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March 02, 2010

Now Available: PowerCLI cmdlets for vCenter Update Manager!

I’m happy to announce that we’ve released PowerCLI cmdlets for Update Manager, a.k.a. VUM, that are compatible with PowerCLI 4.0 U1. This new PowerShell snapin provides 13 cmdlets as follows:

Cmdlet Name	Cmdlet Description
Attach-Baseline	Attaches baselines to the specified Template, VirtualMachine, VMHost, Cluster, Datacenter, Folder, and VApp objects. Attaching a baseline to a container object such as a folder or datacenter transitively attaches the baseline to all objects in the container.
Detach-Baseline	Detaches baselines from the specified inventory objects.
Download-Patch	Downloads new patches into the Update Manager patch repository from the enabled patch download sources.
Get-Baseline	Retrieves the baselines specified by the provided cmdlet parameters.
Get-Compliance	Retrieve baseline compliance data for the specified object of type Template, VirtualMachine, VMHost, Cluster, Datacenter, Folder, and VApp.
Get-Patch	Retrieves all available patches or those specified by the provided cmdlet parameters.
Get-PatchBaseline	Retrieves all  patch baselines or those specified by the provided cmdlet parameters.
New-PatchBaseline	Creates a new patch baseline. Patch baselines can be applied to either hosts or virtual machines. Depending on the patch criteria you select, patch baselines can be either dynamic or static (fixed).
Remediate-Inventory	Remediates an inventory object against the specified baselines.
Remove-Baseline	Deletes the specified baselines from their servers. Before the removal, the baselines are detached from all entities they have been attached to.
Scan-Inventory	Scans inventory objects for baselines attached to them.
Set-PatchBaseline	Modifies the properties of a patch baseline. You can specify explicitly the patches you want to include in the baseline through the IncludePatch parameter.
Stage-Patch	Initializes staging of patches. Staging allows you to download patches from the Update Manager server to the ESX/ESXi hosts, without applying the patches immediately.

Download the VUM PowerCLI cmdlets now, remember you will also need PowerCLI 4.0 U1.

Posted at 09:56 PM | Permalink

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I was just reading Scott Drummonds article on Memory Compression. Scott explains where Memory Compression comes in to play. I guess the part I want to reply on is the following:

VMware’s long-term prioritization for managing the most aggressively over-committed memory looks like this:

1. Do not swap if possible.  We will continue to leverage transparent page sharing and ballooning to make swapping a last resort.
2. Use ODMC to a predefined cache to decrease memory utilization.*
3. Swap to persistent memory (SSD) installed locally in the server.**
4. Swap to the array, which may benefit from installed SSDs.

(*) Demonstrated in the lab and coming in a future product.
(**) Part of our vision and not yet demonstrated.

I just love it when we give insights in upcoming features but I am not sure I agree with the prioritization. I think there are several things that one needs to keep in mind. In other words there’s a cost associated to these decisions / features and your design needs to adjusted to these associated effects.

1. TPS -> Although TPS is an amazing way of reducing the memory footprint you will need to figure out what the ratio of deduplication is. Especially when you are using Nehalem processors there’s a serious decrease. The reasons for the decrease of TPS effectiveness are the following:
   • NUMA – By default there is no inter node transparent page sharing (read Frank’s article for more info on this topic)
   • Large Pages – By default TPS does not share large(2MB) pages. TPS only shares small(4KB) pages. It will break large pages down in small pages when memory is scarce but it is definitely something you need to be aware off. (for more info read my article on this topic.
2. Use ODMC -> I haven’t tested with ODMC yet and I don’t know what the associated cost is at the moment.
3. Swap on local SSD -> Swap on local SSD will most definitely improve the speed when swapping occurs. However as Frank already described in his article there is an associated cost:
   • Disk space – You will need to make sure you will have enough disk space available to power on VMs or migrate VMs as these swap files will be created at power on or at migration.
   • Defaults – By default .vswp files are stored in the same folder as the .vmx. Changing this needs to be documented and taken into account during upgrades and design changes.
4. Swap to array (SSD) -> This is the option that most customers use for the simple reason that it doesn’t require a local SSD disk. There are no changes needed to enable it and it’s easier to increase a SAN volume than it is to increase a local disk when needed. The associated costs however are:
   • Costs – Shared storage is relatively expensive compared to local disks
   • Defaults – If .vswp files need to be SSD based you will need to separate the .vswp from the rest of the VMs and created dedicated shared SSD volumes.

I fully agree with Scott that it’s an exciting feature and I can’t wait for it to be available. Keep in mind though that there is a trade off for every decision you make and that the result of a decision might not always end up as you expected it would. Even though Scott’s list makes totally sense there is more than  meets the eye.

