Virtualization & SMB Series: Virtualization Architecture for the Small Business
I had debated whether hardware or licensing should be the first topic covered in this series. As cost drive a lot of small business decisions, and hardware costs can vary greatly, it seemed like the best place to start. And, just a reminder, this series is focused for VMware admins in environments containing 20 or less VMs, the small end of SMB, obviously the solutions discussed below will not work for large environments. I will touch on larger VMware environments in a future series
Alright, let's begin!
The Shared Storage Conundrum
Shared storage in smaller environments is cost prohibitive. Yet, it's important requirement for VMware High Availability and Fault Tolerance. The small business must assess the value of uptime and lost productivity due to host failure against the costs of this additional hardware.
If 99.99% uptime, or the ~30 second reboot window using HA is critical, then shared storage is a necessity and you won't find value in this post. But, if a short outage while replacing failed hardware is acceptable, let's continue.
Local storage is starting to come back into the limelight with the advent of Virtual SAN and similar products. It also provides a cost effective storage option for the smaller ESXi environments. I will discuss the use of vSAN in the small business in a future post, but for the below example, simple local storage will suffice.
Number of Hosts
The number of hosts are dictated by the number and purpose of each VM. Does the environment call for a low number of VMs running simple network services such as AD, DNS, DHCP, print server, file server, and Exchange? Then a properly configured single ESXi host can be deployed. However, introducing more complexity to the environment on top of the above listed services, such as a resource intensive line of business application, the use of a second host will save future headaches and provide additional benefits.
The use of a second host provides flexibility, scalability, and, to an extent, disaster recovery. The flexibility to migrate VMs for host maintenance or to load balance, albeit manually, across both hosts (we will discuss VMware licensing and features in the next post). The scalability to add new VMs should the need arise. And, in the event of a host failure, a second host provides a platform to restore VMs from the failed host. Scalability and disaster recovery are dictated by the amount of resources with which the host is configured. This will be discussed next.
Configuring the Hosts
Now we know the environment will be running one to two ESXi hosts without shared storage, how do we properly configure these hosts? Here's where budget and some forecasting come into play. The approach I've taken is to look at the company's current needs coupled with potential growth over the next 1-3 years. Is the company projected to grow such that they will need additional VMs? Is the ship holding steady? Future uncertain? Doing your best Magic 8-Ball impression will help your design hold up over the next few years.
Let's use the following example explore this concept (I will stay vendor agnostic in my examples).
ABC Co. is a family owned company that has 20 employees, 5 of which use an ERP program on a daily basis, and host email internally. The "server room" is a climate controlled closet off the main office space with no racking. Sales have grown by 15% on average 3 of the last 5 years. You've been put in charge of the hardware refresh project. As hard as you've tried to demonstrate the benefits of shared storage, the budget is simply not there, and the CEO is comfortable with ERP and email services being down for upwards of half the day due hardware failure.
Knowing ABC Co. has projected growth, the solution implemented needs to have room for expansion. Assuming that the budget will not allow for the purchase of all resources up front, there are two things I do not skimp on in these scenarios: CPU and storage bays on the chassis. Dual 10 core hyper-threaded processors in each host may seem like overkill now, but when you look at the costs of purchasing 4 new processors in the future versus the capex investment today, fiscally, it's the better option. The same is true when it comes to the chassis. The price point between an 8 bay or a 16 bay chassis is generally negligible. Despite needing only 8 drives of local storage today, it's easier to fill in the open bays as needed versus replacing the entire chassis to obtain enough storage.
RAM and local storage is where you get to be more creative in your solution. Ideally, I would configure each host with enough RAM to run all VMs on a single host, but that may not be allowed within the constraints of the budget. Installing additional RAM in the future is cheap and easy, so it's not necessary to max out your host today. At minimum, I would suggest enough RAM to run all of the current VMs without constraint, and factor in some additional capacity to power one to two additional VMs should the environment suddenly need another server. This also allows the host to have the resources to bring up a critical VM should the other host in the cluster encounter a failure.
In a perfect world, local storage capacity, much like RAM, would provide enough resources to house all VMs in the environment. Knowing that storage, both shared and local, is expensive, this is usually not possible. What I've done in these scenarios is calculate how much storage is needed today, assuming max capacity of all thin provisioned VMs, and, much like RAM, add extra capacity for an additional VM or two. Again, in the future, it's easy to add additional hard drives and create a new virtual disk group to meet the storage needs.
