Yellow Bricks

by Duncan Epping

News

New vCenter add-on announced: vCenter Heartbeat

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VMware just announced a new add-on for vCenter:

Source
As customers expand their use of VMware, maintaining a highly available management infrastructure is quickly becoming a key requirement. Learn about VMware’s new availability solution for vCenter Server and how it expands infrastructure and services sales opportunities.

The title of the webex is “Introducing VMware vCenter Server Heartbeat”

In other words, there’s an add on coming up that provides high availability for your vCenter Server. We will have to wait until tomorrow before more details are announced!

I just also noticed that there will be a session at VMworld Europe on vCenter Server Heartbeat:

DC10 – Chosing a Solution for vCenter Server Availability (by David Friedlander VMware Product Manager)

EMC will reduce workforce with 7%

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I was just reading the Press Release on the “Preliminary Fourth-Quarter Financial Results” over on EMC’s website and noticed the following:

The restructuring program will reduce EMC’s global Information Infrastructure workforce by approximately 2,400 positions, or about 7% of its headcount as of September 30, 2008.

Don’t know if anyone had already noticed it or not. But it seems like major news to me. Especially with all the rumours floating around on layoffs at other huge software firms.

VCDX Enterprise Exam

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Just received the following email:

Hello Duncan Epping,

Thank you for your interest in the VMware Certified Design Expert program. I am pleased to inform you that you have PASSED the Enterprise Administration Exam.

For everyone that still needs to take this exam be sure to do the VI3.5: Deploy Secure & Analyze course and read the blueprint before you even start. It be worth checking out Jason’s blog on VCDX and on VirtualTroll you can find links to study material for the Design Exam. (Most of the Design Exam study material are also valid for the Enterprise Exam!)

So for everyone that still has to take the exam, prepare well! Know your esxcfg-* commands, and be sure to know the basics inside out!

VMware just acquired Trango

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VMware just acquired Trango:

VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the datacenter, today announced plans to bring virtualization and its many proven benefits to mobile phones through the new VMware Mobile Virtualization Platform (MVP). Built on innovative technology acquired from Trango Virtual Processors in October 2008, VMware MVP will help handset vendors reduce development time and get mobile phones with value-added services to market faster. In addition, end users will benefit by being able to run multiple profiles – for example, one for personal use and one for work use – on the same phone.

So what is it these guy actually do, or better said what will VMware be doing?

VMware MVP is a thin layer of software that will be embedded on a mobile phone that decouples the applications and data from the underlying hardware. It will be optimized to run efficiently on low-power-consuming and memory-constrained mobile phones. The MVP is planned to enable handset vendors to bring phones to market faster and make them easier to manage.

Virtualization Continues to See Strong Growth in Second Quarter, According to IDC

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It’s funny to read reports like the one IDC just produced. It makes you wonder, who writes them and where they get their information from… especially when you read the following:

VMware grew its x86 server virtualization software business 27% year over year and maintained the number 1 position in the market with 78% revenue share in 2Q08. When looking at new x86 virtualization licenses, VMware continues to hold on to its strong position in the x86 market with a combined market share of VMware ESX and VMware Server at 44%. However, in its first quarter of general availability Microsoft Hyper-V delivered a strong showing, and when combined with Virtual Server 2005, Microsoft’s market share is 23% of new shipments.

As I expected Microsoft jumped right on it and had their marketing department come up with some great statements:

Microsoft’s server virtualization software already has half of VMware’s share in the market.

But usual there’s a guy called Mike, and Mike well… Mike should start working for myth busters cause that’s what he does best… busting the Virtualization Marketing Myths:

First of all Microsoft didn’t all of a sudden grab market share. Last year was the first year of this report and Microsoft was reported as having 20% market share at the time by shipments. In Q1 2008 they dropped to 18% and now they’re back to 23%. In the course of a year they climbed 3%. This is probably just normal survey error at work. To back that up VMware showed a similar trend going from 51% in 2007 to 42% in Q1 2008 and now back up to 44% in Q2 2008.

Well, just continue to read Mike D’s response to the IDC report and MS article here…