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Windows Server 8 Developer Preview Do Not Support Hyper-V Role While…

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… Running On VMware Workstation (At Least On My Laptop)

Unless someone knows a trick that I don’t, it doesn’t appear as if I will be able to test out some of the Hyper-V clustering features unless I identify actual hardware for Windows Server 8. I hoped VMware Workstation 8 would be able to fool Windows 8 into thinking it was actually a physical server, but so far no dice. This article appears to indicate it will work on an Intel Nehalem or Intel Core i7 processor, but my two year old Intel Core 2 Duo T9500 doesn’t seem to be able to do the trick.

I added the hypervisor.cpuid.v0 = “FALSE” to the config file and I changed the CPU settings to use Intel VT –x/EPT as shown below.

Windows Server 8 Developer Preview Will Not Support The Hyper-V Role While...

But when I try to enable the Hyper-V role on Windows Server 8…

Windows Server 8 Developer Preview Will Not Support The Hyper-V Role While...

Maybe it is time for a new laptop?

Reproduced with permission from https://clusteringformeremortals.com/2011/09/17/windows-server-8-developer-preview-will-not-support-the-hyper-v-role-while-running-on-vmware-workstation%E2%80%A6at-least-on-my-laptop/

Failover Clustering & Hyper-V: Multi-Site Disaster Recovery

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Here is a great video from a friend of mine and former MVP Cluster Lead, Symon Perriman. It looks like he is enjoying his new job as Microsoft product evangelist.

Video: Failover Clustering & Hyper-V: Multi-Site Disaster Recovery

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/edge/Hh133452

Reproduced with permission from https://clusteringformeremortals.com/2011/05/11/failover-clustering-hyper-v-multi-site-disaster-recovery/

IT Business Edge: The Cloud and the Enterprise: Which Needs the Other More?

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Ever since the cloud burst onto the IT consciousness, the primary focus of most organizations has been to prepare for this new data paradigm. The thinking has been that the enterprise needs to be ready for the cloud or risk being left behind.

Lately, however, we’ve seen a subtle shift in attitude on the part of both the enterprise and the nascent cloud industry: It’s not the enterprise that needs to adapt to the cloud, but the cloud that needs to adapt to the enterprise. Across the board, from the large players like Amazon and Google to smaller ones like CloudSigma and DigitalOcean, the goal has shifted from providing the commodity resources that appeal to consumers to more specialized offerings that the enterprise values.

To be sure, there is no shortage of enterprise interest in the cloud already. According to IDG, nearly 70 percent of organizations today utilize cloud-based infrastructure or applications in some way, and IT spending on the cloud is currently averaging about 20 percent growth per year. The thing is, the vast majority of that activity consists of low-level workloads and bulk storage applications that generally go to the lowest bidder, which is usually one of the hyperscale players that can shave margins to the bone and still turn out a decent profit.

The real money in the enterprise can be found in higher-level, mission-critical services, and this is where the cloud has fallen short so far. A key cloud requirement for the enterprise is the support of mobile applications, which tend to feature more collaborative and data-sharing capabilities than standard workplace apps. However, according to a recent report from Netskope, nearly 90 percent of mobile-facing cloud apps are deemed unfit for the enterprise, primarily because they lack proper security and data protection. Indeed, more than one-third of all data policy violations are now taking place on smartphones and tablets, which is a testament to the growing popularity of these devices in the enterprise but also to the fact that they pose a substantial risk to vital data.

To gain mission-critical business from the enterprise, cloud providers will have to answer three questions, says SIOS Technology Corp.’s Jerry Melnick. First, how can they provide high availability and disaster protection without shared storage clusters? Second, will HA and DR capabilities inhibit the flexibility that the cloud is supposed to provide? And third, can the cloud support critical apps and data without adding risk, complexity and performance overhead? One possible solution to all this is the SANless cluster, which provides the failover and synchronization that the enterprise requires but on a more efficient software footing suitable for cloud infrastructure.

Cloud Strategy

Of course, the question of mission-critical support is also the reason why so many organizations are bent on the deployment of hybrid cloud solutions. This is seen as a lifeline to leading platform providers like Hitachi Data Systems, which otherwise face a steadily diminishing market as cloud providers increasingly turn to commodity hardware solutions. With a hybrid cloud, the enterprise still maintains a fair amount of internal data infrastructure, some of which will require specialized hardware that provides the security and availability on which the enterprise has come to rely. In this way, the public cloud acts as a template for what the enterprise can do privately, with an entire class of systems and services designed to bridge the two sides to form a singular, integrated environment.

Still, as Robert Burns wrote: “The best laid schemes o’ mice an’ men / Gang aft a-gley.” (Oft go awry, for those whose Scots dialect is a little rusty.) Right now, the entire data center industry is in a state of flux, and cloud providers are keenly aware of the need to tap into the lucrative enterprise market. This is certainly an opportunity for traditional enterprise vendors, but it also serves the new generation of startups that are not quite so interested in preserving the status quo.

Arthur Cole writes about infrastructure for IT Business Edge. Cole has been covering the high-tech media and computing industries for more than 20 years, having served as editor of TV Technology, Video Technology News, Internet News and Multimedia Weekly. His contributions have appeared in Communications Today and Enterprise Networking Planet and as web content for numerous high-tech clients like TwinStrata, Carpathia and NetMagic.

