VMware

Why you shouldn’t restore VMware ESX from a backup

A common question that arises on the VMware Communities Forum is how to backup VMware ESX so that you can restore the backup if there is a problem, the theory being that this would be faster than reinstalling the server. As stated within the VMware KB article 1000761 it is possible to

More stocking stuffer ideas for VMware admins

'Tis the season for giving. I recently received an email from Veeam saying that got me a X-mas gift. Aww, Veeam, you shouldn’t have. Unfortunately I didn’t get you anything! So what do you get that VMware admin in your life for the holidays?...

Virtualization administrator holiday wishlist

Everyone has a holiday wish list. Some include the latest toys, gadgets, games, and other useful devices. But what do you get the virtualization administrator for the holidays? This rare individual has a need for gifts as well! Here are some useful suggestions:

• Any book or...

Focusing on the consolidation ratio in planning virtual environments

Recently, myself and other bloggers as well as the editorial staff at TechTarget were invited to a briefing on Hyper-V. Microsoft is, on all fronts, trying to get Hyper-V and the Microsoft System Center technologies into the hands of administrators, and to some extent it is...

Top VMware security links

Keeping track of Security issues associated with virtualization requires a serious investment in time. To aid in that I have put together the top virtualization security links that will continue to grow over time.

VMware product name changes: vCenter, View

VMware has just announced that they are changing the names of their current products to the new product names that were announced at VMworld. The biggest changes are that VirtualCenter is now being referred to as vCenter Server and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) is now being referred to as...

Understanding VMware ESX security zones

There is confusion around VMware ESX with regards to security zones. On one hand VMware ESX is a single multi-homed physical machine. On the other hand, it contains multiple security zones. We need to look within the physical to properly understand security zones within VMware ESX and...

Handy VMware guest compatibility documentation

The planning steps are incredibly important for a successful configuration of any VMware implementation, regardless of shape and size. One specific area you should consider while planning is supported guest operating system configuration limitations. VMware frequently updates the

Security outside the box

Virtualization security depends on more than securing the virtualization host and hypervisor. It depends on everything that touches your virtualization host, directly or indirectly, also being secure. Let us take a quick look at the daily operations you may perform within your virtual...

VMFS volume names: UUID and symbolic

If you have ever done a directory listing of your VMFS volumes on a VMware ESX host from the Service Console or using a file browser application like WinSCP you will notice the names of your VMFS volumes but also a number of directories that consist of a long string of numbers and letters as seen...