2011 - Page 2 of 9 - TBL Networks

The Anywhere Office

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Alan Sears

I have often said that “work is not a place, work is where you are” to depict the ever changing workplace infused with mobile devices and new definitions of work-life balance. Most professionals today do not sit behind a desk from 8 to 5, but are out and about, taking meetings, making calls, or taking the kids to soccer practice. Whether it be in the parking lot of your next appointment or the sideline of a little league game, mobile devices today mean we are always connected and always a finger’s tap away from work. However, I recently saw the statistic that by 2013, 75.5% of workers in the United States will be mobile. Now while many of them will still have a desk in an office somewhere, this will also mean an increase in teleworkers as well. It’s no surprise that employees prefer to work from home, but technology is allowing more employers to be comfortable with teleworker as they are connected to them no differently as if they were in the office down the hall. Being able to see their productivity instantly, not to mention the increased work output from employees that don’t have to commute, is making many employers more open to allowing employees to work from home.

This increasing benefit for employees will mean a recruiting advantage for companies that are more developed in their teleworking policies. As the Internet generation of young adults enter the workforce, workplace mobility will undoubtedly be a key factor in their employment decisions. Are you preparing your business for the Anywhere Office? Morning staple to many, Starbucks Coffee is with a home-delivery bean subscription service. Now your employee truly doesn’t need to leave the home.

Back to the Basics with Virtualization Capacity Planning

Posted on October 17, 2011February 11, 2019 by admin

To be sure, there are plenty of new features to get excited about in vSphere 5.0. VMware has come a long way since 2002, when I first started using the technology. Often in the technology world, practitioners get excited about learning and implementing new technology without planning properly. They want to implement as fast as possible to bring about the benefits and innovation that the new technology has to offer. I believe that we have all been guilty of this at one point. So, this post is to remind all technology practitioners to take a step back and think about proper planning when implementing new technology projects. One of the basic tasks that should be done at the beginning of any virtualization design is capacity planning.

My role at TBL allows me to examine many virtual infrastructures. One of the common challenges that I see in many of these infrastructures is resource allocation after they have been running for a while. Workloads were virtualized quickly without proper capacity planning and by the team I am called in to assess the infrastructure, resources are strained in the environment. This point may come quickly if proper capacity planning is not performed up front. However, ongoing capacity planning must be performed periodically as moves, adds, and changes occur in the virtual infrastructure. Below are a few general recommendations for proper capacity planning:

Plan for performance, then capacity for production workloads – I have seen the opposite happen too many times to count. The storage capacity is planned for, but not the storage performance. Look at all workloads that will be virtualized. Measure the peak IOPS that will be required. Plan to fulfill the IOPS requirements, then add disks if necessary to meet the capacity requirements. This general approach will ensure a solid performance foundation.
Plan for peaks, not just averages – If you plan for averages, the environment may run OK until a performance spike is encountered. Then, performance may suffer for a critical workload. Think about things like month-end processing, student enrollment, or sales peaks. These times are when the environment needs the resources the most. Plan for the peaks accordingly.
Don’t forget about overhead – In a virtual infrastructure, there are some files and associated overhead required by the system to run the virtual workloads. These files may not seem like much by themselves, but in aggregate, they can add up to a lot. An example of something to plan for might be virtual machine swap files. In a vSphere infrastructure the virtual machine swap file size is the difference between the assigned memory and reserved memory for a virtual machine.

Ongoing capacity planning is needed as well to maintain a virtual infrastructure. This is where tools like vCenter Capacity IQ can help. Capacity IQ is capable of performing ongoing capacity planning, reporting, what-if scenarios and more. For example, if you want to see at what point you need to add more capacity in your infrastructure, Capacity IQ can model that based on your deployment patterns in the past. This is a very powerful analytic tool that can help you stay ahead of your capacity needs.

If we can plan from the beginning and utilize intelligent ongoing planning for capacity, then we can move from a reactive stance to a proactive stance while still being able to provide innovation quickly for the business. That’s a powerful combination. If you have questions about capacity planning, please feel free to contact me.

CUWL Update–WebEx Connect

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Patrick Tredway

Most reading this blog post will be quite familiar with the workspace licensing program (CUWL) Cisco introduced a few years back for its collaborative technologies. For those who are not as familiar, the introduction of the CUWL offering marked a shift in Cisco’s licensing model from counting endpoint devices, server instances, and features to a model à la Microsoft where user counts are the key metric.