In these smaller environments, providing high IOPS is not always necessary to meet business needs. While using solid state drives is necessary in some cases, adequate performance can be obtained from spinning disks in RAID arrays. I've had success implementing varying sizes of RAID arrays to meet the storage and budgetary needs. These arrays have included pools of 300-600GB 10K, 1.2TB 10k/15k, and 300-600GB 15k spinning disks.
Which RAID option is right for your environment? In almost every scenario, I have deployed RAID 10, but the hard drive count may deter some admins from its use. What makes RAID 10 a good choice is that is provides both read and write gains coupled with the ability to have two drives fail before data is lost (assuming they are from different sets). However, if the budget is truly that tight, RAID 5 is a decent option considering that it provides for a single drive failure and provides read performance.
Understanding that all VMs may be running on the same host on a single RAID array, I would recommend the investment in the utilization of RAID 10. A bit of capital spent now can save your company's data, and a lot of headaches, in the future.
Protecting Against Downtime
Downtime is inevitable, but there are steps admins can take to protect their environment from unplanned outages. Creating a nearly fully redundant hardware solution is the first step. Make sure to equip your host(s) with dual power supplies and dual NICs. Utilizing an uninterrupted power supply not only protects your hardware from a surge, but provides a clean flow of electricity to the host. The power input to the UPS should also be split between two different electrical circuits if possible, keeping things running in the event of a tripped breaker.
As discussed, RAID provides some data protection against drive failures, but what if an additional drive fails before you can replace the first? Implementing a hot swap drive to take over in the event of a drive failure provides a fail-safe to keep the array running at peak performance until you can replace the drive. Regular monitoring of the environment can also help detect and predict issues, but we will discuss that in a future post
We've got the Hardware, What's Next?
In the next post, I will go over VMware licensing for the small business and which solutions offer the best values.
In the meantime, do you have any questions, comments, or would you like me to dive deeper into a topic covered above? I'd love to hear from you! You can leave your thoughts in the comments section below, contact me on Google +Paul Woodward Jr, or reach out to me on Twitter @ExploreVM.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Thursday, October 22, 2015
Chicago VMUG UserCon Session Recap "Virtualization and Small Business"
I had the privilege of making my VMUG speaking debut at September's Chicago VMUG UserCon. It was an honor to be asked to speak at the same event as some of the people I've looked to for
information and guidance throughout my career. I am glad I've got my first session under my belt, as I'm scheduled to present at November's North Central WIVMUG Super Meeting.
My community session, co-presented with +Brian Kirsch, was on the use of virtualizaiton in the small business environment. You can find our slide deck here.
What I noticed, after attending numerous VMUG meetings, is that no one is really focusing on the small portion of the SMB market. When I say small, I'm referring to 200 or less employees, 1 - 2 ESXi hosts. There are plenty of great resources out there if you're working with a few hundred VMs, but what if the company only requires 5, 10, or 20 guests? Given that's the size of the market I have most experience with, and also, community resources for the admins of these smaller IT departments is largely overlooked, I decided that I could share my experiences and help others along the way.
Now, rather than write a lengthy blog post recapping our entire session, I felt I could better share my knowledge by breaking the session down into each topic covered.
Over the next few weeks, watch for posts on the following topics:
In closing, Brian offered the following thoughts:
"The success of the SMB is depended on the needs of today and the growth of tomorrow. Architecture has to be planned out carefully as growth is not hoped for but expected. It becomes a question of how much growth and how quickly all while balancing costs and profits. Understanding the various options and how they translate into the future with design, storage and licenses is a complex undertaking but having that established path which will translate into less obsolesce. Technology for the SMB cannot be a throw away resource as you grown, it has to be a carefully planned base that allows you to expand at a moments notice without breaking your budgets."
If you've got any questions, would like to chat, or would like to suggest any other topics, feel free to contact me via Twitter, @ExploreVM, LinkedIn, or in the comments section below.
information and guidance throughout my career. I am glad I've got my first session under my belt, as I'm scheduled to present at November's North Central WIVMUG Super Meeting.
My community session, co-presented with +Brian Kirsch, was on the use of virtualizaiton in the small business environment. You can find our slide deck here.
