Foobar for VMWare - Why can't I start my virtual servers today?

Hey everybody,
I am now done and dusted with those 2 subjects for my Uni degree, and I now only have one left – On wireless technologies. I’ve got 3 weeks off on holidays, so I’m going to get some R&R, plus I need to start thinking about upgrading my MCSE certs to MCITP Enterprise (for Windows Server 2008).

I was going to be blogging about Windows Server 2008 today, but the big news today is VMWare are in the headlines for the wrong reasons. Apparently if you have the latest version of ESX (3.5.x Update 2) you will be unable to boot your virtual servers up today (the 13th Aug) or ever after until a fix is released.

See the official Knowledge Base Article here:
http://kb2.vmware.com/kb/1006716.html

Nothing has been said about what happens to virtual servers already running (presumably nothing will happen until you try and reboot your virtual servers), however VMWare have announced a licensing bug where the software cripples itself on the 12th August 2008 (presumably this functionality was supposed to be for the demo version, and should have been un-locked as part of the registration process).

The immediate workaround that VMWare have announced is just to roll back the hosts system date and time (not that it’s much of a work-around), but I’d say a patch will be coming out within the next few hours to correct this problem.

Anyway – That’s it from me for the minute – I’m currently building up a really nice HP ProLiant DL580 G5 server with Windows 2008 for one of our production servers, so I’ll be back in the next few days with my experiences from that.

Cheers,
Phil

Just a note to let you all I’m still here :-)

For me the next month will be pretty heavy – I’m wrapping up 2x university subjects at the moment which will mean that I only have 1 subject left before I finish my Masters degree. All being equal I will then have it finished by the end of this year.

One of my subjects is quite hard – I’m studying Encryption – The standards I’m learning about are DES, 3DES and RSA. Not only am I having to learn them at a high level, I have to learn the mathematics behind them. For DES and 3DES this is not so much of an issue (as there is little maths involved), but RSA is extremely complex and involves large Prime numbers and Mod maths.

The other subject isn’t too hard – It’s focused on IT Security (more on the ethics side than the technical side), but with a focus on learning about Linux – The 3 flavours I’m learning include Red Hat, Fedora Core and Ubuntu.

Some exciting technology developments have happened over the past week:
- HyperV (the new Hypervisor for virtual servers running on Windows Server 2008) has been released to manufacturing (RTM). This means that anybody who has an appropriately licensed Windows Server 2008 can run virtual servers in full production mode

- The new 3G iPhone – Apple have released the new 3G iPhone in Australia. I’m currently looking for a new phone, and the iPhone looks like it would suit me down to the ground. Although I must say when I compare it to other midrange to high-end mobile phones of around the same price, it does look like a number of the iPhone’s features are now obsolete – For example the phone only has a 2MegaPixel camera – Other new phones are coming out with 5MegaPixels. Another example is a built in FM radio, most other phones from Nokia or SonyEricsson do have a built in radio. If the iPhone had a built in FM radio I’d be sold, but at the moment I'm not convinced.

Anyway – I better get back to my Uni work – I’ve got 2 assignments due in 2.5 weeks time, and then the final 2 exams on the 4th and 5th August.

Cheers,
Phil

Data Centres in a box – What’s the go?

Portable all-in-one Data Centres are starting to become more prevalent. First was the APC Data Centre in a truck, and then came the Sun Portable Data Centre in a container and more recently (and more extreme) a floating Data Centre on a cargo ship.

I’m sure there are more businesses out there who are selling their own spin on the portable Data Centre, but what does it actually mean to have one of these services available to you?

I think that the most common use for these will be as a ‘service’ meaning you rent the ‘box’ for a period of time and contained within that box is a plethora of server equipment, networking kit and some form of portable high-speed internet connection (Satellite?) of which will either come pre-configured or self-configured.

I think the uses of these portable Data Centres are fairly limited however, and are probably confined to a few key areas:
- Disaster Recovery – As long as you can get your hands on one of these portable data centres fairly quickly (depending on business SLA’s), these could be very useful in providing a big punch fairly quickly without the need for costly ‘on standby’ equipment – You just need the space to put the truck, container or ship.
- Companies that have a large requirement to be very mobile – For example a news network, or a TV network covering motorsport, an events company that has a large IT dependency or even a geographical research / materials company (land or water)

I suspect the use for a floating Data Centre would be fairly limited – And probably for quite illegal activities (international waters). Which brings about an interesting question – Who’s laws would the data centre be liable to follow? And who would enforce them?

