Virtualized computing solutions, services and support

Virtualized computing solutions

Does your organization rely on long serving technology to run mission critical computing workloads? Are you facing the risks, pitfalls and major disruption of an “upgrade” or replacement? Do you want to avoid all that while preserving, protecting and future proofing your existing investment? If so, we can help.

Xview Solutions offers a unique portfolio of services centered on building and supporting virtualized computing environments… especially for vintage, legacy and vendor end‑of‑life applications and systems.

We've been delivering proven IT solutions since 1997. Our virtualization technology is open source and 100% portable so there's no vendor lock‑in. It's reliable, flexible, private, secure and works seamlessly with on‑premise, hosted or cloud‑based platforms.

Contact us today to schedule a quick voice or video chat so we can talk about your specific needs, goals and timeline.

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Virtualized Computing

Our virtualization infrastructure is built on standard x86‑64 servers configured as hostnodes. The technology is open source so there's no vendor lock‑in and no license fees. A hostnode can be located anywhere… on your premises, in a data center, or at a public hosting site. That means real flexibility and huge cost savings over cloud providers like AWS, Azure and Google.

hostnode⇢ pods⇢ workloads, containers, virtual machines

We create virtual environments by partitioning a hostnode into portable private operating domains (pods). Each pod is an independent computing environment with its own processing, storage and network resources and its own GNU/Linux operating system. A pod is 100% software that can be readily moved between hostnodes or even “de‑virtualized” into a stand‑alone installation runnning on its own physical server.

Workloads may be deployed directly within a pod or further isolated in containers (Docker or Podman) and virtual machines (KVM and QEMU). Containers run GNU/Linux workloads. Virtual machines run workloads that need specialized or obsolete operating environments or non‑x86 hardware. Migrating workloads to pods, containers and virtual machines makes them enduringly reliable, available and maintainable.

Virtual environment (pod) setup

  • Complete GNU/Linux operating environment with optional automatic updates.
  • Each pod supports multiple concurrent workloads plus containers and virtual machines including emulation for many different hardware architectures.
  • Dynamically adjustable processor, memory, storage and network resources.
  • One or more static IPv4 addresses with optional network bridge.
  • Backup and recovery with encrypted external storage.
  • Optional deployment of specific workloads.
  • Secure remote access from any location worldwide.
  • Contact us for a detailed proposal and quote.

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    Full hostnode setup

  • Convert an existing x86‑64 server into a hostnode.
  • Complete system software installation and configuration.
  • Supports multiple concurrently active virtual environments (pods).
  • Backup and recovery with encrypted external storage.
  • Secure remote access from any location worldwide.
  • Contact us for a detailed proposal and quote.

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    Xview Solutions Inc.

    Project Services

    We provide end‑to‑end project management for the design, build and delivery of virtualized computing solutions. Each project is different but in every case we follow a well‑defined four stage methodology.

    Initiation

    In the first stage we conduct a basic inquiry and formulate a problem statement. That gives us a focus for discussing your goals and objectives, available resources, desired timeline and the technical feasibility. At the end we'll present you with an estimated investment and the option of receiving a formal proposal.

    Let's talk about your project. Contact us today.

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    Planning

    In this stage we collaborate with your stakeholders to develop a detailed project plan setting out:

  • Objectives and expected outcomes
  • Potential risks and roadblocks
  • Required resources and budget
  • Activities, tasks and delivery schedule
  • The result is a statement of work specifying the scope, terms and deliverables of the project, which we present for your approval.

    Implementation

    In this stage we work with your stakeholders to carry out the project plan. The earliest tasks typically involve setting up the virtual computing environment that will host your existing application or system. As the project proceeds we review the ongoing work with your stakeholders who sign off on each deliverable or request revisions which are processed as change orders. Throughout the process we document and monitor activities to keep the project on track and on schedule.

    Completion

    In this stage we typically perform a preflight check before the official handover to your stakeholders. In every case we provide you with a final report and we later conduct a post‑project follow‑up. Optionally you may ask us to prepare a post‑project “lessons learned” report.

    Contact us for a detailed proposal and quote.

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    Xview Solutions Inc.