What I noticed, after attending numerous VMUG meetings, is that no one is really focusing on the small portion of the SMB market. When I say small, I'm referring to 200 or less employees, 1 - 2 ESXi hosts. There are plenty of great resources out there if you're working with a few hundred VMs, but what if the company only requires 5, 10, or 20 guests? Given that's the size of the market I have most experience with, and also, community resources for the admins of these smaller IT departments is largely overlooked, I decided that I could share my experiences and help others along the way.
Now, rather than write a lengthy blog post recapping our entire session, I felt I could better share my knowledge by breaking the session down into each topic covered.
Over the next few weeks, watch for posts on the following topics:
- Virtualization Architecture for Small Business
- VMware & Other Vendor Licensing in the Small Environment
- Techniques for Small Business Virtualization
- Tools for the Small Business VMware Admin
In closing, Brian offered the following thoughts:
"The success of the SMB is depended on the needs of today and the growth of tomorrow. Architecture has to be planned out carefully as growth is not hoped for but expected. It becomes a question of how much growth and how quickly all while balancing costs and profits. Understanding the various options and how they translate into the future with design, storage and licenses is a complex undertaking but having that established path which will translate into less obsolesce. Technology for the SMB cannot be a throw away resource as you grown, it has to be a carefully planned base that allows you to expand at a moments notice without breaking your budgets."
If you've got any questions, would like to chat, or would like to suggest any other topics, feel free to contact me via Twitter, @ExploreVM, LinkedIn, or in the comments section below.
Monday, October 28, 2013
So I built a Bitcoin miner.
For graduation, my friend +Thomas Jensen gave me a Raspberry Pi. Those of you who don't know, Raspberry Pi is a Linux powered, 700MHz computer designed to make computer science more accessible to schools (for more info check out RaspberryPi.org). On top of the educational implications, they are also really fun to tinker with! After reading about other people's projects, I decided I wanted to something a little bit different with my Pi, so I sat on it for a few months.
Flash forward to 2 weeks ago. Scanning my Twitter feed I noticed some chatter about a Bitcoin ATM that was scheduled to open. Now, by this point I was well aware of Bitcoins, but I thought I would dig into them a bit deeper. I started looking into the basics of Bitcoin mining. You need mining software, block erupters (which process the algorithms), a mining pool, and a Bitcoin wallet. That's when I stumbled onto MinePeon, a Bitcoin mining software developed specifically for the ARM processor (the processor that powers the Raspberry Pi).
Computer, check. Mining software, check. Now on to the erupters. Erupters are ASIC devices designed specifically for processing the algorithms which generate and verify Bitcoins. An entry level miner, the ASICMiner Block Erupter USB 330MH/s Sapphire Miner was right in my price range.
Now, up until this point, this project has cost me zero out of pocket, but that was about to change... Some what. I had the good fortune of winning a $100 Amazon gift card from VMUG (thanks again, VMUG!), and thankfully, they had all the parts necessary to complete this project. The Pi does not have enough power to handle a block eruper plugged directly into it, so a powered USB hub is necessary. Also, the miner tends to run hot, so I purchased a USB fan to keep the rig cool. Below is a breakdown of price per part:
Flash forward to 2 weeks ago. Scanning my Twitter feed I noticed some chatter about a Bitcoin ATM that was scheduled to open. Now, by this point I was well aware of Bitcoins, but I thought I would dig into them a bit deeper. I started looking into the basics of Bitcoin mining. You need mining software, block erupters (which process the algorithms), a mining pool, and a Bitcoin wallet. That's when I stumbled onto MinePeon, a Bitcoin mining software developed specifically for the ARM processor (the processor that powers the Raspberry Pi).
Computer, check. Mining software, check. Now on to the erupters. Erupters are ASIC devices designed specifically for processing the algorithms which generate and verify Bitcoins. An entry level miner, the ASICMiner Block Erupter USB 330MH/s Sapphire Miner was right in my price range.
