Microsoft released a so called “Solution Accelerator” about server consolidation, ready to be used with Virtual Server 2005 and Virtual Server Migration Toolkit (VSMT) technologies.
Here the abstract:
This Solution Accelerator provides guidance for consolidating and migrating LOB applications to Microsoft® Windows® Server? 2003-based solutions, including onto Virtual Server 2005-based virtual machines. It provides technical information and recommendations, processes, build notes, job aids, test scripts, and documented test validation of the processes. The documentation includes the following components:
? Solution Accelerator Overview: Provides a brief introduction to the Solution Accelerator, information about the technologies and benefits of a Windows Server 2003 technologies, and a roadmap to the guidance provided for deployment of a Windows Server 2003-based solution.
? Decision Tree: Provides in-depth guidance for assessing LOB applications and mapping individual requirements to specific solutions that are built on Windows Server 2003-based technologies, including Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1, Microsoft Windows System Resource Manager (WSRM), and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005.
In addition to the above documents, which are now available, this Solution Accelerator also includes the following components, which are specific to a single Virtual Server 2005 solution. These components are scheduled to be available later this month, as part of the Beta release. At that time, you can download the.following components from this same Web site:
? Introduction to the Virtual Server 2005 Solution: Provides a brief introduction to a Virtual Server 2005-based solution for LOB applications and the tools that can be used to deploy it, including Automated Deployment Services (ADS) and the Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit (VSMT).
? Planning Guide for the Virtual Server 2005 Solution: Provides in-depth planning and design guidance for a Virtual Server 2005-bsed solution for LOB applications, including a scenario-based sample of how the planning and design might be done in an enterprise environment.
? Implementation Guide for the Virtual Server 2005 Solution: Provides in-depth implementation guidance for a Virtual Server 2005 solution, specifically for migrating LOB applications intact to virtual machines using VSMT, including lab-validated, scenario-based installation and configuration procedures.
? Test Guide for the Virtual Server 2005 Solution: Provides information about the specific planning, environment, and processes used to validate the Virtual Server 2005 solution.
? Test Kit: Includes the test cases, scripts, and results of the testing used to validate the Virtual Server 2005 solution.
To facilitate deployment of Virtual Server 2005-based solutions, Microsoft is preparing to release the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 Migration Toolkit (VSMT). VSMT provides tools that simplify the process for re-hosting applications on virtual machines and enable migration of an LOB application server intact to a virtual machine on a computer running Windows Server 2003 and Virtual Server 2005.
If it seems interesting enough for you download it here.