Managing VMware storage with Vizioncore vOptimizer Pro

While looking around the virtualization ecosystem at different applications, I came across Vizioncore’s vOptimizer Pro. At first, I assumed the new product was something similar to what Vizioncore acquired from Invirtus. Not quite. So to find out more, I spoke with George Pradel, Vizioncore’s director of strategic alliances, so that I could become better educated on just exactly what vOptimizer Pro was all about.

InfoWorld Virtualization Report: Just to get something straightened out right away, vOptimizer Pro is not the same product as Invirtus’ VM Optimizer, right? And vOptimizer Pro was designed for VMware ESX environments, correct?

George Pradel: Correct. Invirtus was purchased by Quest Software in 2007, and today software developed by Invirtus is released through Vizioncore under the Vizioncore brand. As you know, Vizioncore’s focus is on server virtualization hypervisors, so the two Invirtus products that were originally desktop-oriented — vConverter and vOptimizer Pro — have been completely redesigned to support VMware ESX environments. We “reinvented” these products from the perspective of what VMware administrators need to do and created affordable, easy-to-use software that automates pretty complex, time-consuming tasks. vOptimizer Pro was a finalist in the “New Technology” category for the Best of VMworld awards last year and represents a new concept — or approach — to managing storage for VMware virtual machines.

IWVR: So tell us then, what exactly does vOptimizer Pro do?

Pradel: vOptimizer Pro allows customers to automatically resize virtual machines up or down depending on VM requirements. Many virtual machines that are built during the early adoption phases typically need to be adjusted later to right-size the storage assigned to it. Too much and you are basically wasting a valuable resource. Too little, and you run the risk the VM’s performance will suffer.

vOptimizer Pro enables customers to right-size their storage environments in compliance with VMware’s best practice of aligning VM’s along the 64K boundary. Today, aligning VMs requires a manual process which can be quite challenging to deploy. A single miscalculation in the process can cost you dearly, so it’s typically put on the back burner. With vOptimizer Pro, you can check a box that will align the VM along the 64K boundary as part of the virtual machine optimization. This is done in place without the need for extra disk space in order to achieve the desired result.

IWVR: Sounds extremely useful. Are there other products out there that do what vOptimizer Pro does?

Pradel: No, actually. This product is the first of its kind on the market, and vOptimizer Pro does not have any real competition right now. As I said, the only way to align VMs currently requires a manual process that takes time and could be prone to human error. There are other software products out there that you would use as part of this process. So using a tool like vOptimizer Pro that automates the entire process represents a significant time savings, and ultimately cost savings, for the user over the existing methods.

IWVR: What platforms does vOptimizer Pro support?

Pradel: Right now, vOptimizer Pro is exclusive to VMware environments and is complementary to the VMware offerings.

vOptimizer Pro can work with vCenter Server or direct to an ESX server. And vOptimizer Pro can optimize virtual machines with Windows XP, 2000, and 2003 platforms.

IWVR: This sounds like a solution that would be really useful for large environments. Is that the target customer for this solution?

Pradel: Actually, at about $299 per CPU, vOptimizer Pro is so affordable, anyone should be considering it if they answer “yes” to any of the following questions. Do they need to control VM storage costs? Do they need to reduce the size of VMs for more density per datastore? Is it critical to have an easy way to allocate more storage to your VMs? Do they need an easy way to align partitions to increase performance, decrease latency and comply with VMware best practices on VM alignment? vOptimizer Pro can address all those needs.

IWVR: Who then do you consider would be the typical user of this product in an organization?

Pradel: Basically, the typical user would be the VMware administrator who needs to perform maintenance on the virtual environment. vOptimizer Pro will allow them to resize their VMs on a scheduled basis to use their storage most efficiently by eliminating excessive unused disk space. vOptimizer Pro also has the ability to assign disk quotas so that VMs cannot be made too small. The calculation takes the used disk space and adds the assigned quota, 200MB or greater and then re-sizes the VM to that size. For example, an existing virtual machine which is sized to 20GB and only 3.5GB used, could be resized with a 1.5GB quota to 5GB, thereby saving 15GB of unused disk space and returning it to the pool available on that particular datastore. In addition, vOptimizer Pro provides full reporting based upon user assigned values for disk storage costs. This will show disk storage savings or growth and help with planning.

I’d like to thank George Pradel again for his time and for setting me straight on Vizioncore’s vOptimizer Pro product. You can find out more information about vOptimizer Pro by visiting Vizioncore’s Web site. There, you can find lots of information, including an ROI calculator so that you can get an idea of how the product can impact your environment. In addition, you can also download a trial of the product that offers you a two-optimization license that is good for 15 days.