Now, up until this point, this project has cost me zero out of pocket, but that was about to change... Some what. I had the good fortune of winning a $100 Amazon gift card from VMUG (thanks again, VMUG!), and thankfully, they had all the parts necessary to complete this project. The Pi does not have enough power to handle a block eruper plugged directly into it, so a powered USB hub is necessary. Also, the miner tends to run hot, so I purchased a USB fan to keep the rig cool. Below is a breakdown of price per part:
- Raspberry Pi $35 (my cost - free)
- 12 port USB Hub $27.99
- USB fan $5.99
- ASICMiner Block Erupter USB 330MH/s Sapphire Miner $11.99
I headed to my Amazon shopping cart, but then I hesitated. I thought, "I've still got enough money left on this gift card for another 4 erupters, why not quintuple my mining power!", so I doubled back and added 4 more to my cart. Then I hesitated again, "Ya know, you've still got 5 open ports on that hub, and technically you haven't spent a dime on this project, what's a $60 out of pocket expense to decuple my earning power!".
So, my Raspberry Pi Bitcoin Mining rig has a price tag of ~$175, with an out of pocket cost to me of $60.
Assembly of the miner is simple, the most complicated step is burning MinePeon to the SD card. You'll need to sign up for a Bitcoin wallet, which is where the coins you have mined will be stored. I chose an online wallet for security reasons, but you can install a walled on your computer. You will also need to find a mining pool. There are several out there, and plenty of information about hash rate, fees, etc... so you can make an informed decision on which pool you wish to join. Signing up for pools and wallets are free, and most are very easy to get started. Setting up your wallet to the pool is also easy, just request an address from your wallet, and link it to your pool account!
Once I had all the parts in place, signed up for the pool and wallet, it was time to power it up! Visually, it's quite a sight!
Once it fired up, I monitored it for a few hours as I worked on other projects around the house. At the time, all 10 erupters were functioning, and it had jumped into a few different mining "shifts" and started working. I felt comfortable heading off to bed.
Knowing full well this is a low power miner, I still ran downstairs like a child on Christmas, excited to see what Bitcoin Claus left me! 0.00000049 BTC. Yup, less than a penny. Turns out during the night a few of the erupters stopped working, and the miner failed to grab any other shifts after it completed the one it was working. I rebooted the Pi and the erupters and during the day Friday, it looked like it was finally functioning properly. If it kept up the pace it was mining at, my rig would pay for my out of pocket cost in about 45 to 60 days.
Unfortunately, it has not keep up that pace. Still to this day it is failing to reach out to a new shift without rebooting the miner. I reached out to the MinePeon forums and a few other locations to ask other users if they've run into similar experiences. The common thought was that my hub did not have enough power to keep up with 10 erupters. I stared by removing the USB fan and plugging it into a near by desktop to cool the rig, which did result in fewer hardware errors, but did not help with the shift errors. My next step was to remove a few of the erupters. Since the hub breaks down into 2 circuits, I took two erupters off so it was running 4 on each circuit. No dice, still won't pick up a shift without a reboot.
So here's the situation. If I log directly into MinePeon, it shows that the miner is functioning, but if I log in via the GUI it shows the miner as offline. Same thing with the mining pool website, it shows the worker is offline, but after a reboot it will show that I am working shifts and will see an increase in my amount earned. My next troubleshooting idea would be to reinstall MinePeon, this seems like a software issue, but I could be wrong. I will post a new blog once I figure out the issue and get it running fully.
Until then, if you want to follow my progress, feel free to follow me on Twitter (@ExploreVM), Instagram (ExploreVM) or Google+ (Paul Woodward Jr).
I would also love to hear any troubleshooting ideas you may have! Comment below or reach out to me via the above listed channels.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
VMUG Needs Your Input!
I wanted to keep this quiet until after the big announcement at VMWorld, which was hard for me because I'm a fairly social person. VMUG is planning their first ever virtual meeting, and I have been tapped to be on the task force planning the event. The event is going to feature a keynote from VMware, several virtualization experts, presentations from vendors and Q&A sessions.
With that being said, let's get down to business! What we need to know from all of you is what do you want in a VMUG meeting? What topics, technologies, trends are most important to you and your business. This is your time to speak up.Have you attended virtual events before? What did you like, what didn't you like? Any input is good input for us. We want to make this event great!
On a personal note, I'd like to thank my friend and former professor Brian Kirsch for the vote of confidence in bringing me into the team. It's going to be an amazing opportunity and I'm excited to be involved.