Anyway – That’s it from me – I’m back from holidays now, so you will start to see some more activity from me over the coming weeks.

Have a good one : - )
Phil

Microsoft LiveMesh – What’s it all about – And my initial experience

As I write this, I am installing the latest web based application from Microsoft called LiveMesh onto my laptop.

I’m not sure what to realistically expect, however the marketing catch phrase from the LiveMesh site “Live Mesh puts you at the center of your digital world, seamlessly connecting you to the people, devices, programs, and information you care about—available wherever you happen to be”.

This statement instantly gets me thinking about a seamless way of storing and accessing my files from any device that I have. I suspect that I’m not unlike most people – I have a work laptop, a personal PC and a mobile phone (running Windows Mobile).

Because I spend so much of my time at work I sometimes have my personal files on my work laptop (and vice versa). One such example is my current Uni assignment (on Cryptography). I do quite a bit of work on these assignments during my lunch break, and then I save the files off to a USB thumb drive to copy over to my home PC.

I know there are other various “cloud computing” type web sites and applications around that let you store your files online, however they are a hassle to use.

The Microsoft LiveMesh experience seems to be promising more than just another online repository for your files – And a quick overview of its features it looks like it just very well might live up to its promises. These features include:
- Multiple devices synchronised with the latest content from the LiveMesh site - This could include not only your own PC’s, but family and friends PC’s that you want to share files to – For example photo’s
- The ability to access the files from the LiveMesh site directly (no matter what PC you are using) – For example at an Internet Café
- The ability to structure your LiveMesh storage using Folders. From the looks of things these folders can be replicated back to the PC
- Remote Desktop connection sharing – Now this could be pretty cool indeed

The LiveMesh application currently only supports Windows XP and Vista – It looks like future enhancements will include synchronisation capabilities to your Windows Mobile Smartphone and also Mac OS.

So – It looks like Microsoft are making some pretty big promises here – I’ve just completed the installation on my Windows Vista laptop, and I’ll also install it on my home PC (Windows XP) in the next day or so, and will let you know what transpires.

Have a good one : - )
Phil

PS - The graphics do look pretty slick – Here are a couple of snap-shots:

Welcome and about me :-)

Hey everybody,
I’m Phil, and I thought I’d start a technology oriented blog about my thoughts and experiences in this wonderful industry.

First up – A little about me - I am currently a Systems Engineer for a small but global IT Analyst company. I manage all aspects of the IT infrastructure globally which includes everything from PC's to servers, networking equipment, email systems, internet connectivity and web delivery systems for all of our office and customer delivery locations.

I’m also a volunteer Systems Administrator for the online dive forum DiveOz

I have just completed my MCSE on Windows Server 2003, however I plan to obtain an MCITP: Enterprise Administrator (the MCSE equivalent for Windows Server 2008)

I'm also currently studying a Masters degree (Networking and Systems Administration) via distance education with Charles Sturt University, which I aim to complete at the end of this year.

Software wise I’m very lucky in that I have grown up with Microsoft technologies – My first PC that I actively tinkered with was running DOS 6, and I have had lots of experience with every Microsoft operating since (including Vista, which I have been running on my production laptop for over a year now) – I’ll be blogging more about Vista a little later on.

From a Server Software perspective I’m familiar with most of the various applications around, including Exchange, SQL, SharePoint, IIS, ASP.NET, LiveComms Server, VirtualServer, VMWare and Hyper-V (in Windows Server 2008).

From a Server Hardware perspective I've had most experience with HP servers and solutions. I have also used Dell and IBM servers; however my preference is definitely HP. If I’m feeling particularly vocal one day, I’ll tell you why I think HP produces far superior servers than its competitors.

Outside of technology, my interests include:
- SCUBA diving – I’m a PADI Rescue Diver, but have done most of the work for the DiveMaster course (just need to do the exams if I want it).
- Extreeme Underwater Ironing
- Boating
- Motor sport - V8 Supercars
- Watching movies
- And sometimes a quiet night on the couch with a good glass of red wine

Please feel free to drop me a line about anything IT - I’m happy to share my experiences, thoughts or comments about anything, and am happy to get comments or feedback!

Over the next few weeks, I have a number of exciting technology projects coming to fruition, one of which is beta testing a new Microsoft product called LiveMesh. From the LiveMesh site "Live Mesh puts you at the center of your digital world, seamlessly connecting you to the people, devices, programs, and information you care about—available wherever you happen to be"

I’ll be posting shortly with my initial feedback.

Anyway - Hope you find this blog valuable.
Cheers,
Phil P