Dugie’s Pensieve

Now this is one Microsoft Virtual Server book I’m really looking forward to reading.

Ben Armstrong, is the Virtual PC Guy and Program Manager on the core virtualization team at Microsoft.  In his spare time, has written  Professional Microsoft Virtual Server 2005.

I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy and read this sucker.  It’s got everything a guy could want, including a whole chapter on Powershell.  In Ben’s words:  “There are a number of chapters in this book that provide information which, much to my surprise, is simply not available elsewhere.“

I’ll post a review once I’ve had a chance to read it.  Until then, check out Ben’s post, and what to expect inside.

Mike Neil has posted an update on availability of the Viridian and Virtual Server releases. You can read all the details in his post “Viridian and Virtual Server Timing Updates“, and the juicy bits are below:

The public beta of Windows Server virtualization will ship in the second half of 2007, not in the first half as previously disclosed.

The final version of Virtual Server 2005 R2 service pack 1 now will be available in Q2, not Q1 as previously stated. In the interim, customers and partners can download a Release Candidate (RC) version later this month - this is code complete and an update to the current beta 2.

Now this is the bit that made me smile:

We’ve made numerous enhancements with Virtual Server R2 SP1 that allow it to scale (64 VMs on 32-bit Windows Server hosts; 512 VMs on x64 Windows Server hosts) on systems with more memory (up to 256 GB) and more cores.  And we’ve added support for hardware assisted virtualization in the form of Intel VT and AMD-V. 

Wow, 256 GB of memory.  That’s some heavy duty hardware.

TechTalkBlogs is Frank’s baby (Micrososft Australia DPE), and has been on-line for about 12 months now. 

TechTalkBlogs is the voice of Australian Bloggerers, and It’s an honour to be asked (Anthony Borton and Ken Schaefer) to be the guest editors for the next little bit.
 
Longhorn is the current topic, so Longhorn virtualization is sure to get has already had a plug from me. :)

So I’m looking forward to sharing even more of the virtualization lovin’!

Well I’ve got me a new shoei helmet this morning, some uber comfy draggin jeans, and it’s a beutiful day outside.  My orginal plans for today have fallen through, so time to go “wear it in”.

See you tonight with some photos

Hmmmm,  I’ve just read on Tony Soper’s blog,  System Center Operations Manager 2007 Pricing and Licensing has been announced.

SCVMM is included as a part of the Enterprise Operations Management License OML which appears to be Volume License only.  Snippet from the System Center Operations Manager 2007 Pricing and Licensing website:

The Enterprise SML will be available in Q4 CY2007 and will include the Enterprise versions of the OML and Data Protection Manager Management License, as well as the System Center Configuration Manager 2007 Server Management License, and System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007.

Now if I’m reading this right (and I’m hoping that I am), I pay $705 (573 USD) for the Operations Manager 2007 Server — and then it will cost $525 (426.00 USD) per physical host, to manage/monitor unlimited virtual machines?  So (I think this means) I get to SMS/MOM/DPM to manage, monitor and backup unlimited virtual machines on that host as well?!  What happens when I combine this with the unlimited virtualization rights of Windows Data Centre?  Does it apply to any virtualization technology such as VMware? 

Hmmm, so many possibilities, so many questions?  I think I can feel those gforces kicking in — I have to do some more research.

Here is a list of assorted links I thought were interesting.  I’ve been distracted and haven’t blogged in a while, so I imagine you have already seen these from other sources :)

• VMware strikes back against Microsoft Virtualization - Paul Thurott article, not a bad read.
• Microsoft is about to release a IE7 VPC for download, and refresh the current IE6 VPC
• Pete also has a really good article on manually compacting xp vpc images - I might even blog this again?
• A good mate of mine Luke Notley has blogged his experiences with WDS and Virtual Server.  A good read
• It’s already done the round, but Intel spills beans on Core 2 faster virtualization is good primer on Virtualization with Intel VT
• If your using Virtual Machine for TFS, you should read Richard’s Rant - TFS, Virtualisation, and Newsid - Hmmm I can feel a cloning VM blog post coming on
• If you have 4Gb ram read Dude, Where’s My 4 Gigabytes of RAM and I’ll never have to explain -3GB again…   :)
• I should have blogged this weeks ago Ben Christian’s great SCVMM and powershell collection.
• Dell plans virtualization oriented server - A sign of things to come?
• Common Engineering Criteria 2008 - Looks like Microsoft official support for 64 Bit Virtualization is starting to ramp up?

That’s it for now.

A quick post and a big conglatulations to Kyle Rosenthal and Peter Ward for being awarded the MVP.

Not only are these two great blokes Aussies (and fellow Brisbanites), but they make huge contributions to the Usergroup Community.  Kyle is the Vista PC Guy and gives his time wherever he can to present at BIG.  And Peter (aka Wardy) organises the SQL User Group and the Community Dinners here in Brisbane.

Gentlemen, congratulations on a job well done, and an award well deserverd.

A few days ago I posted the Virtual Machine Additions for Linux have been updated.   I had big plans to install these under Fedora Core and blog my experiences.  It’s just one of those things I like to do.

Well since I had this thought, two wonderful things have happend.

Ben Armstrong has confirmed that the additions are indeed final code and Erik Luppes has already done the hard work installing and posted a fine writeup of his experiences.

You can check out all the details in Erik’s post “Installing VM additions on Linux“, worth reading.

I read something this morning that made me smile.  It was one of those smiles that just make you grin from ear to ear.

Scott Woodgate announced on Presspass a new virtualization friendly licence for Windows Vista.  Really good news for anyone considering VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure).  Now VDI isn’t the solution to every problem - but if it is the solution to your problem, there is now one less roadblock to worry about.

You can read the full PressPass article “Microsoft Enables New Ways to Deploy Windows Vista“, but 2 interesting snippets are below:

…The availability of a subscription license called Windows Vista Enterprise Centralized Desktops (VECD) which allows customers to use Windows in virtual machines centralized on server hardware.

Some of our larger, more highly managed and heavily regulated customers have been asking us for more new Windows Vista deployment models and licensing so they can see how well nascent architectures based on virtualization and fast networking function within their environments. We are responding by adding two more options to the numerous ways customers can deploy and manage Windows Vista Enterprise. These two new options will enable our customers to begin testing centralized desktops and diskless PCs in their production environments alongside their existing deployment model and determine which combination provides the right mix of centralized IT control and end-user flexibility for their respective businesses.

…but this raises a burning question.  How do I connect to my virtualized Vista?   Well there are a variety of ways, but until today I never thought of this:

…Windows Server “Longhorn” also will include Terminal Services Gateway - a feature that will enable customers to access both their TS and VECD desktops remotely.

Nice.  This opens the door to so many and exciting opportunities — and so many interesting solutions to interesting problems.  I wonder what’s next?

*sigh*  I’ve had to turn of anonymous comments for a little while.  The blog spam is overwhelming.