With that being said, let's get down to business! What we need to know from all of you is what do you want in a VMUG meeting? What topics, technologies, trends are most important to you and your business. This is your time to speak up.Have you attended virtual events before? What did you like, what didn't you like? Any input is good input for us. We want to make this event great!
On a personal note, I'd like to thank my friend and former professor Brian Kirsch for the vote of confidence in bringing me into the team. It's going to be an amazing opportunity and I'm excited to be involved.
You can reach out to me on Twitter (@ExploreVM), Google+, Facebook, or feel free to comment right here on this blog. We are all looking forward to hearing what you've got to say.
Sunday, July 7, 2013
Got my foot in the door.
Well everyone, I've caught my break. After 6 months of applying, submitting resumes, and meeting with recruiters, I have finally got an IT job! Effective July 15th I'll be an ID Management Support Technician for a large, multinational company working at it's headquarters in Milwaukee. This position gives me the opportunity to build ever important work experience, which has been holding me back on my job hunt.
My main job requirements consist of managing users security settings through Active Directory, building and deploying desktop/laptop computers, and deploying mobile devices for new employees. Mobile deployment will be a new skill set for me, which, after talking to a few people already in the IT field and technical recruiters, looks to be an excellent addition to my resume. I've been told by more than a few people that mobile deployment is highly sought after right now. Oh, and on top of learning new skills, this position comes with a (small) bump in pay.
Everything's coming upMillhouse Paul, right? Well, not quite. Remember a couple of posts ago when I said "fortune favors the bold"? This is certainly the case. This position is only a short term contract. I've been told there is a chance of being hired on or the contract being extended, but the reality of the situation is to take this new position, I have to give up a job I have been at for just over 9 years. Is this a risky move? Certainly. Is it worth it? I say yes. I have to take the opportunity to build my professional experience when it's offered to me. In this job market, I'd be a fool not to. I've just got to push forward with the optimistic outlook that my hard work will pay off in the end. So if anyone happens to be looking for some new employees in a couple of months, keep me in mind!
My main job requirements consist of managing users security settings through Active Directory, building and deploying desktop/laptop computers, and deploying mobile devices for new employees. Mobile deployment will be a new skill set for me, which, after talking to a few people already in the IT field and technical recruiters, looks to be an excellent addition to my resume. I've been told by more than a few people that mobile deployment is highly sought after right now. Oh, and on top of learning new skills, this position comes with a (small) bump in pay.
Everything's coming up
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Entering the Field of Virtualization
So here I am, a college graduate! The big day came and went, now what? How do I continue to prepare myself for a career in virtualization and information technology? How do I take that next step? Reality hits you pretty quickly once the ceremony is over. I am already preparing for the VCP exam, continuously reading anything that could end up being remotely useful in my future, but really, all this prep work is so broad. I thought to myself, to get a better handle on what I should be preparing for and what to expect I should speak to professionals already in the field.
Enter Brian Kirsch and Adam Bergh. Seven and five years in virtualization respectively, Brian currently teaches Emerging Network Technologies at MATC after working for Children's Hospital and Fiserv, and Adam is a Senior Datacenter Engineer at Netech Corp. The list of certifications between both of them is long and impressive, from MCSE & CCNA to VCP & NetApp to vExpert & Masters level education. To be honest, I couldn't do these guys justice without listing every certification they hold. I asked them both first five questions that came to my mind.
As I am working to enter the field, I wondered how these two got their start, so I asked what was their first experience with virtualization and how their careers began. Adam's first experience with VMware was Workstation back in 2002, and from that moment he knew big changes in information technology were coming. In 2008 he changed careers as an engineer and dove right into datacenter consulting. Like a lot of people, Brian started as a Systems Administrator and encountered Microsoft virtual technologies, but really got deep into ESX / GSX with Fiserv.
Now that I had an understanding of how they encountered virtualization technologies, the next question I had was as virtualization professionals, what traits or skills do you feel are necessary to succeed in the field? "Flexibility and a open mind to multiple solutions." according to Brian Kirsch. He went on to say "Virtualizing something is not always the correct solution. VMware and other tools are just that...tools that you have to know how to use and even use a bit outside what they are designed for to provide the solution to the customer". Adam's thoughts really spoke to my style and work ethic. He said "It sounds cliché, but the most important trait to have in this industry is a thirst for knowledge. Technology in this industry is constantly changing, and it takes someone who is willing to constantly be studying, reading, and communicating with industry leaders so stay on top of the emerging tech."
