This IBM® Redbooks® publication helps you install, tailor, and configure a solution with IBM Systems Director VMControl so that you can move beyond simply managing virtualization to using virtualization to better manage your IT infrastructure. This book describes how the combination of IBM Systems Director and VMControl reduces the total cost of ownership of a virtualized environment by decreasing management costs, increasing asset use, and linking infrastructure performance to business goals.

This book provides a broad understanding on how VMControl simplifies the management of virtual environments across multiple virtualization technologies and hardware platforms, freeing you from silos of virtualization and delivering enterprise-wide visibility and control. A leading multi-platform virtualization management solution, VMControl is now available in three Editions (Express, Standard, and Enterprise) to best match your virtualized environment.

In addition, this book describes the VMControl Enterprise Edition plug-in for IBM Systems Director, which uses a workload-optimized approach to decrease infrastructure costs and improve service levels. With VMControl Enterprise Edition, you can manage system pools with the simplicity of managing a single system, an essential capability for moving to cloud computing and a dynamic infrastructure.

Chapter 1. IBM Systems Director Editions

Chapter 2. Introduction to VMControl

Chapter 3. Installation procedures

Chapter 4. Implementation scenarios

Chapter 5. Tips and tricks

Appendix A. Network Installation Manager (NIM) basic configuration

Appendix B. Unattended installations

Appendix C. Customizable parameters file for deploying a new virtual appliance

Appendix D. Open Virtualization Format (OVF) support