Optimizing the disks of virtual platforms is an absolute must for performance. Typically even more so than on physical platforms.

Topix Technologies, an IT Analyst group out of Paris, France recent completed a study about the effects of fragmentation on the modern virtual infrastructure. They used V-locity to restore performance to the high service levels IT departments and providers are required to deliver. Check out the performance results in the chart below or read the full report here.

We're looking for some current Diskeeper customers that are interested in getting a first look at a new technology breakthrough - in Diskeeper 2010. The beta test will start next week, and we have about 50 openings left that we need to fill.

If you are a current customer and are interested and able to install, evaluate and then comment (fill out a 5 minute online survey) on this software, all within a one week period, simply fill-out a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) located here.

Fax the signed NDA to:
Fax: 818-252-5514

Please add the following to the Fax cover page:
Attn: Field Test Administrator/Sneak Peek Preview

Alternatively you can email the signed NDA (scan in the pages with your signature) to our Field Test administrator. Please add "Sneak Peek Field Test" in the subject line.

TechData brought its traveling Software Solutions roadshow to St. Louis (September17^th-18^th).

Part TechData infomercial, part relationship builder for vendors and VARs, the event is quick-paced and chock full of sessions.

Vendors APC, Sony, Toshiba sponsored the opening luncheon, and after the opening welcome from Murray Wright, TechData’s Senior Vice President of Sales we were treated to “Comedian of the Year” Buzz Sutherland. I knew he was going to be funny because his first name is “Buzz”.

Microsoft, Novell and Symantec (Gold member sponsors) were on hand to speak about new opportunities and get the crowd motivated.

TechData makes sure that during the breaks we are properly fed with sugary snacks and caffeine. Apple slices on a stick dipped in chocolate (a local treat), potato chips of various flavors and power bars (for the healthconscience) kept the attendees happy and ready for the next session.

For the Roundtable session I met with groups of 5-10 attendees for approximately 10 minutes as they rotated from table to table. Call it “tech speed dating”. It’s a good opportunity to meet new people and tease them with just enough information to get them to continue the conversation later. And the attendees received gift cards just for showing up!

At the Technology Showcase (also called the exhibit hall) I had the chance to speak in depth with number of new VAR’s overlunch. I’m still surprised when a VAR comes up to the booth and asks, “What does Diskeeper do?” Meeting with existing customers is great, creating new VAR relationships is one of the reasons we continue to participate and attend. You never know who you are going to meet and what you’re going to learn. 

On Tuesday September 15, the SMBTN Group held its monthly Los Angeles chapter meeting at Diskeeper’s on-site café, MegaBytes. The SMBTN Group is a 600 plus SMB VAR peer group with chapters across the US. The monthly meetings bring together local VAR’s to share best practices and introduce them to new technologies via vendor presentations. Megabytes is the home for the monthly get-togethers.

As VAR’s shift their business focus from the traditional break-fix to an MSP model, they must also shift their sales focus from one of a technical nature to more of a consultant/trusted advisor role. How to promote and sell this new service model does not come naturally to otherwise smart “tech guys”.

This month’s meeting introduced the guys to Charmaine McClaire, founder and president of the McClarie Group. Charmaine led a spirited discussion/presentation about the importance of branding, communicating and consistently presenting your vision to your existing and potential customers. 

While Charmaine typically presents to Fortune 500 companies in front of large groups, because of her existing relationship with SMBTN, the attendees got an intimate opportunity to engage and participate with one another.

Charmaine urged the guys to stop auditioning for the part. It’s a major shift in the way in which VAR’s approach their clients. They don’t have to list the “things” they are going to do. By consistently presenting themselves as an integral part of their customers’ success and growth they are able to shift the perception from one of an on-call repairman to one of a paid consultant. 

This point alone resonated with a number of the guys.

SMBTN will be participating at the upcoming SMB Nation event, hosting pre-day sessions on Thursday, Octonber 1.

Contact Information:

• • SMBTN (www.smbtn.org)
• • McClarie Group (www.mcclariegroup.com)
• • SMB Nation (www.smbnation.com)

Jimmy J. Powell,

Network Administrator,

City of Rockwall 

From one of our customers: 

Diskeeper works 100% of the time.  After I’ve installed it I simply forget about it.   I have it running on two NAS servers and on our Microsoft Small Business Server 2003. Diskeeper has prolonged the life of our Small Business Server by 18 months.  Our hard drives are nearly full, yet Diskeeper has kept them working optimally with low disk space.  We will introduce Virtualization (replacing our SBS2003 box) into our production environment during the fourth quarter using Microsoft’s Hyper-V technology.  I have already tested your V-locity product on a non-production Hyper-V server and will incorporate it into our rollout in October. Keep up the good work! 

Al Stenner,

Director Information Services,

KRM Restaurant Group

Diskeeper 2009 and HyperFast fully support Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008r2, and have since we released them back in December 2008. V-locity also fully supports the new Windows platforms.

That said, the next major release of Diskeeper (coming soon) will also take advantage of new functionality in Windows 7. Windows 7 allows for additional online metadata defrag, including $Extend  (think USN Journal here) and also $Secure.

This past year, we've also been engaged with Microsoft's Front Runner compatibility program. Microsoft  is going to great lengths to ensure the upgrade process (e.g. install Windows 7 upgrade over Vista) is seamless for their customers. Something I did not see with the Vista release, is the degree of involvement they have required from software vendors such as us, to ensure reliability and stability for users who take the upgrade path.

On to Undelete...

Undelete 2009 will support Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008R2 around the time that those new OS'es release to public (i.e. Oct 22nd). We'll post/email instructions for Undelete 2009 customers regarding how to get the new update when the software is available. All in all, supporting Windows 7 has not required significant code changes, but there's a great deal of quality control testing we always require before we can certify our software for release. 

As part of that testing process, a few weeks ago several of our senior developers were at Microsoft's bi-annual IFS PlugFest. PlugFest is a meeting of file system filter driver developers that we've been regularly attending for years. At this interoperability forum, we can test our solutions alongside those from other manufacturers. The perfect timing of this event allowed us to test the updated Undelete on the new Windows platforms with file system filter drivers from other vendors. We also had the opportunity to test some new, very advanced (but as yet unreleased) new technologies!

While the ongoing LA area fire is not a threat to the Diskeeper Corporation building, many of our employees live in the areas where the fire is a concern.

Here are a few pics taken this past weekend from the backyard of an employee who lives in the foothills of Angeles Crest:

Needless to say, he's incredibly grateful for the efforts of the firefighters saving thousands of homes in that area.