For all the hype of virtualization, it appears as though each IT vendor is carrying their virtualization wand and applying it to every prospective customer, promising cost savings and better performance. While I do believe strongly that virtualization is the answer, let’s look at a couple of the problem areas that could cause access to your data be slower than a toad.

I’ll take 1 more of everything. That’s the theory at work. Make sure your environment can survive while losing an entire server, a single drive, a processor, some memory and even a switch. If you design it correctly virtualization is the least expensive way to produce great redundancy. (N + 1, or better)

Start with a good platform. While prices continue to decline for virtualization software, the entry-point with Microsoft’s hyper-v is included with your Windows servers, Citrix and VMware both have low-costs to get started. Microsoft and Citrix seem to be chasing VMware’s lead in marketshare and functionality. Make sure when you chose your virtualization platform, you keep in mind the growth potential, features and ease-of management. Currently, it is tough to beat the scalability and ease of management with VMware.

Don’t forget my disks. One of the most common elements missed when implementing virtualization is faster storage.  4 years ago, when you bought that server with drives in it, you bought 4 drives at 10,000 rpm and it ran just fine. Now, you can run a lot more servers on the newer quad-cores and a bit more memory, but don’t forget that you will need some fast storage to handle this load. Depending on your size you will either need to build a SAN, or at least install more fast drives in your servers.

What’s this button do? Too often virtualization projects take place because of a short-term need and leads to more work down the road. 15 minutes with someone who’s done it before can help lead you to a better solution that will scale down the road.

Send in the backup. While you can create more redundancy with virtualization, don’t forget that you still need to back it up. Your current backup may still be viable, but new alternatives may suit your needs better.

While you don’t have to be Harry Potter to implement virtualization correctly, a few careful practices will keep you out of trouble. Once you have your environment setup, virtualization will simplify management and give you more flexibility long-term.

-Ben Pankonin

Mattel’s most recent Barbie® creation, the “Computer Engineer Doll” sports the sort of geek that might fit-in at our office. While I won’t pretend to be dissapointed that it has taken 124 careers for Barbie to become a Computer Engineer, it does bring some excitement to our industry.

I participate regularly with local education institutions who look to help educate students in technology and thought this would present an opportunity for us to give Barbie® a few words of advice as she begins her new career.

image by Mattel

Lose the Bluetooth during meetings. I’m impressed with your use of technology, but make sure you listen to the clients that are in front of you, without getting distracted.

You can’t survive on your looks. It’s true in every industry, you find people who want to survive on their looks may find themselves attracting attention, but soon it won’t be the kind of exposure they want. Study hard Barbie.

Demonstrate flexibility. While you can position yourself for success, don’t expect to have that pose everyday.  After a late night of implementation and troubleshooting, you will learn to become more flexible.

Maintain a well-rounded background. Keep up your grades in your business classes too, you might be surprised when you are asked to understand a balance sheet or write correspondence for a non-technical client.

Don’t talk down to your non-technical friends. Ken will ditch you faster than you can pull out a credit card if you become a tech know-it-all. If you want to keep your friends riding in the pink Jeep, you will learn that you must be able to communicate without displaying arrogance.

We wish you good luck in your new career path and if you haven’t found a place to land, send a resume over to Five Nines’ career page, we could always use a little more fashion in our engineering teams.

-Ben Pankonin