Bryley Systems Inc., a long-term VMware partner, is pleased to have achieved Professional status in VMware’s Solution Provider program.  (VMware Professional Solution Providers demonstrate significant knowledge of VMware solutions and are able to sell the entire VMware line of virtualization software.  VMware is the global leader in virtualization and cloud infrastructure.)

To achieve Professional Status, several Bryley employees underwent extensive training followed by rigorous examination to achieve these VMware certifications:

·         Scott Gold – VMware Certified Professional and VMware Technical Sales Professional

·         Roy Pacitto – VMware Sales Professional

Bryley Systems’ mission is to satisfy the computer–network-support needs and requirements of our clients by providing high quality, scalable, Managed IT solutions. We use our extensive IT experience to deliver tangible business results, enabling our clients to benefit from the efficient use of technology. We strive to build long‐term client relationships based on mutual trust and respect.

Scott Gold, Senior Network Engineer at Bryley Systems, passed his VMware Pro vSphere 5 Certification.  Congratulations Scott!

Scott Gold, Senior Network Engineer at Bryley Systems, completed the rigorous, week-long, VMware Certified Professional (VCP) training, which is the first step toward qualifying as a VCP. Scott will take the VCP exam in February 2012.

Was your business affected by the recent power outages?   Here are some reminders of things you can do to help ensure that your business is well prepared:

1) Get a sufficient battery backup (UPS) for typical power outages in your area.
2) Backup your data and get that data offsite
3) Put an email continuity solution in place so you can receive and send emails in the event your email server is down.
4) Virtualize. If you have access to a big enough Internet connect, then store your servers and desktops as virtual versions  "in the cloud" so that you can access them from anywhere and at any time.

For more info go to:

http://www.smallbusinesstechtips.com/small-business-management/ensuring-your-business-survives-a-disaster/

Server virtualization is one of the most popular tech trends going today, and it seems as though everybody is jumping on the small business virtualization bandwagon. But does virtualization make sense for your small business? In this small business guide to virtualization, we'll explain what virtualization is, the associated benefits and drawbacks, whether it makes financial sense, and which small businesses should go for it (or give it a pass). Finally, we'll look at how to go about implementing it.

for more info: http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/buyersguide/article.php/3939556

The latest features of VMware vSphere: version 5.0

VMware’s vSphere was already an industry leading virtualization platform for cloud infrastructure before version 5.0 entered the scene: increasing IT speed and agility while reducing total costs. With vSphere 5.0 we only see improvements including the highest levels of automation in the industry as well as the ability to create much larger VMs.  Below is a list of 10 new features for vSphere 5.0 that are worth a looking over.

10 New features of vSphere 5.0

1.       Convergence with ESXi – vSphere 5.0 is converging on the hypervisor architecture of ESXi. VMware promises that this will allow for a “thinner architecture, a more secure footprint and a streamlined patching and setup model”.  

2.        Auto Deploy – with Auto Deploy, vSphere 5.0 allows you to set up multiple vSphere hosts in minutes by defining a single image configuration and then automatically deploying it to each host.      

3.       New VM format – the new VM format in vSphere 5.0 supports both 3D graphics for Windows Aero as well as USB 3.0 devices

4.       Storage DRS – improve storage management with Storage DRS which combines policy based management and automatic load balancing of storage resources as well as profile driven storage which simplifies storage resource selection by grouping storage according to a user defined policy. 

5.       Scalability – with vSphere 5.0 experience unprecedented scalability supporting even the most resource intensive applications: grow your VMs up to four times larger and experience up to 32 virtual CPUs and 1 TB of RAM  

6.       High availability – vSphere 5.0 boasts greater and guaranteed availability that can be set up in minutes at a very low cost and protects all applications from experienced downtime whether planned or unexpected

7.       High adaptability – with vSphere 5.0 you have the freedom to customize your virtualization platform, ensuring that your cloud infrastructure meets your specific needs

8.       Security – the new ESXi firewall restricts access to specific services by IP address or subnet

9.       Access – access vSphere 5.0 anywhere from a web browser

10.   Support – VMware vCenter Site Recovery Manager automates the recovery process in the event of an unexpected disaster   

VMware’s vSphere 5.0 still increases IT speed and agility while reducing related costs as did its ancestors.  However the latest version also boasts a great deal of new features: simplified management, greater ease in running applications of any size, superior storage capacities and guaranteed uptime, service and security.  All around, vSphere 5.0 has been designed to help you complete more projects faster and more efficiently.

