VMwarewolf

VMware tops earnings expectations for Q4

VMwarewolf — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 15:54:37 +0000

VMware’s fourth quarter beat expectations as the company saw strong demand for its vSphere virtualization platform.

VMware CEO Paul Maritz said in a conference call that in the near future, the company was planning to focus resources on further growth in the data center automation and middleware management areas through both “organic development” and acquisitions.

“We plan to strengthen and widen our value proposition of what has been called ‘the private cloud,’” Maritz said. Besides enabling enterprises to increase the use of shared infrastructure by applications within their own data centers, VMware plans on further enabling them to leverage public cloud resources offered by the company’s partners “if and when they are ready to do so.”

More analysis…

VMware Q4 Revenue Up On Maintenance, Services Fees –ChannelWeb
Analyst Thoughts On VMware (VMW) After Strong Q4 Results -StreetInsider.com
VMware Q4 revenues rise to US$608 million -Siliconrepublic.com
VMware Revenue Lifted by Maintenance Fees -PC World
RTT News -DatacenterDynamics

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

VMware tops earnings expectations for Q4

VMware to acquire Zimbra

VMwarewolf — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 21:34:05 +0000

VMware has just announced that we have entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Zimbra from Yahoo! Hmmm.. Didn’t I just hear that Oracle just switched to Zimbra?

Many are asking why? According to Zimbra:

"We believe that the shift toward cloud computing and virtualization will continue to change the industry landscape and revolutionize how the IT industry builds, deploys and uses software. Zimbra is excited to be joining our open source friends at SpringSource, and becoming another cornerstone in an impressive suite of VMware products. The VMware platform now integrates virtualization, middleware and applications – and enables the decoupling of applications from traditional concepts of linear hardware scaling. Private and/or public cloud computing networks can work together and applications can be deployed and managed seamlessly across those clouds. Zimbra products were designed from the ground up with virtualization and the cloud in mind, with a modular architecture and APIs to allow distributed access to data and storage. Email and collaboration services have always been ubiquitous to organizations, but now the barriers to transitioning them to efficient virtualized environments will be much more seamless."

Check out the demo videos of Zimbra.

Here are more documents available to learn about this acquisition: this FAQ, the announcement press release, a blog post from VMware CTO Steve Herrod, and a blog post from Zimbra general manager Jim Morrisroe.

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

VMware to acquire Zimbra

Yahoo to Unload E-mail Provider Zimbra on VMWare

VMwarewolf — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 13:40:02 +0000

Here is a headline I did not expect to see in the news this morning: "Exclusive: VMware Likely to Buy Zimbra From Yahoo".

One of the divisions that’s been on Yahoo’s auction block since September is Zimbra, an open-source e-mail company Yahoo acquired in September 2007 for $350 million.

According to All Things Digital, Yahoo is about to finalize a sale to VMware. Yahoo had originally hoped that the Zimbra acquisition would help improve Yahoo Mail and give the company a foothold into the white-label e-mail business, but that synergy never really came about. What VMware wants with Zimbra is a good question.

One source noted that the reason that VMware was interested in nabbing Zimbra was that its execs want to expand “up the stack” from the software company’s position in virtualization.

What that means raises more questions than answers. There’s no word on the sale price yet, and until the deal is final, it’s still technically up in the air.

Some more context around this here…

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

Yahoo to Unload E-mail Provider Zimbra on VMWare

Impact of wrong OS type for VMs

VMwarewolf — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 18:34:57 +0000

Someone asked me what the impact would be if a VM is installed with the wrong OS type.

My first thought was that this probably would introduce some performance issues, but then it hit me that this would cause the incorrect VMware Tools to get installed in the VM, leading to all sorts of unintended behaviors. Even worse, if the correct MCA/MCE architecture is not presented to the guest during boot I don’t think it will start at all. We use guest OS type to get this info (it only matters during boot as far as I know).

How to fix it:

Power off the VM.
Modify via GUI option General of the properties of your VM.
Power on the VM.
Reinstall the correct VMware Tools.

Anybody know of any more gotchas associated with having the wrong OS type specified for your VM?

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

Impact of wrong OS type for VMs

Upgrading ESX 4.0 to Update 1 using Update Manager

VMwarewolf — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:30:56 +0000

Who is affected:

Customers who are using VMware vSphere ESX 4.0 and are wanting to install update 1, via VMware Update Manager (VUM).

