As I have done since version 3.5, I'm charting the storage changes in VMware's latest release of vSphere, 5.1. Detailed at VMworld but not released as of this writing, vSphere 5.1 is lauded for eliminating the "vTax" and bringing features like replication, a revised backup application, and shared-nothing vMotion. Unlike version 5, which included many new technical storage … [Read more...] about Storage Changes in VMware vSphere 5.1
FCoE
Eight Unresolved Questions About FCoE
Before the holidays, I posed a question on Google+ that generated quite a bit of interest and feedback. Now that it has settled down a bit I'd like to summarize the unresolved elements to make FCoE truly a world-class storage interconnect. Setting the Stage FCoE has been a controversial topic in both storage and networking, and for good reason. No one would deny that Ethernet … [Read more...] about Eight Unresolved Questions About FCoE
Multi-Hop FCoE Is Not Ready For Prime Time (Yet)
Apparently my "bias" against FCoE is showing. I asked a question, Will 16 Gb Fibre Channel Derail FCoE?, and stirred up controversy and a series of responses: Metz, Reams, Onisick and lots of Twitter talk. Although FCoE wasn't really the topic of that little post, some readers criticized my statement that FCoE isn't "really ready for prime time at this point." So let's talk … [Read more...] about Multi-Hop FCoE Is Not Ready For Prime Time (Yet)
Why I Am Biased Against FCoE
I stirred up a lot of controversy last week after posting what I thought was a fairly innocuous question: Will 16 Gb Fibre Channel Derail FCoE? That short post focused on the prospects for 16 Gb FC and was the result of questions I received from the audience at Interop New York. Yet the resulting controversy is all about the fitness of FCoE and my personal motivations. So I … [Read more...] about Why I Am Biased Against FCoE
Storage Changes in VMware vSphere 5
VMware officially launched their next-generation (version 5) enterprise server virtualization product line this week under the "vSphere 5" name. As I've been doing for the last few major VMware releases, I'm focusing this post on the storage changes present in vSphere 5. For more information on earlier updates, see my articles: Storage Fixes in VMware ESX Server 3.5 Update … [Read more...] about Storage Changes in VMware vSphere 5