VMware Global Alliances Blog

Posted by Andre Kemp
Principal - SAP Business
Practice, Americas

In a post last week, Elliot Fliesler alluded to some exiting news that we would soon share around our SAP partnership. And where better to finally unveil that news than at Sapphire Now 2012 and here on our alliances blog?  It’s now official: SAP has validated its Sybase High Performance OLTP Adaptive Server Enterprise (ASE) Database on VMware cloud infrastructure.

This validation announcement is notable for a number of reasons:

• It assures customers and prospects running SAPSybase ASE databases as virtual machines that they can achieve high-performance results that match their physical infrastructure.
• It enables customers and prospects to stop worrying about virtualizing business-critical applications—including their most important databases.
• It signals the beginning of further testing by VMware and SAP to support the virtualization of other key SAP products, such as SAP Sybase IQ, Replication Server and SQL Anywhere on VMware cloud infrastructure.

 Commentary from the Show

One of the reasons I enjoy coming to Sapphire every year is to hear firsthand how customers are currently using and prospects are thinking about using our joint solutions and services. Yesterday, I co-presented a session (2307) with one of our customers, Fonterra. This $16B (NZD) dairy company virtualized its entire SAP landscape in 2010 and is now deploying automated disaster recovery on the VMware vSphere^® platform.

From Fonterra and other attendees, I have learned that the launch of vSphere 5 has really done more to unlock the potential value of SAP landscapes. For example, customers virtualizing their SAP landscape with VMware solutions are benefitting from enhanced business agility. They also are able to provide superior service levels and improve asset turnover while lowering TCO.

More customers today are moving from server consolidation (the IT Production phase that begins the VMware Journey) into virtualizing business-critical applications (phase two or the Business Production phase). What this tells us is that a greater number and a wider variety of customers—enterprises and small and midsize businesses (SMBs)—are embracing IT transformation. They are all moving ahead with us on the journey from virtualization to cloud computing and IT as a service—at their own pace.

As I gather new insights from customers during the many meetings that I’m participating in this week, I’m reminded about how far we have come with virtualization and cloud infrastructure. At first, our products helped technical customers to overcome IT challenges and save money. Now, there is tremendous demand from CIOs and line-of-business stakeholders for more extensive services and solutions that move their business applications to a virtualized and cloud environment that solves real business issues. In this way, we are helping to transform enterprises, and this makes me look forward to working even more closely with SAP on solutions that are yet to come. Let us know how virtualizing SAP has made a difference to your business, in the comments section below.

Photo: A packed VMware theatre session at the booth yesterday.

Posted by Chris Carrier
Director, Alliance
Marketing

Learn how Daughters of Charity Health Systems (DCHS), a regional health system with six hospitals in California, relies on VMware View desktop virtualization software and Wyse P20 zero clients to quickly deploy virtual desktops that optimize the end-user experience – and give their clinicians the anytime anywhere access they need to provide better patient care.

 In this video, Michael Day, Vice President of Information Technology, DCHS shares how the desktop virtualization solution from VMware and Wyse addresses key infrastructure challenges and desktop performance issues faced by his organization. Dan O’Farrell, Director of Product Marketing, Wyse discusses some of the significant benefits of VMware View 5.1 and Wyse’s continued tradition of Day One Support for View.

Posted by Chris Gebhardt
NetApp, Desktop
Virtualization Architect

Today VMware announced the release of VMware View 5.1.  View 5.1 has many new and improved advanced storage features that will help increase storage performance and scale.  In this blog post I will discuss some of the new and noteworthy storage related features.

One of the new technologies in VMware View 5.1 is the View Storage Accelerator (formally known as Content Based Read Cache or CBRC).  This technology helps reduce the amount of data needing to be read from a storage controller during simultaneous read activities such as a boot storm after maintenance or HA event.  With View Storage Accelerator, up to 2GB of memory is allocated from the ESXi host to be used as a host based read cache. Ultimately this helps VMware View environments perform better and scale during boot storm events.  Now you may ask, well what about NetApp and the use of Virtual Storage Tiering, doesn't that solve the boot storm problem. Well yea it absolutely does, but using View Storage Accelerator in conjunction with NetApp’s Virtual Storage Tiering allows customers to scale their View deployments even further, driving down the cost, boosting the performance and ultimately improving the End User Computing experience. 

Here is how it is configured:

1. First log into the VMware View Administrator console.
2. Select View Configuration on the left hand side.
3. Select Servers under View Configuration
4. If you already have a vCenter Server configure click the vCenter Server and click Edit…
5. Here the Edit vCenter Server dialogue box will appear.  Click on the Host Caching tab.
6. In the Host Cache Settings you can enable and disable host caching, change the default host caching size, and override individual host cache sizes.
   
