerned about security and other fundamentals.In addition to the video, for more info check out Zenoss' report on the virtualization and cloud aspects of the survey as well as their info-graphic and summary of the open source usage survey.Disclosure: Zenoss is a client and sponsored this video. VMWare and Microsoft are clients as well.

Tivoli Live Update with Phil Fritz

Before having a few beers at the local pub simulucrum, IBM's Phil Fritz tells us what's been happing with Tivoli Live, the IT Management as SaaS offering IBM put out earlier at the end of last year.Phil and I last spoke with him when Tivoli Live first came out - with an interview and demo - so it was nice to grab him for a quick update on features, customers, and the way people are using Tivoli Live. Of note, there's an interesting group of customers who're providing their own SaaSes that are looking towards IT Management tools that are SaaSes as well.Disclosure: IBM is a client, but this video is not a sponsored video.

IT Management Architectures - make all #11

Ever wonder how an IT Management system is architected and designed? Then this is the make all episode for you! I talk with one of my old friends, Chip Holden who's been an architect for such system for about the last 10 years, first at BMC Software where we both worked and now at Zenoss.Disclosure: while Zenoss is a client, this is not a sponsored episode.

Eucalyptus 2.0 Demo

A demo of Eucalyptus 2.0.

Eucalyptus 2.0 Overview with Mårten Mickos

An overview of Eucalyptus 2.0 O with Mårten Mickos.

Optimizing workloads with zEnterprise - a system of systems with mainframe, plus Power, plus x86

At the zEnterprise launch event, I talk with IBM Fellow Gururaj Rao about IBM's new mainframe "system of systems," the zEnterprise. We talk about the ways the zEnterprise is used and how IBM has optimized the zEnterprise for various of those work-loads. For example, there's optimizers for as analytics and crypto. We also cover the general features of the zEnterprise, such as running Power-based and x85 blades.If you don't want to watch the video above, you can download the video directly or download the audio only.Disclosure: IBM is a client and sponsored this video.

Jonathan Bryce on OpenStack

Rackspace announced the OpenStack project today, open sourcing much of the software it uses to run its own cloud. I spoke with Rackspace's Jonathan Bryce on the topic to get an in-depth overview, discuss Rackspace's intentions, and explore the operational future of OpenStack.This is a big announcement in the cloud world, further widening the technologies that are available to start crafting public and private clouds. The nature of Rackspace as not a software company is also interesting to watch here, as well as what partners do with the project.Disclosure: Rackspace is a client and sponsored this video.

The Pragmatic Cloud for Developers

Mon, 12 Apr 2010 20:20:06 +0000

In the IT industry 2009 was apex of cloud promises and hype. The early, now cliché successes captured everyone’s attention and many vendors turned on a dime to deliver something – anything – with the word cloud in it. At the same time, the aging hype-silos of development like Agile development, rails, open source, and Java were cut back on their meal-rations unless they could connect with “cloud.” We’re hardly “done” with the cloud, but there are now endless deployment options, taxonomies, technologies, and distractions that are more smoke filled rat-holes than clouds.

This talk deals with the state of things now and how you can take start pragmatically getting along with things in the current, cloud-injected development-scape.

Originally presented as a keynote at Philly ETE 2010.

Tivoli Live Demo

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 00:02:52 +0000

IBM’s Phil Fritz shows a brief, but thorough demo of Tivoli Live, from logging in, to looking at the monitored infrastructure, to browsing the available reports.

Disclosure: IBM is a client and sponsored this video.

Tivoli Live Overview

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 23:00:06 +0000

Phil and Coté start out with a discussion of what Tivoli Live is, the types of things it monitors, services it offers (like reporting) how the SaaS angle works, the types of users they’re seeing so far, and what we can expect in the Tivoli Live roadmap.

Disclosure: IBM is a client and sponsored this video.

