VirtualizationAdmin.com Monthly Newsletter of March 2009 Sponsored by: SpamTitan

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. New Virtualization Features in Windows 2008 Server R2 Beta

Thank you for reading issue #10 of our VirtualizationAdmin.com newsletter! Last month we covered the 10 Hot Features to look for in VMware's next release.

This month, let us look at VMware's direct competition - Microsoft - and learn what virtualization features they will be offering in their next version of Windows 2008 Server - dubbed "R2" (if you are like me, you have the urge to call it R2D2). Currently, "R2" is in beta and you can freely try the new features that it offers yourself (see the Win 2008 R2 Beta Eval). So what does it offer in the way of new server and desktop virtualization features? Here is the list:

• Greater Data Center availability - Live Migration support through CSV (cluster shared volumes), improved cluster connectivity in the event of a fault through dynamic I/O redirection, and the enhanced cluster validation tool.
• Improved Management of Virtual Data Centers - greater ease of performing repetitive tasks in the Hyper-V management console, enhanced command line interface through new PowerShell cmdlets, and improved management of multiple Hyper-V servers through System Center Virtual Machine Manager
• Simplified Method for Physical and Virtual Computer Deployments - you can now boot from a pre-configured VHD (virtual hard drive) file and you can add and remove VHD files from a running virtual machine
• Improved CPU Performance with Reduced Power Consumption - you can get increased performance with R2 due to second level address translation (SLAT) that reduces CPU and power consumption
• Improved Virtual Machine Network Performance - improved virtual machine network performance due to TCP offload and jumbo frames.

Additionally, "R2" a number of Presentation Virtualization features through improvements to Windows 2008 R2's RemoteApp feature set. For Microsoft's official page covering these Windows 2008 Server R2 beta server, desktop, and presentation virtualization features, click here.

My personal opinion on these improvements is that they are valuable but, of course, they are all features that VMware's virtualization offerings have had for some time.

Note to my readers: Besides reading our newsletter, I encourage you to stay up to date on the latest in Virtualization news by subscribing to the VirtualizationAdmin.com RSS Feed so make sure you have the VirtualizationAdmin.com RSS feeds configured in your RSS reader. 

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

• Maintaining VMware: Three Common Virtual Machine Tasks
  
• Virtual Machine Disk Options
  
• What VMware's View 3 VDI offers and how to Install it
  
• Configuring the VMware VirtualCenter Management Server
  
• VIDEO: How to install a new Guest VM in VMware ESX Server  
  
• Hyper-V and Legacy Applications (Part 2)
  
  

4. KB Articles of the Month

• VMware KB 1006652 - VMware ESX 3.5, Patch ESX350-200901402-SG: Security Update for ESX Scripts
  
• VMware KB 1009317 - Virtual Printing Does Not Send Fonts to the Host System with a Print Job 
  
• VMware KB 1009299 - Virtual machines do not have network connectivity after migration 
  
• Microsoft KB - Guest operating systems that are supported on a Hyper-V virtual machine
  
• Microsoft KB - Support policy for Microsoft SQL Server products that are running in a hardware virtualization environment
  
• Microsoft KB - How to back up Hyper-V virtual machines from the parent partition on a Windows Server 2008-based computer by using Windows Server Backup

5. Virtualization Admin Tip of the Month

Are you interested in managing your virtual machines from a mobile device? Personally, I am not sure how practical this is but I really like checking out all the options. Maybe some of them will interest you. So far, I have seen 3 very cool options for virtual machine management:

• Rove IT - Rove now offers Rove Mobile which recently offered support for VMware ESX host / guest management. To date, this is the only commercial mobile management application available today in a production version. Not only does Rove Mobile manage VMware ESX & Virtual Center but also things like Windows Server, Blackberry servers, Microsoft SCVMM, SQL, Oracle, and much more (that's why it has a significant price tag). For more information, visit the Rove IT Mobile website.
• Virtualization Mobile Manager (VMM) - created by Andrew Kutz (known for the SVMotion VI Client Plug-in), VMM is currently in beta and offered to try out for free. It allows you to manage VMware ESX and Citrix XenServer virtual machines from a mobile device such as an iPhone, BlackBerry, or Windows Mobile device. VMM has been acquired by Hyper9 and it will be released in the form of an updated commercial version soon. For more information, checkout Virtualization Manager Mobile (VMM).
• VMware's upcoming vCenter Mobile Access - VMware's upcoming mobile access is expected to be released in April of 2009. This tool will allow you to manage your VMware ESX Servers from a mobile device. For a demo and more details see the vCenter Mobile Access Technology Preview

6. Helpful Links

• Virtualization Congress - May 2009 - Las Vegas, NV
• VMworld 2009 - August 31 - Sept 3 - San Francisco, CA
• VMware's Planet V12n Virtualization Blog Aggregator
• VMwareVideos.com - videos only related to VMware
• VMware Free Virtualization Webcasts
• Petri IT Knowledgebase - Virtualization Articles
• VM Monitor free performance monitor for VMware ESX
• Virtual PC Guy's Weblog covering Hyper-V Virtualization
• Scott Lowe's Virtualization, Storage, and Server Blog
• Microsoft Virtualization Team Blog

7. Ask David Davis

Question

What are the 3 common VMware Admin maintenance tasks that we should all know?

Answer

In my recent article VMware ESXi Server - Configuration Checklist I covered exactly what needs to be configured during and after the installation of your new ESXi Server.

In Robert Shimonski's latest article on VirtualizationAdmin.com, he covers each of the 3 common tasks that VMware Admins should know by heart. Here they are:

1. Know how to create new virtual machines quickly using clones and templates - after all, features like snapshot, clone, and templates are one of the major features of virtualization. Why not take advantage of them to the benefit of your time and your company?
2. Keep your Virtual Machines Secure and Healthy - you must keep in mind that virtual machines are just like any other desktop and server in your IT infrastructure in the sense that virtual machines must be updated with OS and application updates, hotfixes, and service packs. VMs also need anti-virus and anti-spyware software.
3. Install VMware Tools - these tools aren't just to keep your mouse in sync. There are performance benefits, VSS synchronization benefits, heartbeat sync benefits (and more) that are gained by installing the VMware Tools. Also, once installed, you need to make sure that you keep them up to date. The VMware VI Client can tell you if the VMware Tools on a guest VM are up to date or need to be updated.

For more information, read Robert's article at: Maintaining VMware: Three Common Virtual Machine Tasks

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