Problem description:

Upgrading ESX 4.0 to 4.0 U1 using VUM fails or times out. Rebooting host results in a PSOD and the host has to be re-installed.

Workaround:

Please disable any 3rd party hardware monitoring agents running on the ESX 4.0.0 server before applying the update.

Customers that have already run into this issue and have installed the update but have not rebooted, need to contact Support.

The 3rd party agents can be enabled again after the upgrade is completed.

ESX 4.0 U1 is no longer available for download.

For additional details, see Upgrading ESX 4.0 to 4.0 U1 using Update Manager fails or times out and rebooting the host results in a purple diagnostics screen (1016070).

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

Upgrading ESX 4.0 to Update 1 using Update Manager

Free VMware Workstation Course

VMwarewolf — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:34:01 +0000

If you are new to VMware’s products, there’s a good chance that VMware Workstation will be the first product you use of theirs/ours (disclosure: I work for VMware). It was the first product I used before I came to work there.

I see today that VMware is offering a free online course to learn the ins and outs of VMware Workstation 7. Quoting their website:

With the tremendous number of new Workstation 7 customers, I am very excited to announce the availability of a free introductory, self-paced online course. The course is designed for people who are new VMware Workstation and it will quickly walk you through the steps for installing VMware Workstation, creating virtual machines, installing tools, configuring networks, and much more. To access the course, you will be prompted to create a VMware myLearn account if you do not already have one.

Click this link to get started!

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

Free VMware Workstation Course

VMware Cookbook

VMwarewolf — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:22:43 +0000

Here’s another new book just out about VMware VMware ESX and ESXi. According to Amazon.com, you’ll not only learn the basics — how to pool resources from hardware servers, computer clusters, networks, and storage, and then distribute them among virtual machines — but also the stumbling blocks you’ll encounter when you monitor systems, troubleshoot problems, and deal with security.

In addition to the recipes, VMware Cookbook includes background information to help you determine your virtualization needs. You’ll come to view VMware as part of the real environment, alongside operating systems, storage, and logical and physical network components.

Follow best practices for installing VMware in your environment
Discover how to secure and monitor your network
Understand disk storage implementation and configuration
Learn resource management using the distributed resource scheduler, shares, and resource pools
Configure logical and physical networks
Learn how to clone and migrate servers
Gain valuable tips for configuration and fine-tuning

Many resources can teach you about virtualization and the basics of VMware. This book is for system administrators who are ready to go beyond an introduction.

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

VMware Cookbook

VMware VI and vSphere SDK: Managing the VMware Infrastructure and vSphere

VMwarewolf — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 18:05:05 +0000

Companies running VMware have already achieved enormous gains through virtualization. The next wave of benefits will come when they reduce the time and effort required to run and manage VMware platforms. The VMware Infrastructure Software Development Kit (VI SDK) includes application programming interfaces (APIs) that allow developers and administrators to do just that.

Until now, there has been little documentation for the APIs. In VMware VI and vSphere SDK, software architect and author Steve Jin demystifies the entire VMware VI and new vSphere SDK and offers detailed, task-based coverage of using the APIs to manage VMware more efficiently and cost-effectively in a new book entitled VMware VI and vSphere SDK: Managing the VMware Infrastructure and vSphere.

Author Steve Jin walks readers through using the VI SDK and cloud-computing vSphere SDK to manage ESX servers, ESX clusters, and VirtualCenter servers in any environment–no matter how complex. Drawing on his extensive expertise working with VMware strategic partners and enterprise customers, he places the VI SDK in practical context, presenting realistic samples and proven best practices for building robust, effective solutions. Jin demonstrates how to manage every facet of a VMware environment, including inventory, host systems, virtual machines (VMs), snapshots, VMotion, clusters, resource pools, networking, storage, data stores, events, alarms, users, security, licenses, and scheduled tasks.

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

VMware VI and vSphere SDK: Managing the VMware Infrastructure and vSphere

ESX PSODs

VMwarewolf — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:46:01 +0000

If you happen to search Google for one of the following phrases you might expect Google to return a list of official VMware Knowledgebase articles on the topic.

crash debug screen
machine crash screen
ESX Server PSOD
Purple screen crash report
Decode purple screen error

Guess what? VMware’s own document standards prevent us from using any of these phrases in the articles, and Google isn’t smart enough to know a PSOD really means a Decoding Machine Check Exception. So instead of finding the best information you really need at that moment, you get a ton of 3rd party information.

