Archive for May, 2011

Virtual Machine to array calculator

Posted: May 26, 2011 in Storage, Virtual Machines
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A lot of you probably have a sheet or formula, or maybe just a hard number in your head of how many vm’s you can run on a single server.  Some of that could be based on memory, core to vcpu ratio’s or it could just be based on, well that is what works best for me.  Either way you have some idea what to expect from your servers, but what about your storage?  For some of you this is really not a big issue, because you have scalable, grow-able storage.  But for some it could be, either way I put together a spreadsheet that might help.

The sheet takes things like RAID level, number of disks, disk size, LUN or volume size and server memory into consideration.  This may or may not be helpful to you, but I wanted to put it out there just the same.

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Here is a screen showing a server memory vm count.  I did this to give me a rough idea of where my memory utilization was going.  Now for hypervisors that support some type of memory sharing or management this may not be very useful, but if you are looking to get a certain memory utilization this might be useful.

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Based on your vm HD size this portion will let you know how much storage space you will need.  This example is based on a 30G vm HD and the Total Storage is in GB.  So if you have 5 vm’s you would need about 180GB of storage.

I think you get the idea behind this, but if you have any questions please post them in the comments or send me a note via the contact form and I will try and help out the best I can.

You can download the sheet here.

Cheers …

Dell Storage Forum 2011: Let the count down begin

Posted: May 13, 2011 in DellTechCenter, Storage
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Well this week is just about all but in the books, the second full week of May is over.  The NBA playoffs are down to just a few teams with the Eastern and Western Conferences just about set for next week.  Speaking of conferences … there are only three more weeks until Dell Storage Forum 2011 kicks off in Orlando, Florida and the Walt Disney World resort.

If you missed last years event well … you missed a lot.  There was great user interactions in the training sessions, great sessions on everything from Jumbo Frames to full blow site to site replication, keynotes from Darren Thomas and Michael Dell, fun, food, prizes and the Solutions Expo.

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This years conference is going to be even better.  This year we have opened the doors to include all of Dell’s Storage portfolio – Dell Compellent, Dell EqualLogic and Dell PowerVault.  Do not miss this chance to learn how to leverage the full potential of Dell Fluid Data technology, plus you might even get a sneak peak at our next storage platforms.

So what can you expect

  • Executive Keynotes – hear Michael Dell and other executives discuss the strategy behind Dell Storage, our vision for the future, our growing partner sales channel and joint innovation with leading technology alliance partners.
  • Technical Deep Dives – choose from dozens of breakout sessions across multiple concurrent tracks, including Dell EqualLogic, Dell Compellent, Dell PowerVault, Networking, Virtualization Application Solutions, and Intelligent Data Management.
  • Storage Best Practices – discover proven, real-world strategies for architecting and configuring the complete lineup of Dell Storage systems directly from engineers, storage architects, solutions integration specialists, product managers and other Dell experts.
  • Instructor-led Training – get certified in various aspects of Dell Storage by attending optional premium classroom training sessions held before and after the core customer conference and partner summit.
  • Hands-on Labs – test drive the latest Dell Storage functionality and solutions integration at your own pace in a live production environment, with experts available to help you navigate and answer questions.
  • Networking – share best practices and lessons learned with other storage enthusiasts, and get access to Dell thought leaders, technical experts and technology alliance partners, between sessions and at evening events, including the much-anticipated Epcot® Celebration.

Check out the agendas for both customers and partner via the Dell Storage Forum web site.  Stay tuned for more in the coming weeks prior to Dell Storage Forum 2011.  Also, jump over to the Dell TechCenter for more info on Dell Storage Forum and technical information on Dell’s Storage Portfolio.  You can also follow the conversation via Twitter by following the @DellTechCenter storage evangelists @iSCSIKing and @DennisMSmith.

Pssst, one more thing before I go, I have heard from a very reliable source that this year we are going to have a very special Dell TechCenter guest, so keep checking back for all the details …

Featured Video Of The Week: Host Integration Toolkit / VMware Edition

Posted: May 5, 2011 in Uncategorized
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The video of the week is on the Host Integration Toolkit / VMware Edition.  This is one video in a series of whiteboarding with Will videos, which you can find on our Dell TechCenter‘s YouTube channel.   This video will show how these free tools can help administrators expand their VMware environment and utilize advanced intelligence from the EqualLogic SAN to provide tighter integration.  You can find more information on this HIT kit on our EqualLogic Host Integration Tools for VMware page on TechCenter.  Be sure to check back next week for the video of the week.