Packed with practical advice, this hands-on guide provides valuable information you need to most effectively optimize and manage the XenServer open source virtualization platform. Whether you run a modest installation of a few blades or multiple global enterprise datacenters, this book focuses on the most critical issues you're likely to encounter when designing a XenServer deployment and helps you handle day-to-day management tasks. Tim Mackey and J.K. Benedict from Citrix Systems, the company that manages XenServer, show you how to design a deployment through best practices, deployment blueprints, and installation guidelines. The book's second part features concise, easy-to-implement recipes for day-to-day management, such as user rights, backup strategies, and hardware maintenance. Learn precisely what makes a XenServer work, and how it can host 1000 virtual machines Explore the core components of a production XenServer environment Investigate several options on how and where to install XenServer Examine several factors for "right sizing" your XenServer deployment to fit your needs Work with a decision tree to optimize your XenServer deployment design Understand how to accommodate guest VM virtualization modes Use recipes that help you plan for, obtain, and apply XenServer upgrades