Which of these companies sounds more qualified?

Posted on July 7th, 2008 in feature comparison, hyper-v, microsoft, server 2008, vi3, vmware by Rich

The title of this post is part of a quote from David Davis’ SearchCIO article titled COMPARISON: Microsoft vs. VMware. David’s article was published back on June 4, and it’s been sitting in my drafts “screaming at me” to comment on here at VM /ETC. Now, with Hyper-V having been released and Microsoft’s marketing machine starting to cloud virtualization reality, I point my readers to David’s arguments as examples of sane and logical analysis of the two products. Here’s the entire quote my title is taken from in the context it was written:

“VMware is obviously the most experienced company when it comes to delivering a virtualisation product. The company has 10 years of virtualisation experience and a huge customer base, including 100% of the Fortune 500 companies and 92% of the Fortune 1000, totaling over 100,000 customers worldwide. VMware also holds 11 virtualisation patents, and in 2007 their revenue hit the $US1.33 billion mark.

This is in comparison to Microsoft which has a new virtualisation product, little enterprise virtualisation experience, and, to date, no Fortune 500 customers who have adopted their enterprise virtualisation product in a production environment. Ask yourself, which of these companies sounds more qualified to deliver your enterprise virtualisation solution?”

David’s article goes on to make excellent comparison points about

Hyper-V Released. Yahoo reports price is $28. Yeah, right!

Posted on June 26th, 2008 in hyper-v, microsoft, server 2008 by Rich

Microsoft announced the release of Hyper-V today six weeks ahead of schedule. Originally expected to be released in August, news of the much anticipated virtualization platform’s general availability is all over the Internet. In an article on Yahoo News, Jim Finkle reports that Microsoft is charging $28 per server. Although technically the correct cost for the hypervisor if the Server 2008 operating system is already owned, the article, Microsoft starts selling rival to VMware programs, is a shining example of the marketing spin capable of Microsoft.

“Microsoft says it charges $28 per server for its software, dubbed Hyper-V, which was put up on its website for download on Thursday. The company previously said it would make the product available in August.

VMware said it charges $495 for the most comparable software in its product line, which is known as ESXi.”


A more realistic comparison price for the IT department deciding to implement Hyper-V can be found at Newegg.com.

Microsoft Windows Server Standard 2008 32Bit/x64 English 1pk DSP OEI DVD 1-4CPU 5 Clt w/Hyper V - OEM

$699

Microsoft Announces MCTS Certification for Hyper-V and SCVMM

Posted on June 11th, 2008 in MS VMM, hyper-v, microsoft, server 2008 by Rich

Microsoft has announced two new training and certification programs that align with their new virtualization products. In the news release Climbing the Ladder of Success with Microsoft Certification: New training and certification programs help IT professionals develop mastery of Microsoft technologies, Microsoft hints at the availability of the new certifications.

“… Jim Clark, senior product planner, and Per Farny, director of advanced training and certification, will be at Microsoft Tech-Ed 2008 in Orlando, Fla., this week to unveil two new training and certification programs from Microsoft Learning. Scheduled to begin later this year, the programs are designed to prime the pipeline of skilled workers and help companies maximize their technology investments.”

A general outline of how the curriculum will be be delivered is also discussed.

“The virtualization training will be delivered in a variety of virtual, distance learning, and instructor-led options that focus on the fundamentals of virtualization, the underlying principles of virtualization architecture and the specifics of Microsoft’s technology.”

In this same release Microsoft also announced

Extend Windows Server 2008 Evaluation to 240 Days

Posted on May 31st, 2008 in how to, microsoft, server 2008 by Rich

Many administrators today are testing Microsoft Server 2008, or even testing running Server 2008 as a guest hosted on various virtualization products. There are also plenty of projects not even related to virtualization involving testing applications and services on Microsoft’s newest server operating system. For those looking for a little more time, there is the option to extend the standard Server 2008 evaluation period. The Dugie’s Pensieve blog post Extend the Windows Server 2008 evaluation period (KB 948 472) first made me aware this was possible.

Normally, installing Server 2008 without a key gives you a 60 day evaluation period. As Dugie’s post point out, Microsoft has provided a KB article titled How to extend the Windows Server 2008 evaluation period which fully explains the use of the script and how many times you can “re arm” the evaluation.

From the KB article:

Microsoft Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool

Posted on May 15th, 2008 in MS VMM, hyper-v, microsoft, server 2008 by Rich

The Offline Virtual Machine Serving Tool appears to be Microsoft’s equivalent to VMware’s Update Manger for ESX - in some capacity. The Solution Accelerator tool schedules and automates updates of virtual machines that are not normally powered on in your virtual infrastructure. The tool powers up the VMs allowing them to receive updates such as antivirus definitions, security updates and patches. Unlike ESX 3.5’s Update Manager, the tool only manages the offline VM updates. Server 2008, Hyper-V, and running VM updates will be handled via WSUS and normal Windows Update processes.