Our community forums don’t have as strict rules about terminology so I have just created this post:

ESX Server PSOD

in hopes it ranks well and directs customers to the information they need on ESX purple screens.

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

ESX PSODs

vCloud Express attracting buzz

VMwarewolf — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 15:23:08 +0000

Out of the many product enhancements and releases being marketed at VMworld this week comes one that is really causing a stir and buzz in the user community and that is vCloud Express.

vCloud Express is a service whereby you pay a 3rd party to host your virtual servers on the Internet. Five providers are already ready to host your cloud at very cheap rates (I heard a dollar a day). You don’t get locked in either. If you choose to later host your own internal cloud you can do that.

Look out Amazon EC2

While this service can and will directly compete with Amazon, VMware is going to be hosting the clouds themselves. They provide the API, and providers provide the infrastructure.

As cloud computing gains ground on a commercial basis, VMware seems poised to once again to have the upper hand.

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

vCloud Express attracting buzz

VMware Go™: free web management for ESXi

VMwarewolf — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:01:07 +0000

Today VMware announced a new service aimed at the SMB market making it easier for these companies to adopt and move to a virtualized server environment. This new offering is called "VMware Go™" and although currently in beta is predicted to go live in Q4 2009.

“VMware Go™ is the latest innovation we’ve brought to market as part of our ongoing commitment to helping SMB customers run their applications with more agility, profitability, and resilience,” said Dan Chu, vice president, emerging products and markets at VMware. “Nearly every SMB stands to benefit tremendously from virtualization. VMware Go™ will simplify virtualization for SMBs to a few easy online steps and was designed with SMBs in mind. We want SMBs who may be sitting on the fence to realize all the benefits of virtualization without burdening their limited IT resources.”

VMware Go™ is a free web-based service that will enable SMB customers to fly through the ESXi setup process with just a few mouse clicks. The award-winning VMware ESXi is the industry’s most widely deployed hypervisor, with hundreds of thousands of users worldwide. VMware ESXi, also available for free, allows companies to reduce overhead and simplify business operations by running multiple operating systems and applications on a single server, spending less money on hardware, power and cooling, and server administration. VMware ESXi together with VMware Go is an on-ramp for companies new to virtualization, especially small businesses who may not think they have the time or budget to get started.

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

VMware Go™: free web management for ESXi

SEO for the Knowledgebase

VMwarewolf — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 17:00:34 +0000

One of the things I am tasked with in my role role at VMware is to find ways to increase the visibility of our self-help resources on the VMware website. In particular, I am looking at optimizing our Knowledge Base so that customers searching for information on some problem they have encountered shows up near the top in Google.

It used to be that the Knowledgebase wasn’t indexed at all by Google and other search engines. There were some critical road blocks up that prevented this. We have that fixed now and much if not all of our KBs are in the index.

Do you know of any search strings you have typed into Google, only to find no KB article listed? Especially when you KNOW one exists! If so, let me know and I will fix it (or at least try).

I have years of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) under my belt as I run about a dozen other websites apart from this one. All pet projects. These skills are coming in very handy now.

Again, if you know of a particular KB article that ranks poorly I sure would like to know about it.

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

SEO for the Knowledgebase

VMware Announces More than 21,000 New Customers

VMwarewolf — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 14:35:04 +0000

Wow.

Did you see this press release from VMware today?

In the first half of this year, VMware has added 21,000 new customers! That’s 121 every day. Not only that, but the new flagship product, vSphere 4.0 has been downloaded over 350,000 in just twelve weeks. That works out to 140 downloads every hour!

Makes me feel pretty good about working there.

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

VMware Announces More than 21,000 New Customers

Crasher vSquirrel

VMwarewolf — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:30:27 +0000

Did you hear about the couple who had set the timer on their camera while posing at a lakeside in a national park in Canada?

Just as they were about to be captured on camera the cheeky squirrel popped up in the foreground and stole the show.

Well, this little varmint is making his way south down around Palo Alto I hear-

Crasher vSquirrel

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

Crasher vSquirrel

VMware Jobs

VMwarewolf — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 16:29:42 +0000

Now that I’m in a less technical role here at VMware I am wondering which direction to take this blog. I could sell it. I could let it wither away in neglect. One of the options I was thinking about was starting a VMware job board. Everyday I see job postings from around the world coming across my desk.

