• Mac OS X,  Mac Security

    Use UTM To Run Virtual Machines of macOS from macOS

    UTM is a virtualization tool available on the Mac App Store at https://apps.apple.com/us/app/utm-virtual-machines/id1538878817?mt=12 with a GitHub at https://github.com/osy. UTM uses the new virtualization framework (documented here) from Apple, so runs the most modern virtualization stack currently available on a Mac. It also emulates via the QEMU system emulation. It can run guest operating systems in Windows, Linux, etc – emulating RISC, ARM, Intel, etc. Installation from the App Store is easy. Once installed, open the UTM app and click on the plus sign to create a new virtual machine. Here, there are options to Virtualize or Emulate. Given that we’ll be installing a beta OS from Apple for this example,…

  • Articles and Books,  Bushel

    Virtual Strategy Magazine Article On Security Breaches And Their Impact On Small Businesses

    The title of this one ended up a bit more FUDy than I’d prefer, but the content’s mostly what I provided. With the rise of SMB-friendly backup solutions like CrashPlan, Carbonite, Mozy, and Backblaze, small businesses will choose to back up their systems with alternatives to expensive tape libraries, software to drive those libraries, and countless hours spent restoring files. As more cloud-based security attacks happen, businesses will realize that having a solid backup is one of the most important aspects to device security. Read more: http://www.virtual-strategy.com/2016/02/03/executive-viewpoint-2016-prediction-bushel-major-security-breaches-will-change-how-small-?page=0,1#ixzz3zGet80fK Oh, and in case anyone (Mosen/Dials) is bothered by the fact that I’m reblogging articles I do above and beyond what I do on…

  • Mac OS X,  VMware,  Windows Server,  Windows XP

    Create A Server 2012 VM In VMware Fusion

    Our friends at VMware continue to outdo themselves. The latest release of Fusion works so well with Windows Server 2013 that even I can’t screw it up. To create a virtual machine, simply open VMware Fusion and click New from the File menu. Click “Choose a disc or disc image.” Select your iso for Server 2012 and click on Open (if you have actual optical media it should have skipped this step and automatically sensed your installation media). Click Continue back at the New Virtual Machine Assistant screen. Click Continue when the Assistant properly shows the operating system and version. Enter a username, password and serial number for Windows Server…

  • VMware

    vSphere: The Datastore Browser

    When you’re moving virtual machines around, you’ll frequently use a tool such as vMotion. But what happens when you’re trying to load new virtual machines into VMware from the .vmdks on a client system or trying to archive a virtual machine that isn’t actually destined for another host? You can use nfs or ssh to access an ESX host, but there’s an even simpler way: the Datastore Browser. To use the Datastore Browser, first login to the vSphere Client. If you’ll be archiving a virtual machine, from there, I would stop the virtual machine. Then click on the virtual machine in the sidebar and click on Summary to see the…

  • Ubuntu,  Unix

    OpenSolaris 2009.06 First Impressions

    OpenSolaris 2009.06 is the next generation of the OpenSolaris, the Open Source Solaris that has become the testing ground for new features bound for Sun’s popular Solaris Operating System.  The latest version of OpenSolaris sports a number of new features that environments both large and small are sure to find interesting, most of which have to do with more streamlined ways of managing disk, network and other resources – both in virtualization environments and with the operating system itself. First up is package management (using the tool appropriately called Package Manager).  It’s now easier to install software managed/compiled by the OpenSolaris community.  The packaging environment for OpenSolaris can now access…

  • Business,  Consulting,  VMware

    Looking at Amazon's Cloud

    There is a lot of talk about “the cloud” in the IT trade magazines and in general at IT shops around the globe. I’ve used Amazon S3 in production for some web, offsite virtual tape libraries (just a mounted location on S3) and a few other storage uses. I’m not going to say I love it for every use I’ve seen it used for, but it can definitely get the job done when used properly. I’m also not going to say that I love the speeds of S3 compared to local storage, but that’s kindof a given now isn’t it… One of the more niche uses has been to integrate…

  • Mac OS X,  Mac OS X Server,  MobileMe,  Time Machine

    Mac in the Cloud

    A few days ago I noticed a post in Tim O’Reilly’s twitter feed asking whether or not it would matter whether people ran a Mac or a PC once everyone had migrated to a cloud.  Well, there are a few things about Mac OS X that make it fairly difficult to run in a cloud environment: EFI – Mac OS X doesn’t use a BIOS like most Operating Systems.  This makes the bootup process fairly difficult in a distributed computing environment where the Guest OS would be OS X and the Host OS would be something else. Lack of Firepower – I love the Xserve.  I always have.  They’re some…

  • Mac OS X,  VMware

    Mac OS X: Q

    Want to play with Virtual Machines but can’t get ahold of VMware or Parallels?  Then check out Q.  It’s small, quick and works like a charm: http://www.kju-app.org/

  • Mac OS X,  VMware

    Run Windows Apps on Mac OS X

    VMware and Parallels allow you to run Windows applications on top of a Windows operating system for Mac OS X.  But what if you don’t want to buy a whole operating system, install it, support it, etc.?  Well, there’s another tool that may work for you.  It’s called CrossOver and can be found at: http://www.codeweavers.com/products/cxmac/ But it doesn’t work with just any old application.  The compatibility matrix can be found here: http://www.codeweavers.com/compatibility/browse/name/ In my testing it also didn’t work with all of the applications listed on the compatibility matrix, or it worked but there were certain features that didn’t work.  So make sure to thoroughly test the applications you plan…