Year: 2006

Ben Armstrong published a very interesting insight on Microsoft Virtual PC interface security, which can be restricted from Windows Registry in case of complex deployments:

The Virtual PC security options are stored in a hexadecimal DWORD called ‘Locks’ under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Virtual PC\5.0\Security.
The value of the DWORD determines what is restricted. The values are as follows:

• 0x001 = Disable access to the Virtual PC Options
• 0x002 = Disable access to virtual machine settings
• 0x008 = Disable access to the new virtual machine wizard
• 0x020 = Disable access to the virtual disk wizard

Be sure to read the original article for updated and comments.

VMware just updated the beta build of its new virtual to virtual (V2V) tool, expected to be released at the same time of ESX Server 3.0 and VirtualCenter 2.0, later this year.

The new build (24380) provides compatibility with ESX Server 3.0 RC1 and VirtualCenter 2.0 beta 2, while it cannot be used with the just released RC2 builds of both products.

Read official Release Notes for a compatibility scheme and download it here.

The virtualization.info Virtualization Industry Roadmap has been updated accordingly.

VMware is about to launch a webcast series aimed to spread knowledge of new Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.

The whole series is made of 7 webcasts covering several aspects and will be delivered in the next 2 months with the following scheduling:

• June 1 – Simplify Remote Desktop Management with VMware & Citrix
  With enterprises facing an ever increasing distributed end-user population, Citrix and VMware believe that virtual desktop infrastructures will be an important deployment model. By employing the Citrix Access Infrastructure in conjunction VMware VDI, enterprises that now require virtualized OS infrastructures for their remote desktop users can easily deliver and manage those desktops. Attend this session to learn how VMware and Citrix are providing enterprises with desktop management solutions.
• June 6 – Effective Desktop Disaster Recovery with VMware & Route 1
  s companies adopt business continuity programs that also encompass desktop environments, the Virtual Desktop Infrastructure will be a key initiative. Route1 and VMware enable organizations to simply and cost-effectively deploy the combination of virtualized environments built with VMware’s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and Route1’s SAFE Response solution. Route1¹s SAFE (Simplified Access For Emergency) Response Solution for proportional business continuity is designed to lessen the operational impact of potential worker quarantines and other disruptions resulting from man-made and natural causes. Built on the world¹s first USB thin client, Route1 MobiKEY, users remotely operate their desktop applications which look, act and behave exactly as they do when they are at their desk in the office. Users simply plug MobiKEY into the USB port of their home computer and 30 seconds later they are running their office desktop.
• June 13 – VMware & Leostream Secure Off-Shore Development
  Off-shore development provides a cost effective option for many enterprises that was not previously available. Although lower in costs, this software delivery method also poses its own challenges associated with providing secure development environments to large teams of off shore developers. Attend this session to learn how Leostream’s Virtual Desktop Controller with VMware virtual infrastructure enables virtual desktop deployments to successfully scale to thousands of users. It enables end-users to log on via a web browser, be authenticated against Active Directory, and then automatically connected via RDP to the appropriate virtual machine-hosted Windows Desktop system.
• June 20 – Streamline Outsourced Support Operations with VMware & Propero
  Virtual Desktop Infrastructure is a secure way to provide desktop environments for transaction workers such as call centers and order processing, particularly for outsourced and off-shored environments. Many call center operators do not need the local flexibility of a thick client and are typically using the computer for one single application. By serving up a server hosted desktop, a company can easily refresh the application or desktop to these professionals centrally. Propero’s workSpace for VMware provides seamless, secure access, with full single sign on, to personalized virtual desktops and virtual applications from any location with a browser. In addition, workSpace’s dynamic load-balancing and session management features ensure virtual machines consume server resources only when they need to, keeping costs low and simplifying resource management.
• June 27 – VMware & IBM Simplify Virtual Desktop Management for Branch Operations
  IBM’s Virtualized Hosted Client Infrastructure (VHCI) brings together all the benefits and control of a standalone desktop to end users while providing centralized management and increased security and control for the IT administrator. An ideal solution for remote employees or branch office environments, IBM leverages VMware virtual infrastructure software to help improve IT department efficiencies by optimizing resource utilization, as well as increase end user performance by dynamically provisioning resources to meet the performance needs of each virtual hosted client machine. This enables companies to support more users with fewer resources, while offering the best possible desktop experience from virtually anywhere and on virtually any device.
• July 11 – Ensuring Sarbanes-Oxley compliance with Wyse & VMware
  Sarbanes-Oxley legislation requires that organizations have internal controls as they relate to financial reporting. One such area for this control is access to the financial systems and data. With the Wyse and VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure solution, organizations are able to host and stream complete computing environments from within the data center, allowing access through the Wyse thin computing solutions. This provides enhanced manageability and security for our enterprise customers of their financial information and systems.
• July 18 – Cost Effective Solutions for Educational Institutions with Ardence & VMware
  Educational organizations face particular financial challenges when approaching technology implementations. As public sector entities, finding a combination cost effective and best of breed can oftentimes prove difficult. The Ardence Desktop Edition in conjunction with VMware virtual infrastructure allows administrators to stream virtual machine images to diskless desktops from network storage. This breakthrough in desktop management and software distribution radically lowers the total cost of desktop ownership. IT administrators are able to provision virtual desktops from private or shared images over the network in seconds, providing unprecedented scalability, flexibility and responsiveness.