   
   
   
7. After you enable host caching, you can then create your desktop pool.  When you create an automated pool the Advanced Storage Options portion of the Add Pool wizard will appear.
8. Here you will be able to enable host caching on a per pool basis.
   
   
   
   
9. You can also choose if you want to cache just OS disks or OS and persistent disks.
   
   
   
   
10. And also choose what days not to regenerate the cache.  For example, you may not want to regenerate the cache during normal business hours.

The second technology, which I have been waiting for a really long time and am incredibly excited about, is the View Composer API Integration. This VCAI primitive is currently in a Tech Preview status and it allows VMware View to automate the creation of NetApp Zero Cost clones (FlexClone) within the VMware View interface.  In the past, customers had to choose between NetApp clones with VSC provisioning and cloning in manual pools or VMware View Clones in Automated Pools.  There are benefits and drawbacks to both methods.  On one hand the NetApp clones are created at the hardware level (not using copy on write snapshots) and are pre-deduplicated. This method creates desktops that have superb scalability but to create NetApp clones requires two tools: the NetApp Virtual Storage Console and VMware View Administrator.  On the other hand, VMware View Clones in Automated Pools provide excellent management workflows and automation but rely on hypervisor snapshots as underlying the cloning mechanism, which if improperly designed can result in scaling issues. (Note: Proper design refers to the use of technologies that reduce the amount of write IO to the delta file.  Technologies like profile/persona management (User Data Disks) and end user home directories are examples of such technologies that remove IO and allow VMware Linked cones to scale.)

VCAI leverages NetApp’s native cloning capability – without requiring VSC - to improve desktop scalability and provisioning times in View Composer.

Here is a brief demo of how this cloning works. 

Today the View Composer API Integrations are available as a Technology Preview when using VMware View 5.1, vSphere 5.0, the ESXi VIB for VCAI and NFS on NetApp Data ONTAP 8.1 Cluster Mode.

Some other storage related features worth noting: Customizable View Composer disposable disk driver letter and support up to 32 (increased from 8) host in a cluster when using Network Attached Storage (NFS).

Also a shameless plug for one of my favorite works…

If you are interested in reading more on VMware View workloads, my colleague, Chad Morganstern, and I have done a considerable amount of work to try to better understand the lifecycle of a Virtual Desktop and how Virtual Storage Tiering can boost performance, allowing customers to size for steady state. https://communities.netapp.com/community/netapp-blogs/virtualization/blog/2011/09/06/netapp-and-vmware-view-5000-seat-performance-report

Posted by Vittorio Viarengo
VP, Desktop Product
Marketing

There is no doubt about it, the post-PC era is here. More than a million mobile devices ship everyday, and end-users are bringing these personal devices with new applications into the enterprise—whether IT teams like it or not. We understand this new reality. That’s why our end-user computing vision focuses on giving end users freedom, while allowing IT to maintain control.

A key element of our strategy in building the enterprise platform for the post-PC era is to bring legacy applications forward using desktop virtualization. Yet, one of our biggest challenges was how to handle unified communications in the virtual desktop. I’m pleased to say that together with Cisco, we’ve solved this issue.

Cisco and VMware have partnered to provide desktop delivery as a service with the rich multimedia experience end users expect and the control IT requires. I recently caught up with Jeff Platon, senior director of engineering at Cisco, to hear about how customers are using our combined solution.

Cisco VXI with VMware View minimizes the cost of infrastructure and improves ROI without sacrificing performance, according to a recent Principled Technologies Test Report.

To support enterprises embracing our joint solution on their journey to greater end-user productivity and IT agility, a new Cisco Validated Design is available for Cisco Virtualization Experience Infrastructure 2.5 Implementing VMware View 5.

Together with Cisco, we continue to tighten our integrations to maximize the value of our solutions. Post a comment letting us know how our joint solutions are working for you.

Posted by Kristen Edwards
Sr. Program Manager, TAP

If you haven’t already, check out the VMware Solution Exchange (VSX), our new online cloud infrastructure and virtualization marketplace that enables customers to engage with VMware partners and developers, and discover, evaluate, and rate joint solutions including virtual appliances, vApps, and vCO plug-ins. 

This month on the VMware Solution Exchange we’ll take a look at solutions from Egnyte and Biomni.

Egnyte HybridCloud offers secure central online file storage for employees and business partners to access, collaborate and share files from anywhere. When deployed in conjunction with VMware, Egnyte Enterprise Local Cloud (deployed as a virtual appliance) synchronizes files between your on-premise VMware file server, using any existing hardware and the cloud. The bi-directional file sync technology provides redundant file storage and backup as well as secure file access from anywhere on any device, online or offline. Visit Egnyte on the VMware Solution Exchange to download the Egnyte Enterprise Local Cloud virtual appliance, view the Enterprise Local Cloud Install Guide for ESX and ESXi, and sign up for a live demo.

