When I got home, I talked with Jes Borland (@grrl_geek) about the idea and if I remember she was on board from the word beer.  We did some brainstorming and came up with a few ideas to help determine if this was feasible or not.  Amazingly, it was very feasible.

After some discussion we enlisted another person to help out.  Mark Cyrulik (@mcyrulik) came on board almost as fast as Jes did, although I think that discussion was a few tweets.

Then came some paperwork and more brainstorming and as of this week, Tech on Tap spun up and we are racing toward our first event.

What is the idea?

Brewpubs are great places to network and socialize and technology is fun. Bring the two together and who knows what kind of learning might happen.

For more details about the organization and upcoming events visit Tech on Tap.

Our first session on Virtualization is Saturday November 12th 2011 at the Stone Cellar Brew Pub in Appleton.  We have an attendance limit for this event of 50 people.  If we get more signups than we can accommodate, that will help us work toward the next Tech On Tap Session.

Where are the details?

The details of the specific events, especially the first one are still being finalized and are coming soon.  Because this is our first event, it will likely take a little longer than we’d like, but should make going forward that much easier.

Thank you for all your help

Working on this project has been exciting and sometimes a bit scary, but Jes and Mark have been great partners in getting this rolling.  Without their help, and form filling skills, I do not think this would have been more than an idea.  You guys Rock!

My wife Laura is also at the top of my thank you list because she believed my idea was worth a shot and that I wasn’t crazy for going after it.  Sure I’m busy and have a lot on my plate, but what’s one more thing?  Thanks Honey.

We hope that others in the Fox Valley will find these sessions useful and share them with those they know.

I was contacted about reviewing some software for the Mac and at that time I wasnt sure if it was worth the investment, even if other posts come up, Macs are expensive.  Now that I have made the jump and added a Mac to my computing repetois I thought I would post about my experiences with the new device.

When it rains it pours

Shortly after getting the Mac, I also came into an iPad which has been quite the experience as well, but that is another post for sure.

So how is it?

The Mac is an interesting device.  It does take some getting used to because the mouse is different and the software is considerably different from Windows and its applications.

The applications behave in much the same manner, so Chrome isnt any different than on the PC, but the install process is much simpler.  Downloading applications for the Mac gets you a .dmg package which mounts like a disc image.  Double clicking the package and using a simple wizard in many cases gets the job done.  Dragging the application to the applications folder allows the program to be run from the applications menu/folder.

One thing I found very positive is the uninstallation method.  Simply drag the program from the applications folder to the trash and confirm and thats it.  No searching a list of installed applications and following a wizard to get things removed, it is much easier on a Mac.

One thing I started having trouble with is the cost of software.  Being a long time PC user, I have a considerable amount of software which I purchased.  To use it natively on the Mac, I have to rebuy, no fun… Unless….

I setup Windows on the Mac.  This took a bit of practice over a few attempts (more on that in another post) but I have now got a Windows XP Virtual Machine running in a isolated mode, for testing mostly as well as a Windows 7 installation running in integrated mode to allow me to use some of those Windows applications I just cannot live without.

Tools for virtualization

To get the PC experience on the flashy new Mac I tried both Parallels and VMware Fusion to see which would make migrating to the Mac with my full PC configuration easiest.  The short answer there was neither and the details of that will be outlined in another blog post.

Windows running on Mac

I ended up siding with VMware and adding both my VMs from scratch, which serves a bit as a house keeping if you will.  Allowing me to move the applications I absolutely need and then worry about data, rather than bringing everything over.

A quick disclosure: As a part of the Microsoft MVP program I received a not for resale copy of VMware Fusion.  In the spirit of finding the most comfortable virtualization application I could, I tested both VMware and Parallels and found VMware to work the best for my needs.

Overall I am quite happy with the Mac.  I dont think I will get rid of any of my PCs or PC skills because I own a Mac but I am pleased with its performance.  The hardware used in the MacBook Pro is outstanding, I realize that this is an Intel powered Mac which makes it more like a PC in terms of parts and pieces than many let on, but the aluminum case and multitouch glass trackpad are simply amazing.

For those considering the jump from PC to Mac I would offer this advice: Read the license agreements for all of your Windows software adn determine what you can move and what you may lose by moving to a Mac.  I would recommend virtualizing Windows on the Mac as a bit of a safety net to get you started as well as for the applications you just cannot live without.

If you are looking for a Personal Computer that will last for a while and has an amazing battery life with the ability to be a Windows computer, then a Mac may be just you style.  For the record, I am still a PC and a huge fan of Windows.  The Mac was a great way to expand my knowledge of computers and a good excuse to get more tech.  Oh and by the way, Ed Bott bought a Mac too.

While I am quite excited that we are going to be looking seriously at real SAN based storage, the thing that really seems interesting to me is proving concept in virtualization.  We are a physical server environment if ever there were one.  Small yes, but hardware for each application served or one application per server as they used to tout in the old days (cirque 1998-2000).  We have a test environment because some of our previous attempts at testing have been a bit muddied and it is going to run a hypervisor.

Let the server sprawl begin

I realize that I wont add a million servers in my virtual environment (test or production) but the idea that I can spin up virtual machines just to try a piece of software is something that should make my organization not only better for testing, but also more agile and able to grow faster with a smaller price tag.

The proof of concept part is where I think this will be interesting because it is sometimes hard to get management and the business side of the house to understand a server that exists only as a file (living on another, much larger server with several of its closest server buddies).  I am trying to find the best way to do a small scale proof of concept and have a few ideas.

Idea 1

Create a plane jane Windows server with limited roles just to show them Windows in a VM and maybe get a little budget to use an application like Thin App to create a test bed on a stick (don’t tell Jeff Dunham I used that) to allow them to see what it might operate like from end to end.

Idea 2

Create an exact duplicate, P2V, of a production server and run it in a virtual machine as a test to show that it can indeed live inside a file.  This one seems like it might be fun.  I also thought of cutting a section of users over to the VM to continue their job for a day or so, but then the thought of getting that information into the real production SQL server made me think twice.

There are more ideas brewing at the moment, but none quite solid enough to share.  I would love to hear your thoughts on things you have tried or want to try with regard to proving concept in a virtual space.  This is where the day to day IT things start to get really fun and I am looking forward to it.

For those of you who were not able to attend the session, the replay is available by clicking the link below:

IT Manager Community Chat with Kevin – Virtualization – 4/9/2009

Virtualization is on of the hottest buzz-words around right now but for very good reason.  Reducing physical servers in your data center will redcue power consumtion costs and resource usage overall.  This leads to better performance on the backend, lower maintenance costs (in both time and tools needed), and greater server availability (more on that in a bit).

One of the tools that was discussed today was the Microsoft Assessment and Planning toolkit or MAP for short.  This tool can be run by any IT staff member (with appropriate permissions) and will examine your environment and determine where your servers are under utilized and how much you could benefit from using virtual servers.

The tool produces a report that will outline for IT Management and C-Level management the findings and benefits of taking your organization away from physical servers and into the virtual world.

The tool can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/map

It may be the best thing available to aid in determining just how your company will benefit from Hyper-V and Virtualization.

One more tidbit of useful information, the MAP utility is a free download.