The Executive Overview page provides some more information:

What VMware products support which VM OS?

Posted on May 5th, 2008 in esx 3i, esx3.5, microsoft, server 2008, vista, vmware, vmware server by Rich

The VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide is downloadable as a .pdf or available online. The document’s “About this Book” section summarizes it’s purpose as follows:

“This manual, the Guest Operating System Installation Guide, provides users of VMware® ESX Server, VMware® GSX Server, VMware® Server, VMware® ACE, VMware® Workstation, and VMware FusionTM information about choosing and installing guest operating systems for VMware virtual machines.”

There are sections of installation instructions for every past and present operating system that is supported. What I am posting from this document is a very helpful table that is a quick reference of what VMware products support which VM operating systems. This table has been copied from the online version of the guide.

This table makes it very easy to answer questions like: 

Current VirtualCenter customization wizard needs changes for Server 2008

Posted on May 5th, 2008 in server 2008, vc2.5 by Rich

Brian Desmond’s Blog : How to Sysprep in Windows 2008 documents the new sysprep process for Server 2008. In this post, Brian explains that the current tools for Windows 2000 and 2003, using setupmgr.exe to create sysprep.inf, no longer exist.

“The first step is acquiring the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) from somewhere. You can get it from Microsoft’s website, MSDN subscriber downloads, and probably the volume licensing downloads site too I’d guess (though I haven’t checked). The ISO is available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=94bb6e34-d890-4932-81a5-5b50c657de08&DisplayLang=en, and is about an 800MB install on my 2003 SP2 x86 box.

You’ll also need to copy the install.wim from your 2008 DVD sources folder to the hard drive as the tool won’t work with it if it doesn’t have write access.

The tool of choice is the Windows System Image Manager (WSIM)”

Check out Brian’s full post for screenshots and instructions of the entire 2008 sysprep process.

My thoughts after understanding this new sysprep process are now what changes to VirtualCenter will have to be made in order to include customization of Server 2008 in the deploy from template and clone VM wizards?

Heroes Happen Here event provides live demonstrations of Hyper-V and Server 2008

Posted on April 23rd, 2008 in events, hyper-v, microsoft, server 2008 by Rich

Earlier this week I was able to attend one of the free Heroes Happen Here events Microsoft is hosting. Although I only attended the morning IT Pro - Infrastructure sessions, the event also had sessions on SQL 2008 , Visual Studio 2008, and a Small Business Server and Essential Business Server session. All things considered it is an event worth attending if you have the time. The format was a a surprisingly minimum number of presentation slides and a lot of live demonstrations.

Here are the primary reasons I was glad I went:

Look, I can virtualize. I’m using two stools at once.

Posted on February 29th, 2008 in blogs, microsoft, news, server 2008 by Rich

The Lone Server is a funny video found on YouTube about a Windows 2003 Server that has realized his prime has passed. He ends up in a bar ordering drinks from Windows 2000 Server. The two discuss how they can no longer hang with the young and quick Server 2008 crowd. While discussing some of the Server 2008 features virtualization is mentioned and Server 2003 stands up and leans against two bar stools and proclaims “Look, I can virtualize. I am using two stools at once.” Finally, a young, hot Server 2008 walks by and Server 2003 tries to impress her by bragging about having the latest virus definitions. To Server 2003’s dismay, her reply is “Call me when you upgrade.”

Watch the video embedded here:

 

 

 

www.loneserver.com is a page from the Windows Server Division WebLog dedicated to The Lone Server story.

Go here to see the video on YouTube.com as well.

Windows 2008 Posters for your cube

Posted on February 21st, 2008 in feature comparison, microsoft, news, partner, server 2008 by Rich

Looking for a visual representation of Microsoft Server 2008 and it’s various new enhancements? Go to the Microsoft.com downloads pages and download the Windows Server 2008 Component Posters. The Server 2008 poster is divided into six product scenarios. There is a virtualization scenario and a Server Core scenario.

Some info about the posters from Microsoft’s page:

These two posters, originally published in the July 2007 issue of TechNet Magazine, provide a strong visual tool to aide in the understanding of various features and components of Windows Server 2008. One poster focuses exclusively on powerful new Active Directory technologies, while the other provides a technical look at a variety of new features available in Windows Server 2008 (such as Server Core, Network Access Protection, and more).

Get the originals from the link above, or I have saved copies locally on my Files page.

Here is a screenshot of the virtualization scenario. Click the image for a larger version.

Installing Windows Server 2008 Core and Virtual Server 2005

Posted on December 20th, 2007 in blogs, how to, microsoft, server 2008 by Rich

Windows 2008 core TechrepublicTechRepublic.com ’s “How Do I ?” series of blogs has a couple of great posts about Installing Winodws Server 2008 Core and running Virtual Server 2005. These posts have easy to follow instructions and plenty of screen shots. They are great if you are like me and have limited lab resources and even less time to use that limited lab!

You can see all the Server 2008 related posts here. Otherwise check out: