EA3124

Achieving 80% Virtualization in Production (with SQL&Exchange)

This session will share case studies regarding the wide scale adoption of VMware for enterprise Microsoft apps under various conditions. We will share our methodology for the selection of VMware, the cost savings and other benefits achieved, the primary challenges we faced, and the lessons learned from those experiences. Additionally, we will share our most recent experience with VMware, including our upgrade to Exchange 2007, our new â??virtual test labâ??, Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity planning, and the next steps for us with VMware.

Technical Overview Session

Networking; Storage / Backup; VMware Infrastructure; Virtualization Platform / Hypervisor

1 Hour

John Davis( NexsenPruet ), Pedro Acosta( Nexsen Pruet )

John E.C. Davis, IT Director for Nexsen Pruet, has 19+ years of IT and engineering project mgt experience & has earned certifications from Microsoft, Novell, and Cisco. He is currently responsible for technology at one of the largest law firms in the southeast. John hosts and leads the VMware Users Group in Columbia, SC and has implemented VMware in production several times over the past 6 years. Previously, John managed IT at Medical Services of America, a health care corporation with 200 locations, 14 subsidiary corporations, and over 3,000 employees. Davis was recently appointed by Senator Glenn McConnell to serve on a senate advisory panel. He has a BS in Physics from Wofford College and a BME in Engineering from Georgia Tech.

Pedro Acosta, a Senior Systems Engineer, has more than 10 years experience in Computer Systems, Client / Server environments. He is a Microsoft Certified System Engineer, VMware Certified Professional and Citrix Engineer, with a focus on Disaster Recovery and Messaging (Microsoft Exchange 2003/2007), before focusing primarily in Messaging and Virtualization. Pedro's practice has included general Consulting for Lockheed Martin IT and CGI Inc. He is part of the VMware Users Group for South Carolina, and Microsoft Exchange Users Group President for Columbia. He is currently acting as The Server Manager for Nexsen Pruet LLC. He had Virtualized Messaging — MS Exchange 2003/2007, Blackberry Enterprise Servers, Enterprise Vault, Citrix Servers, Domain Controllers, Microsoft SQL 2000 and 2005 servers. Pedro grew up in Venezuela, and then moved to Kansas where he attended Wichita State University.