This shift dramatically simplified orderability for customers and opened doors for them to deploy new services and adopt new features. Now, just like any other licensing model, CUWL is not perfect and we continually voice areas that need further attention. One such area is within the presences and instant messaging arena.

Historically your options under CUWL entitlement were restricted to premise based deployment scenarios – either the Unified Presence Server and Client (CUPS/CUPC) or entitlement to voice enable a Microsoft Office Communicator or Lync client (CUCI-MOC or CUCI-LYNC). This is all in the face of many organizations opting for a hosted solution or enterprise IM as opposed to on premise servers. WebEx Connect often chosen in a foray into hosted presence while also being owned by Cisco, it only seemed logical that Cisco create a path for WebEx Connect entitlement to make its way under the CUWL program.

Well, I’m happy to announce that as of October 17, 2011, WebEx Connect Cloud IM service is available to all new CUWL clients under both the standard and professional editions. Now the obvious next question is “what about existing clients?” – and unfortunately the details of how Cisco is going to handle that are still unclear. I’ll be sure to post commentary on that communication as soon as I receive it.

Some other notable changes to the CUWL program are:

Addition of 1:10 WebEx Meeting Center cloud port per CUWL Pro user
Option of adding named host licensing for WebEx Meeting Center
Addition to client choices including Jabber for Mac, iPhone, and Nokia

January 22, 1984

Posted on October 10, 2011 by Steve Glissman

Sunday, January 22, 1984 is known to Washington Redskins’ fans as “Black Sunday.” Following their 1983 Super Bowl triumph over the Miami Dolphins, the Redskins were heavily favored in their match up with the Black and Gray. However, the Raiders, powered by RB Marcus Allen’s legs and QB Jim Plunkett’s beautiful face, handily defeated the Redskins by a score of 38-9. (I personally blame Barry Manilow, who performed the National Anthem that night, for the loss; however, I blame Barry Manilow for a lot of things.)

Sunday, January 22, 1984 is also known for a commercial aired during the 3rd quarter of that game. On the night of the Redskins’ defeat, a company ran an advertisement which introduced their new product – a personal computer called the Macintosh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhsWzJo2sN4&feature=youtu.be

To be cliché, the advent of the personal computer was a game changer. The Macs’ innovations raised the bar of what we could expect from personal computers, and helped to distinguish Apple’s product from IBM and the PC clones.

At TBL, we use the phrase “techumanity” to describe the way technology allows people to connect in ways that are more human. Steve Jobs understood that ideal, and it was embedded in his company and products. In the coming weeks and months, Steve Jobs’ life and influence will be overanalyzed ad nauseam. To be brief, in Jobs’ passing I see the story of a man who did not accept things as they were, but saw them as they could be. And we are all better off because of it.

RIP Steven P. Jobs 1955-2011

Running a Lean Branch Office with the Cisco UCS Express

Posted on October 3, 2011February 11, 2019 by admin

Centralized management brings organizations more control over resources with fewer equipment assets in the field. There are many cases where equipment may be needed in a branch office to speed access time to a resource or eliminate the dependency on a network link to the central datacenter. It is very common to see at least one, if not multiple, servers at the branch office to provide file/print services or user authentication. Perhaps the servers are providing some service that is specialized to a particular business (banking applications come to mind here). Whatever service is being provided, sometimes it is better to maintain local access at the branch. So there are servers to maintain at the branch office, as well as networking gear and other such devices.

What if you could consolidate your branch office services with your router? That is exactly what the Cisco UCS Express is meant to do. The UCS Express is a Services-Ready Engine (SRE) module that works in Integrated Services Router Generation 2 (ISR G2) routers. This module is a server that you can run VMware ESXi on to provide branch office services. Here is an example of an ISR G2 device:

The slots you see at the bottom of the device is where the SRE UCS Express modules are located. A UCS Express module is seen below.

Here are a couple of the highlights of this architecture:

(1) or (2) 500 GB drive options are available (hot swap hard drive)
(1) or (2) Core CPU’s are available
4 or 8GB of RAM available
iSCSI Initiator Hardware offload if you need to connect to an external iSCSI device
There is direct SRE to LAN connectivity which reduces cabling
Maintenance is covered under SMARTnet

This architecture provides all that a branch office may need by virtualizing several branch office services onto the SRE UCS Express Module. The ESXi instance can be managed centrally by your existing vCenter installation. This gives you the benefits of local service access and centralized management while reducing the equipment needs at the branch office. Pretty slick.

