VMware is in an enviable but tricky situation: The company must work closely with hardware partners, keeping these prime sales and promotional channels happy and supportive. But VMware must also innovate around proprietary OEMs, subverting their products with integrated software before a rival steps up with an integrated alternative. This two-prong "coopetition" strategy has … [Read more...] about VMware’s Hardware Partner Strategy: Heads I Win, Tales You Lose
VMworld
VMworld US 2012, San Francisco
At the end of August, I'm headed to San Francisco for VMworld US 2012! I say this with quite a bit of excitement because VMworld is always a highlight of my year but also because of the fun stuff I have planned this year: A special Tech Field Day Roundtable discussion, fun meetups like VMunderground, and of course lots of great technical content! Bringing Tech Field Day to … [Read more...] about VMworld US 2012, San Francisco
The I/O Blender Part 3: Behold the Power of the Demultiplexer
Virtualization has disrupted the I/O path, reducing the value of enterprise storage arrays. But all is not lost: An effort is afoot to make things right by increasing communication between hypervisor and array and demultiplexing data before it is stored. “What we have here is a failure to communicate” The core problem with the I/O blender is that virtual machine disk images … [Read more...] about The I/O Blender Part 3: Behold the Power of the Demultiplexer
Subscribe to my new Events newsletter!
I'm a really busy guy. Along with my Tech Field Day event series, I'm also doing a day-long seminar series with Truth in IT. And I attend many industry events, too! I've long maintained a general calendar of IT industry events, along with my own schedule appearing in the sidebar of the blog. Now I'm adding another way to keep track of me: An events newsletter! I'll be … [Read more...] about Subscribe to my new Events newsletter!
Are You a Hypervisor Hugger or a Storage Stalwart?
The time has come to take sides on the core question of storage for virtual servers: Do you want storage intelligence to live in the hypervisor or the array? Most administrators are already lining up on one side or the other, unintentionally casting their vote while the rest flounder. But the storage industry must wake up and embrace the divide. Hypervisor Huggers … [Read more...] about Are You a Hypervisor Hugger or a Storage Stalwart?