Dude, not another virtualization blog...

Your groans are justified, the virtual 'blogosphere' has become a pretty crowded space as of late. So naturally we've got to find some niche to occupy if we want anyone to actually read this thing.

This won't look anything like a blog in the traditional sense. We will not be doing daily news snippets, product announcements, new technology teasers, or deep thoughts on abstract ideas, basically all the things you are used to seeing in blogs. There are already half a dozen virtualization blogs that have that stuff nailed, I read them everyday and you should as well. Check out Must Reads at the top right for links to the sites I check every morning.

The focus of Virtual Foundry will be to produce high quality tutorials and DIY projects for the sysadmin managing a virtual infrastructure. Think of it like a Make magazine for the admin who scripts and automates anything that has to be done more than twice a year, and can't bear to spend another dime on management software or get another email about a software subscription that is due to expire.

Why Virtual Foundry? Because we are going to build things here, really useful things that can be put into our environments and make our lives easier and our systems more stable.

Here's a list of the upcoming postings we're already working on:

• Hardening the VMX File: Your Servers May Already be 0wned by Your Users
  
  
• DIY ESX Server Health Monitoring: Script and Email Yourself Critical Stats for Free
  
  
• The Ultimate Kickstart File: Automate the Entire ESX Installation Process
  
  
• One Script, Many ESX Servers or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Expect
  
  

Every article on Virtual Foundry will be written with the broadest range of skillsets in mind, from the virtual administrator just coming on to the scene to the leathery ESX/GSX guru who writes shell scripts for breakfast. There is something here for everyone, and every post will strictly adhere to four requirements:

• It will be a fresh take on a topic and not just a rehash of existing information
  
  
• The information will be 100% accurate and thoroughly tested
  
  
• No FUD, vendor pushing, or sponsor stroking
  
  
• Every piece will contain several valuable nuggets; every level of guru will find something delicious
  
  

It's a tall order for a one-man project, so I better get busy! Keep checking back for new material, if you work with VMware's enterprise products on a daily basis, I promise you won't be disappointed.