If you would like to discuss how this architecture might be able to help your organization or want further technical details, please feel free to contact me.

The New Service Model

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Alan Sears

There is no substitute for face time with the right people. If you’re like most companies, you have a key set of employees who are experts in what they do. And the ability to maximize your client’s exposure to these individuals has a dramatic effect overall revenues and, ultimately, your bottom line.

For example: Regional banks typically have a group of highly talented loan officers or investment personnel. These experts usually have scheduled days to be at a particular branch location. As the number of branches grows, the number of times these key resources can be at a particular branch becomes severely impacted. What happens when a client prospect walks through the door and asks to see someone about refinancing a home or investing an inheritance? Telling them to “Come back on Monday” when the appropriate person will be onsite is not acceptable. As that potential business prospect leaves, you’re literally allowing money to walk out the door.

TBL has a solution. Leveraging high-definition video conferencing resources, TBL allows resources to efficiently “meet” prospects, clients and customers in a number of different locations without ever leaving his or her seat. The key to this solution’s effectiveness is the client and resources seeing each other at their actual size in high-fidelity video – we’re talking “reading the second hand on the other person’s watch” quality – providing an immersive experience akin to being in the same room together. It’s the next best thing to meeting in person. And TBL makes the next best thing possible now.

Cisco Jabber for Mac–General Availability

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Patrick Tredway

Cisco has released the first Jabber client for Mac OS X. The Jabber client supports both cloud based (WebEx Connect) and on-premise (CUPS) instant messaging and collaborative technologies. Cisco has made available or will subsequently make available the Jabber client for Apple iOS, Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Android, and Windows.

As a WebEx Connect customer, we’re excited to have the first support client for the Mac operating system.

Cisco Jabber

Existing WebEx Connect users may download the Mac client through their Org Administration Tool. Other users may download the file from CCO at: http://www.cisco.com/cisco/software/release.html?mdfid=283880684&flowid=29241&softwareid=284006014&release=8.6%281%29&relind=AVAILABLE&rellifecycle=&reltype=latest

What Fantasy Football Can Teach You About Your Data Center

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Steve Glissman

The return of football means different things to different people. For some, they strap on their shoulder pads, place a helmet on their head, and don their jersey before heading to the gridiron. For others, they load up a bowl with corn chips, turn on their laptop and television, and put on a jersey before sitting on a couch and wondering if their kicker is going to receive 7.1 points instead of his projected 6.9 points so they can beat the guy who sits in the cube across from him at work.

Yes, the arrival of autumn heralds the return of the world’s greatest fake sport – Fantasy Football . During this season, over 19 million people will “play” this “sport.” And, yes, I am one of those people who will manage their team, while not registering the irony of putting on athletic clothing so I can more effectively sit on my backside and stare at a various glowing rectangles all Sunday afternoon.

As I have found with other avenues of entertainment, I see how Fantasy Football provides us lessons regarding information technology solutions. In this case, I would like to point out some lessons that Fantasy Football can teach us about your Data Center.

Disaster Recovery/Have a back up plan

My number one draft pick this season was Jamaal Charles of the Kansas City Chiefs. Charles was ranked as a top five running back, and projected to have a great season … until I drafted him. (Yes, I take credit for his injury). After his unfortunate collision with the Detroit Lions mascot, Charles received a torn ACL, and his season was ended.

With Charles’ injury, my season could easily end in disaster. However, I was fortunate enough to plan ahead by drafting other Running Backs in case of injury, including the Buffalo Bills’ RB Fred Jackson. By having a back up plan, I still have a chance to contend for a pretend trophy.

With your data center, you too must have a disaster recovery plan. Unlike Fantasy Football, your data center actually means something in real life. In business, it is paramount for leaders to find ways to mitigate the risks to their businesses, protecting their employees, customers and investments. Extended down time or lost data equals lost productivity and lost profits.

In Fantasy Football, it is crucial to have a back up plan. Just like in disaster recovery, it is not a matter of if, but of when you will need to use it.

Value of planning ahead

When managing your Fantasy Football team, you have to factor in that your players will experience bye weeks. Every NFL team is assigned an off, or bye, week when they do not play. Accordingly, you must account for the weeks in which your players take off. You might have the best team in your league; however, if you have not planned ahead for when key positions are empty, you can put your season in jeopardy.

