TVP Category Archives

Microsoft Hyper-V vs VMware vSphere

One topic that gets discussed quite often is Microsoft Hyper-V vs VMware vSphere and a quick Google search will return at least several hundred thousand hits. There seems to be a large number of posts and articles trying to make a case for which version is better by listing and comparing features one by one of the hypervisor itself. The purpose of this post is not to campaign which platform is better than the other. Is that the best way to really compare the different virtualization technologies as a whole or should we take a step up to a higher point of view and really look at difference in approach for the virtual infrastructure and/or virtual ecosystems?

Gaining Visibility into The Cloud: Migration and Security

On many a Virtualization Security Podcast I tend to mention that we need greater visibility into the cloud to judge whether Cloud Service Provider security measures are good enough. But why should we bother? I am not saying we should not be concerned about a cloud’s security but that we should as tenants be concerned with clouds meeting our security, compliance, and data protection policies and requirements. Will a cloud service provider ever be able to meet a specific organizations requirements as well as the cloud service providers policies and compliance?

Cisco Nexus 1000v: Free unless you want Security

While not particularly new news, the next version of the Cisco Nexus 1000v will be free, unless you want the security features. This is an interesting shift from Cisco with respect to VMware vCloud Director, the Nicira purchase, furthering UCS, and Cisco within non-UCS data centers. However, given other announcements, with respect to OpenStack, perhaps this is more a play to level the playing field between cloud architectures? But what I find most interesting, is that the changes to the Nexus 1000v also align with the changes we see in the vCloud Suites from VMware.

vSTAC R2, Pivot3's Next Generation VDI Appliance – the sub-$200 desktop virtual desktop is here?

Pivot3 have made vStac R2 simpler to implement, more scalable and drive further savings than its predecessor. Headline features include utilising VMware View Storage Accelerator allowing reduced hardware costs, performance increases with more memory and updated processors allowing greater VM density, and networking options that can enable adoption by a wider SMB market. With vStac R2, Pivot3 continue to drive the hardware cost and complexity of VDI down. The headline $165 / desktop will be compelling. The performance assurance and dynamic expansion in R2 will likely solve many administrative headaches. The key for any turnkey VDI solution remains getting the assessment right, and managing and delivering on the wider user experience once deployed.