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Parallels Server Beta 2 Download

March 5, 2008 in 64bit, Download, Parallels, linux, mac, server, software, virtual machines, virtualization, windows | No comments

You can now register to download Parallels Server Beta 2!

From the announcement:

Key Features (Parallels Server Beta 2)

	Hardware-optimized hypervisor-based virtualization solution.
	Installable on host servers running Linux, Mac OS X and Windows, including the Windows Server 2008.
	Bare metal version for non-OS server installation.

	x64 (64-bit) and x86 (32-bit) host and guest OS support, including any combination of more than 50 different guest OSes in secure, high-performing VMs.
	4-way guest SMP and multi-core support.
	Integrated toolset includes Parallels Tools, VM backup and Parallels Transporter (the P2V migration tool).
	Parallels Management Console, an easy-to-use, multi-server management tool is included.
	Support for Intel VT-d hardware acceleration extension for hardware resource dedication to VMs.
	Intel VT-x and AMD-V hardware-assisted acceleration support.
	Open APIs and SDK for extensible management.
	Command line interface (CLI) and scripting.

Novell to Acquire Platespin for 205M

February 25, 2008 in Data Center, Novell, Platespin, Sitescape, SuSE, VMWare, gnome, linux, software, virtual machines, vm | 1 comment

More purchases and conglomeration on the way this year.

The buzz at VMworld Europe, before it has even started, is that Novell is to purchase Canadian data center management software company Platespin. Novell has now posted the news on their site, and many are scrambling to figure out where this will lead them as the software is very popular in the VM market. (UPDATE: Platespin have posted their announcement regarding the Novell acquisition as well)
Novell is starting to grow again: it now owns SuSE Linux, Ximian (original makers of Gnome), and just recently purchased open colaboration vendor SiteScape.

If you’d like more info about the acquisition, feel free to register for the Novell-Platespin webinar.

From the Platespin announcement:

On February 25, 2008, Novell announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire PlateSpin Ltd. The combination of Novell’s platform and automation management with PlateSpin’s leading solutions for workload relocation, protection and provisioning will give customers the agility to cross physical and virtual boundaries so IT can work together. Both organizations are focused on helping customers maximize the strategic value of the heterogeneous data center. Novell and PlateSpin will deliver products for complete workload lifecycle management and optimization for Linux, UNIX, and Windows operating systems in the physical and virtual data center. Below you will find details about the acquisition and what it means to current and future PlateSpin customers and partners.

From the Novell announcement:

The acquisition of PlateSpin will allow Novell to offer customers a full solution stack with a powerful virtualization platform and a best-in-class heterogeneous management solution. Together, Novell and PlateSpin will solve many of the data center challenges that customers face today, including:

Relocation: PlateSpin provides a completely integrated product suite that automates the assessment and migration phases of data center initiatives, like server consolidation, data center relocation and hardware upgrades, to help customers reduce costs, power consumption and space in the data center.
Protection: PlateSpin’s disaster recovery solutions offer affordable workload protection that leverages virtualization technology to protect both physical and virtual servers in the data center, for improved security and business continuity.
Provisioning: Using PlateSpin’s technologies, customers will have a single approach to imaging and configuring physical and virtual workloads regardless of platform. This eliminates the manual install process and dramatically reduces the time to provision new server workloads. It will also enable customers to address changing resource requirements at peak demand times as well as in test lab scenarios.
Optimization and Management: Novell and PlateSpin optimize the balance between physical and virtual infrastructure by automatically monitoring and making infrastructure adjustments based on server availability and workload demand. By automating the process and increasing the visibility into how workloads use physical and virtual resources over time, customers will be able to increase server utilization and optimize their data centers by better addressing common workload movement challenges.

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The 10 Best VMware Virtual Appliances

February 21, 2008 in Adsense, Appliances, Astaro, ESX, FreeBSD, Joomla, NagiOS, Nostalgia, OpenBSD, OpenSuSE, PHPMyAdmin, SNMP, Trac, VI, VI Client, VMWare Server, Virtual Center, Virtualisation, Wiki, linux, software, ubuntu, vm, wordpress | No comments

This list is subjective, and you’ve been warned!

All of these virtual appliances have been tested with ESX server, and may have issues elsewhere.

