VirtualizationAdmin.com Monthly Newsletter of July 2008

Welcome to the VirtualizationAdmin.com newsletter by David Davis, VCP, CCIE. Each month we will bring you interesting and helpful information on the world of Virtualization. We want to know what all *you* are interested in hearing about. Please send your suggestions for future newsletter content to: ddavis@VirtualizationAdmin.com

1. The Rumbling of Change in the Virtualization Market

Thank you for reading issue #2 of our VirtualizationAdmin.com newsletter! Big changes in the Virtualization market have taken place in just the last month. Here are just a few of the virtualization happenings since our last newsletter:

• Microsoft releases Hyper-V 1.0 (see story in Network World) - unusually ahead of schedule (for Microsoft), "the" Microsoft Enterprise virtualization solution was released. Hyper-V is roughly a $28 upgrade to Windows Server 2008 owners and Microsoft claims it is ready to take on VMware ESX Server.
• Microsoft expects to release Virtual Machine Manager 2008 and Application Virtualization in 4th Quarter 2008 (see story at Virtualization.info) - VMM 2008 was created to provide a centralized management interface for Hyper-V and to take on VMware’s VirtualCenter.
• VMware dismisses their CEO and President, Diane Greene, and replaces her with an ex-Microsoft Vice President (see my blog post: Paul Maritz (a Microsoft guy) takes over at VMware - replacing Diane Greene covering this, including a video of the new VMware CEO, Paul Maritz)
• VMware begins raising prices in Europe and Australia (see story at Virtualization.info)

One event doesn't indicate a trend but multiple related events could. Let's put these together-

1. Microsoft's Enterprise Virtualization suite is being released (early, in fact)
2. VMware's isn't making the profits that shareholders demand and they fire their long-time leader
3. VMware beings raising prices to increase margins and profits.

In my opinion, if you add these events together, it shows that Microsoft is beginning its big push toward taking the lead in the virtualization market and VMware is already feeling the pressure. Amazingly, Microsoft seems able to apply this pressure, even without having a strong enterprise virtualization product in the past and with just having released their enterprise virtualization solution. This is against VMware - a company who has been delivering virtualization solutions for 10 years now. Obviously, end user, corporations, and market forces put great faith in what Microsoft has to offer.

I am afraid that the battle for control of the enterprise virtualization market may NOT come down to "who has the superior product" but "the easiest and cheapest solution that gets the job done" or just superior marketing. For example, IE wasn't really better than Netscape, Blu-Ray wasn't really better than HD-DVD, and VHS tapes weren't really better than Beta video tapes. Yet, all of these products beat out their competitor in a matter of a few years.

I think that it is smart that VMware is hiring an ex-Microsoft VP to run the company. Who better to know how to beat Microsoft? With a 5+ year lead over Microsoft, a mature product, and a very strong following (100% of the Fortune 100) - will VMware be able to keep their lead in the enterprise virtualization market?

My prediction - within 2 years, Microsoft's enterprise virtualization solutions will be used by at least 50% of the Fortune 500 and 50% of the Fortune 100. That is a strong prediction considering, today, 96% of the Fortune 500 and 100% of the Fortune 100 use VMware solutions (source: VMware Customer list).

What do you think? Let's hear your prediction on the virtualization battle! Email me and I may post your opinions in my blog.

As always, if you have Virtualization questions, ideas for articles, or issues to cover in the newsletter, please feel free to write to me at DDavis@VirtualizationAdmin.com

Thank you,

David Davis, VCP, CCIE

2. Train Signal VMware ESX Server Video Training

3. VirtualizationAdmin.com Articles of Interest

• Understanding VMware ESX Server Security Profiles
• Managing Hyper-V with SystemCenter Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (Part 1)
• Resource Allocation in Hyper-V (Part 2)
• Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit Chapter 7: Best Practices for Configuration and Performance Tuning
• UPDATED: Virtualization FAQ – 25 new entries added!
• Whitepaper: Managing Access in a Virtualized Environment
• Whitepaper: Gene Kim's Practical Steps to Mitigate Virtualization Security Risks
• Whitepaper: Secure Virtualization: Achieve and Maintain IT Security in Virtual Environments

4. KB Articles of the Month

• VMware: Troubleshooting VirtualCenter Database Configuration Issues
• VMware: Changing the IP address, default gateway and hostname of the Service Console in ESX Server 3.x
• VMware: Deleting Snapshots of Virtual Machines With Heavy Disk I/O Might Cause Host to Be Disconnected from VirtualCenter
• Microsoft: Hyper-V MMC Update (KB950050)
• Microsoft: Hyper-V Remote Management for Windows Vista Update (KB952627)
• Microsoft: Assessment and Planning Tool 3.1 Update for Hyper-V

5. Virtualization Admin Tip of the Month

What is a "security profile"? When using VMware ESX Server, a security profile is essentially the software firewall for the server itself. For example, say that you wanted to run a backup client on the ESX Server or you wanted to allow FTP access to the server, you would have to open up a port in the security profile to do these things. By default the security profile is enabled and only allowing access on a few ports to the server. For more information on security profiles, see my new article Understanding VMware ESX Server Security Profiles.

6. Helpful Links

• Virtualization Congress 2008 - coming to London
• VMware: VMworld USA 2008 coming in September
• VMware's Planet V12n Virtualization Blog Aggregator
• VMwareVideos.com - videos only related to VMware
• VMware Free Virtualization Webcasts
• Petri IT Knowledgebase - Virtualization Articles
• Virtual PC Guy's Weblog covering Hyper-V Virtualization
• Microsoft Virtualization Team Blog

7. Ask David Davis

Question

What do I need to know before loading Microsoft Hyper-V?

Answer

Trust me, there is some planning you should do before loading Microsoft Hyper-V. It isn't as easy as loading Windows. Here are my tips that will save you time and a lot of headaches:

• Make sure that you have a 64 bit Desktop or Server system to load it on. Your CPU must be either an AMD64 or Intel IA-32e/EM64T (x64) processors with hardware-assisted virtualization. If your CPU does not meet these requirements, don't even try to load Hyper-V.
• Make sure that your Windows Server installation DVD is the x64 version of Windows Server 2008, that it is a RTM edition of Windows 2008 Server, and that Hyper-V is an option at installation time. Don't make the mistake of loading the 32 bit version then having to reinstall the OS again.
• After Windows 2008 Server installation, you need to enable the Hyper-V Role then install Update for Windows Server 2008 x64 editions (KB 950050), Update for Windows Server 2008 (KB952627), and Language pack for Hyper-V (KB951636) then reboot.
• Next, let's say that you are going to install Windows Vista as your Guest OS, I recommend installing Vista with SP1 and then patching it with all the latest Windows Updates before attempting to install the "Hyper-V Integration Components and Enlightenments".
• Finally, install the Hyper-V Integration Components and Enlightenments in your Guest OS

These steps will prevent many issues and headaches and help you to get Hyper-V and your first Guest VM up and running as quickly as possible. For step by step instructions on how to install Hyper-V, see VirtualizationAdmin.com article - Installing Microsoft Hyper-V and Microsoft's Hyper-V Installation Guide.

Got a question for David Davis? Send it to ddavis@VirtualizationAdmin.com