What do you think? Leave me a comment in the space below.

Here are just a few in the last couple of days:

Sr. VMware Engineer – Fulcrum IT – Suitland, MD http://jobcircle.com/z2934731
VMware Consultant (Job #9542) – Nashville, TN http://bit.ly/TsD1b
Network Server Administrator (VMWare/Windows) http://bit.ly/bUUSM
Sr. VMware Engineer – Fulcrum IT – Suitland, MD http://jobcircle.com/z2897674
Harvey Nash IT Jobs Linux and VMWare Consultant: Linux and VMWare Consultant is required for .. http://bit.ly/9Zyjv
Pre-sales Engineer – Philadelphia, PA () Get Sales Engineer Jobs #SalesEngineer #19019… http://tinyurl.com/lg8d38

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

VMware Jobs

VMware in Social Media

VMwarewolf — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 14:03:50 +0000

I’ve been Social Media Specialist at VMware now for just a couple of weeks but I’m already seeing this pay off hugely for customers.

There have been some frustrations I have been able to spot in the SM space where I have jumped in, helped get the customer what he needed and helped VMware retain a customer. It is very rewarding taking some responsibility in a situation which, in the end, results in much gratitude and props from the customer in a public space.

It’s going to help us too. The best way to improve our products is to listen to those who have a problem with it.

If I can assist any of you with a support or licensing problem, you can reach me on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/VMwarecares. You can direct message me too if you don’t want this discussed in a public forum.

Spread the word: VMwareCares is open for business!

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

VMware in Social Media

VMware Cares

VMwarewolf — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:01:14 +0000

As I alluded to yesterday, I am changing roles here at VMware. I am thrilled to have been chosen to fill a brand new role of Social Media Specialist.

I’ll be the eyes & ears for VMware in the social networking world, assisting where I can in getting the information you need in your hands. It’s less of a technical role (I will not be working your tech support cases online!), but if I know of a self-help resource for you, I’ll send you the link.

If you’re a Twitterer, follow me: @vmwarecares

What’s a Social Media Support Specialist you ask?

Someone who will provide direct assistance in the Communities, route users to specific resources or teams as needed with the goal to deflect calls and support requests.
Listen to user conversations using social media monitoring tools and become involved following documented guidelines.
Someone who will develop and implement methods to measure success and customer satisfaction related to assisting users in the Communities.
Defines communication guidelines to help users find answers quickly, increase customer satisfaction of Global Services & Support

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

VMware Cares

Index of Knowledge Base Articles

VMwarewolf — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:32:26 +0000

As I wrap up my stint on the Knowledge Base Team at VMware (I’ll tell you what I’m up to next in another post) I came across a handy index, or table of contents for the whole knowledgebase, available on one page!

Click here to see the KB Index.

Sure makes it easy to search!

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

Index of Knowledge Base Articles

ESX 4 vm-support script

VMwarewolf — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:53:06 +0000

This is not official or even verified, but I have heard recently that the vm-support script for ESX 4.0 hosts doesn’t behave quite the same as what we’ve become accustomed to in the past.

In some cases, the information that would normally be in the /tmp directory of the untarred vm-support output will instead be located in:

/usr/lib/vmware/hostd/docroot/downloads

From what I’ve heard, this does not happen in all instances, and /tmp will be populated with the files that we have learned to expect from the ESX 3 family.

There is one more odd-ball to this mystery, where it is suggested that running vm-support from the COS vs from vSphere Client will result in different behavior, again, I have not verified this. It may or may not be related to where the script run is triggered, or instead by other circumstances unrelated to how the script was called.

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

ESX 4 vm-support script

VMware View Client requires HTTP 1.1 to be enabled in Internet Explorer

VMwarewolf — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 18:32:27 +0000

An issue has been reported in the field regarding delays and slow performance when using the View Client if HTTP 1.1 has not been enabled in Internet Explorer.

This may be seen when:

Connecting to the View Connection Server
Logging in and performing authentication
Connecting to the virtual desktop

The following KB has been created to address the issue:
http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1011655

The View 3.1 Release Notes will also be updated to include this information.

This post brought to you by VMwarewolf

VMware View Client requires HTTP 1.1 to be enabled in Internet Explorer