    Active Support

    You need skilled proactive support to ensure your essential technology assets are reliable, available and secure. We offer subscription plans to monitor, manage and maintain select workloads running in our virtualized computing environments. Our focus and key objective is preventing downtime.

    Portable Private Operating Domain (Pod)

    Typically for our virtual environment solutions a daily snapshot of the portable private operating domain (pod) filesystem is saved to backup. However, in a recovery from backup all changes to data, programs and settings since the most recent successful snapshot will be lost. Moreover, there is no guarantee that running workloads will be recovered intact. In particular, workloads running as virtual machine (KVM/QEMU) images within a pod are not backed up.

    For more frequent or fine‑grained backup with more assured recovery and rollback options (including backup and recovery of virtual machines) you need an Active Support plan.

    Active Support plans typically provide:

  • Automated backups of files and data sets
  • Recovery testing and backup set validation
  • Software updates and patching
  • Status monitoring and remedial intervention
  • Activity and change logging and reporting
  • Trouble ticketing and telephone callback
  • Out‑of‑scope services at preferred rates
  • Plan development

    Before we can offer you an Active Support plan for workloads deployed in our virtual environments we must perform a preliminary no‑charge assessment. If the assessment is positive we'll present you with an offer to develop and price a plan specifically for your environment. If you accept our offer we'll perform the following process…

  • Discovery
  • We examine the virtual environment as we find it. We investigate its configuration and catalog the components: applications, services and data sets. We identify the components we will be able to monitor, update, patch, back up and recover.

  • Specification
  • Based on the results of discovery we develop, document and price an Active Support plan for your existing environment. We list the specific activities and procedures we will perform, and their objectives. The plan defines the scope and limits of the offer and the subscription fee.

  • Enrollment
  • Upon your acceptance of the specification we set up the administrative, technical and reporting procedures for your custom plan within our internal systems. You may be asked to take some actions to complete the enrollment. Finally, you must pay the subscription fee.

  • Go live
  • We set up and configure any software, services or other components required by the Active Support plan and the subscription begins.

    Contact us today for your preliminary no‑charge assessment.

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    Plan features

    Active Support plans generally offer in‑scope coverage for backup, recovery, updates, monitoring, reports and help. Additional out‑of‑scope services are also available.

  • Backup
  • Specified filetrees and data sets are copied to archives for subsequent recovery in case of error, accident, failure or malicious action. Data backup support includes…

  • Defined RPOs and RTOs
  • Separate physical storage sites
  • Multiple point‑in‑time versions
  • In‑flight and at‑rest encryption
  • Automated, scheduled, verified
  • Recovery
  • Data backup archives are retrieved from storage and restored as required. Data recovery support includes…

  • Integrity checks of archived data
  • Recovery testing from backup archives
  • On‑demand access to archived content
  • Updates
  • Vendor updates and patches are, as available, reviewed and applied to specific software in your virtual environment, depending on the Active Support plan. The covered software is verified working after update or patching. Failed updates and patches are rolled back.

    Updates and patches typically fix software bugs, add features, enhance performance and resolve security issues. Applying updates and patches helps maintain the reliability, availability and security of business‑critical software.

  • Monitoring
  • The availability and performance of specific systems, services and applications in the virtual environment are actively monitored. If a problem or failure is detected an alert is generated, triggering an investigation, followed by remedial intervention as necessary.

    Status monitoring tools deployed in the virtual environment observe, analyze and report on the components covered by the Active Support plan. Our engagement tools receive and act upon the reported information. These interactions are mostly automated and manual interventions are uncommon.

    Monitoring provides information necessary to understand how the covered systems, services and applications are performing momentarily and over time. This determines any remedial or preemptive actions required to avoid or minimize downtime, which is our key objective.

  • Reports
  • All maintenance activities, notes, comments and recommendations are documented and recorded. Incident reports are prepared and provided to you when interventions occur or investigations are resolved.

  • Help
  • Our trouble ticketing and telephone callback services are available 24/7 to handle in‑scope service requests and inquiries. Callback service is only available to Active Support subscribers.

  • Out‑of‑scope
  • Your monthly subscription fee covers the activities, procedures and services listed in your Active Support plan. On request and as available, out‑of‑scope services are billable at preferential rates.

    Contact us today for your preliminary no‑charge assessment.

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    Xview Solutions Inc.