Dalle & DXter

Microsoft Mythbusters: Top 10 VMware Myths

By Fredrik Wall

Microsoft Mythbusters: Top 10 VMware Myths

 

HP Sizing and Configuration Tool for Microsoft Hyper-V

By Fredrik Wall

HP have done an Sizing and Configuration tool for Hyper-V.

Information from HP’s site for this tool:

The HP Sizing and Configuration Tool for Microsoft Hyper-V
is a downloadable, automated tool that provides a quick and
consistent methodology to determine a “best-fit” server configuration
for your virtualized Hyper-V environment. This tool enables you to
quickly compare different solution configurations and obtain a highly
detailed, customizable server and storage solution complete with
a detailed bill of materials.

This sizer allows users to create new Hyper-V solutions, open already
saved solutions, and use data compiled from other tools like Microsoft’s
Assessment and Planning (MAP) toolkit to build rich Hyper-V
configurations built on HP ProLiant server and storage technologies.

The sizer allows rapid comparisons of various Hyper-V characterizations
and server platform choices.. You can select and customize configurations
for your particular environment by adding or substituting server types,
number of servers, and server components.

The sizer was developed from knowledge gained during performance
characterization testing of Microsoft Hyper-V in the HP Solutions
Engineering lab in Houston, Texas

The tool can be found here.

More information about this tool and some screenshots can be found here.

 

Hyper-V Security Guide

By Fredrik Wall

Microsoft just released the Hyper-V security guide.
You can download it here, or read about it online here.

Chapter 1: Hardening Hyper-V This chapter provides prescriptive guidance
for hardening the Hyper-V role. It discusses several best practices for installing
and configuring Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 server with a focus on security.
These best practices include measures for reducing the attack surface of a server
running Hyper-V and recommendations for properly configuring secure network
and storage devices.

Chapter 2: Delegating Virtual Machine Management This chapter discusses several
available methods for delegating virtual machine management so that virtual
machine administrators only have the minimum permissions they require.
It describes common delegation scenarios, and includes detailed steps to guide
you through using Authorization Manager (AzMan) and System Center Virtual Machine
Manager 2008 (VMM 2008) to separate virtual machine administrators from
virtualization host administrators.

Chapter 3: Protecting Virtual Machines This chapter provides prescriptive guidance
for securing virtual machine resources. It discusses best practices and includes
detailed steps for protecting virtual machines by using a combination of file
system permissions, encryption, and auditing. Also included are resources for
hardening and updating the operating system instances running within you
virtual machines.