Skip to main content

VMware aims to simplify Storage Management

A product manager was interviewed by SearchStorage.com team:

VMware's ESX Xerver 3i embeds the hypervisor in server hardware. Is there any chance we could see that happen in storage hardware as well?

Jon Bock: Generally, storage systems today don't run applications like the hypervisor. We've seen some things starting to get to that level, like some of the things our partners, like LeftHand Networks, are doing with their virtual storage appliance. There's going to be a use case for that -- it makes sense to deploy that way for performance reasons and because an embedded hypervisor creates a smaller attack surface for security purposes.

As storage vendors have begun porting applications to virtual appliances, the storage market has become aware of the performance hit added by the additional hypervisor layer. How is VMware working to address that?

Bock: We've been working to optimize the performance of VMs [virtual machines] as long as we've been shipping them. Now, hardware is moving forward, and we're beginning to leverage on-chip virtualization. Intel and AMD are both working on optimizing on-chip virtualization, Intel with its Paxville Xeon processor that we already support and its upcoming Montecito processors. AMD is working on an offering called Pacifica. These chips will allow us to do things, like extended, nested page tables, that we haven't been able to do in software.


Read the rest of the interview.

Comments

  1. There is a good tool for managing storage with vmwware on VMware's site.

    http://www.vmware.com/appliances/directory/1084

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Security: VMware Workstation 6 vulnerability

vulnerable software: VMware Workstation 6.0 for Windows, possible some other VMware products as well type of vulnerability: DoS, potential privilege escalation I found a vulnerability in VMware Workstation 6.0 which allows an unprivileged user in the host OS to crash the system and potentially run arbitrary code with kernel privileges. The issue is in the vmstor-60 driver, which is supposed to mount VMware images within the host OS. When sending the IOCTL code FsSetVoleInformation with subcode FsSetFileInformation with a large buffer and underreporting its size to at max 1024 bytes, it will underrun and potentially execute arbitrary code. Security focus

Virtualization: GlassHouse hopes to cash in with its IPO!

GlassHouse Technologies Inc. on Tuesday registered to raise as much as $100 million in an initial public offering that, despite the company's financial losses, could prove a hit with investors drawn to its focus on "virtualization" technology. The Framingham, Mass., company offers consulting services for companies that use virtualization software to improve the performance of corporate servers and cut costs in their data centers. GlassHouse also provides Internet-based data storage. "Software-as-a-service," or SaaS, companies and vendors of virtualization products have proved popular among investors in recent years as corporate customers seek alternatives to conventional packaged software. GlassHouse, with roots in both sectors, will test the strength of that interest, said Peter Falvey, managing director with Boston investment bank Revolution Partners. "It will be a bit of a bell weather," he says. "It's not as though it's the 15th SaaS m...