In a not so regular thing, I often find myself with a metric boat load of open tabs related to all things VMware, Virtualization, and cloud. Some of them are even worth sharing, so that’s what follows:
- VMware IO Analyzer http://gabrielchapman.com/?p=82 – This is well worth a read. Basically VMware has released a fling to standardize IO testing in VMware environments:
- vCO Presents: http://blogs.vmware.com/orchestrator/2011/12/vmware-releases-four-new-vmware-vcenter-orchestrator-plug-ins.html
Yes, four new plug-ins. SQL, Auto-deploy, PowerShell, and Multi-Node. Multi-node is especially useful if using vCO in a large or distributed environment. Expect more on these in a bit. - Java & Enterprise workloads: http://blogs.vmware.com/apps/2011/12/sizing-virtual-machines-for-jvm-workloads.html
- Debugging in a virtual world: http://stackframe.blogspot.com/2010/01/vmss2core-zero-configuration-debugging.html
This one has been open for a while. Basically it will take a VM and produce a windbg compatible dump files so you can dig into what’s going on. If you’ve ever had to dig that deep into a server or VM crash, this will prove to be quite helpful. - Jumbo Frames & vSphere IO performance – http://www.boche.net/blog/index.php/2011/01/24/jumbo-frames-comparison-testing-with-ip-storage-and-vmotion/
Well worth a read if you’ll be working with Jumbo Frames or IP storage in your environment. - VCP5 Prep –
- http://damiankarlson.com/2011/11/01/vmware-vcp-5-resources/
Not sure where Damian found the time what with the travel & BrownBags, but here it is, and it’s great if you’re getting ready to take the VCP5 like I am. - http://vmwaretraining.blogspot.com/2011/10/studying-for-vcp5-exam.html
Also a good starting point for VCP5 study.
I/O Analyzer is a virtual appliance solution by VMware that provides a simple and standardized way of measuring storage performance in a VMware vSphere virtualized environments. I/O Analyzer automates the traditional storage performance analysis cycle and reduces the performance diagnosis time from days to hours.
Features
Integrated framework for storage performance testing
Readily deployable virtual appliance
Easily configure and launch I/O tests on multiple hosts
View integrated performance results at both guest and host levels
Easily export performance data for off-site analysis
This is some pretty slick stuff.