Finally, it’s time. After some years it’s time to migrate to the next Operating System on the desktop, Windows 7. After the very low adoption of Windows Vista within companies I am really happy to see in the field is that a lot of companies are planning, or at least considering to migrate to Windows 7. I’ve talked to a lot of customers that are in the planning phase of a migration to Windows 7.

Migrate but innovate

What my story is about now, is to convince you that this is exactly the right time to innovate in your desktop infrastructure as well. Don’t just upgrade each component and think you’re done. Because you will end up with a brand new infrastructure with a lot of the same issues you have now. Also, requirements for the desktop infrastructures must have changed for your IT infrastructure during the last couple of years. Take new technologies into consideration when designing your new desktop infrastructure.

Most migrations to Windows XP within companies were done between 2002 and 2005. It’s been a while, a lot of things have changed in the mean time and everyone has gotten more dependent on IT –often more than they realize. And most probably your company is using more desktop applications than 5 to 10 years ago. The longer a company exists, the more legacy (applications) they have.

Besides the growing dependency and application landscape, technology in the desktop infrastructure area has progressed. Some examples:

• The deployment of Windows has improved
• The way drivers are handled is much better
• It’s possible and even easy to maintain one image for different types of hardware
• Deployment tools like WDS and Microsoft Deployment Tool (MDT) have matured
• Enterprise management solutions like System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) have matured
• The overall user experience has improved dramatically. It will in anyway feel new and not old for users. It could even be a boost of image for the IT department.

Your biggest migration issue

So, taking all this into consideration we can agree it’s time to start preparations to migrate to Windows 7 and try to do everything better that was done wrong the last time when designing and migrating to a Windows XP environment.

But I have one question: what was the biggest issue in your last desktop migration project?

I can hear you thinking: “the applications”.

Probably the desktop infrastructure was ready to go, but not all applications were packaged, (regression) tested or they simply did not work on the new platform. Probably the whole migration planning was not met because of those applications. There are two reasons why applications are such a problem with each desktop migration:

1. People tend to underestimate the work and wait until the migration project has begun, before starting to handle the applications for the migration. There is just so much time-consuming work to do. Especially running user acceptance tests tends to take a lot of organizational time.
2. The technical issues around the traditional form of application “installation” cost a lot of time and effort. For each application you need to create new packages or at least test them on the new platform to see whether the installer and application work, check for conflicts, etcetera. All time-consuming work mostly caused by the concept of “installation”. This is where Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) comes in-to play.

We all know the benefits and flexibility we gain from machine virtualization, but it does not generally solve application installation issues. Microsoft App-V does so by applying virtualization on another layer, decoupling the application from the underlying operating system. No more worries about application conflicts, no more regression testing on a app-to-app level. For more general information on how Microsoft App-V works, visit: http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/appv/techoverview.mspx

App-V migration benefits

Because most time constraints in a desktop migration project are caused by the technical issues around applications, using Microsoft App-V will provide many benefits to help achieve your planning goals.

1. Sequencing an application (i.e. packaging for App-V), generally speaking is faster than (re-)packaging an application into .MSI format.
2. Almost no regression testing necessary. Applications run isolated in their own virtual environment. Virtualized applications do need to be tested on the OS to which you want to deploy. Most problems around virtualized applications that do not work once they are deployed are caused by inadequate app-to-OS testing.
3. Application delivery through App-V streaming technology is on-demand and very fast compared to “traditional” software delivery, keeping OS images small and making them fast to deploy. Also there is much less worry about lengthy waits for the applications to be deployed to the users on their freshly installed PC.
4. Updates are only made to the central package, no more praying that your 10.000 advertised update packages were successful.

If you have not experienced a desktop migration in detail, please talk to someone who has and you will see that these three points would have saved a lot of time and issues at that time.

Not migrating any time soon

The reality is that not all environments will be migrated to a Windows 7 desktop environment right away. Still I have advised a lot of my customers to start using App-V in their current Windows XP environment and make sure that all new applications or major application updates are delivered through Microsoft App-V technology as this will get them ready for migration. I also tell them to test all those sequenced applications (App-V name for package) on Windows 7 as part of their packaging process, making sure these virtualized applications will work once the desktop is migrated to Windows 7 in the future. Each application you virtualize now is one less application to virtualize when migrating to Windows 7. You can get started by reading the App-V sequencing whitepaper or by watching the video on how to create a virtual application using App-V.

So, clearly my advice is to start using Microsoft App-V now because it provides benefits for the future.

NOTE: It is important to realize that there is no guarantee that an application virtualized on Windows XP will automatically work on Windows 7. You still need to test and in a worst case scenario virtualize the application once for each operating system.
App-V benefits after migration

Besides the migration benefits, App-V also provides a lot of benefits in a Windows 7 or even Windows XP environment. Some of them overlap with the migration benefits, but here is the list for completeness.

