Virtualisation Scenarios for MS Business Critical Apps

This session was about how to virtualise SQL, Exchange and Sharepoint using Hyper-V.
There were some interesting bits:

1. All MS apps are built to have Hyper-V support and work well (not VMware)
2. 50% of the room were planning on virtualising SQL (hands in the air poll)
3. In future, we should buy SLAT compatible processors (SLAT = Second Level Address translation), basically CPU targeted at reducing the overhead virtualisation causes and helping scale more virtual machines on a physical host. AMD and Intel have versions
4. Other new CPU features - AMD Hyper Transport and Intel Snoop Feature, mean that running virtual is almost as good performance wise as physical now.
5. Sharepoint can be easily virtualised, unless it is a database or index server, when you need to test first.
6. SQL too is now a good candidate (on Hyper-V) especially the BI components
7. Exchange again is similar to Sharepoint - based on specific roles. Albeit Exchange itself as an application is not virtualisation aware.

Apart from that it was the dullest 1.5hrs of my life, not a great presenter, slides off the screen and the guy next to me snoring. I think this is one of those lectures where the title was misleading, as it was originally pitched MS Virtualisation for business critical apps and I thought it would beinteresting to see how Hyper-V is trying to address VMware, but the title in the room was different to make it application specific.

I was bored enough, I wont bore you anymore!