Biomi Front Office provides an intuitive self-service portal for the entire range of IT services, ensuring transparency of service offering details, costs and service levels. With freely available VMware adapters, Front Office ensures virtual machine (VM) and private cloud provisioning is positioned seamlessly within your Service Catalog, enabling the delivery and management of VMs and cloud resources within a ‘one-stop shop’ Service Catalog. Biomni has built a number of virtual machine provisioning request templates. Integrated form widgets display available VM templates, data stores, and hosts. Visit Biomni on the VMware Solution Exchange to watch a video on how to provision VMware servers with Biomni Front Office, and download a paper on the functionality of the Biomni Front Office VMware adapters.

Customers can register on the VSX to rate and review solutions and download trial software and plug-ins.

We’re interested in hearing your feedback on the VSX! Please let us know by entering a comment below.

Posted by Gina Bollenback
Global Alliance Marketing
Communications Manager

This week’s News Around the Network highlights a new area of integration for VMware, a video with our CTO and a list of VMware’s greatest influencers.

Steve Herrod Chat: Two vExperts and The VMware Expert  (Around the Storage Block Blog)
HP vExperts Calvin Zito and Eric Siebert met with Steve Herrod, VMware CTO and Senior VP of R&D at the Silicon Valley VMUG and discussed the benefits of attending these events and upcoming news for VMware.

Barracuda Networks Launches Virtual and Physical Data Protection (MSP Mentor)
Barracuda Networks, a provider of security, data protection and application delivery solutions, recently announced the new Barracuda Backup Service with VMware host support, enabling backup of guest virtual machines. Check out the post for more details.

Announcing vExpert 2012 Title Holders (VMTN Blog)
Check out the new list of vExperts for 2012, it consists of over 400 influential customers, partners, bloggers and influencers who go above and beyond their day job to help others be successful with VMware.

VMware customers, if you want to see anything specifically highlighted in this blog please respond in the comments section or on Twitter or Facebook. VMware partners and community, please let us know if you have any stories you suggest we highlight in future weeks.

Posted by Glenn Weyhausen
Sr. Partner Marketing Mgr,
vCloud Service

In Parts I and II of this blog series, we’ve explored how companies with strict security needs and compliance requirements have successfully moved to the public cloud with the help of VMware Service Providers, Bluelock and iland. In our final installment in this series, we’ll take a look at two Tier 3 customers and the benefits they’ve received, such as improved availability and cost savings, by making the move to the public cloud.

Financial Transaction Company Utilizes Tier 3 for Secure Stock Trades and Capital Exchanges

The first company we’ll highlight provides secure IT architecture and software for stock trades and capital exchanges for some of the largest financial institutions and investment banks across the Eastern United States.

The company used to operate three datacenters on their own, but according to the company’s CTO, “When we were running our own datacenters, it was a full time job just to evaluate and install all the required security patches…We would have had to hire ten times the number of people we have now to meet the security regulations and expectations of our Fortune 100 clients.”

In addition, a series of natural disasters that caused service interruptions for the company and its clients, as well as rising security requirements and regulations, prompted the company to look at a secure public cloud solution.

Now the company is delivering high security and availability at a reduced cost with a public cloud SaaS solution at Tier 3. With their cloud deployment they’ve had zero interruptions, despite the blizzard, hurricane, and several tropical storms that have knocked out their power this year alone.

In sum, the company’s CTO shares, “The cost to continue running our own datacenters with required security compliance and reporting would have been seven times the cost spanning a three year timeframe over what our Tier 3 cloud solution is costing.”

Legal Discovery Company Delivers Secure Services and Development Platform on Tier 3 Infrastructure

The second company we’ll discuss is a new company that produces software to support law firms and legal departments inside of large enterprises. In order to stay competitive, the company focused on delivering superior products with faster time to market and outstanding customer service. With their cloud-based infrastructure through Tier 3, this company has been able to:

• Increase the speed of development, testing, and resolving of customer issues
• Create an evaluation environment for new clients that can be spun up or down almost instantly
• Offer their solution to customers in a SaaS model

According to a senior operations analyst at the company, “Using Tier 3 provides a huge ROI in so many ways. We have numbers to prove it is three to four times less expensive than building and securing it yourself.”

We hope that this blog series has shed light on the fact that the public cloud can be secure, and many organizations today, even those with strict regulations and compliance requirements, are already taking advantage of the public cloud with the help of VMware and our ecosystem of Service Provider partners.

