Hyper-V
Is Hyper-V nothing more than a distraction?
Oct 29th
I was given the opportunity to get a “sneak peek” of an article that will be released tomorrow on Virtual Strategy Magazine, the work of independent industry analyst Steve Denegri. According to his research, he theorizes that the two megastars of technology, Microsoft and Google, have a very different view of the green data center. You and I may be looking at virtualization as a way to, among other things, reduce data center energy consumption and save ever increasing energy costs. But Microsoft and Google are, according to Denegri, taking a Warren Buffet like approach to the situation. They are doing what everyone else is afraid to do, consume energy. Now, I know what you’re thinking. Unlike Warren Buffet gobbling up stocks at rock bottom prices, energy isn’t cheap. Good point. Energy isn’t cheap … for you and I.
And here is where the story gets fun, and somewhat sinister. If Mr. Denegri’s theory turns out to be correct, then Microsoft and Google are in the midst of executing a plan to secure extraordinarily low, fixed, long term energy contracts (aka Power Purchase Agreements, or PPA’s) via renewable energy sources. And at the same time, they are exerting their political influence via various lobbyists and other groups to inflict a “carbon tax” for high energy consumers (can you think of anything that consumes more energy than a data center?). In fact, here’s a direct quote from an abstract of tomorrow’s article I just received from Virtual Strategy Magazine …
“Microsoft has said publicly that it is authoring software in collaboration with the largest municipalities across the globe that will help each city monitor its carbon emissions, giving each the ability to implement a tax system based upon environmental sustainability. Since those data centers that are not powered by renewable sources are among the biggest emitters of CO2, such taxes will further elevate the cost of running a data center.”
Wait wait wait. Hold up. Back the truck up. Did you get that?! Microsoft is writing the code to help monitor and potentially enable municipalities to levy a tax on Microsoft competition. A tax that they themselves would be immune from. Oh, and it gets better. The report goes on to conclude that if Microsoft is successful, the future data center would be controlled, managed and delivered at the local level. Meaning, you could soon be ordering data center services much like you would order electricity or telephone service. Another direct quote from the abstract …
“Recent presentations by Microsoft reveal that it now charges for data center services on a per-watt basis, since its internal cost analyses demonstrate that growth scales most closely to power consumed. Therefore, municipalities are likely salivating at the thought of owning and incorporating compute utilities into their city’s budget structures, since such facilities have the potential to contribute hundreds of millions of dollars to the municipal coffers each year.”
Holy monkey, the implications here are enormous. It sounds to me like Microsoft is embarking on a mission that would guarantee substantial price protection for many years (obliterating their competition) with a model that is completely scalable and manageable. I’m not in a position to say how accurate, or inaccurate, this article by Steve Denegri is. But let’s assume for a second that he is correct and that Microsoft and Google will ultimately dominate the data center. At that point, would it matter what OS and/or virtualization platform they’re using to power the data center? If you’ve got no other choice, you take what you’re given. Which brings me to the title of this post.
If all of this is true, wouldn’t Hyper-V be a fantastic distraction? Let’s keep everyone focused on the green data center and the differences between VMware and Hyper-V and XenServer. Let’s keep everyone pre-occupied on something that ultimately won’t matter. Why won’t it matter? Because you’ll take whatever Microsoft gives you. And why will you take it? Because you’ve got no other option.
What do you think? Agree? Disagree? Please comment and let me know your thoughts.
A Little Side Tracked
Jul 27th
At the end of Why you should care about virtualization (part 2) I stated that part three should come along much quicker than part two did. Well here I am almost a month later and part three still isn’t ready.
But I’ve got a very good reason this time. With the little free time I had to write, I spent it focused on a piece for VIRTUALSTRATEGYMAGAZINE. And it is with their permission that I reprint my work here. Below is my first piece of work published anywhere, ever … very exciting for me 
It was originally published on July 24th, 2008 on the VIRTUALSTRATEGYMAGAZINE website. Here is the official link: How did they do that?!
This morning I found myself watching one of those drug commercials we’ve all come to know and make fun of. You know what I’m referring to. Each one varies a bit but they’re all basically the same. This one was for a new medication that treats chronic diarrhea and it opens with a very handsome guy mountain biking down an ocean front cliff, the sun in his face, and the wind at his back. Angels were singing and birds were chirping. The commercial ends with total world peace and all the world leaders holding hands and singing “Kum Ba Yah” around a perfect campfire. Awesome! I need to get me some chronic diarrhea! Wait. Hold on. How did they do that?!
As I watch the Microsoft marketing engine shift into high gear, and as I read various articles and posts scattered throughout the blogsphere about the recent release of Hyper-V, I can’t help but feel like I’m watching the techie version of a drug commercial. I mean seriously, for three years the Microsoft zombies have been holding hands, surrounding the virtualization crop circles, eyes glazed over and swaying side-to-side in perfect harmony, constantly repeating their unmistakable mating call “hyyyperrrrrveeeeeeeeeee.” And now the mother ship has landed. The result? Phrases like “Microsoft will eat VMware for lunch” and “VMware will be dead in five years” and “VMware will be the next Netscape” are a dime a dozen. Really? Awesome! I need to get me some Hyper-V! Wait. Darn it, I fell for it again! How did they do that?! And where are my diarrhea pills?
Let me clearly state that I’m actually not a Microsoft hater. I write this article using Microsoft Word which is installed on my Windows XP operating system, both of which I love. And my Microsoft mouse ROCKS! It’s got all sorts of cool buttons and it lights up and it’s shiny!!! Weeeeeee!
Don’t mistake my twisted humor as a full-on attack of Microsoft or of Hyper-V, because it’s really not. To be perfectly honest, in my limited exposure to Hyper-V, I would say it’s a half decent start for a version 1.0 hypervisor. My intent really is to just cut through the hype and the marketing spin surrounding it.
Let’s not lose sight of the real reasons we are virtualizing the in first place. Sure, creating a virtual machine is fun and easy and the lure of putting 30 VMs on a single physical machine is certainly powerful. But creating a VM became possible almost 10 years ago and server consolidation of this magnitude has been happening for at least 3 or 4 years now.
Today, the true power of virtualization is revealed at the management and automation layer. With the proper platform and tools in place, IT can actually take control of their infrastructure, becoming the choreographers of a fantastic ballet of dancing VMs. And simply being given the option to create a VM doesn’t come close to delivering on this promise. Rather, to achieve what we’re really looking for, we need a whole new set of management and automation tools. We need a set of tools that are purposefully built from the ground up, capitalizing on all the inherent properties of a VM. And if you’re just starting to virtualize, believe me when I say you’ll get here fast. Don’t let anyone fool you into thinking that you can wait for this type of management.
The good news is that this is more than just a promise for many companies, and it can be for you, too. Disaster recovery, virtual lab automation, release management, provisioning management, life cycle management … VMware has virtualization management and automation solutions that address all of these areas (and more) and they’re available today. Better still, they’re built around a hypervisor that’s been in the data center for years, not a few days
It’s easy to get lost in the smoke and mirrors of phantom products and even easier to choke on the exhaust of a marketing engine in full throttle. So do your homework and make decisions based on solid facts. And while this is a new frontier for all of us, VMware isn’t new to the game and they have very real virtualization management solutions today. Why wait? You’re missing out and wasting a ton of money if you’re waiting for the free version to be “good enough.” And really, I equate this to waiting to see if my 80 year old grandma will be able to break dance. Gosh darn it, it took her an hour just to stand up! Regardless of what she tells me, I just don’t see her bustin’ a move anytime soon.