antony jo the university of montana. virtualization the process of abstraction; making something...
TRANSCRIPT
VIRTUAL SOLUTIONS TO
REAL LIFE PROBLEMS
Antony Jo
The University of Montana
Virtualization
The process of abstraction; making something more abstract
Many types:ServerDesktopApplicationetc (Storage, Memory)
Terminology
Virtual Machine (VM)Software that emulates a machine.
Hypervisor Also known as the Virtual Machine Monitor
(VMM), the hypervisor is the software that allows hardware virtualization.
Provides the layer of abstraction between hardware and software.
Terminology (cont.)
Comparison
Hardware Hardware Hardware
OS Hypervisor OS
Traditional Type 1 Type 2
HypervisorVM VM
OS OSVM VM
OS OS
The Big Three
VMWare
Citrix
Microsoft
I Have Some Issues (…with servers)
We need to buy more servers and they are expensive
I just did a major patch on my server and now my server is BSOD
I need a bigger server room to fit all my servers
And the list goes on…
Server Virtualization
Why?
Minimal usage on server hardware Hardware consolidation = $$$
Less power consumptionLess datacenter costs
Flexibility (snapshots, migration, templates, etc)
Offerings from the Big Three VMWare ESX
ESXi is free
Citrix XenServerUpgrade to XenServer Essentials for
advanced features
Microsoft Hyper-VFree
Considerations
Start simpleStore locallyBackup VMs as necessaryNo high availability
Or design a redundant solution with shared storageMultiple HostsUse a shared storage (i.e. SAN)Redundant, but high cost
Other Considerations
Not everything should be virtualizedSQL Server, Peripherals
Redundancy concerns if not using shared storage solution
Be careful of IO Operation/sec (IOPS) More variables in troubleshooting
What We Do
Tested both VMWare ESXi and Citrix XenServer
Decided to go with Citrix XenServerGoes great with XenAppBetter hardware utilization on the free
version Considering shared storage solution P2V tools are a lifesaver
DEMO
An insider look to one of the virtual server hosts
Citrix XenServer 5.5
A New Challenge Appears!DESKTOPS! As number grows, management
becomes more difficult
Short list of issues: Security Hardware Failures Application compatibility Lifecycle Power Consumption etc
Desktop Virtualization
Why?
Server Virtualization is so great, so why not virtualize Desktops?
Enable users to customize, but still give Administrators ability to manage
Ability to access your desktop from anywhere (not tied to physical machine)
Two Different Approaches Terminal Services (TS)
Users login to terminal servers, where applications are installed centrally.
Less customization, Easy to maintain Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)
Provide users with virtual desktops provisioned by hypervisor.
More customization, Difficult to maintain
Illustration
VDI
Hardware
OS
User User User User User
TS
Hardware
Hypervisor
VM VM VM VM VM
OS OS OS OS OS
User User User User User
Other considerations
TS Easy to set up
Server 2003 / Server 2008TS Client Access Licenses (CALs)
VDI Considerable complexity OS Licenses, Storage, Performance, etc. VMWare View & Citrix XenDesktop
In Our Environment
Terminal Services with Citrix XenAppICA sessions vs. traditional RDP sessionsManage loads / logon restrictions
Promote Thin Clients Citrix Access Gateway for off campus
users We’re looking into VDI, but we’re
probably not going jump into it, yet
DEMO
This is a good to time to show some examples
Citrix Delivery Services Console (DSC)
Wait! I still have other problems
I just upgraded my Internet Explorer to version 8, and now my Death Star doesn’t work.
IT’S A TRAP!
Application Virtualization
Let’s separate the application from the user environment
Some of the applications that can helpVMWare ThinAppCitrix XenAppMicrosoft App-V
Other Interesting Topics
Client Virtualization Type 1
Citrix XenClient
Interesting idea, still very new
Type 2
Parallels for Macintosh, XP Mode in 7
Works quite well, but VMs take a performance hit
Other Topics
Empowered Users Bring Your Own PC (BYOPC) Others…
Closing Remarks
Server Virtualization is very useful Try it out if you haven’t already
Desktop VirtualizationTS is good, VDI is still too early
Other VirtualizationDepends, it might be useful
Questions
Any further questions?
Thank you
I hope you enjoyed the presentation and found it useful.
Please fill out the evaluation form at http://resnetsymposium.org/rspm/evaluation
Contact Info:
Antony Jo