A Live Wire Talks Live Migration and Broken Storage
Initially, Hyper-V was criticized for not offering live migration. It took a while but with the introduction of Windows Server 2008 R2, that capability was added, if not with much gusto, as it is still necessary to live-migrate one VM at a time, which lags behind VMware's ability to perform multiple concurrent migrations.
Does it really matter? Yes and no according to Mark Davis, co-founder of Virsto (as in "virtual storage") Software, which is scheduled to unveil its first product Feb. 16. "It matters," he says, "but people rarely use it. They're still getting used to doing it. It's tedious, slow and more work."
Tedious, slow and hard work are not concepts that Davis admires. The mere fact that he is now on his sixth startup indicates pretty clearly that he likes to get things done and then move on to whatever's next. He has gone from being a tech guy with an eye for the market to being a go-to guy for new ideas and products.
Although he's still mum on revealing exactly what Virsto is unveiling Feb. 16, he does talk freely about how virtualization is "breaking" storage, how people are retrofitting physical storage for use in the virtual world, and how the lifecycle of VMs is different from that of their physical counterparts.
Davis -- who speaks articulately with the energy of an overwound wind-up train -- had a lot more to say at lunch the other day that we should probably keep a lid on until the 16th, but I promise you we will work up a review of version 1.0 as soon as the ribbons are cut.
In the mean time, if you like a good tease, go to virsto.com.
Is live migration happening out there, or not, and if it is, does it matter whether you're moving one of multiple VMs at once? Let me know what you think at [email protected] (preferred) or comment here.
Posted by Bruce Hoard on 02/02/2010 at 12:48 PM