ConVirt Open Source Virtualization Management - Part 2

Virtualization is magic of IT shops, but as with any technology it creates it's own unique set of management challenges. That's why it was fun to sit down with Convirture's Jaydeep Marfatia and Arsalan Farooq for this two part screencast and see how ConVirt tackles virtualization management issues. They also indulge me in some "the future of IT management" talk which you know I always enjoy - there's even some private cloud talk.In this second part, we get into actual management, seeing how ConVirt manages not only the basic parameters for each virtual machine, but also the pools of storage and private networks. When it comes to provisioning, ConVirt also offers the optional intelligent VM placement that automatically figures out the best host to put a new virtual server. We wrap up by going over the ConVirt community and commercial support options.Disclosure: Convirture is a client and sponsored this video.

ConVirt Open Source Virtualization Management - Part 1

Virtualization is magic of IT shops, but as with any technology it creates it's own unique set of management challenges. That's why it was fun to sit down with Convirture's Jaydeep Marfatia and Arsalan Farooq for this two part screencast and see how ConVirt tackles virtualization management issues. They also indulge me in some "the future of IT management" talk which you know I always enjoy - there's even some private cloud talk.In this first part, we start out with a quick history and overview of the ConVirt project and Convirture the company. Next, we look at the console for browsing physical and virtual machines, using it drill down into each to look at configuration and health metrics. Having browsed through existing servers, we start looking at how ConVirt helps you create a library of virtual images by creating templates. We see how you can use these templates - with all sorts of settings for the server, storage, network, and more - to create new virtual servers.Disclosure: Convirture is a client and sponsored this video.

Zenoss Update with Bill Karpovich at OpenSourceWorld

While at OpenSourceWorld, I talked with Zenoss' Bill Karpovich, getting an update on what's been going on with Zenoss. We talk about recent versions, management packs (with over a 100 now), the community, and reaching the million downloads milestone.Disclosure: Zenoss is a client.

Reductive Labs update with Luke Kanies at OpenSourceWorld

While at OpenSourceWorld, I pulled aside Reductive Lab's Luke Kanies to get an update on what's been going on in the Puppet world, esp. after the (very) recent funding Reductive Labs got. In the brief interview, we touch on the new staff and the product road-map.Disclosure: Reductive Labs is a client.

OpenNMS Update from Tarus Balog - OpenSourceWorld

I managed to button-hole Tarus Balog of the OpenNMS Group. In this short shaky-cam interview, I ask him to give us a quick update on OpenNMS. He talks primarily about the new "provisioning" system that cleans up the way inventory and cataloging of discovered devices is put together in stored, a "CMDB in a file" as I joke. We also talk about Honduran cellphone monitoring.

Spiceworks 4.0 Demo

(Be sure to click on the full-screen icon for a larger picture.)After discussing Spiceworks 4.0 with Tabrez , I have him walk through a demo of the product itself, mostly highlighting the new features.We start in the dashboard, seeing how the product gives you a general overview of your IT. It also highlights an example of a plugin, the Windows License monitor widget. He also points out an example of the "UI improvements" and rearranging mentioned during the interview. After seeing how these improvements have effected the inventory page, we jump into looking at the new features in the help desk.Next up, we look at the user portal provided in Spiceworks 4.0 which provides a customizable intranet-centric web site with widgets and help-desk integration. The idea here being to provider employees a landing page for interacting with IT.Tabrez then shows us the network map functionality shipping in Spiceworks 4.0. He walks through browsing the network topology, drilling down into individual nodes, and using the network map to trouble-shoot. In asking Tabrez how people are using (or are intending to use) the network map day-to-day, he also goes over future enhancements and functionality Spiceworks is thinking of adding to the network map.We then jump into look at the Spiceworks community and how it directly integrates with the product, and vice-versa. We see methods for sharing customized reports, reporting on Windows event IDs, all in addition to the usual forums and community features you'd expect.Covering the final item of note, Tabrez tells us how Spiceworks uses ads and other offers in the product. As the platform is free, this is the way users "pay" for the application. Disclosure: Spiceworks is a client.