For appliances that needed it, I used VMware Converter, the version that ships with Virtual Infrastructure 3.5 (VI3.5).

Please note that both ESX 3.5 and Virtual Center 2.5 are available as trials from VMware currently, and I would highly recommend trying them out as it really is night and day compared to VMware Workstation, Server and Player.

That said, for the most part you’ll be fine working with VMware Server 2.0 – it’s free and has a special version of VMware Infrastructure Client to boot.

The list:

Astaro Security Gateway – This is a must in any build for me. I use this to bridge between my LAN/WAN and the virtual networks that I create. There is a 10-device, 1000 connection “home user” license available from My Astaro that should be more than sufficient to get you up and running with a clean, secure virtual network.
Ubuntu 7.10 JeOS Mini-image – this image weighs in at only 70MB or so, expands to roughly 200MB, has apt-get installed, and is a perfect candidate for building virtual appliances with. VMware tools is installed, so you don’t need to worry about things like date and time sync.
OpenBSD 4.2 – The OpenBSD image is great for getting started in the OpenBSD world: learning the shell, commands, networking, and in my case, firewalling. The verison I use comes from Chrysaor.info, but feel free to use your own.
OpenSuSE 10.3 – I can’t live without this virtual appliance – I use it for just about everything, and is the first appliance installed in any environment. Note that it is a bit bloated, containing USB, sound and other components typically not needed in a virtual environment. On the other hand, since it’s tried and tested on my end, it’s a lifer.
Trac – I use Trac as a wiki and VM staging log. I consider all VMs, hosts and Virtual Center as software projects, and monitor changes closely. If ever I need to pull up quick info about a virtual machine, host, network, router or firewall, it’s all in Trac.
Wordpress – I use my Wordpress virtual machine to stage different versions of blandname, to test updates, upgrades, and plugins. This also allows me to change themes, move Adsense blocks around, and generally to play without fear of losing revenue or breaking something.

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Design Useable Applications

December 21, 2006 in Design, Development, Guidelines, HIG, Interface, Java, KDE, Useability, apple, gnome, linux, mac, macintosh, software, sun | No comments

I’ve been reading the IndieHIG (Independent Human Interface Guidelines) a lot lately, being a fan of Apple’s original HIG, and (to a lesser extent) the Sun Java HIG as well.

While it’s great that they are taking on the Macintosh apps that are not aligning to standards, they don’t really apply anywhere else at all, and that’s a real shame. What the venerable Apple HIG really had going for it was that it could be applied anywhere, and that’s why it was so popular.

I really think the new HIGs to be watching are those from Gnome HIG and KDE HIG as more developpers are involved and the rules can be applied to all types of applications, and in many environments.

But hey, keep up the good work IndieHIG – just change your name to something more suitable like Indie Apple HIG.

Latest from blandname technical support forum

November 14, 2006 in 64bit, Analytics, Asterix, CRM, Desktop, Digg, Exchange, FreePBX, Google, HeatMap, MSDN, Machine, Management, Microsoft, MySQL, OSS, Office, Open, Open Source, PBX, PHP, Pandion, RDC, RDP, RDP 6, RedHat, Remote, Remote Desktop, Remote Login, Remote Management, SEM, SEO, SQL, Source, Spam Karma 2, Statistics, Stats, SugarCRM, TS, Terminal, Terminal Server, TrixBox, VMTN, VMWare, VMWare Server, VNC, VPC 2K7, Virtual, Virtual Machine, Virtual PC, Virtual PC 2007, Virtual Server, VoIP, Windows Vista, XP, apache, bbpress, blandname, code, htaccess, linux, modrewrite, office 2007, operating system, os, plugin, programming, rewrite, server, software, solaris, terminal services, theme, vTiger, virtual machines, virtualization, vista, vm, web, web design, web development, webdesign, weblog, weblog tools, windows, wordpress, workstation | No comments

Since installing bbPress on the forum.blandname.com subdomain, I’ve become addicted to the rapid posting workflow: add topic, title, description and post! It’s 4 steps and is over so quick I’ve been thinking about making a bookmarklet that will automate the task for me. Here’s the latest smaller posts I sent there, but should some day expand upon here (I’ll use blandname for longer posts from now on):