So at this point I feel like I'm on the right track. Reading, studying, watching training videos, using Twitter and blog posts to learn and network about virtualization, I am trying to take in as much knowledge as I can. My next thought was what advice to an aspiring IT professional could they offer? Don't get stuck in a vendor rut according to Brian, his advice was "Be open to everything coming, do not dedicate to a single vendor but embrace all of the technologies." The sentiment was shared by Adam, "The best advice I could give is to try and catch on with a solutions partner and integrator of one of the leading technology firms in this industry. (Cisco, VMware, Microsoft, EMC, NetApp, Dell, HP, etc)." He added "Your education is massively accelerated by seeing different solutions, implementations, projects, etc, rather that trying to do in-house IT for a customer of VMware, Microsoft, etc." There was one more point that Adam made that really sticks out in this job climate. His advice, " Don't be afraid to start small. Be an intern if you have to as a way to get in. Find the best engineers and shadow their every move. Stay up all night reading and building scenarios in labs." Not being afraid to start small is huge now more than ever. I've met with technical recruiters and a common theme is that job seekers are not willing to start at the bottom and work their way up. My stance has always been just get my foot in the door, whether it's re-installing operating systems, setting up workstations, or answering help desk phone calls, I'll let my skill set, knowledge, and work ethic propel my career upwards.
To close out the interviews I asked for any final thoughts. Adam suggests keeping an eye to the future, "This is one industry where someone new to the industry can come in and compete with seasoned professionals who have been doing this for years. The reason is the constant change in the industry and the new technologies that arrive and seemly shake the industry every few years. Cloud technologies begin the most recent example. The next example the coming SDDC (Software Defined Datacenter) revolution that is threatening to completely change that way datacenters are designed and deployed." And Brian put it simply, "It's a fun ride that never slows down..."
What are your thoughts? Feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below, on my Google+ page, or on Twitter, my handle is @ExploreVM. Also, if you would like to be interviewed for future blog posts, message me directly.
Enter Brian Kirsch and Adam Bergh. Seven and five years in virtualization respectively, Brian currently teaches Emerging Network Technologies at MATC after working for Children's Hospital and Fiserv, and Adam is a Senior Datacenter Engineer at Netech Corp. The list of certifications between both of them is long and impressive, from MCSE & CCNA to VCP & NetApp to vExpert & Masters level education. To be honest, I couldn't do these guys justice without listing every certification they hold. I asked them both first five questions that came to my mind.
As I am working to enter the field, I wondered how these two got their start, so I asked what was their first experience with virtualization and how their careers began. Adam's first experience with VMware was Workstation back in 2002, and from that moment he knew big changes in information technology were coming. In 2008 he changed careers as an engineer and dove right into datacenter consulting. Like a lot of people, Brian started as a Systems Administrator and encountered Microsoft virtual technologies, but really got deep into ESX / GSX with Fiserv.
Now that I had an understanding of how they encountered virtualization technologies, the next question I had was as virtualization professionals, what traits or skills do you feel are necessary to succeed in the field? "Flexibility and a open mind to multiple solutions." according to Brian Kirsch. He went on to say "Virtualizing something is not always the correct solution. VMware and other tools are just that...tools that you have to know how to use and even use a bit outside what they are designed for to provide the solution to the customer". Adam's thoughts really spoke to my style and work ethic. He said "It sounds cliché, but the most important trait to have in this industry is a thirst for knowledge. Technology in this industry is constantly changing, and it takes someone who is willing to constantly be studying, reading, and communicating with industry leaders so stay on top of the emerging tech."
So at this point I feel like I'm on the right track. Reading, studying, watching training videos, using Twitter and blog posts to learn and network about virtualization, I am trying to take in as much knowledge as I can. My next thought was what advice to an aspiring IT professional could they offer? Don't get stuck in a vendor rut according to Brian, his advice was "Be open to everything coming, do not dedicate to a single vendor but embrace all of the technologies." The sentiment was shared by Adam, "The best advice I could give is to try and catch on with a solutions partner and integrator of one of the leading technology firms in this industry. (Cisco, VMware, Microsoft, EMC, NetApp, Dell, HP, etc)." He added "Your education is massively accelerated by seeing different solutions, implementations, projects, etc, rather that trying to do in-house IT for a customer of VMware, Microsoft, etc." There was one more point that Adam made that really sticks out in this job climate. His advice, " Don't be afraid to start small. Be an intern if you have to as a way to get in. Find the best engineers and shadow their every move. Stay up all night reading and building scenarios in labs." Not being afraid to start small is huge now more than ever. I've met with technical recruiters and a common theme is that job seekers are not willing to start at the bottom and work their way up. My stance has always been just get my foot in the door, whether it's re-installing operating systems, setting up workstations, or answering help desk phone calls, I'll let my skill set, knowledge, and work ethic propel my career upwards.