With your data center, it is not enough to focus on right now. You need to plan ahead to scale and grow your data center for future needs. At TBL, our data center engineers can assist you by planning for future growth, and testing to see that your current infrastructure is optimized.

In both Fantasy Football and Data Center, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

The power of defense

While it is not as exciting as drafting the best QB, or picking up the unknown Running Back who becomes a dominant player, picking a good Defense is key to your Fantasy Football success. In my first week matchup, my imaginary team squeaked out a 3.08 point victory. I need every point that I could muster that week. Fortunately for me, I had chosen San Francisco 49er’s Defense, which generated the highest points of Week 1. Without a strong defense, I would have lost.

Even if your data center is not large, defense is crucial for your success. During a recent interview with Work It Richmond, Bryan Miller of Syrinx Technologies, who partners with TBL Networks on system security, said that smaller organizations often think “that the bad guys don’t want the resources they own. They feel because they are small that whatever they own isn’t worth the trouble” and that hackers often go after “low-hanging fruit. If you present yourself an easy target, the bad guys will take advantage of it.” A strong defense is key to success in both Fantasy Football and Data Center.

While managing your Data Center might not involve keeping track of which Cincinnati Bengals are currently in jail, you can still find lessons from Fantasy Football to ensure victory in your systems management.

Memory Management in vSphere – Where we are at today

Posted on September 19, 2011February 11, 2019 by admin

This is a quick blog to discuss where vSphere is at with memory management today. vSphere has many mechanisms to reclaim memory before resorting to paging to disk. Let’s briefly look at these methods.

Memory Reclamation

Transparent Page Sharing (TPS)

Think of this as deduplication for memory. Identical pages of memory are shared with many VM’s instead of provisioning a copy of that same page to all VM’s. This can have a tremendous impact on the amount of RAM used on a given host if there are many identical pages.

Balooning

This method increases the memory pressure inside the guest so that memory that is not being used can be reclaimed. If the hypervisor were to just start taking memory pages from guests, the guest Operating Systems would not react positively to that. So, balooning is a way to place artificial pressure on the guest VM so that the VM pages unused memory to disk. Then, the hypervisor can reclaim that memory without disrupting the guest OS.

Memory compression

This method attempts to compress memory pages that would normally be swapped out via hypervisor swapping. This is preferable to swapping as there can be a performance impact when memory is swapped to disk.

Hypervisor swapping

This is the last resort for memory management. The memory pages are swapped to disk. New in vSphere 5 is the support for swapping these memory pages to SSD’s. This increases the performance when swapping is needed.

As you can see there are many memory management techniques in vSphere that allow greater consolidation ratios. The hypervisor in the virtual infrastructure does much more than just host guest VM images. There is a lot going on under the hood to consider before choosing a specific hypervisor to serve as the foundation for your infrastructure. Feel free to contact me if you would like to discuss any of the “under the hood” features of vSphere.

Improving Data Center TCO

Posted on September 19, 2011 by Alan Sears

Businesses are in the business of making money. While the model that a company chooses to attempt such a feat varies widely, the formula they all subscribe to is universal: revenue less costs equals profit. It is no wonder that the goal of most senior executives is to increase revenue, decrease cost, or both. The IT department for most organizations is seen as a cost center, and usually one that is in direct conflict with one of the three aforementioned goals. Yes, as technology continually improves, it seems the IT department wants to spend more and more. “Didn’t they just buy new servers six years ago?”

However, with the guidance of a data center consultant with expertise in virtualization, computing, and storage, the next expenditure in data center technology can improve operational costs of the IT department, and work in conjunction with the goals of executives. The consolidation of hardware and software that virtualization provides can allow for a reduction in many key factors that commonly contribute to the ongoing costs of supporting the data center. With the proper study ahead of time by skilled professionals, these areas can be identified, measured, and included in a plan for the next technology refresh that will improve the total cost of ownership for the IT department. At TBL, we have created a practice around 7 of these key areas that have the most impact on the data center. It takes a proven methodology and the discipline of carefully planned deployments with low level detail given to the migration from old to new, but savings can be realized in a virtualization project.

The main issue that many organizations that virtualize face is that they do not measure ANY factors, and therefore cannot claim success in virtualizing. While the ability to consolidate is a powerful one, simply reducing the quantity of something does not inherently means that the costs associated with operating it are reduced. Businesses who are planning to virtualize the data center should make sure to work off of a baseline of known cost factors so that the financial impact can analyzed. That is the true measure of success for a business.