- Why OpenStack is much more than just hype
- A summary of key OpenStack technologies
- Why to consider converged infrastructure for building private clouds
- The right way to scale-out OpenStack deployments
Watch the webinar here!
//Richard
Archive
Posts Tagged ‘deployment’
OpenStack and Nutanix – perfect match! (perfect with VMware and Microsoft as well of course) – #Nutanix, #OpenStack, #IaaS
May 2, 2014
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This is a good post by Dwayne Lessner around how perfect match OpenStack and Nutanix is (not just OpenStack of course, Nutanix rocks with VMware and Microsoft as well)!
Nutanix NDFS also provides an advanced and unique feature set for OpenStack based
private clouds. Key features include:
- Simplicity – The same great platform that simplified your virtualisation deployment can simplify the compute and storage deployment for key OpenStack services (Glance, Nova, Horizon, Keystone, Neutron, Cinder, and Swift)
- Single Scalable Fabric – NDFS provides a single fabric for data storage that integrates seamlessly with OpenStack services. NDFS-based storage is easy to provision, manage, and operate at scale.
- Hypervisor Agnostic – Just like OpenStack, Nutanix NDFS was designed from the ground up to be hypervisor agnostic. Nutanix enables customers to choose between KVM, Hyper-V, and the VMware ESXi hypervisor for deployments of OpenStack.
- Enterprise Ready – Nutanix enables a full set of enterprise storage features including Elastic Deduplication, Compression, In-Memory and Flash-based Caching, VM-Data Locality, intelligent Information Lifecycle Management (ILM), Snapshots, Fast Clones, and Live Migration.
Read more here.
Here you also have the link to the webinar with topic:
Building OpenStack on a Single 2U Appliance
OpenStack promises to be the open source cloud operating system. Automated provisioning and management of network, server and storage resource via a single dashboard is great, but how can you get the same one-stop-shop simplicity for the underlying infrastructure?Attend this advanced private cloud webinar and learn:
Categories: All, Cloud, Infrastructure, Nutanix, OpenStack, Storage
Cinder, Cloud, computing, deployment, design, ESXi, Glance, Horizon, Hyper-V, hypervisor, IaaS, Information Lifecycle Management, Keystone, KVM, Life-cycle, Microsoft, NDFS, Nova, Nutanix, Nutanix NDFS, OpenStack, perfect match OpenStack, Platform, private, private clouds, Swift, Virtual, VM, VMWare
#App-V 5.0 Capacity Planning – #Microsoft via @micheroth and @vkleinerde
February 21, 2014
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This is a good article, have a look at this if you’re planning some App-V 5.0 capabilities!
The following recommendations can be used as a baseline to help determine capacity planning information that is appropriate to your organization’s App-V 5.0 infrastructure.
 Important |
|---|
| Use the information in this section only as a general guide for planning your App-V 5.0 deployment. Your system capacity requirements will depend on the specific details of your hardware and application environment. Additionally, the performance numbers displayed in this document are examples and your results may vary. |
Determine the Project Scope
Before you design the App-V 5.0 infrastructure, you must determine the project’s scope. The scope consists of determining which applications will be available virtually and to also identify the target users, and their locations. This information will help determine what type of App-V 5.0 infrastructure should be implemented. Decisions about the scope of the project must be based on the specific needs of your organization.
