VM /ETC

Archive for January, 2009

I downloaded the Windows 7 beta DVD and decided to install it in a VM. Since I’ve read a few other blog posts where the soon to be released version of the Windows operating system works great as a VM, I decided I’d try it for myself. On my company notebook I run VMware Workstation 6.5 on Microsoft Vista, and I chose to create a guest there first. I’ll probably try VirtualBox on my Ubuntu desktop soon too.

The installation was very simple and uneventful. I used the Workstation Easy Installer feature to pick all of the VM hardware configurations for me. There was very little to do actually. If you have never tried the Easy Install feature of Workstation it is very impressive and makes building VMs so easy that even a caveman could do it. (Maybe I should copy write that saying? )

I’ve documented the install with screen shots in this post in case readers would like to see the process, but honestly it’s straightforward. I’ve added some notes and impressions as well. Read the rest of this entry »

With the expected release of Windows 7 later this year, there is already speculation and rumor that perhaps Microsoft will loosen it’s virtualization licensing policies once again. A much needed move for modern virtual infrastructure in my opinion, Microsoft may finally be abandoning their position that their operating systems must be anchored to physical hardware. I hesitate to truly get excited about this change until it is officially announced, but could this finally be the green light to license VMs individually and independently of the virtualization host’s operating system and hardware? Could it finally be the acceptance of unlimited live migration (VMotion)?

I’ll reference 2 sources for these rumors. The first is Read the rest of this entry »

A large percentage of VMware administrators have already used VMware Converter to conduct physical to virtual (p2v) migrations of their physical servers. For some reason though, VMware Converter always seems to be overlooked as a tool to accomplish virtual to virtual (v2v) conversions to an ESX target. Not only can you accomplish v2v migrations, but you can use VMware Converter to cross multiple vendor or incompatible virtualization host platforms.

For example, any of the following virtualization products running a Windows VM can be v2v -ed to an ESX host  with VMware Converter:

• ESX 2.x
• ESX 3.x / ESXi 3.x
• Virtual Server 1.x or 2.x
• Hyper-V
• XenServer
• any of the hosted desktop products including (but not limited to) VMware Workstation and Fusion, Microsoft Virtual PC, and Sun xVM VirtualBox.

How and why is this possible? Read the rest of this entry »

A conversation of tweets over the weekend about which virtualization related accounts should you follow on Twitter caught my attention. Scott Lowe started it off by pondering “who are the top 10 people to follow for virtualization?” I thought about this, started to respond in 140 characters (the Twitter limit), thought about it again, and then decided to write this post. I decided that you can’t follow virtualization on Twitter like you can with News sites or blogs. Twitter is too dynamic and random. Sure there are plenty of virtualization related links and discussions, but those are generally well hidden between the “I’m making spaghetti” or “My cat just fell in the toilet” tweets.

Don’t get me wrong. You should follow virtualization on Twitter, and you will benefit both personally and professionally. I’m just warning you that Twitter is a social network first and foremost. I believe you will find out more about an individual’s personality then their technology or expertise – which is still a great benefit in my opinion. You also may get the opportunity to get a quick answer, opinion, or even advice from a large community of professionals not only on virtualization but on blogging, web site administration, how to make a meal or keep your pet out of the bathroom.

So who should you follow? How do you come up with a Top 10 or Top 20 list? Read the rest of this entry »

Anyone who runs their Virtual Infrastructure on an IBM BladeCenter has wondered if there is a key stroke combination to switch the keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) focus between Blades. For that matter, if you run any applications or services on IBM Blades you’ve either walked into the data center and pushed the buttons directly on the Blades or you’ve struggled with the remote Java web interface via the Management Module (MM or AMM) when you need direct KVM access to your servers. For those that don’t already know, there is a keyboard shortcut.

Credit goes to Aaron Delp’s post IBM BladeCenter Keyboard Lock Up for informing me on the key strokes, and now I am making sure I have a post to reference here at VM /ETC too. I have searched for this information for years, and for some reason have never found an answer.

Aaron’s post links to an IBM article about a resolution for the BladeCenter keyboard locking up – which really explains the keyboard shortcut process. The rest of this post is a cut and paste from the IBM article. Read the rest of this entry »

As of VirtualCenter 2.5 (VC) MSDE was replaced by SQL 2005 Express as the default installation database. This post explores the idea of running small and medium business (SMB) VMware virtual infrastructure (VI) environments with the free SQL 2005 Express version instead of  a fully licensed instance of SQL 2005/2000.

To start with VMware’s VI3.5 and VC2.5 Installation Guide states:

The Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express database package is installed and configured when you select Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express as your database during VirtualCenter installation or upgrade. This is shown in Installing VMware Infrastructure Management Software. No additional configuration is required.

If Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express is already installed, review the required database patches specified in Table 2-1. If you do not prepare your database correctly, the VirtualCenter installer might display error and warning messages.See www.microsoft.com/sql/editions/express/default.mspx.

Note: Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express is intended to be used for small deployments of up to 5 hosts and 50 virtual machines.

5 ESX hosts and 50 VMs is definitely enough support for most small business deployments. Frankly, with modern hardware pricing the 50 VM limit will be reached before ever deploying 5 ESX hosts. 16 guests on a host is a common scenario these days which, if you do the math, creates a 3 host ESX Cluster.

So why would a company that does not expect to grow it’s number of VMs beyond 50 not use SQL 2005 Express? Here’s the 2 best reasons I could think of, and then a counter argument for each. Read the rest of this entry »

A lot of blogs and web sites are predicting that Cloud Computing will be big in 2009. Instead of offering another prediction I am asking VM /ETC readers to take the following poll about their Cloud Computing interest, expectations, and plans. The poll will run until 11:59 pm EST January 15. Hopefully the response will help put a “from the trenches” perspective on a topic that seems to be everywhere you look right now.

[poll id="4"]

Happy New Year and Best wishes in 2009!

For some additional reading here’s some links to other’s predictions for 2009. Most contain cloud computing as a topic.

Read the rest of this entry »