2011 - Page 4 of 9 - TBL Networks

Virtualization Deployment Automation with vSphere 5

Posted on August 22, 2011February 11, 2019 by admin

I recently spoke at a lunch and learn event about “Security in a Virtualized World”. If one thing was made abundantly clear during the discussion, it was the fact that securing a virtual infrastructure is more complicated than securing a physical infrastructure. There are many moving parts to consider along with the hypervisor itself. For many years, I have been discussing the need for automation with my clients. It makes the infrastructure much easier to manage and from a security standpoint it helps to ensure that build policies are consistent for all of the virtual hosts in the infrastructure.

There have always been tools to automate a vSphere infrastructure ranging from Perl scripts to PowerCLI. With the release of vSphere 5 automation is becoming more and more a reality. When you think about automating a VMware infrastructure, you may think about writing scripts to perform certain tasks or spending hours on the “perfect” ESX build that can be deployed through automation. Scripts are still available and in some cases necessary for automation. However, with vSphere 5 we are beginning to see an “automation-friendly” environment built into the management tools that are given to us from VMware.

ESXi: Built for Automation

One of the most important aspects of maintaining a consistent environment starts with the hypervisor deployment itself. ESXi is the official hypervisor that will be deployed in vSphere environments moving forward. It has come a long way since Virtual Infrastructure 3. vSphere 4.1 saw the release of official LDAP authentication integration. This means that you can authenticate to your ESXi hosts using Active Directory. The vSphere CLI and vMA have many more commands available now. Also, PowerCLI is more feature rich with more cmdlets than ever before. Probably the most significant aspect of ESXi that makes it built for automation is its footprint on disk. Since ESXi only takes up a few hundred Megabytes on disk, it is easy to deploy from the network. While that would make it possible to install a common ESXi image across the infrastructure, vSphere 5 takes this one step further.

vSphere 5 Auto Deploy

Auto Deploy is a new deployment method in vSphere 5. This deployment method allows you to PXE-boot the ESXi hosts from the network, load a common image, and apply configuration settings after the image is loaded via vCenter Host Profiles. The idea is to maintain a consistent deployment throughout the infrastructure by eliminating human error. With this method, ESXi has literally zero disk footprint as the image is loaded into the memory of the host. The hosts become truly stateless and are decoupled from any underlying storage dependency. In other words, the host images are disposable. The hypervisor becomes just another part of the infrastructure, disappearing into the background like it should. After all, the virtual machines themselves run the applications. They are the real stars of the show. The system administrators should not have to think about maintaining the hypervisor itself. Let the infrastructure work for you instead of you working for the infrastructure.

Consistency is the key to any stable, secure infrastructure. An infrastructure component as important as the hypervisor should have a consistent, repeatable deployment that introduces as little human intervention as possible. vSphere 5 Auto Deploy makes this possible. You still have to do the work up front to ensure the hypervisor image is built properly. After that, you can let the hypervisor fade into the background and do what it does best. It can provide the best platform for running the applications that run your business.

Reach Out and Touch Someone

Posted on August 21, 2011 by Alan Sears

TBL made its first inter-company Cisco TelePresence call this past week. After provisioning a new MPLS circuit from Masergy, we gained access to the British Telecom node of the Global Video Exchange (GVE). Our inaugural call was to who else but our local Cisco office, and of course, the call was every bit as perfect as the ones we make to our other unit down the hall. Masergy has a great product with their variable rate DS3 offering, which allows end customers to adjust the amount of bandwidth they have provisioned (and thus are charged for) through a web portal. Need a little more bandwidth over the next 24 hours for that video conference or big backup? No problem.

But what really struck me about the TelePresence call is that I was communicating from my office to one of another company’s over a public network that wasn’t the Internet. Most of us are familiar with reaching out and touching someone over the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), but today most IP communications are forced to travel over the Internet to make it from company to another. And while the Internet has been the great equalizer in connecting the planet, it carries all kinds of traffic with equal treatment – which can be detrimental to real time media like video. But there I was, face to face with my friends in the Cisco office in all their 1080p-high-definition-100%-life-size-spacial-wideband-audio glory, and our packets were traveling over a purpose-built, packetized IP, quality of service enabled, public network specifically for connecting companies with Cisco TelePresence units. And all I did was dial a phone number – talk about reaching out and touching someone. And then it hit me: I am going to witness the death of the PSTN in my lifetime.

Sorry Alexander Graham Bell – it’s been a great run, but 135+ years after asking Mr. Watson to come there, voice alone over a copper circuit just isn’t good enough anymore. Yes, the public network of circuit-switched copper wires that connect us all together and provide that comforting and all too familiar hum of dial tone will go silent one day. Most of us are communicating over IP networks for voice and video today already, as are most businesses intra-company. But we are all dependent on the PSTN to reliably connect us together externally… until now. Cisco, AT&T, British Telecom, and Tata have connected themselves together to form the Global Video Exchange (GVE), and offer this packet IP network to clients who wish to communicate together – much like the PSTN of old. Consider the GVE the new PPTN (Public Packetized TelePresence Network), and the harbinger of a new global, public network for inter-entity rich media communications. If Ma Bell could only see us now!

TBL Is Cisco Gold Certified

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Alan Sears

Cisco Recognizes TBL Networks as a Gold Certified Partner

Richmond, VA (August 18th, 2011) – Cisco announced today that TBL Networks, Inc. has met the requirements and criteria necessary to earn the designation of Cisco Gold Certified Partner, the pinnacle partner certification available from Cisco.

Cisco Gold Certified Partners demonstrate the highest level of expertise with a minimum of four Cisco Voice Certified Internetwork Experts (CCIEs) on staff, and have achieved the highest level of credibility with a comprehensive range of expertise by achieving the four Cisco Advanced Specializations in Unified Communications, Routing and Switching, Security, and Wireless LAN. They have also integrated the deepest level of Cisco Lifecycle Services proficiency into their offerings and demonstrate a measurably high level of customer satisfaction.

“TBL Networks is extremely proud to be recognized as a Cisco Gold Partner, “said Alan Sears, President and CEO of TBL Networks, Inc. “This certification not only recognizes our success in offering the best technology with the most talented expertise in Central Virginia, but also recognizes our commitment to providing our clients with outstanding customer service.”

TBL Networks is the only Cisco Partner in the Commonwealth of Virginia with five Cisco Voice CCIEs, and holds all six Advanced Specializations that are available from Cisco.

About Cisco
Cisco (NASDAQ: CSCO) is the worldwide leader in networking that transforms how people connect, communicate and collaborate. Information about Cisco can be found at http://www.cisco.com. For ongoing news, please go to http://newsroom.cisco.com.

About TBL Networks, Inc.
TBL Networks provides a wide range of advanced technology solutions to clients. At TBL Networks, unparalleled service and support is our number one priority. With over 35 years of combined experience in Unified Communications, TBL is the number one provider for Cisco of their Unified Communications solutions for the Commercial market in Virginia. TBL’s Solutions Engineers have personally installed over 30,000 Cisco IP Phones and deployed over 2,700 Cisco Call Center Seats in customer networks around the world. For company information, please visit http://www.theblinkylight.com.

Five Reasons to Attend the RichTech Golf Tournament

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Steve Glissman

On Monday, September 12^th, RichTech will host its annual TechLinks Golf Tournament. TBL Networks is honored to serve as a Reception Sponsor for this event. Despite the fact that golf is not one of my strengths, I am very excited about the chance to participate and spend time with fellow members of the technology community.

Here are five reasons you should attend the RichTech TechLinks Golf Tournament

1) The course

TheTechLinks tournament is hosted at the Hermitage Country Club Founded in 1900, Hermitage is the second oldest club in the Commonwealth of Virginia. At my skill level, I am planning on spending a good deal of time searching for my ball in the woods. On the plus side, I have the opportunity to find the second oldest golf ball in Virginia.

2) Goodie Bags for all participants

Enough said.

3) Play golf on a Monday

In this contentious age, there are few things upon which we can universally agree. However, one truth is indisputable – Mondays stink.

Instead of dragging yourself into work for coffee and listening to THIS co-worker, you can enjoy the late summer weather on a beautiful private course while playing golf. At TechLinks Golf Tournament, you will have best of Monday of your year.

4) Make Caddyshack References

Making Caddyshack references is not always appropriate in the workplace, but it is always acceptable at the golf course. Have you signed up yet? Well …

5) Meet your peers

Serving over 300 companies and more than 3,000 people, RichTech today is the premier technology association in the Greater Richmond and Central Virginia area. The TechLinks Golf Tournament provides the chance for you to meet your peers in technology field while playing golf at a great course. What more could you ask for?

To learn more about RichTech and to become a contributing member of Central Virginia’s technology community, go to www.RichTech.com.

To purchase your tickets for RichTech’s Annual TechLinks Golf Tournament, click on this link.

New Features in Attendant Console 8.5/8.6

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Patrick Tredway

I typically refrain from blogging product update news, but that’s really more of a guideline than a rule. Specifically, there have been some recent changes to the attendant console product line from Cisco (ARC OEM) that look to bridge the feature gap between it and the legacy attendant console as well as quell some concerns a number of other areas.

Most notable of these changes are:

1) Session based licensing – Better known as concurrent user licensing, this change brings the attendant console product line back in line with most other Cisco collaboration products. This has long been asked for and well most certainly ease budget concerns for customers who have a number of people who could be managing a call queue at any one time.

2) Forced Delivery – This feature will have the attendants phone actually ring in lieu of the previous behavior of the console ringing first and the call being delivered to the IP phone after accepting the call. When compared to the legacy attendant console package, this behavior generates most of the complaints regarding difference in functionality.

3) Personal Directory Groups – Yet another feature that has been sorely missed for users who grew up on the legacy attendant console.

To round out the list, some other enhancements included in this release are music in queue, wait time overflow, and some additional search functionality, UC on UCS certification.

TBL Sponsors RichTech’s Annual TechLinks Golf Tournament

Posted on August 15, 2011 by Steve Glissman

TBL Networks, Inc. announced today that they will serve as a Reception Sponsor for RichTech’s Annual TechLinks Golf Tournament . This event is held on Monday, September 12 at the Hermitage Country Club in Manakin-Sabot, Virginia.

“TBL Networks is very happy to serve as sponsor for this great event,” said Alan Sears, President and CEO of TBL Networks, Inc. “RichTech is a vigorous advocate and outstanding facilitator for the technology community in Central Virginia, and the TechLinks Golf Tournament provides another chance for members of this community to get to know each other.”

RichTech is the premier technology association in Central Virginia and serves over 300 companies and 3,000 people from all sectors of technology. RichTech’s mission is to be a catalyst and a resource to connect these talented individuals within business, industry, government and education who work daily to provide growth and sustainability of the Virginia economy.

To learn more about RichTech and to become a contributing member of Central Virginia’s technology community, go to www.RichTech.com.

To purchase your tickets for RichTech’s Annual TechLinks Golf Tournament, click on this link.

vSphere 5 Profile-Driven Storage: Get VM Placement Right the First Time

Posted on August 8, 2011February 11, 2019 by admin

We all get in a hurry. When we get in a hurry we make mistakes. The following scenario has been played out plenty of times in a virtual infrastructure.

VM Administrator gets a request for a new VM to be deployed ASAP, which usually means yesterday.
VM Administrator looks through multiple datastores to determine a datastore with a sufficient amount of capacity.
VM Administrator picks the datastore and deploys the VM.

What if this particular VM was a database server and the log volume needed to be provisioned on a RAID1/10 datastore. Hopefully the datastores are named with the RAID level in the naming convention. But, what if they are not? Even if they are, it can be very tedious to wade through multiple datastores to find an appropriate datastore that meets both capacity and performance requirements. What if there was a way to “tag” certain datastores with characteristics that are meaningful to the VM administrator? That’s where the new “Profile-Driven Storage” feature comes in with vSphere 5.

Profile-Driven Storage allows user-defined “tags” and automated storage property discovery through the vStorage API’s for Array Awareness (VASA). Let’s take a look at the user-defined “tags” first.

User-Defined Storage Profiles

Very simply, the user-defined “tags” allow one to “tag” a datastore with meaningful text. In the example above, we could define an appropriate datastore as “RAID 1” in the datastore’s storage profile. Then, when the VM administrator provisions the VM, he or she simply selects the “RAID 1” storage profile as being applicable to the VM that is being provisioned. This ensures that the VM will be placed on an appropriate datastore because only those datastores that fit the “RAID 1” storage profile will be available as choices during the provisioning process. If more than one virtual hard drive will be in the VM then multiple storage profiles can be used. For example, you could use a “RAID 1” profile for one virtual disk and a “RAID 5” profile for another virtual disk.” The storage profiles ensure compliance and make it easier for the VM administrator to provision a new VM without human error.

VASA Storage Profiles

Arrays that can take advantage of VASA can provide storage characteristics for the VM administrator. Examples might be RAID Level, Deduplication, Replication, etc. One of these characteristics can be assigned by the system to the storage profile. This further eliminates human error and helps to ensure compliance during and after provisioning.

As you can see, Profile-Driven Storage ensures that VM’s get provisioned correctly the first time. No need to Storage vMotion the virtual machines around after the fact unless their storage requirements need to change. The above is a very simple example of what can be done with Profile-Driven Storage in vSphere 5. Profile-Driven Storage is flexible enough to fit many different use cases. It’s up to you VM admins out there to fit it to your particular use case.

Data Mining Drives Storage Requirements

Posted on August 7, 2011 by Alan Sears

I recently saw a YouTube clip of Erik Brynjolfsson, director of the MIT Center for Digital Business, discussing the concepts in his book, Wired for Innovation. Erik believes that we are only at the beginning of an era of IT-driven productivity gains. He cites companies like Harrah’s casinos that gather information on their customers with rewards cards who then use this data to model incentives to increase patronage from their clientele.

Erik talks about a recent trend in company data he has seen when comparing the top performers to the bottom performers that shows that the gap between these groups is widening at organizations that make better use of IT technologies to track historical business data. This is significant as the productivity of these two groups had paralleled each other until the current decade.

So what does this mean for a company’s storage requirements? With the competitive advantage Erik has shown in mining this data, there should be excellent justification in keeping more data around.

Check out the interview with Erik Brynjolfsson:

Developing Your Own Video Strategy

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Patrick Tredway

Following on the heels of our latest Lunch and Learn event, I wanted to share some of the thoughts and discussion points discussed therein. We must first recognize that video is here – like it has never been before. Having said that, video is most certainly not a new technology. In fact, many organizations have been utilizing some sort of video within their walls for decades now. So what’s different, and why now?

I argue that the proliferation of video enabled consumer devices will spawn a mass adoption of video related technologies in our personal lives. Think about it, if you had to run to an “email machine” every time you wanted to send an email, you probably wouldn’t use it as much. Proliferation and availability are intrinsically linked user adoption. This inevitably will translate into our professional careers à la instant messaging or social media (facebook, twitter).

Ok, so video is here, your user base is primed for its use, what does this mean for you? First and foremost, companies must begin developing a strategy and providing the technology base to host video services. Without doing so, corporate video content will most certainly make its way to internet based services that most certainly don’t have your corporations best interests at heart. I previously have used a few examples from YouTube of internal sales meetings and holiday parties. With a few keyword searches, I’m sure you could find many of the same.

Secondly, video isn’t something you can just get a quote for and subsequently buy. Video has an incredibly wide definition which forces us to plan for which use cases we are to tackle first, communicate that effectively, and then execute. A solution to provide point to point room based video will quickly spawn questions on how that can be connected to external parties or bridge multiple parties into the same conference. Each of these requires different technology investments and the last thing you want to do is tell your CEO that he can’t do something shortly after writing a big check!

Finally, you have to be able to provide this solution and compete will services that are provided on the internet free of charge. Now that’s a challenge!

Business Video: Not Just for Teleconferencing

Posted on August 1, 2011 by Steve Glissman

For the July edition of TBL’s Lunch & Learn, Patrick Tredway discussed the topic of “Business Video: Not Just for Teleconferencing.” Patrick explained that business video is now a medium used as a day-to-day aspect of business. More importantly, your employees are probably already using it. After showing the power and grace of Mr. TBL, Patrick showed examples of how some companies have already listed confidential information for the whole world to see on YouTube. These examples included a “how to” internal company policies, a sales meeting and the results of too much drinking a company Christmas party.

Patrick then discussed the proper methods and avenues for businesses to address video, in addition to demonstrating how it affects your network and infrastructure.

A special “thank you” to all those who attended our meetings in Richmond and Virginia Beach. Our guests provided a great questions which prompted several insightful discussions.

Our August Lunch & Learn topic is “Security in a Virtualized World.” Co-presenting with TBL’s Harley Stagner is Bryan Miller of Syrinx Technologies. Our two experts will explore the challenges and compliance issues regarding security and your virtual infrastructure. To learn more and to reserve your spot for either the Richmond or Hampton Roads date, please RSVP at TBL’s Lunch & Learn Eventbrite site.