To close out the interviews I asked for any final thoughts. Adam suggests keeping an eye to the future, "This is one industry where someone new to the industry can come in and compete with seasoned professionals who have been doing this for years. The reason is the constant change in the industry and the new technologies that arrive and seemly shake the industry every few years. Cloud technologies begin the most recent example. The next example the coming SDDC (Software Defined Datacenter) revolution that is threatening to completely change that way datacenters are designed and deployed." And Brian put it simply, "It's a fun ride that never slows down..."
What are your thoughts? Feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below, on my Google+ page, or on Twitter, my handle is @ExploreVM. Also, if you would like to be interviewed for future blog posts, message me directly.
Saturday, May 11, 2013
Fortune Favors The Bold - A Personal Update
I've lived by that saying for a while now, "fortune favors the bold", and I believe it. With my time at Milwaukee Area Technical College coming to a close, I have made a few large life decisions. First of all, as some of my followers may know already, I've been accepted to the Milwaukee School of Engineering for the Management Information Systems program starting this fall. Continuing my education at such a well respected college is a step I feel I need to take in my ongoing journey to be a well rounded IT Professional. I will enter the school as a Junior. After talking with a few past students I have learned that the Junior year at MSOE is the most difficult, but honestly, I am excited and looking forward to the challenge.
Second of all, I've been actively seeking employment in the field for a couple of months now, and the road block I continuously run into is lack of experience. In an effort to counteract this, I am forming my own LLC to do contract IT work, and to consult small businesses on social media marketing. This move will have a two fold effect. First of all, holding the LLC shows a level of professionalism to potential clients over other individuals who are just using word of mouth, posting flyers, or Craigslist to seek work. Secondly, I've received two contract offers from small businesses to create, update, and manage their social media presence and I would like to handle that in a professional manner. Now, the LLC is just supplementary work for myself right now, as I am still working full time and seeking full time employment. I understand that there is a chance that when I do finally find entry level IT work for a company, I may face a cut in pay from what I earn currently, so I will maintain the LLC to offset any loss in pay. And who knows, maybe I will have enough success that I can turn my small business into full time employment... Well, a boy can dream, can't he?
Finally, the third, and easily biggest life choice I have made is that I asked my girlfriend of over 2 years to marry me. Without her support, none of this could be possible, and I am grateful to have her in my life. This decision also adds to my motivation to succeed professionally, as now it's not just me anymore, is us.
Second of all, I've been actively seeking employment in the field for a couple of months now, and the road block I continuously run into is lack of experience. In an effort to counteract this, I am forming my own LLC to do contract IT work, and to consult small businesses on social media marketing. This move will have a two fold effect. First of all, holding the LLC shows a level of professionalism to potential clients over other individuals who are just using word of mouth, posting flyers, or Craigslist to seek work. Secondly, I've received two contract offers from small businesses to create, update, and manage their social media presence and I would like to handle that in a professional manner. Now, the LLC is just supplementary work for myself right now, as I am still working full time and seeking full time employment. I understand that there is a chance that when I do finally find entry level IT work for a company, I may face a cut in pay from what I earn currently, so I will maintain the LLC to offset any loss in pay. And who knows, maybe I will have enough success that I can turn my small business into full time employment... Well, a boy can dream, can't he?
Finally, the third, and easily biggest life choice I have made is that I asked my girlfriend of over 2 years to marry me. Without her support, none of this could be possible, and I am grateful to have her in my life. This decision also adds to my motivation to succeed professionally, as now it's not just me anymore, is us.
If you've got any comments, tips, words of encouragement, or anything at all, feel free to leave a comment, or contact me on Twitter: @ExploreVM
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