Download the Public Cloud Security Advantage Whitepaper for more information on companies highlighted in this blog series. For more stories from the VMware Service Provider and Partner Network, be sure to check out the vCloud and follow @vCloud and @VMwareSP for future updates.

Posted by Gina Bollenback
Global Alliance Marketing
Communications Manager

This week’s News Around the Network highlights three major VMware integrations with our partner’s recently launched solutions:

VMware, NetApp and Cisco Enterprise Solution Comes to a Mid-Size Business Near You (VMware SMB Blog)
NetApp and Cisco announced the expansion of their partnerships with VMware with the introduction of an Entry-Level Flexpod for VMware, specifically designed to bring the proven Flexpod capabilities to mid-size IT environments. Check out the blog post for details.

"Hello World": EMC VSPEX (Virtual Geek)
EMC's Chad Sakac sheds light on the recent EMC VSPEX launch, which is a new reference architecture program for customers and channel partners that sets a new standard of flexibility for building private clouds.

IBM PureSystems Melds Hardware and Software Patterns (ServerWatch)
IBM has announced 2 main products in their PureSystems Family: PureFlex and PureApplication. PureSystems are expert integrated systems with virtualization capabilities that give users a simplified IT experience. The PureFlex system has VMware as an optional component and the PureApplication system has VMware as a built-in component. See this article to learn more.

VMware customers, if you want to see anything specifically highlighted in this blog please respond in the comments section or on Twitter or Facebook. VMware partners and community, please let us know if you have any stories you suggest we highlight in future weeks.

Posted by Brian Forbes
Sr. Director, Global Alliance
Marketing

If you haven’t already heard about VSPEX, you will. VSPEX is EMC’s proven infrastructure for virtualizing data centers and desktops, combining EMC storage technology with VMware vSphere, VMware vCloud, VMware View and other VMware cloud infrastructure solutions that can be sized and configured for a wide variety of organizations. EMC rolled out VSPEX today – you can read more about it here.

Why is VSPEX important?  For one thing, it’s proven. VSPEX are complete, pre-validated solutions delivered by trained and authorized channel partners. EMC has validated these architectures thoroughly and even established a dedicated facility—VSPEX Labs—to test customer-specific configurations and provide working demos.

Another key aspect of VSPEX is flexibility. Leveraging the built-in automation and resource elasticity of VMware cloud infrastructure, VSPEX enables organizations to adapt efficiently and quickly to evolving business needs. With VSPEX, customers can consolidate multiple workloads on VMware cloud infrastructure that is sized to deliver predictable performance.  VSPEX’s tight integration means that customers can manage their private cloud deployments using VMware vCenter Operations Management Suite. 

There’s much more to say about VSPEX, so look for updates here in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out the solution overview on EMC’s Web site.

Posted by Kristen Edwards
Sr. Program Manager, TAP

If you haven’t already, check out the VMware Solution Exchange (VSX), our new online cloud infrastructure and virtualization marketplace that enables customers to engage with VMware partners and developers, and discover, evaluate, and rate joint solutions including virtual appliances, vApps, and vCO plug-ins.  Partners and developers post online resources on the VSX, including demos, screen shots, videos, joint whitepapers, and evaluation software. All the solutions within the VSX complement and integrate or interoperate with VMware's portfolio of products.

The VSX launched in late January and replaces the Virtual Appliance Marketplace and Partner Product Catalog.

This blog post represents the first in our new series of bi-weekly blogs, offering additional support for VMware Solution Exchange members who have already blogged about their VSX listing.

Infrasight Labs offers vScope, which reads configurations and metrics from VMware as well as physical infrastructures and presents data in a powerful, yet simple-to-use “Business Intelligence”-like way. View videos on vScope in the Resources section.

Nimble Storage has partnered with VMware and Computex to deliver View POC solutions which simplify VDI deployments for customers by providing pre-defined, proven, orderable solutions that streamline and accelerate the solution sizing and evaluation process of VDI.  Download the best practices guide in the Resource section of their VSX page.

Xsigo Systems helps you get the most from VMware with data center fabric solutions that let you dynamically connect servers to networks and storage. The Xsigo I/O Director is a hardware and software solution that lets you dynamically connect everything in your data center without the limitations of legacy networking technologies. Read about ten strategies for maximizing VMware performance with virtual i/o.

The VMware Solution Exchange is open to all Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) Program members.  To publish on the VSX, TAP partners should register.

Customers can register on the VSX to rate and review solutions and download trial software and plug-ins.

We’re interested in hearing your feedback on the VSX! Please let us know by entering a comment below.