Get Inside the IT Scoop with an interview with one of JDL Technologies' engineers. Here's a Q&A with Shane Kleinert, Solutions Architect specializing in Virtualization....
1) Many people are mystified by the word Virtualization, how do you describe what you do?
I’m a Solutions Architect, specializing in Virtualization solutions. In short, I increase IT efficiency, enabling the business to be more agile. This is all made possible with the magical power of Virtualization. Now, this doesn’t mean we have a Harry Potter wand, which we wave and magically your solution appears. Although, it would be cool! The truth be told, a lot goes into designing a virtualization solution. For those of you reading this and haven’t had a chance to discover this magical power, I’ll give you a fairly quick definition –
Virtualization = abstracting the software from the physical hardware.
In a longer version, think about it like this:
Physical servers and/or desktops, which don’t have any sort of virtualization, are tightly intertwined with the software operating system. We call this being installed on bare metal hardware. You will notice this if you’ve ever tried to clone one physical machine to a completely different set of hardware. You will end up with one of those famous BLUE screens! That’s due to the hardware platforms being different. A thin layer called a hypervisor sits between these two layers enabling abstraction by providing a common hardware platform across multiple sets of hardware. This allows for portability, which moves your workload across different virtualization platforms. Essentially, we are taking the entire workload and putting it in a bubble. This concept applies for both Server and Desktops.
Virtualization has its different forms: Application, Desktop, Server, and Storage. At JDL, we focus on all of those forms, and work with a few different partners enabling us to have an agnostic approach when determining a solution set. As a Solutions Architect, my goal is to understand all of the business requirements and design best solution for the business.
2) What common mistakes do you find with business owners’ concepts of Virtualization?
A lot of business owners think that virtualization is a silver bullet. Stick the workload in a VM and you’re good to go! It’s a lot more than that.
Careful planning is required when architecting a virtualization solution. Whether desktops or servers, capacity planning and environment assessments need to be done to determine the workload performance metrics over time, which will enable realistic planning. This way, engineers can make data driven decisions when architecting a solution.
3) How does Virtualization make an impact from day one in a business?
If designed correctly, all forms of Virtualization will increase productivity by enabling a fluid working environment. Both IT and the business benefit from the increased productivity and flexibility. IT sees increased productivity by leveraging its dynamic infrastructure and end users; while, the business has increased productivity by enabling a work from anywhere workforce. With the right technology implemented your workforce can access their business critical applications from any location ensuring they have the same user experience both at work and remotely from any device! JDL has a core focus on enabling the virtual workforce.
4) Living IT on a daily basis as a profession and interest, what are the top 3 trending topics in Virtualization?
I would have to say the top three trending topics in the area of Virtualization are:
Desktop Virtualization more than just VDI
Cloud
Discussions around Post PC
Additionally, here are a few websites to get the latest industry news:
www.brianmadden.com
www.dabcc.com
www.virtualization.info
Twitter is a great resource as well.
5) If you could have a super hero power what would it be..?
I would want the power to teleport! Beam me up Scotty!