Virtualization with Xen(tm): Including XenEnterprise, XenServer, and XenExpress [Paperback]

David E. Williams (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1597491675 | ISBN-13: 978-1597491679 | Publication Date: May 28, 2007

Complete Coverage of Xen, Including Version 3.2
Virtualization with Xen is the first book to demonstrate to readers how to install, administer, and maintain a virtual infrastructure based on XenSource's latest release, Xen 3.2. It discusses best practices for setting up a Xen environment correctly the first time, maximizing the utilization of server assets while taking advantage of the fastest and most secure enterprise-grade paravirtualization architecture. It covers both basic and advanced topics, such as planning and installation, physical-to-virtual migrations, virtual machine provisioning, resource management, and monitoring and troubleshooting guests and Xen hosts.

* Explore Xen's Virtualization Model
Find a complete overview of the architecture model as well of all products: Xen 3.0 , Xen Express, XenServer, and Xen Enterprise.
* Deploy Xen
Understand the system requirements, learn installation methods, and see how to install Xen on a free Linux distribution.
* Master the Administrator Console
Learn how to use the command-line tools and the remote Java-based consoler that manages the configuration and operations of XenServer hosts and VMs.
* Manage Xen with Third-Party Tools
Use products like openQRM, Enomalism, and Project ConVirt to manage the VMM.
* Deploy a Virtual Machine in Xen
Learn about workload planning and installing modified guests, unmodified guests, and Windows guests.
* Explore Advanced Xen Concepts
Build a Xen Cluster, complete a XenVM migration, and discover XenVM backup and recovery solutions.
* See the Future of Virtualization
See the unofficial Xen road map and what virtual infrastructure holds for tomorrow's data center.
* See Other Virtualization Technologies and How They Compare with Xen
Take a look at the different types of server virtualization, other virtual machine software available, and how they compare with Xen.

*Complete with a demonstration version of Xen 3.2 on CD-ROM
*Xen has the lead in the open-source community; now distributed as a standard kernel package for Novell's SLES 10 and Red Hat's RHEL 5 and Fedora Core 6 Linux distributions
*Covers installation, administration, management, monitoring, and deployment planning and strategies

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

David E. Williams is Director of Technology Platform Services at the John H. Harland Company in Atlanta, GA. Harland is one of the leading software companies focused on financial institutions, one of the largest check printers in the country, and the leader in testing and assessment solutions for the education market. He is responsible for the operations and strategy of Windows, open systems, mainframe, storage, database, and data center technologies and services. He is also a senior architect and an advisory engineer, providing strategic direction on infrastructure for new enterprise-level projects. David is also a principal at Williams & Garcia, LLC, a consulting practice specializing in effective enterprise infrastructure solutions. He specializes in the delivery of advanced solutions for x86 and x64 environments. Focusing on cost containment and reduction of complexity, virtualization technologies have played a key role in his recommended solutions and infrastructure designs. David studied Music Engineering Technology at the University of Miami, and he holds MCSE+I, MCDBA, VCP, and CCNA certifications. When not obsessed with corporate infrastructures, he spends his time with his wife and three children.

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Syngress (May 28, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597491675
• ISBN-13: 978-1597491679
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,663,240 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, September 17, 2007

By 

Dad (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Virtualization with Xen(tm): Including XenEnterprise, XenServer, and XenExpress (Paperback)

I was going to purchase the book, but decided to find it in the book store and give it a browse. After about 20 minutes, I decided not to purchase.

The book may be ok for beginners, but it lacks in technical depth. Once you read about the history of virtualization, the various versions of Xen, and the GUI install, you are half way through the book. There is also very little in terms of reference material, so it's really just a one-time read.

Xen development is moving at a fairly rapid pace, so the book will soon be dated. I can't recommend it to anyone except those without any *nix or virtualization experience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars my review, July 26, 2007

By 

A. J. Baare (Woerden, Netherlands) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Virtualization with Xen(tm): Including XenEnterprise, XenServer, and XenExpress (Paperback)

I am about halfway this book, and think it is very good.
After some history about previous virtualizations (they forgot Amdahl's MDF, after which IBM startet LPAR's), they start explaining how to get XEN working, very nicely with good examples and giving backgrounds. This book is perfectly suited for experienced UNIX skilled people who want to learn a lot of the different ins and outs of XEN.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent coverage of Xen and virtualization technology as a whole!, June 2, 2007

By 

radiantjezzy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Virtualization with Xen(tm): Including XenEnterprise, XenServer, and XenExpress (Paperback)

I have been waiting to pickup this book for some time now. And it was worth the wait. The because covers every aspect of the Xen hypervisor in an exhaustive manner. As a bonus, the books also contains thought-invoking chapters on the benefits and future of virtualization.

The book covers the commercial side of Xen from XenSource, including the free XenExpress which is included on CD. But there's information on installing and managing the open source hypervisor as well. The chapter on advanced concepts covers configurations that allow you to extract further value from Xen.

Strongly recommended for beginners and the seasoned with virtualization, or if you just want to learn more about Xen.