NCE. Virtualisation Solutions - Vmware Implementation


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One of NCE’s key strengths has always been to listen to our customers and respond to their requests. We are aware that there is a lot of hype surrounding both Server, Infrastructure & Storage Virtualisation at present and the challenge doesn’t seem to be to find the Virtualisation offerings, more one of how to put the virtualisation pieces together and make them work. As a result, NCE have responded by investing time and resource to ensure that we can position our solutions to integrate alongside applications such as VMware, Microsoft Virtual Server (MSVS), Xensource and Virtual Iron. In order to understand terminology such as VCB’s, VMFS, V-Motion, Virtual Machines, P2V, V2P and other acronyms that are appearing in this evolving market NCE’s Research & Development Team are constantly working to understand how our current range of products and those which are emerging integrate into the “Virtual” world. Representative of this understanding and knowledge is our VMware Enterprise Partner status – something that underpins our ability to provide solutions that are tested and applied to the VMware ESX environment.
NCE Virtualisation Partners:

	NCE have a long standing relationship with DataCore, and have implemented the SANmelody product (a product that provides a Windows Based scalable Storage Virtualisation foundation) with many of our customers. The flexible technology – supporting storage provisioning over both iSCSI and Fibre Channel architecture and the vendor independent nature of the product are the main attractions accompanied with it’s scalability and simplicity to use and manage.

	The EqualLogic solution is one that has been certified with VMware ESX and provides a resilient and scalable “Appliance” offering for customers looking to invest in Storage Virtualisation. When ESX 3 introduced support for iSCSI storage, the door was opened to the EqualLogic solution and subsequently the number of EqualLogic installations with VMware has increased to reflect this.

	No doubt you’ll be aware that it’s not simply a case of moving from a Physical to Virtual (P2V) environment, this process is one that needs to be carefully planned and conducted. That’s where Platespin fit into the equation, they have the tools to identify what is (and isn’t) suited to the Virtualisation environment (Platespin PowerRecon) and equally the tools to manage the process (Platespin PowerConvert). It’s not just one way traffic, there’s also the ability to move from Virtual to Physical (V2P), Physical to Physical (P2P)

	As we at NCE have become all too aware, backing up Virtual Machines is not as simple as it may at first seem. The backup software world is rapidly trying to play catch up, and whilst VMware through the VCB (Virtual Consolidated Backup) feature in their ESX offering helps to a degree, this is by no means a seamless process. That’s where Vizioncore have found their niche. “esxRanger Professional” acts as the gateway between VMware’s ESX offering and the backup application – introducing not only a GUI that simplifies the process, but also online backup, bare metal image backup & restores and file level restores from an image. It may not be a window of opportunity that will remain open forever, but certainly at this stage of the virtualisation lifecycle Vizioncore have a much needed solution.

	Without question, VMware’s ESX offering leads the way as the solution that is at the foundation of many businesses first venture into Server Virtualisation. It is fair to say that not every server and application is suited to Virtualisation, but for those that are looking to consolidate their hardware infrastructure by moving from Physical (“P”) machines to Virtual (“V”) machines, ESX represents a proven solution.

Virtualisation is a constantly evolving market, and NCE continue to focus on the area upon which our business has been founded – Data Storage. However, we have to ensure that our understanding and solutions are applicable to the world that we live in today, not yesterday. This is why we are looking to address your business needs and provide good advice that may help you to ensure that you can deliver the efficient IT environment that your business demands. There is a lot more to Virtualisation than meets the eye, please call the NCE Solutions Team on 01249 824130 if you would like to work with NCE on any aspect of Virtualisation.