Virtualization

‘Software Mainframe’ – a Poor Analogy for Virtualization

July 30, 2010
By Andi
‘Software Mainframe’ – a Poor Analogy for Virtualization

IT loves analogies. Seriously, will the computer-as-a-car analogy ever die (please)? It has been over 10 years since we first heard jokes about if Microsoft built cars: At a computer expo (COMDEX) Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and stated “If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry...
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Posted in Cloud Computing, Virtualization | 3 Comments »

VM Stall – More Than Four Reasons

July 26, 2010
By Andi
VM Stall – More Than Four Reasons

I recently saw a great article in IT World Canada titled “Virtual stall: What it is and why you have it,” written by Jay Litkey, that took up my idea of VM stall, which I first came up with in my blog from May ‘Is “VM Stall” the Next Big Virtualization Challenge?‘. Though they...
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Posted in Systems Management, Virtualization | 7 Comments »

Top Ways to Start and Expand Your Virtualization Deployments

June 10, 2010
By Andi
Top Ways to Start and Expand Your Virtualization Deployments

Last week I spoke with Pam Baker, a writer with CIO Update, for an article titled The Top 5 Places to Use Virtualization. As you would expect from an experienced professional like Pam, it was a great article, with solid contributions from many others as well. Pam specifically asked me to provide readers with advice...
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Posted in CIO, Virtualization | 18 Comments »

Cloud Computing in the Public Sector

May 27, 2010
By Andi
Cloud Computing in the Public Sector

If there was still any doubt about the real world use cases for cloud computing, the US Federal Government last week published a 38-page report  entitled “State of Public Sector Cloud Computing” (link to PDF at CIO.gov). Attributed to the Federal CIO Vivek Kundra, it is stamped with the seal/logo of the CIO Council,...
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Posted in CIO, Cloud Computing, Virtualization | 12 Comments »

Is ‘VM Stall’ the Next Big Virtualization Challenge?

May 14, 2010
By Andi
Is ‘VM Stall’ the Next Big Virtualization Challenge?

There appears to be a challenger to ‘VM sprawl’ as the scourge of virtualization success - a problem I call ‘VM stall’. We know about ‘VM sprawl’ – because new virtual machines are so easy to deploy, organizations can end up with more VMs that they can handle, or even use. This has the potential...
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Posted in CIO, Cloud Computing, Virtualization | 20 Comments »

Does Virtualization Security Really Matter?

May 12, 2010
By Andi
Does Virtualization Security Really Matter?

Whatever happened to virtualization security? Back in the day, everyone was talking about blue pills and red pills, about sideways attacks and DOM-0 threats, about security profiles and isolation policies, about perimeter defense and security embedded in the hypervisor. Then, all of a sudden, the buzz seemed to disappear. It really seems like organizations simply don’t...
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Posted in CIO, Virtualization | 19 Comments »

Myopic View of DevOps Misses the Mark

March 26, 2010
By Andi
Myopic View of DevOps Misses the Mark

I am hearing a lot about the rise of a concept called ‘devops’ – a mashup of ‘development’ and ‘operations’. I am not at all an expert in this area, but from what I can tell, devops is aimed at streamlining rapidly iterative application delivery to allow for greater development and business agility. Devops...
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Posted in Cloud Computing, Data Center Automation, Systems Management, Virtualization | 39 Comments »

Your Favourite Technology Will Not Kill Anything

March 5, 2010
By Andi
Your Favourite Technology Will Not Kill Anything

I have a request. I hope it is not too onerous, because something is really starting to grind my gears. Can we in IT please all stop claiming that any technology is going to kill another? The latest I am reading, for example, is that NoSQL (for want of a better term) will kill off SQL. No,...
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Posted in Cloud Computing, Virtualization | 7 Comments »

On My Leaving EMA to Join CA

February 26, 2010
By Andi
On My Leaving EMA to Join CA

For those who have asked, and others who may care to know – the rumours are indeed true. After many happy years leading the fantastic systems and storage management team at one of the very best IT industry analyst and consulting firms, Enterprise Management Associates (EMA), I have moved on to take up an...
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Posted in CIO, Systems Management, Virtualization | 29 Comments »

Is BYOPC Really Key to Attracting Millennials?

February 1, 2010
By Andi
Is BYOPC Really Key to Attracting Millennials?

There is a growing chatter about the idea that businesses should provide staff with a free choice of PC technology (including Windows, Mac, Linux, or other devices), and indeed that staff should be given a cash allowance (at Citrix, for example, the allowance is $2100) to purchase and use their own PC for company...
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Posted in CIO, Virtualization | 9 Comments »