MTM Blog http://www.mtm.com/blog Just another WordPress weblog Tue, 08 May 2012 02:08:04 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 en hourly 1 mtm/iNykhttp://feedburner.google.com An Interview With ‘The Cloud’ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/05/08/an-interview-with-the-cloud/ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/05/08/an-interview-with-the-cloud/#comments Tue, 08 May 2012 02:08:04 +0000 Bill Kleyman http://www.mtm.com/blog/?p=565 Cloud computing has come a long way. We have great new technologies capable of making our data centers more agile, efficient and easier to manage. With cloud computing there are a few considerations which still must be made.

For example, understanding the use-case or where cloud computing fits into the business model. Organizations looking to move towards a cloud solution must know some of the infrastructure components which compliment a solid cloud architecture.

Recently, I had the opportunity to sit down with ‘The Cloud’ and ask it about challenges, current trends and understanding the right fit. Take a look at the interview and see how cloud computing can help!

**Read the entire article by clicking on the The Champion Community link below!**

Bill Kleyman
Virtualization Solutions Architect
MTM Technologies

*As seen on The Champion Community*

]]> http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/05/08/an-interview-with-the-cloud/feed/ 0 Tracking the evolution of data center virtualization http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/05/02/tracking-the-evolution-of-data-center-virtualization/ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/05/02/tracking-the-evolution-of-data-center-virtualization/#comments Wed, 02 May 2012 13:40:56 +0000 Bill Kleyman http://www.mtm.com/blog/?p=563 There’s little doubt that the evolution of the data center is here. We are now concentrating our efforts on reducing the hardware footprint and increasing data agility. The IT world is currently in a “data on demand” state where information is being delivered anywhere, anytime and on any device with an Internet connection. This type of shift has created new markets and interesting areas into which cloud computing, data center infrastructure and unified computing are all expanding.

Organizations are seeing the big benefits of moving towards more efficient environments capable of scaling upwards faster. With virtualization coming into play, its important to know where the data center is going and how you can keep up. In this podcast, I sat down with TechTarget and discussed what’s in store for 2012, unified computing architecture, and the integration of cloud computing. Enjoy!

**Listen to the entire podcast by clicking on the TechTarget link below!** (Run time: 15min)

Bill Kleyman
Virtualization Solutions Architect
MTM Technologies

*As seen on TechTarget.com*

]]> http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/05/02/tracking-the-evolution-of-data-center-virtualization/feed/ 0 Tools for Virtual Disaster Recovery http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/04/25/tools-for-virtual-disaster-recovery/ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/04/25/tools-for-virtual-disaster-recovery/#comments Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:54:47 +0000 Bill Kleyman http://www.mtm.com/blog/?p=560 VIrtualization can be a tricky concept to grasp — especially for organizations who are new to the technology. With numerous components all interacting to facilitate a growing environment, adminsitartors have to takea  new approach to theire datacenter infrastructure. Now, what if we throw disaster recovery into the mix?

Live migrating VMs, ensuring up-time, and establishing base recover objectives are just a part of the DR planning strategy. There are other important things to consider as well. When working with a virtual environment and DR, it’s important to know what tools you’re using as well as the capabilities of the native sofrware features. In this podcast we examine how to best utilize the native tools available to you in order to implement an effective DR plan.

**Listen to the entire podcast by clicking on the BitPipe link below!**

Bill Kleyman
Virtualization Solutions Architect
MTM Technologies

*As seen on BitPipe.com*

]]> http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/04/25/tools-for-virtual-disaster-recovery/feed/ 0 The power of the private cloud: “A Tale of Three Clouds” *Case Study* http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/03/31/the-power-of-private-cloud-a-tale-of-three-clouds-case-study/ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/03/31/the-power-of-private-cloud-a-tale-of-three-clouds-case-study/#comments Sat, 31 Mar 2012 00:55:07 +0000 Bill Kleyman http://www.mtm.com/blog/?p=547 Many organizations are now looking to leverage cloud technologies to help their business grow and expand. The flexibility of the cloud offers many benefits for an innovative company. While numbers environments are looking towards public cloud technologies, IT managers should never underestimate the power of their internal data center technologies and the agility of a private cloud.

Often, companies with robust environments don’t realize the investment to move toward a private cloud could be minimal and possibly more cost-effective than a pay-as-you-go public cloud service. Depending on the organization, its size and business goals, working with either a public or private infrastructure might make sense. The idea is to consider existing IT infrastructure capabilities of the internal data center. This case study examines three different organizations and how the private cloud has helped their business stay innovative and push ahead of the competition.

Thank you to MTM customers Advocate Health Care and World Wide Fittings for participating!

**Read the entire article by clicking on the TechTarget link below!**

Bill Kleyman
Virtualization Solutions Architect
MTM Technologies

*As seen on TechTarget.com*

]]> http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/03/31/the-power-of-private-cloud-a-tale-of-three-clouds-case-study/feed/ 0 Understanding key issues around data center consolidation – Podcast http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/03/26/understanding-key-issues-around-data-center-consolidation-podcast/ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/03/26/understanding-key-issues-around-data-center-consolidation-podcast/#comments Mon, 26 Mar 2012 03:18:44 +0000 Bill Kleyman http://www.mtm.com/blog/?p=545 Without a doubt, the conversation revolving around data center consolidation has evolved. We now have new technologies which make the server and data center consolidation process easier and much more efficient. With the evolution of virtualization, distributed and cloud computing, and unified communications IT administrators must take in new considerations around their infrastructure requirements.