| Task | More Information |
|---|---|
| Determine Application Scope | Depending on the applications to be virtualized, the App-V 5.0 infrastructure can be set up in different ways. The first task is to define what applications you want to virtualize. |
| Determine Location Scope | Location scope refers to the physical locations (for example, enterprise-wide or a specific geographic location) where you plan to run the virtualized applications. It can also refer to the user population (for example, a single department) who will run the virtual applications. You should obtain a network map that includes the connection paths as well as available bandwidth to each location and the number of users using virtualized applications and the WAN link speed. |
Determine Which App-V 5.0 Infrastructure is Required
| Important |
|---|
| Both of the following models require the App-V 5.0 client to be installed on the computer where you plan to run virtual applications. You can also manage your App-V 5.0 environment using an Electronic Software Distribution (ESD) solution such as Microsoft Systems Center Configuration Manager. For more information see Deploying App-V 5.0 Packages by Using Electronic Software Distribution (ESD). |
- Standalone Model – The standalone model allows virtual applications to be Windows Installer-enabled for distribution without streaming. App-V 5.0 in Standalone Mode consists of the sequencer and the client; no additional components are required. Applications are prepared for virtualization using a process called sequencing. For more information see, Planning for the App-V 5.0 Sequencer and Client Deployment. The stand-alone model is recommended for the following scenarios:Full Infrastructure Model – The full infrastructure model provides for software distribution, management, and reporting capabilities; it also includes the streaming of applications across the network. The App-V 5.0..
- With disconnected remote users who cannot connect to the App-V 5.0 infrastructure.
- When you are running a software management system, such as Configuration Manager 2012.
- When network bandwidth limitations inhibit electronic software distribution.
Continue reading here!
//Richard
Categories: All, App-V, Microsoft
2012, App-V, Architecture, capacity, deployment, Installer, Microsoft, planning, SCCM, System Center, windows
Making #OpenStack Grizzly Deployments Less Hairy – #Puppet, #PuppetLabs
October 29, 2013
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Today, I’m excited to announce a new module from Puppet Labs for OpenStack Grizzly. I’ve been working on this module with the goal of demonstrating how to simplify OpenStack deployments by identifying their independent components and customizing them for your environment.
The puppetlabs-grizzly module is a multi-node deployment of OpenStack built on the puppetlabs-openstack modules. There are two core differences in how it handles deploying OpenStack resources. First, it uses a “roles and profiles” model. Roles allow you to identify a node’s function, and profiles are the components that describe that role. For example, a typical controller node is composed of messaging, database and API profiles. Roles and profiles allow you to clearly define what a node does with a role, while being flexible enough to mix profiles to compose new roles.
The second difference is that the module leverages Hiera, a database that allows you to store configuration settings in a hierarchy of text files. Hiera can use Facter facts about a given node to set values for module parameters, rather than storing those values in the module itself. If you have to change a network setting or password, Hiera allows you to change it in your Hiera text file hierarchy, rather than changing it in the module.
Check out parts 1 and 2 of the demo, which walks you through how to deploy OpenStack with the puppetlabs-grizzly module.
Multi-node OpenStack Grizzly with Puppet Enterprise: Deployment (Part 1 of 2)
Categories: All, Cloud, Infrastructure, OpenStack
automation, components, database, deployment, enterprise, Grizzly, Hiera, IaaS, installation, module, network, node, OpenStack, Orchestration, PaaS, profiles, Puppet, Puppet Enterprise, Puppet Labs, PuppetLabs, setup
How To: #XenMobile #MDM 8.5 Deployment Part 3: Policies – #Citrix
September 10, 2013
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And here U have part 3 of Adams great blog post series!
In this 3rd part of my 7 part series on XenMobile MDM 8.5 we will focus on policies. Policies within MDM allow you to control a multitude of features on your end users mobile devices, including: WiFi, Email, VPN, Location Services, most all functionality of the device (camera, FaceTime, etc), AppStore access, etc. Most configuration variations you do to control and limit/restrict/configure your end users devices will be done from this tab. This tab is also the location where we can create some automated actions that include notifying your users when they have fallen out of compliance.
If you would like to read the other parts in this article series please go to:
- How To: XenMobile MDM 8.5 Deployment Part 1: Installation
- How To: XenMobile MDM 8.5 Deployment Part 2: Basic Configuration
In this article I was to cover a “base” set of policy configurations that will give you a feel of how the policies work in general. By no means does this cover the breadth of what you can do with MDM, but it at least gives you a glimpse.
