Dugie’s Pensieve

Beta2 of SP1 ships with a nifty tool called VHDmount.exe — Which does just that, allows you to mound a VHD and access it as a local drive.

You can copy data into a VHD (and delete it out of) on the fly which is very welcomed functionality — Getting updated copies of SysInternals tools into library VMs is now so much easier.

I haven’t tried mounting a Vista CompletePC backup yet, but it is on my list of things to do.

Anyway, a quick screenshot is below:

I got all excited and was ready to blog about the availability of SP1 Beta2, when my RSS feed lit up - and John Howard has beat me to it :)

Anyway, Beta 2 introduces new functionality such as:

• AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) compatibility
• Intel Virtualization Technology (IVT) compatibility
• Volume Shadow Copy Service support
• Offline VHD mounting
• Active Directory integration using service connection points
• Host Clustering technical white paper

Mmmmm, coolnes.  So grab the download (33 Meg) from connect.microsoft.com

…On a side note, look what got airtime on the front page of Microsoft.com today:

Cool huh?

Michael Kleef has been interviewed by Damien Murdoch over at OZVMs.  Go Kleefy!! 

Check out the post “OzVMs Interview with Michael Kleef on Hypervisor and the future of Virtualisation “.  A snippet is below:

I have been fortunate enough to have had an interview with Michael Kleef from Microsoft on their Virtualisation plans, their hypervisor product and the future of virtualisation. Michael Kleef is an IT Pro Evangelist from Microsoft, and in answering our questions has shed some light on Microsoft’s future in the virtualisation space. Read on for the interview.
Where is Microsoft’s hypervisor headed and what plans are down the line for the technology ?

MK: The clear thing here is that Microsoft’s hypervisor (Windows Server Virtualisation) technology is new. It runs only on Intel VT or AMD-V (formly Pacifica) technology. It doesn’t run on top of an OS like Virtual Server does today. We haven’t openly discussed plans beyond the upcoming Windows Server Virtualisation which will be included as part of Longhorn Server.

Does Microsoft’s current product offering compete at the same level as other companies offerings ?

MK: Certainly there are areas which we compete at where we offer a higher level of value. Namely clustering which in Virtual Server is still free today. Architecturally we are very similar in many areas to others in the market.

It has been mentioned in news articles that hypervisor will be coming after longhorn, is this timeframe still accurate ?

MK: Windows Server Virtualisation will be a feature of Longhorn Server within 6 months of release of the operating system.

<snip>

If you regularly read my blog, you have probably figured out I’m and Aussie, and naturally live in Australia - you know, that that penal colony thing that started in England.

Anyway being an Aussie we do and spell things differently: colour, mum, centre and so on.  This has been the foundation of much humour/satire such as  John Cleese’s letter to America.  Again you have to be AU/UK to fully appreciate this :)

So this brings me to Virtualisation.

If you were to search virtualisation and then virtualization you’ll get two almost completely different results.  Of course Google will ask “Did you mean: virtualization“.

So what does all this mean?

Well nothing really. 

Only that I will continue to spell Virtualization with a “Z” when I blog — this will keep the Virtualization lovin’ going and search engines happy.   :)

Clive Watson is asking for feedback on the SCVMM Help files. 

If you haven’t seen Clive in action, check out his 9 part series on SCVMM - and he’s also one of the fine few who spell virtualization with a “s” :)

Anyway, to help make SCVMM better than ever, check his post “SCVMM - Can you help the help?“, a snippet is below:

I got an email from the technical writer for SCVMM help files over the weekend, she has been reading my posts about SCVMM specifically liking some of the warnings comments I have mentioned.  This was good to know, and I’ll make sure I’m clearer when posting a warning, hint or tip in the future.

So can you help with help?  Have you any gotcha’s, hints or tips you’d like to pass on…you never know it could end up in the help file.  If you have and they would be most welcome this is your chance to make the product help files more meaningful - please leave a comment and I’ll make sure they are passed on.  The technical writer is keen to get your feedback and ideas, so don’t say later that you haven’t been asked! 

Is there anything that you feel works well in help files, what would you like to see, personally I like to see scenarios/examples and planning considerations…it’s your chance to influence so please help make SCVMM help pertinent and extensive.

I’ll also create a article on my blog that lists them as well (assuming I get some from you, so please pass this request on!)