Spiceworks 4.0 with Tabrez Syed

Recently, I say down with Tabrez Syed of Spiceworks to go over their most recent version, Spiceworks 4.0. In introducing himself, Tabrez speaks to the mixed role he has at Spiceworks, a combination of traditional product management and the newer practices of community management. As we discuss Spiceworks more, it's interesting to see how these two roles play out. To that end, I ask Tabrez to give us an overview of Spiceworks itself. More than just the asset discovery, monitoring, help-desk, and reporting, Spiceworks also incorporates the thriving community (over 700,000 users) around the product.Focusing in on the community aspects, I ask Tabrez to characterize the folks in the community: what types of IT shops and organizations are they? Being in the small and medium business category, these folks are often balancing both the technical requirements and small pools of cash and time.We then go over the new features in Spiceworks 4.0. Starting with help desk improvements., Tabrez goes over the workflow changes to enable better colloboration and covers the email "command line" functionality they've added so that users can work with tickets on their phones. He also goes over the user-centric portal that Spiceworks 4.0 offers, giving the start of a knowledge base and a way to encourage self-service IT. Finally, we go over one of the most highly requested features, the network map which shows a visual network topology.Also, check out the demo.Disclosure: Spiceworks is a client.

Rare Footage

See here.

Michael Wilde on Splunking the Cloud - CloudCampAustin Interviews 2

While our audio recording equipment was having a nap at CloudCampAustin, I whipped out the video camera to talk with Michael Wilde of Splunk. Being at CloudCampAustin, we end up discussing how Splunk fits into all this cloud computing stuff: here, the point Michael lays out is that you've still got basic IT infrastructure to worry about and shift through, namely logs.Having worked at Tivoli in the past, I ask Michael to compare the traditional, Big 4 way of doing IT Management with how folks like Splunk and other "Systems Management 2.0" (to use an old moniker) folks do it. It's sort of a best-of-breed vs. unified suite discussion. Him living in Dripping Springs, I ask him about a new vodka from there I've been seeing around Austin.Disclosure: Splunk is a client.

Michael Wilde on CloudCampAustin

I get Splunk's Michael Wilde to talk about CloudCampAustin as a excuse to show off one of his corny iPhone apps.

Prashant Ketkar on Microsoft Azure - MIX09

While at MIX09 accompanied by a rockin' sound-track from the Rock Band mega-stage down the hallway, I talked with Prashant Ketkar about Microsoft's cloud platform, Azure.After nailing down the proper pronunciation of "Azure," I ask Prashant to give us an overview of Azure. We then get into a discussion of the PaaS aspects of Azure and the overall ecosystem that may develop including partner opportunities and roles. I ask Prashant what the developer experience is like: that is, getting started with using Azure. We then briefly touch on the slightly different development concerns when deploying to the cloud.Finally, we go over the current feature set of Azure and look outwards at it's road-map, some items of which will announced this coming summer, esp. the pricing structure for Azure.Disclosure: Microsoft paid T&E to MIX09 and sponsored this video.

Data in the cloud - Patric McElroy on Databases and Data Services in Azure - MIX09

While at MIX09 this year, I had the chance to talk with Microsoft's Patric McElroy. We start out talking about how Microsoft data services map into cloud computing. While we discuss how existing technologies and techniques are migrated to Microsoft Azure, we also talk about the new functionality that comes with being hosted in the cloud: e.g., self-service provisioning, High Availability, Disaster Recovery, and scaling data up (performance wise) to meet high data demands.I then ask Patric if there's cloud technologies and techniques that they're pulling back to on-premise software. There's some interesting tooling and provisioning tasks he tells us about. We also discuss how the role of the DBA may or may not be impacted in the Azure world. We wrap-up by talking about ADO.NET Data Services (or "Project Astoria," as I remember it), primarily how the RESTful entity mapping framework fits into Azure.Disclosure: Microsoft covered Tamp;E for MIX09 and sponsored this video.