I want to accomplish the following in this article:
- Set a passcode policy on the device
- Block iCloud from syncing documents
- Preconfigure a WiFi network on my device (so that your users could come into the office with WiFi already configured and never have been given the password)
- Blacklist Dropbox, Box, and SkyDrive applications
- Notify the user their device as Out of Compliance (OoC) if those apps are installed
- Mark the device as OoC in the dashboard
Later in this series we will build upon the policies by adding applications to push to our users and ultimately roll it all together in a Deployment. For the purposes of this article (and the fact I’m a die hard Apple fan) the only devices I own are Apple..so this will all be iOS based. If your Android, first off I’m sorry, and second off it should still be similar 
.
.Configure a Passcode Policy
Step 1. Navigate to the web console (usually http/s://mobile.yourdomain.com/zdm and login.
Step 2. Navigate to the “Policies” tab, then iOS->Configuration. You should have two policies that were installed by default with the console, one of them being a Passcode policy. Highlight it and click “Edit”
Step 3. Leave these settings as default, click on the “Policy” tab.
Step 4. Modify to suit your requirements. Here I am requiring a passcode, allowing simple passwords, minimum length of at least 4, and auto-locking the device after 2 minutes of inactivity. When….
Continue reading here!
//Richard
Categories: All, Citrix, Device Management, XenMobile
Android, blacklist, camera, Citrix, compliance, configuration, deployment, device camera, email, installation, iOS, Location, location services, MAM, MDM, mobile device management, Services, SkyDrive, software, Technology, VPN, WiFi, XenMobile
#XenDesktop 7 and #AppController setup – #Citrix, #MAM – via @msandbu
June 27, 2013
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Good job on this blog post by Marius Sandbu!
XenDesktop 7 setup and AppController setup
So the big day is here, XenDesktop 7 is released from Citrix and with it ends the old XenApp architecture.
Support for Server based session hosts is still there but the architecture is merged into XenDesktop.
Other features include:
App-V integration
License console integrated into Studio
Storefront administration also from the same console.
The list goes on and pictures say more than a thousand words.
(Can also say that Citrix also released a new version of the Receiver platform for both Mac and Windows today, which includes support for XenDesktop 7 and Storefront.
http://blogs.citrix.com/2013/06/25/receiver-for-windows-4-0-released-today/
http://blogs.citrix.com/2013/06/25/whats-new-with-receiver-for-mac-11-8/
XenDesktop 7 can be downloaded from Mycitrix.com à
http://www.citrix.com/downloads/xendesktop.html
Now the installation is pretty straight forward just choose Standard delivery controller install and it will include all of the needed components. After they are installed we need to create a deployment.
When you start Desktop Studio we choose create new deployment.
So we create a new site…
Continue reading here!
//Richard
Categories: Citrix, CloudGateway, MobileSolutions, XenDesktop
4.0, 7, AppController, Citrix, deployment, desktop studio, License, Receiver, software, StoreFront, Technology, windows, XenDesktop
How to avoid the 7 pitfalls of desktop virtualization
April 18, 2013
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Have a look at this!
When it comes to desktop virtualization, we’ve all messed up. Some of us more than others.
But the best among us tend to learn from our mistakes so we don’t repeat them. And the really smart ones learn from others’ mistakes so they don’t have to collect the bruises themselves.
That’s the spirit behind our latest eBook for desktop virtualization project teams:
The 7 Big, Bad Pitfalls of Desktop Virtualization Deployment:
Very avoidable ways things can go wrong (and how to avoid them)
This eBook is all about helping you succeed with your Citrix desktop virtualization deployments. It distills the expertise of our top Citrix consultants into seven of the most common mistakes that project teams make.
And each pitfall has a short list of evasive actions to take to make sure you don’t fall in. It’s a quick read and you’ll come away with some useful ways to keep your next project on track.