Chuck in fine form has posted some of the audio and video from the tracks at TechED Australia

Audio Sessions from TechEd:

• Steve Riley: Windows Vista networking and IPsec improvements
• Steve Riley: Oh no, we’ve been attacked, now what? Developing an incident response process
• Steve Riley: The new Windows Vista firewall: Don’t communicate without it! 
• Brian Puhl: How Microsoft IT Deploys and Manages It’s Active Directory Infrastructure
• Getting Started with Exchange 2007: Simple Installation, Setup and Administration Scenarios
• How to deploy Server and Domain Isolation with Windows IPsec
• Windows Vista System Integrity Technologies
• Ten things you need to know to about Windows Server “Longhorn”
• Deploying Windows Vista: Everything You Need in One Hour
• Image Engineering: Creating Your Perfect Desktop
• Identifying Computer Attacks - Tips, Tricks and Tools

I haven’t seen the full keynote, (but there are some nifty snippets here) but I’ll keep everyone posted if I see more content.

My good blogging buddy, Parky has moved out and over to www.trustedaccess.info

Aaron (aka Parky) blogs about the methods, means and products used to identify and select the level of trust for the person trying to access into your network (locally or remote).

In short, if you use Microsoft ISA, NAP, RPC over HTTS, Terminal Services, Citrix PS4,  or Access Gateway, head over to:

Some of his classic gems so far are:

• Protecting Outlook Web Access with RSA authentication
• The Ten Commandments of Exchange Server
• Windows Clustering in VMware Workstation 5
• Adventures with SAP GUI, SAPLPD and Terminal Server
• Slow Program Neighbourhood Agent-
• Checklist- Access Gateway with Advanced Access Control
• Unattended Install- Citrix Presentation Server 

Add him to your RSS feeds

I’ve had quite a few questions e-mailed in about my demo of Virtual Server Host Clustering, and what hardware does someone need to set it up?

Particularly, What special demo hardware did I use?  And what hardware do I need to buy for a proof of concept?

Well the short answer is, none:  I used 3x laptops all installed with Windows 2003 R2, connected with a entry level 5 port gig switch:

But technical type of people who love the detail, here is the long answer:

• On the left:  A ThinkPad T41p, 1Gb ram, 7200 rpm disk, Windows 2003 R2 Enterprise with WinTarget iSCSI [server] software
• In the middle: A Toshiba M400, 2Gb ram, 7200 rpm disk, Windows 2003 R2 Enterprise
• On the right: Another Toshiba M400, 1Gb ram, 7200 rpm disk, Windows 2003 R2 Enterprise
• Joining everything together:  Too many power cables, and an older Netgear GS105 Gig Switch

Failing over a VM between the two Toshiba notebooks took about 10 seconds (although it seems so much longer when everyone else is looking) - I was using Virtual Server 2005 SP1.  Technically I know I really really should have used a second switch and networking for the cluster, but it was just too much equipment to carry with me on a plane.  My slide deck, should be on CommNet by now.

I used the WinTarget iSCSI software to keep the environment (for DIY reference and) the same as John’s blogcast.  Unfortunately WinTarget is no longer publically available, but Falconstor iSCSI Storage Server works just fine, and is easier to get a hold of.

For those who wanted to see a demo of Windows Server Virtualization, I mentioned the WinHEC Keynote - jump to 27:00, or straight to 30:30 to see the hot add hardware.   And Jeff Woolsey’s (Program Manager from Microsoft) other webcast I mentioned, Transitioning to Windows Virtualization is available for download.P>

Last, but certainly not least - it was great to see so many people interested in Virtualization, (and special thanks goes to those who stayed with standing room only).  I’m looking forward to catching up and hearing how everyone goes with their implementation once back at work. :)

Another follow-up from TechED.  In my Virtualization at the desktop session, I referred to the “application matrix thingy” in the “Using Virtual PC 2007 for Application Compatibility” whitepaper.

You can Download the whitepaper (3.31 meg), and the abstract is below:

Virtual PC 2007 lets you run additional operating systems on Windows Vista, without using multiple computers. This allows you to proceed with your Windows Vista deployment, rather than delay because of application incompatibility. Your organization can take full advantage of the new features and capabilities in Windows Vista and still provide end users access to run their legacy mission-critical applications, allowing you to realize your return on investment faster than other short-term solutions.   

This question popped up at TechED.  So as promised here is the blog post I was referring to “MOM 2005 Server Licensing“:

MOM 2005 licensing model has changed from a per–processor to a server plus managed device basis. In MOM 2005 we need require a MOM server and an OML license.

OML is Operations Management License, which is required for each device managed by MOM 2005. One thing to note is that virtual machines do not require an OML as the MOM 2005 licensing model is based on the physical machine. Also this is regardless of how many management packs are used on the server.

Bottom-line, you need a MOM 2005 Server license per server and an OML per device.

How much is it gonna cost you? The estimated retail price of a MOM 2005 server license is $729 per server (MOM server is not available individually in retail, and is sold with a minimum of 10 OML pack. MOM server plus 10 OML estimated retail price is $6,099).