The Next Evolution of Virtualization

The next evolution of virtualization is the Software Defined Data Center or SDDC and it is quickly becoming the next logical step in the continued evolution of cloud technology that will give you the ability to run legacy enterprise applications as well as the other cloud services. In my opinion you could also define Software Defined Data Center as a converged datacenter so to speak. My friend and colleague, Edward Haletky wrote a great post on SDDC and data protection, which raised this question. How the heck to we recover SDDC?

SDDC Data Protection

One aspect of SDDC that does not get a lot of attention is Data Protection, instead we are concentrating on SDN and automation. Yet, this leads me to Data Protection. There is a clear marriage between Data Protection and SDDC that needs to be added to any architecture. As with all things, we start with the architecture. Our SDDC architecture should also include data protection, but what data are we really protecting? Within SDDC there are three forms of data: tenant, configuration, and automation. Without one or the other, we may not be able to reload our SDDC during a disaster. What is required to get these three types of data, what really are these types of data? and how can we add data protection into SDDC cleanly?

vSphere Upgrade Saga: Move the Data Center: Step 1

We recently moved from Boston to Austin, in doing so, we had to move our data center but we still need to maintain uptime while we physically move the data center. The obvious answer was a Cloud presence to help us with the move. While this move was planned for a bit, finding an inexpensive but good provider was difficult.

Client Hypervisors: Intelligent Desktop Virtualization too clever for its own good?

In 2011, we asked if Client Hypervisors will drive will the Next Generation Desktop. Yet, other desktop virtualization industry experts, such as Ron Oglesby, decided the technology was a dead man walking, writing off Type 1 Client Hypervisors.

Public Cloud Reality: Do we Stay or Do We Go?

Soon the backup power will be available for our new datacenter and the redesign to make use of VMware vCloud Suite is nearing completion. Soon, our full private cloud will be ready for our existing workloads. These workloads however now run within a XenServer based public cloud.  So the question is, do we stay in …

IT as a Service: Not Just for a Cloud

I was going to write about how building a cloud is similar to moving, but the more I think about it, the more I think people are confusing an automated virtual environment with a cloud: IT as a Service is not just about cloud. Having automation does not imply your virtual environment is a cloud or visa versa. Granted, using IT as a Service is important for a cloud if you look at the NIST definition of a cloud, but it is not necessary for a cloud. Perhaps IT as a Service is just a stepping stone towards a cloud, perhaps it should start as a data center play?