Hyper-V management tools make VMware administrators handy

The capabilities of the Hyper-V management tool transcend the core functionality obtained from the System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). These virtualization management tools provide additional performance, freeing up all the potential features of virtualization: Backup and recovery, performance and capacity management, disaster recovery, and private cloud computing.





VMware and Microsoft have relied on their partners to develop many of these types of virtualization management tools, but beyond that, VMware has developed a range of tools that are not currently available in the Hyper-V management suite. For example, you can use VMware Data Recovery for backup, performance and capacity management through vcenter operations and CAPACITYIQ, disaster recovery through site Recovery Manager, and Vcloud Director Private Cloud Management.





refer to the available options for Hyper-V management tools to make informed decisions about introducing Microsoft platforms into your vsphere infrastructure.





Backup and Restore





Windows Server Backup tool for Hyper-V management originates from Microsoft Windows systems. With the development of Hyper-V management tools, this tool is no use other than the least occupied space in the Hyper-V architecture. For example, it cannot back up a clustered shared volume, so you cannot use Windows Server Backup to repair a stand-alone virtual machine (VM). It also does not automatically fix those virtual machines that contain two or more than two snapshots. If you want to choose a different approach, pay special attention to fit Hyper-V technology, because it makes backup management easier if you plan to add Hyper-V technology to the vsphere infrastructure.





performance and Capacity management





For performance management, Microsoft has Windows configured monitor that uses the Perfmon counters to further extend its functionality by combining SCVMM and system Center Operations Manager. However, these Hyper-V management tools do not include the calculation and modeling capabilities of converting raw monitoring data into recommended actions. In this regard, Microsoft relies heavily on its partners to develop better virtualization management tools.





Disaster Recovery





for disaster recovery, Microsoft offers Windows Failover Clustering. With this Hyper-V management tool, you can extend Hyper-V clusters across multiple sites and subnets through replicated shared storage assistance. When Out-of-band replication occurs between each storage instance, the hosts for each site can connect to the local shared storage. You can configure the cluster through failover Cluster Manager, which requires special attention to ensure that the virtual machine fails over to the correct host.





Private Cloud computing





based on the definition of private cloud, many of today's components have the following characteristics through SCVMM: High availability, load balancing, self-service, and resource management. The next version of SCVMM 2012 will focus on private cloud construction and uninterrupted maintenance.





as you can see, there are a variety of hyper-V management tools available on the market, and these third-party support will make your Hyper-V management easier, regardless of their technical maturity. With VMware becoming increasingly competitive with Microsoft, it's a good idea to know two platforms.





Understanding these two platform virtualization management tools will greatly help consolidate your management results while protecting your return on investment.