SIOS Exhibits SANLess Clustering Software for SQL at PASS Summit

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SIOS Technology to Exhibit Its SANLess Clustering Software for SQL Server in at PASS Summit 2014 in Seattle

SAN MATEO, CA – October 30, 2014 – SIOS Technology Corp. (www.us.sios.com), maker of SAN and #SANLess clustering software products, today announced it will showcase its SAN and SANLess clustering software at PASS Summit 2014. This annual event is the world’s largest, most-focused, and most-intensive conference for Microsoft SQL Server and BI professionals. Over 2,000 companies from around the world send their staff to receive top-notch training, technical tips, and make connections to take their SQL Server skills to the next level. As an exhibitor and sponsor of a breakfast panel and PASS to Prizes, SIOS will showcase its product offerings in booth #408 in the PASS Summit Exhibit Hall at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, WA, November 4 – 7.

The SIOS Exhibit
In booth #408, SIOS will showcase its products that add real-time block level replication and configuration flexibility in Windows Server Failover Clustering environments. SIOS DataKeeper Cluster Edition software is an ingredient that integrates seamlessly with Windows Server Failover Clustering (WSFC) to provide SANLess cluster protection where shared storage clusters are either impossible or impractical, such as cloud, virtual and high performance storage environments.

PASS the Bacon: SQL Server Experts and MVPs Breakfast Panel
SIOS and SanDisk are co-sponsoring the PASS the Bacon breakfast at PASS Summit 2014, which will be held on Thursday, November 6, at 6:45 am and will feature an interactive panel discussion with four SQL Server experts and MVPs about a variety of real-world strategies for achieving cost-efficient high performance and high availability in SQL Server. Topics include: Maintaining high performance in high availability SQL Server environments, cost-efficient techniques for protecting SQL Server from downtime, and leveraging flash storage in database scenarios for more than performance. Register here to attend.

PASS to Prizes
SIOS is also a sponsor of the ever popular PASS to Prizes game November 4-6. Attendees must stop by and collect a stamp from various booths in the Exhibit Hall to be eligible to win a prize. Look for the game card in your conference attendee bag. Drawings for PASS to Prizes will take place at 4:35pm on Thursday, November 6, to win one of the following: Microsoft Surface Pro 3, Xbox One Madden NFL 15 Bundle, Cannon Rebel DSR Camera, or Beats by Dr. Dre Wireless Headphones.

Additionally, SIOS is raffling off two $250 gift cards. Visit its booth #408 for a chance to win. The drawings will take place at 12:30 pm on Friday, November 7.

SIOS will also be awarding a $10 Starbucks gift card once per hour throughout the show to randomly selected participants who are wearing the official SIOS PASS t-shirt on the show floor.

Denny Cherry Presents SQL Karaoke
SIOS is also sponsoring “Denny Cherry presents SQL Karaoke” on Tuesday, November 4, 9:00pm – 2:00am at Cowgirls Inc., 421 1st Ave S, Seattle, WA 98104. Registration is mandatory for SQL Karaoke. Register here: http://us.sios.com/2014-11-sql-karaoke/.

About SIOS Technology Corp.
SIOS Technology Corp. makes SAN and #SANLess software solutions that make clusters easy to use and easy to own. An essential part of any cluster solution, SIOS SAN and #SANLess software provides the flexibility to build Clusters Your Way™ to protect your choice of Windows or Linux environment in any configuration (or combination) of physical, virtual and cloud (public, private, and hybrid) without sacrificing performance or availability. The unique SIOS #SANLess clustering solution allows you to configure clusters with local storage, eliminating both the cost and the single-point-of-failure risk of traditional shared (SAN) storage.

Founded in 1999, SIOS Technology Corp. (http://us.sios.com) is headquartered in San Mateo, California, and has offices throughout the United States, United Kingdom and Japan.

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SIOS, SIOS Technology, SIOS DataKeeper, SIOS Protection Suite, Clusters Your Way, and associated logos are registered trademarks or trademarks of SIOS Technology Corp. and/or its affiliates in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Contact:
Beth Winkowski
Winkowski Public Relations, LLC for SIOS
Phone: 978-649-7189
Email: bethwinkowski@US.SIOS.com

Live Webinar: SQL Clustering 102: Highly Available SQL Deployments in Azure IaaS – What You Need to Know

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Microsoft MVP David Bermingham will lay the foundation for deploying highly available SQL Server instances in the Windows Azure IaaS Cloud in his second “SQL Clustering 101” webinar series. From basic nomenclature to the must-haves and gotcha’s for enabling SQL Server High Availability in Azure, you will have the checklist for moving your business-critical applications to the cloud. If you are considering Windows Azure for your next SQL Server deployment, you won’t want to miss this webinar.

Register Now

Date: December 9, 2014
Time: 10:00a PST — 1:00pm EST

About Dave Bermingham

David Bermingham is recognized within the technology community as a high availability expert and has been honored by his peers by being elected to be a Microsoft MVP in clustering since 2010. David’s work as director, technical evangelist at SIOS Technology Corp., has him focused on Microsoft high availability and disaster recovery solutions as well as providing hands on support, training and professional services for cluster implementations. David holds numerous technical certifications and draws from more than twenty years of experience in IT, including work in the finance, healthcare and education fields, to help organizations design solutions to meet their high availability and disaster recovery needs. Learn more at www.us.sios.com