1. Faster than packaging and less worries about conflicts. Meaning you can respond to business demand faster. Also changes on applications are much easier and faster.
2. Run conflicting legacy applications side-by-side on the desktop.
3. Because of application streaming no more waits on application delivery, especially for users that roam between desktops.
4. Application updates

App-V and Windows 7

Microsoft App-V has been around since 2006 when Microsoft acquired Softricity which have been developing the application virtualization technology since 1998. Since Service Pack 1 for Microsoft App-V 4.5, the 32-bit version of Windows 7 has been fully supported way ahead of other vendors in this space with the following feature set specific for Windows 7:

• Seamless user experience regardless of application format (pin to taskbar and leverage jumplists)
• AppLocker integration. Increase IT control, enforcing compliance of virtual applications
• BranchCache support. Leverage BranchCache technology to deploy virtual applications over the WAN, eliminating the need for streaming servers in every branch.
• BitLockerToGo support. Stream virtual applications from USB storage devices, allowing only authorized users to access the virtual applications.
• Integration with 3rd-party LDAP directories

But now Microsoft releases App-V 4.6 which was designed with Windows 7 and Office 2010 in mind. The following features have been added to App-V to support Windows 7, Remote Desktops Services (including VDI) and Office 2010 even better:

• Enable App-V to run on 64-bit Windows Desktops and Servers
• Enable App-V to launch true 64-bit applications
• Thirteen new languages added for localization in support of global businesses
• Extend virtual Office 2010 usage

• Improved SharePoint integration to Open, Save, Edit files.
• Find your email items quickly with Outlook’s Fast Search
• Connect to your inbox using Microsoft Outlook Send To functionality
• Print your documents directly to OneNote
• Find contents within your documents using Office Document Indexing
• Open Web based calendar items and RSS Feeds in Outlook
• Perform advanced mail configuration using the Virtual Mail Applet

Point to shared cache instead of streaming into virtual desktops or mount within virtual desktops

Reduces storage requirements on SAN by eliminating redundancy of application binaries

Improved Sequencer experience with ability to sequence true 64-bit applications

Faster virtual application availability when using System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM)

I really think the future of application deployment is to do this through application virtualization and no longer worry about the concept of “installation” on devices; “Apps can now follow users versus devices”. And all the developments around version 4.5 SP1 and 4.6 of App-V really show that this technology is here to stay and Microsoft is putting in all efforts to become the standard on application virtualization (bye bye .MSI).

Especially considering that the App-V for RDS CAL license is provided for free for each RDS CAL you purchase for Windows 2008 R2 there seems to be no reason left to not start using App-V. And since we all are migrating to Windows 7 the coming years there is no better time than doing so right now.

February 22nd 2010 Posted to App-V News by Rodney

>> –>

If you are interested in a proof of concept for Microsoft’s VDI solution, all you need is a single physical server. People often ask how easy it is to install a complete MS VDI solution and how many servers does it take. George Zhu put together a quick video showcasing just how easy it is to setup all you need on a single physical Windows Server 2008 R2 box. The video uses Windows 7 for the guest. The video is short and to the point, unfortunately, it is a little hard to see at the broadcast resolution. Fortunately, George also posted links to step-by-step guides and scripts used.

Continue at source…

Technorati : Hyper-V, Microsoft, VDI
Del.icio.us : Hyper-V, Microsoft, VDI

“Why can’t I have a drive bigger than 2 TB?”

This is a common question. And as storage has gotten bigger and cheaper, I see it more and more. So let’s take a few minutes to talk about the mysterious 2 TB limit.

There are actually three different 2 TB limitations that are commonly hit…

Partition size
Number of clusters
SCSI goo……..

Full Story @ source

VMWare ESX4 guests loosing network connectivity briefly.

Posted by admin on February 17th, 2010 | 0 comments

Came across a very odd issue lately where guests on one of our ESX4 hosts were periodically loosing network connectivity very briefly – maybe 10 ICMP packets every half hour or hour.

After much debugging on the network side, thinking that perhaps there was a misconfigured NIC with the wrong VLAN config, the problem was still happening.

So ssh’ing onto the host, I started to trawl through the log files, and came across the below in the /var/log/vmkwarning file:

Feb 17 13:44:19 vminfraboxvmkernel: 18:00:00:11.865 cpu4:4222)WARNING: NMP: nmp_DeviceAttemptFailover: Retry world failover device “naa.6090a028004f243d08ab44c26687e3dd” – issuing command 0×410002074040
Feb 17 13:44:19 vminfrabox vmkernel: 18:00:00:11.865 cpu4:4222)WARNING: NMP: nmp_DeviceAttemptFailover: Retry world failover device “naa.6090a028004f243d08ab44c26687e3dd” – failed to issue command due to Not found (APD), try again…
Feb 17 13:44:19 vminfrabox vmkernel: 18:00:00:11.865 cpu4:4222)WARNING: NMP: nmp_DeviceAttemptFailover: Logical device “naa.6090a028004f243d08ab44c26687e3dd”: awaiting fast path state update…

This was occuring repeatedly every half hour and the entries above filled the logs solidly for about 2 minutes continuously every half an hour.

