Dugie’s Pensieve

A picture is worth a thousand words =)

…and I happen to whole heartedly agree!

I’m a bit excited, infact I’m a lot excited.   I saw an email today, and then it all hit home.  The email was from one of the product teams announcing internal availability of a new technology.  It’s one of the technologies that really make me go "phwaar".  (And I thought it was phwaar even before my life here at VMware) — and the phwaar is getting closer, every day. 

It’s all NDA type stuff, but that doesn’t matter.  Ok, so maybe the word "matter" is the wrong word.  Why?  Because "internal", will eventually mean it will become beta, and beta’s turn into RTM. 

How can I explain it better?  It’s kind of like Christmas.  You know it’s coming; you can expect [it] all year long, but it’s not until the Christmas decorations go up and the presents start arriving under the tree, that it really sinks in.  Then once it arrives, it’s a flurry of wrapping paper, and eagerness, and, and   …well you know the rest of the story.

Anyway.  It’s such a such a simple, (some might mistake it as almost trivial) technology, but it’s so fundamentally exciting that it will change the rules of "traditional computing" [again] completely.  …and the coolest bit, just when you thought you had a handle on it, the next wave will come along and completely knock your socks off!

Virtualization is sooo much more than server consolidation, it’s tired of hiding in the server room, it’s coming baby.

Phwaaar!

I wanted to blog some info on how much power [in my non-scientific trials] you can expect to ‘burn’ from your different types of desktop clients. 

So with the help of Patrice, here is the typical power consumption (in Watts) from hardware we had available at the time of testing:

A few quick notes:  These non scientific results were measured using a power meter from Jaycar; In Australia we use ~240v; when testing the desktop hardware we excluded the monitor (add another ~22w for a 17" LCD); and all desktops were running windows. 

Obviously more watts = more $$$, if you don’t know exactly how much you pay for power (and your power provider here in Australia can’t seem to tell you), you can try the Artog Website.

I still have to write Part II, but the point I wanted to make here is power consumption does vary between computers.  A couple of watts on a single computer, might not be such a big deal, but a couple of watts across a 100 computers (or more) over a couple of years can potentially be a big deal.

Furthermore, power consumption varies on the role the computer performs (Jeff Atwood has a great breakdown in his post "How Much Power Does My Laptop Really Use" and again in "When Hardware is Free, Power is Expensive").  I’m sure at some level we know that, but it’s not until you see a table like this that you start to get the old noggin’ thinking.

I was reading through Microsoft’s TechNet and came across this:

All of Microsoft IT’s Hyper-V production and pre-production hosts are scheduled to run on a Server Core installation. This is because the more secure and available the virtualization host or parent partition is, the more stable and secure the virtual machines are….

Cool.  Maybe this means a good portion of Microsoft infrastructure is running in [Hyper-V] virtual machines - that means Microsoft should have nearly virtualized 80% of their production workloads including 64 bit; but it does say scheduled, so maybe they are yet to start. (I know that’s alot of ‘maybes’)  I wonder what they are using to manage it?  Although I couldn’t find any hints, I can only assume a pre-beta build of SCVMM R2/vNext.

I’m hoping this means we’ll see an update to all the Virtualization support KB’s  (like Exchange 2007, please pick Exchange.  Exchange officially supported outside of Premier support would make me a very happy camper)

Ok, I digress.  Anyway, it looks like Microsoft are using Hyper-V in production.  Gotta go, back soon.

Yup, it’s official, Hyper-V is availables will be listed as an "Optional Update" via Windows Update for all Windows Server 2008 SKUs.  

Cecilia Cole (WSUS Program Manager) has all the juicy details:

Today, April 8, the Windows Update team is making the Hyper-V Release Candidate package available as an "Optional Update" via Windows Update for all Windows Server 2008 SKUs. It will also be published as an "Optional Update" to WSUS…

You heard it; Mike Neil gives a welcomed Hyper-V update at VMworld Europe.  During his interview, Mike mentions the Hypervisor is ~600K , and there [should] be an RC drop, and updates for the beta will come through Windows Update.

You can check out the interview with Mike on Virtualization.com:  http://blip.tv/file/699246  (Jump to 12:30 where Mike chats the Hypervisor.)

I have a huge backlog of blog posts sitting in my drafts that I haven’t finished writing/publishing.  So time to adapt and embrace the change I guess =)

Anyway, I have a huge backlog of posts, half written.  So I’m going to take a page from Mitch’s book , and a list of stuff stuck in my Procrastination Backlog:

1. Now that Windows 2008 is here, Windows 2003 and extended support is 2 years away;  I’ve been gathering some resources to help get preprod and QA environments in order
2. Virtualizing Exchange; pointers on implementation, getting support and other misc info.
3. Desktop power consumption; measuring, benchmarking, thoughts, and some home baked stats I’ve collected from the field
4. Recycling hardware; Some examples of what others are doing with their hardware
5. USB EDC; (EDC = Every Day Carry) An updated list of all the tools/material I carry on my 4Gb USB Key
6. Building a better POC; Some tips and guidance to get your proof of concept up and running faster, and get more out of it.

That’s it for starters, more posts to come.

I started my new role as a Territory SE with VMware this month.  It’s really awesome stuff, and unlike anything I could have imagined.  The team here is so full of energy and passion, and the place is a beehive of activity!   Oh you should see the kitchen, it’s amazing and full of goodies!

…and that’s probably why a couple of avid readers have pinged me asking about the sudden lack of regular blogging.  Well guys, just for you I’ve stayed up extra late tonight to jam out a quick post.  I had planned to do this earlier but time has got away from me when I wasn’t looking.  So this is coming to you live and uncut - ignore the typos.   :)

Now I guess the burning question on everybody’s lips, is “What about the blog?”

Well I’ve haven’t come up with an answer yet.  I’ve given it some thought, and the blog is WindowsVirtualization.  Over time I have enjoyed blogged about all sorts of things [I've found interesting] that involve Windows Virtualization:  Windows as a Guest or a Host, Window Interop, Tools, Findings, Experiences, Vendors, Support, and the occasional bit of coolness too.

So I’m thinking maybe I continue more along those lines?  Focus more on support policies, best practices, standards, or maybe just experiences from others in the field?  Rest assured guys, whatever I do, I’ll keep it real and maintain that same ’signal:noise ratio’, you’ve come to love and expect.   =)

Anyway that brings me to now, and perhaps my very next blog post.  I’m seeing a huge amount of interest from customers around Virtualization at the Desktop (VDI).  Since I haven’t blogged VDI in a while, I think I’ll start there!

So tell me, what would you like to see?  Leave comments and let me know.

Ok, Virtualization made it on to Dilbert this morning.  It made me smile; not a lot more can be said:

UPDATE: And from here it’s “typical Dilbert“; Visit the website for Part 2 and Part 3

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I came across this today, the "Oriel Virtualization Calculator".  It’s a snazzy flash web site that calculates approximate CO² offset from Virtualizing your servers. 

It’s really cool.  IT was done by the boys at Oriel, here in Australia.  So the dollar values are most likely in AUD =)

So [based on the website] if we had 1200 servers to Virtualize (or were originally provisioned as Virtual Machines)  you would save:

• 13,500 tonnes of CO²
• equivalent to planting 59,000 trees
• Offsetting the emissions of 3,000 Cars
• …and a whole bunch of $$$$

I thought this is an awesome and innovative new way to take a fresh look at Virtualization.  …and made my day with a good chuckle.  Anyway Go and check out the "Oriel Virtualization Calculator" for yourself.