Register for them here.

Quoting from the IT Week:

ClearCube Technology will today unveil software to help IT staff manage user desktops as virtual machines.
…
Sentral 5.0, available from June, is an overhaul of the existing ClearCube Management Suite (CMS), with the ability to manage virtualised desktop environments.
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The tools also work with other systems, such as IBM’s virtualised hosted client infrastructure.

Sentral supports VMware and Microsoft Virtual Server. Pricing will depend on the number of virtual machines to be managed…

Read the whole article at source.

Quoting from the Microsoft official announcement:

At WinHEC, which runs May 23-25 at the Washington State Convention and Trade Center here), Bob Muglia. Microsoft’s senior vice president of the Server and Tools Business, will provide updates on Microsoft’s new virtualization solutions. Of special note:

• Windows Server virtualization: Microsoft’s hypervisor-based solution is on track to be available with the upcoming Microsoft Windows Server “Longhorn” operating system. Microsoft anticipates having a beta release of Windows Server virtualization by the end of 2006 and plans to release to manufacturing (RTM) within 180 days of Windows Server “Longhorn” RTM.
• Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager: Formerly code-named “Carmine,” this technology is a centralized, enterprise management solution for the virtualized data center. System Center Virtual Machine Manager is part of the System Center family of products and is due for beta release within the next 90 days. Microsoft anticipates release to manufacturing (RTM) in the second half of 2007.
• Intent to acquire Softricity, Inc: Softricity’s application virtualization and streaming technologies provide application compatibility and accelerate corporate desktop transitions to Windows Vista.

…
Microsoft’s efforts to accelerate the delivery of virtualization solutions also includes engaging with industry partners, such as AMD and Intel to bring customers hardware-assisted virtualization in Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1. Microsoft is also collaborating with Intel on the design and specification of Intel Virtualization for Directed I/O (Intel VT-d), as well as working closely with AMD to help pave the way for a new class of innovation, such as AMD’s I/O virtualization technology.

On the OEM front, system manufacturers Dell, HP and IBM all have voiced their support for Microsoft’s virtualization strategy. Microsoft is also working with other leading vendors to define a standard management application programming interface (API) through the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF).

To foster interoperability of virtualization technologies and encourage innovation around new virtual machine solutions, Microsoft continues to license the Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) file format for virtual machines compatible with both Virtual Server and Windows Server “Longhorn” hardware virtualization products royalty-free. More than 45 vendors have signed up for this licensing, including Akimbi, Brocade, Diskeeper, Fujitsu-Siemens, Network Appliance, Platespin, Softricity, Virtual Iron and XenSource…

The WinHEC conference has still to start but a part of new Microsoft strategy about virtualization has already been leaked:
Steven Bink discovered and reported the new Virtual Machine Manager product site.

Virtual Machine Manager, which was previously been named Virtual Server Manager and codename Carmine, will be available following this scheduling:

• Beta 1 – summer 2006
• Beta 2 – Q1 2007
• RTM – H2 2007

This early beta launch is very important cause it means Microsoft changed its mind, offering its virtualization management product not only for upcoming codename Viridian, but also for existing Virtual Server 2005 R2, which should be powered by the new Service Pack 1 on the summer as well.

Virtual Machine Manager will offer the most requested features from virtualization administrators:

• virtualization candidates recognition
• physical to virtual (P2V) migration
• virtual workloads placement and migration on hosts servers
• virtual infrastructure automation (including virtual machines library management and provisioning)

Read features description and relative FAQs.
Register for the beta at Microsoft Connect.

The virtualization.info Virtualization Industry Roadmap has been updated accordingly.

Quoting from the Egenera official announcement:

Egenera Inc. today announced that it has been selected as a winner of the annual “Red Herring 100 North America” award by Red Herring magazine. The list of 100 private companies in North America recognizes those that play a leading role in innovating the technology business. The entire list can be viewed at www.redherring.com.
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Vern Brownell, Egenera founder and CTO, will present the company’s strategy at the exclusive Red Herring Spring 2006 CEO summit, May 23-25 in Monterey, Calif. The event will host a select group of technology entrepreneurs, investors and corporate developers who will be the first to explore this next wave of disruptive technology companies…

After a long agony VMware shut down its newsgroups, the historical place where the virtualization community was born and grew.

Since a couple of week the company public news server news.vmware.com stopped answering and serving 23 newsgroups about Workstation, GSX and ESX Server.

Number of posts, NNTP communications limitations and articulated community needs definitively buried the first ever free support place for virtualization (the place where I learned so much and helped as much as possible).

No public announcement has been made.

Quoting from The Register:

Intel is to discontinue production of its two Virtualisation Technology-equipped Pentium 4 processors, the 662 and 672, the chip maker has told its customers. The two 90nm, LGA-775 chips only debuted in November 2005.

Intel documentation seen by Reg Hardware doesn’t reveal why the parts are being pulled, but it reveals the company won’t take orders for the 662 and 672 after 1 September – orders placed after 3 July can’t be cancelled. Intel will stop shipping the chips on 9 November 2007…

Read the whole article at source.