After doing some digging on the google, I found out that ESX4 has a bug whereby if you have a duff or old connection to an iSCSI LUN – perhaps one that no longer exists – but you never rescanned to remove it – when the host tries to check the paths every 30 minutes, it finds this duff connection and goes through the motions of trying to find failover paths. The bug is that this causes very brief network loss to your guests.

The fix for me was to simply re-scan my adapter, which removed the old mapping to one of our removed LUNS’s and the problem went away.

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vStorage Multi Paths Options in vSphere | Main

February 04, 2010

Introduction to vStorage APIs for Data Protection

vStorage APIs for Data Protection were introduced in vSphere 4.0 to facilitate seamless virtual machine backup and recovery. Protecting virtual machines in the VMware environment with traditional data protection methodology had its challenges. vStorage APIs for Data Protection enables partners to integrate their backup/ recovery products; hence, giving customers more choices.
The vStorage APIs for Data Protection enable backup software to perform backups without interrupting or affecting the ESX servers with the processing of backup tasks. A backup product using these APIs can backup and restore virtual machine data from its central backup server or virtual machine without requiring that backup agents and backup processing be done inside of each virtual machine on the ESX server. This allows you to offload backup processing from ESX servers to reduce costs by allowing each ESX server to run more virtual machines.
The vStorage APIs for Data Protection leverages the snapshot capabilities of VMware vStorage VMFS to enable backup without requiring downtime for virtual machines. As a result, backups can be performed non-disruptively at any time of the day without requiring extended backup windows and the downtime to applications and users associated with backup windows. Native integration to data protection product facilitates user experience that is similar to physical backup. This also results in simpler management and restore.

vStorage APIs for Data Protection support:

• Windows and Linux guests
• All storage architectures ( FC, ISCSI and NAS.)
• Faster incremental, differential and full VM image backup
• File level backup and restore

Some people think this is the new VMware Consolidated Backup, but it is not (Table 1.) Unlike VCB (VMware Consolidated Backup), VMware vStorage APIs for Data Protection (VADP) doesn’t require Proxy server and is fully integrated with the Data Protection software such that backup application will leverage it seamlessly out of the box. Though, VMware continues to offer VMware Consolidated Backup to support the existing install base and on VSphere 4.0.

	VADP	VCB
Requires additional download & install	No, built into the data protection software	Yes
Full VM image backup	Yes, single step copy – source to target	Yes, with two step copy – source to VCB proxy and VCB proxy to the target
Incremental VM image backup	Yes	No
File level backup	Yes, both Windows and Linux	Yes, Windows only
Full VM image restore	Yes	Yes, by using VMware Converter
Incremental VM image restore	Yes	No
File level restore	Yes, using restore agents	Yes, using restore agents

Table 1: Differences between VADP and VCB

Although there are significant benefits for leveraging vStorage APIs for Data Protection compared to VMware Conslidated Backup, I would like to emphasize that it depends on the customers’ IT environment and their business requirements. VMware gives the customer the choice to choose the right data protection solution for their environment.
vStorage APIs from Data Protection also provides the framework for VMware Data Recovery product that was introduced in vSphere 4.0. VMware Data Recovery is a disk-based backup and recovery solution that enables quick, simple and complete data protection for your virtual machines. It’s fully integrated with VMware vCenter Server to enable centralized and efficient management of backup jobs and also includes data de-duplication to save on disk storage for your backups.

My next post will be on the vStorage APIs for Array Integration. In the meantime if you would like to read more on the other vStorage API feature, read the blog on vStorage APIs for Multipathing

Author: Ibrahim “Ibby” Rahmani
Sr Product Marketing Manager – Storage, VMware

Posted by Ibby Rahmani on February 4, 2010 | Permalink |

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I wanted to post a list of the PowerShell books I’m looking forward to being out in 2010.  There may be others in the works that I’m not aware of.

December 2009 (I’m including this in 2010):
Windows PowerShell 2.0 Best Practices – Ed Wilson/Microsoft Press

January 2010:
Windows PowerShell 2.0: TFM – Don Jones and Jeffery Hicks/Sapien Press

April 2010:
PowerShell in Practice – Richard Siddaway/Manning Press

June 2010:
PowerShell in Action, 2nd edition – Bruce Payette/Manning Press

There’s something in that list for everyone, from the beginner to the more advanced user.  I’m going to be posting a review of Ed’s book soon.

Now, Lee Holmes seems to be super-secretive about his authoring projects, but I’d expect to see something out this year with his name on it.