Go on: Download it now
BTW – The eBook is brought to you by the team behind the Citrix Project Accelerator, the all-singing, all-dancing desktop transformation project management environment. If you haven’t set up a project in it yet, you’re in for a treat.
User-centric application delivery with Microsoft System Center and the #XenApp Connector for Configuration Manager
March 15, 2013
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Another good blog post from Citrix:
This week we are happy to announce the release of the XenApp Connector for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager (a.k.a. Project Thor), marking the culmination of several months of collaboration between Citrix and Microsoft.
System Center 2012 Configuration Manager helps IT empower people to use the devices and applications they need to be productive, while maintaining corporate compliance and control. It provides a unified infrastructure for mobile, physical, and virtual environments that allows IT to deliver applications and manage user experiences based on identity, connectivity, and device.
More so than any previous release of Configuration Manager, the 2012 release supports the model of user-centric IT management. The new focus of Configuration Manager is one of empowering users by putting them at the center of the IT universe; one that supports user self-service, bring-your-own-device initiatives, workforce mobility, and the overall IT consumerization trend. We are very excited about the power this user-centric model provides and how that model is realized via integration of Configuration Manager and XenApp.
So what does the XenApp Connector do? Put simply, it extends the reach of admins using Configuration Manager to a much broader range of devices and user locations. Historically, Configuration Manager has been used for management of Windows OS & applications deployed to Windows PCs, Windows laptops, Windows Servers and Windows Phones operating within the traditional IT periphery – in other words Active Directory domain joined machines.
The XenApp Connector and Citrix Receiver extend the reach of Configuration Manager to deliver apps not just to Windows devices but all kinds of office and mobile devices including Linux, iOS, and Android devices; in fact nearly every device on the market today.. The Connector also enables a more flexible and mobile workforce. Users are able to gain access to the applications they need regardless of whether they are in the office, working from home, or on the road.
To deliver this functionality, the XenApp Connector leverages three capabilities introduced with System Center 2012:
- Deployment Types
- User-centric administration, and
- The Application Catalog
Categories: All, Citrix, System Center, XenApp
administration, Application, Configuration Manager, Connector, deployment, PC, SCCM, System Center, user-centric, XenApp
Windows 8 Business Intentions: Deployment Plans, Driving Factors, Roadblocks, and Strategies
November 23, 2012
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This was an interesting report and I must say that I’m a bit skeptic that Windows 8 will get a large footprint within the Enterprise segment…
The Windows 8 Business Intentions: Deployment Plans, Driving Factors, Roadblocks, and Strategies report reveals key insights into who’s moving to Windows 8, who’s skipping it, and why. In this original research report from TechRepublic Pro and ZDNet, industry analysts break down the Windows 8 deployment plans of over 1,200 organizations from around the globe.
Some of the key takeaways include the following:
- 73.7 percent of respondents say their organizations have no plans to deploy Windows 8.
- Only 15.8 percent of respondents who run Windows XP or an earlier version as their organization’s primary OS say they plan to deploy Windows 8.
- Security and tablet/mobile integration top the list of factors rated important by respondents who plan to deploy Windows 8.
- The Windows 8 style UI and associated end-user training requirements are off-putting to many respondents.
- The number of respondents in Australia, Canada, Europe, and the US with plans to deploy Windows 8 was lower than in China, India, and Southeast Asia.
Download the report here!
//Richard
Categories: Client Services, Microsoft, Windows 8
deployment, Metro, roadblocks, strategies, UI, Windows 8, XP
90% of enterprises will bypass broad-scale deployment of Windows 8
October 24, 2012
1 comment
This picture/slide is so spot on! I couldn’t agree more! Great work Gartner!
I don’t think that Windows 8 will be adopted on a broader scale… it’s the new “Vista”. Win7 will and is being rolled out and will stay there for a long time as the new “XP”!
Thanks Charlie Isaacs for the picture!
//Richard
The IT Melting Pot! 