There are great technologies which can help many organizations of various sizes regain control of their data center consolidation initiatives. This is where knowledge around these new tools and solutions can really help keep business and IT goals directly in line. My latest podcast describes these emerging trends and reveals the impact they are having on IT operations and business roles

**Listen to the entire podcast by clicking on the TechTarget link below!**

Bill Kleyman
Virtualization Solutions Architect
MTM Technologies

*As seen on TechTarget.com*

]]> http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/03/26/understanding-key-issues-around-data-center-consolidation-podcast/feed/ 0 Remote control: Managing the distributed environment http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/03/14/remote-control-managing-the-distributed-environment/ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/03/14/remote-control-managing-the-distributed-environment/#comments Wed, 14 Mar 2012 03:23:44 +0000 Bill Kleyman http://www.mtm.com/blog/?p=542 As wan-based technologies continue to evolve, distributed datacenters are making their way into many IT environments. The challenge for many IT administrators has become managing and directing workflow for these infrastructures. Resource management has become easier with better tools and the superior visibility they provide into a local environment. But the tools should be tuned to help the administrator head off issues before they become meltdowns.

As with any local data center environment, administrators must continuously patrol the infrastructure to prevent issues and optimize performance. There are several considerations to make when managing the remote data centers.

**Read more by clicking on the TechTarget link below!**

Bill Kleyman
Virtualization Solutions Architect
MTM Technologies

*As seen on TechTarget.com*

]]> http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/03/14/remote-control-managing-the-distributed-environment/feed/ 0 VDI sizing and disk array controller requirements http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/02/11/vdi-sizing-and-disk-array-controller-requirements/ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/02/11/vdi-sizing-and-disk-array-controller-requirements/#comments Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:16:08 +0000 Bill Kleyman http://www.mtm.com/blog/?p=540 Planning and sizing an environment are extremely important steps when working with virtualization or VDI. Too often administrators overlook the importance of correctly sizing vital pieces of an environment – storage controllers for example. In these cases, serious performance issues will arise and the end-user experience will quickly experience degradation.

In the latest article we examine storage controller sizing and best practices. This latest article examines the importance of a good storage sizing methodology and how to plan out your controller.

Steve Gilmore is a guest contributor for this article!

**Read more by clicking on the TechTarget link below!**

Bill Kleyman
Virtualization Solutions Architect
MTM Technologies

*As seen on TechTarget.com*

]]> http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/02/11/vdi-sizing-and-disk-array-controller-requirements/feed/ 0 Deciding between blade and rack-mount gear for Windows Server 2008 http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/02/06/deciding-between-blade-and-rack-mount-gear-for-windows-server-2008/ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/02/06/deciding-between-blade-and-rack-mount-gear-for-windows-server-2008/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 21:45:49 +0000 Bill Kleyman http://www.mtm.com/blog/?p=537 The Windows Server 2008 platform is a diverse operating system capable of fitting into numerous different kinds of environments. The diversity of the product comes in 7 different edition forms capable of expansion and meeting the needs of a given organization.

Administrators know that Server 2008 is a great OS, but which OS version should they be working with? Oftentimes this question is coupled with the following: which hardware platform to I use? So, this latest article explores the various versions of Server 2008 and the options around deploying it on a specific type of hardware platform.

**Read more by clicking on the TechTarget link below!**

Bill Kleyman
Virtualization Solutions Architect
MTM Technologies

*As seen on TechTarget.com*

]]> http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/02/06/deciding-between-blade-and-rack-mount-gear-for-windows-server-2008/feed/ 0 VM management: How to walk the data center resource balancing act http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/02/03/vm-management-how-to-walk-the-data-center-resource-balancing-act/ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/02/03/vm-management-how-to-walk-the-data-center-resource-balancing-act/#comments Fri, 03 Feb 2012 17:12:16 +0000 Bill Kleyman http://www.mtm.com/blog/?p=535 Having clear visibility into a virtualized datacenter can mean the difference between wasted resources and effective workload management. The challenge for IT administrators is to manage and to utilize computing resources that span the entire environment, often including physical, virtual and cloud resources.

Almost all of today’s data center environments have or will have some form of virtualization deployed. This demands additional considerations when deploying a virtualized physical platform. In this article, I discuss resource planning and issue mitigation as means of optimizing resource use.

**Read more by clicking on the TechTarget link below!**

Bill Kleyman
Virtualization Solutions Architect
MTM Technologies

*As seen on TechTarget.com*

]]> http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/02/03/vm-management-how-to-walk-the-data-center-resource-balancing-act/feed/ 0 Citrix XenApp and XenDesktop on VMware vSphere: Peaceful coexistence http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/01/30/citrix-xenapp-and-xendesktop-on-vmware-vsphere-peaceful-coexistence/ http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/01/30/citrix-xenapp-and-xendesktop-on-vmware-vsphere-peaceful-coexistence/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2012 21:46:05 +0000 Bill Kleyman http://www.mtm.com/blog/?p=529 As I’ve mentioned before — an intelligent infrastructure is a flexible one. That sometimes means the successful coexistence of rival technologies. Still, in today’s modern datacenter, running virtualization platforms such as XenApp 6.5 and XenDesktop 5.5 are very much possibilities. Not only that, there are best practices written around the deployment.

Each of these Citrix tools can help administrators consolidate hardware, improve flexibility and manage their environment better. Running XenApp or XenDesktop on VMware vSphere can help you boost performance and implement desktop or application virtualization in your infrastructure. Some tools are easier to combine with vSphere than others, and Citrix’s supported products are a good place to start.

**Read more by clicking on the TechTarget link below!**

Bill Kleyman
Virtualization Solutions Architect
MTM Technologies

*As seen on TechTarget.com*

]]> http://www.mtm.com/blog/2012/01/30/citrix-xenapp-and-xendesktop-on-vmware-vsphere-peaceful-coexistence/feed/ 0