Practical Virtualization Solutions: Virtualization from the Trenches

The 100% Practical Guide to Making Virtualization Work in Real Enterprise Environments

If you’re involved in planning, deploying, or managing virtualization, this book brings together all the field-proven, in-the-trenches answers and solutions you’ll need. Packed with examples and case studies, Practical Virtualization Solutions is a complete, self-paced, hands-on guide to creating a virtualized environment and driving maximum value from it throughout its entire lifecycle.

Kenneth Hess and Amy Newman present detailed costs, schedules, and deployment plans drawn from actual enterprise virtualization projects. You’ll learn what really works and what doesn’t and discover powerful ways to systematically control the costs of virtualization and streamline its management. The authors offer realistic guidance on choosing the best services to virtualize; selecting the right virtualization software, hardware, and vendor partners; troubleshooting and securing virtualized environments; and much more. Along the way, they answer crucial questions IT professionals face in working with virtualization.

Coverage includes

• Quantifying the time, hardware, labor, and downtime needed to implement virtualization
• Streamlining the transition from physical to virtual
• Comparing VMware ESXi, VMware Server, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, and other virtualization technologies
• Identifying opportunities to reduce cost and improve flexibility with open source virtualization technologies
• Explaining advanced techniques for simplifying virtual machine management
• Defining the right role for virtualization in networking and storage
• Automating virtual infrastructure management tasks

Online Sample Chapter

Comparing Virtualization Technologies

Sample Pages

Download the sample pages (includes Chapter 2 and Index)

Table of Contents

Foreword     xv

Acknowledgments     xvii

About the Authors     xix

Preface     xxi

Part I: Virtualization Basics and Technology Choices     1

Chapter 1: To Virtualize or Not to Virtualize?     3

Chapter 2: Comparing Virtualization Technologies     17

Chapter 3: VMware Server     25

Chapter 4: VMware ESXi     47

Chapter 5: Citrix XenServer     67

Chapter 6: Microsoft Virtual PC     87

Chapter 7: Microsoft Hyper-V     103

Chapter 8: VirtualBox     113

Part II: Applying Virtualization     135

Chapter 9: Server Virtualization in Action     137

Chapter 10: Desktop Virtualization in Action     161

Chapter 11: Network and Storage Virtualization in Action     175

Part III: Building the Virtual Infrastructure: Hardware's Role in Virtualization     191

Chapter 12: Form-Factor Choices and Their Implications     193

Chapter 13: Choosing a Vendor     205

Chapter 14: Beyond the Box     223

Part IV: From Development to Production: Managing the Virtual Infrastructure     237

Chapter 15: Laying the Foundation: The Planning Stage     239

Chapter 16: Deployment     253

Chapter 17: Postproduction: Wrapping It Up     265

Appendix: Virtual Machine Installation     273