If you would like to learn more about vSphere 5.0 please contact Bryley today by calling 978.562.6077 or emailing Sales@Bryley.com.

References   

www.vmware.com

Server virtualization is the process of using software to create Virtual Machines or VMs that are hosted within a physical server called a Virtual Host. These VMs imitate physical servers, but they are distinct operating system (OS) environments that are managed by the Virtual Host.  In a nutshell, it is a method of IT simplification, consolidating the number of underutilized physical servers into a few machines that are used to their full capacity.

For a concrete example, think of all the Microsoft applications you might currently have on-premise and the specific workloads that they each encapsulate: Exchange for email, Lync for unified communications, SharePoint for document sharing. That is three applications, each with its own instance of Windows Server, likely housed on three individual computers that you are paying for to own and operate. Server virtualization could consolidate these three applications onto a single computer; each virtualized separately from one another.      

While the early adopters of server virtualization were numbered and tended to be larger enterprises using the solution for non mission-critical applications, things are really beginning to change: server virtualization is on the rise and what’s more mission-critical applications are now being incorporated into the service. According to Veeam– a virtualization management software firm –over a third of all enterprise servers or 39.4% are now virtualized. This statistic hails from Veeam’s inaugural virtualization penetration index or V-index which the company recently launched and plans to update quarterly. The V-index also discovered that the most popular virtualization software to date is provided by VMware followed by Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix Xen (with 84%, 61% and 55.4% of the enterprises polled utilizing these providers respectively).  

The increase in server virtualization might come as a surprise to those of us working in the realm of small business, but according to Tom Bittman, Vice President Distinguished Analyst with Gartner Research, this upward bound trend was inevitable: for businesses of all size. Bittman cites the availability of free hypervisors or VM managers (Microsoft bundles Hyper-V with Windows Server 2008 and VMware offers an entry-level version of vSphere) and total lowered overhead as the two main reasons why virtualization adoption will continue to climb, especially among small-and midsized businesses (SMBs). Bittman also went on to say that although most people initially believe that the sole benefit of virtualization is cost reduction, he says that people soon realize it is not just the savings that make server virtualization so compelling, but the agility and accessibility of the service.  

            Benefits

            There are many benefits to making the switch to server virtualization, especially if you are an SMB with budgetary concerns and time constraints.  

1.       Cost reduction

Server virtualization will help you to lower the total overhead of your SMB by cutting back on the number of physical servers you need to maintain, space usage, workforce and energy.

2.       IT simplification

Server virtualization consolidates multiple underutilized servers into a single host (or a few hosts) that run VMs. This reduces infrastructure, simplifies maintenance and frees up your IT team.

3.       Increased agility

With server virtualization, operating systems can be moved from one VM to another easily and quickly, without any experienced interruption of service. This increases the accessibility of your workloads as well as total system uptime. 

Fears and perceived obstacles

            Veeam’s V-index polled enterprises on fears and perceived obstacles in the way of their adoption of server virtualization. The results were as follows:

1.       Reliability

38.8% stated that reliability was their greatest fear regarding the switch to virtualization.   

2.       Hardware refresh

37% stated that they needed to wait for a hardware refresh before deployment.

3.        Application performance

32.4% stated that they harbor uncertainty over application performance.

4.       Backup and restoration  

32.4% stated that they were worried about the efficiency of virtualized backup and restoration.

5.       Managing the virtual estate

30.8% stated that they have concerns regarding successful management of the virtual estate.

Conclusion  

Server virtualization definitely seems to have its pros and cons, but the ultimate distinction between said pros and cons that is sure to tip the scale in favor of adoption is the fact that these cons are merely perceptions and fears while the pros are proven fact. Microsoft for example guarantees total cost reduction as well as greater accessibility of all applications if your SMB makes the switch to server virtualization with their Windows Server 2008 R2 coupled with their Hyper-V hypervisor.  

If you would like to learn more about server virtualization or have any questions regarding adoption in your business, please contact Bryley today at 978.562.6077 or email Sales@Bryley.com

References

1.        Over a third of enterprise servers virtual, claims virtualization penetration index; Warwick Ashford; ComputerWeekly.com; http://www.computerweekly.com/Articles/2011/07/18/247308/Over-a-third-of-enterprise-servers-virtual-claims-virtualization-penetration.htm

2.        VMware ESXi Hypervisor Now Free; VMware News Releases; http://www.vmware.com/company/news/releases/esxi_pricing.html

3.       Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V Benefits to the SMB; whitepaper taken from the Microsoft Virtualization homepage http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/en/us/products-server.aspx