virtualization.info Editors

– OpenVMRC
OpenVMRC is an open source Virtual Machine Remote Control (VMRC) Client for Microsoft Virtual Server.

As one of the leading players in the server virtualization space, alongside EMC Corp’s VMware, SWsoft has much to gain from counteracting Microsoft’s entry into the server virtualization space, and Virtuozzo for Windows is a timely announcement.

However, the product will not be available until early 2005, with beta testing due to last until December 6, 2004. The product creates what SWsoft calls Virtual Private Servers, with additional functionality including dynamic partitioning, resource management, operating system virtualization, and automated management.

Server consolidation, which allows multiple workloads to run on the same system, has become increasingly important as a way to improve the utilization of computing resources and reduce costs. Consolidation is common in mainframe nvironments, where technology to support running multiple workloads and even multiple operating systems on the same hardware has been evolving since the late 1960’s. This technology is now becoming an important differentiator in the UNIX and Linux server market as well, both at the low end (virtual web hosting) and high end (traditional data center server consolidation).

A. MOM 2005 is licensed on a server-plus-device management license basis. A server license is required for each manager server. In addition, an Operations Management License (OML) is required for each managed device regardless of the number of virtual machines. For more information about MOM 2005 licensing, download this Microsoft Volume Licensing Brief: Licensing MOM 2005.

Q. How many licenses will I need for Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 to manage my physical servers and virtual machines?

This latest release of VMware’s virtual desktop software includes a host of new features ranging from improved collaboration and networking, better performance and surer security, to enhanced cloning capabilities and Microsoft Virtual PC compatibility.

New to VMware Workstation, Teams are intended to clear the way for easier configuration of multi-tier applications. The Teams feature lassos together a collection of virtual machines that are connected by private network segments. Once a team is created, the entire cluster of virtual machines is administered as if it were a single unit. In addition, administrators can view active thumbnails of every “Team” member.

VMware’s V2V Assistant rolls back the clock to a time when Microsoft was not a competitor, enabling Microsoft Virtual PC virtual machines to be stripped of their vendor identity and converted into Workstation 5 virtual machines. Workstation 5 can also open a Microsoft virtual machine without conversion.

Workstation 5 also promises to deliver enhanced networking performance, sources said. When a user installs the updated VMware tools, all required drivers are automatically loaded through the software’s custom network driver. VMware claims to have achieved significant improvements in network performances.

Developers have turned their attention toward shoring up the efficiency of memory utilization, and to securing the computing environment against buffer overruns. VMware has elected to target the scenario of concurrent use of multiple virtual machines as the primary candidate to receive performance tweaks. The beta also targets buffer overruns, permitting operating systems that support the NX bit to designate memory space for applications. Any code that attempts to run outside of the space will not be executed.

Two different methods are provided for cloning: linked and full. If a parent virtual machine is accessible in shared storage, it can be linked to rather than copied and stored locally. Any changes that are made to the cloned virtual machine are saved on the resident hardware. Team members can then share the saved configuration. In addition, linked clones can be used as a universal template for additional clones, thus sparing disk space. Full cloning makes complete copies of virtual machine that can be stored on disks and other media.

What’s more, Workstation 5 offers the ability to record all activity within a virtual machine and commits the record to the .AVI format. VMware has provided the feature so that users can reproduce steps that may have led to defects or to record the process of installing and configuring a new application.

If all else fails, users can take an unlimited number of snapshots to capture the state of the environment along a specified range of time. A new item called Snapshot Manager allows administrators to roll back to a previous state along the timeline.

What is perhaps less well known is that VMware can also provide an important service for desktop hardware. This is partly because its desktop capability is still evolving. The VMware desktop capability, VMware ACE, is currently in beta release. It provides a standard virtual hardware configuration for the desktop, including the OS, web browser and all the applications – all of which are distributed from a central point. VMware ACE solves a major desktop support problem by enforcing standardization and thus making local software installation of any kind unnecessary. It is not the resource utilization that is the issue here, but manageability.

However, on its own VMware ACE does not solve all the support issues. This is where Softricity’s SoftGrid plays a complementary role. In fact the role it plays is complementary enough for VMware and Softricity to be jointly marketing the capability.

SoftGrid is also a virtualization capability, but of a different kind. SoftGrid virtualizes each application, ensuring that there can be no conflicts between one application and another. Let me emphasize this, it is important: No application conflicts. As with VMware ACE, a single image is defined centrally and distributed to the desktop, so there is no need to install software locally. Each application is installed in a “virtual partition” which runs on the desktop for those users that are registered for the application. Each is configured and managed centrally and deployed “on demand” to authorized users.

Now because everything, the VMware ACE virtual machine and the SoftGrid application partitions, runs locally, none of the local services of the Windows desktop are lost. Everything from attached devices to “cut and paste” capability is still available, and the desktop functionality is much the same as if neither VMware nor SoftGrid were operating.

So what does this deliver, when you add it all up?

Well, it delivers a much-longed-for manageability to the desktop. In the area of security for example, it prevents anyone loading any rogue software. It is all managed centrally. SoftGrid all but removes the need for regression testing when upgrades to applications occur – all that needs to be tested is that the upgrade works within the SoftGrid application partition. The combination of the two products will inevitably reduce the number of calls to the Help Desk. It will enable a more rational purchasing policy for desktop hardware – because this arrangement makes it possible to implement a more rigourous purchasing policy.

It also makes desktop software licensing far easier to manage and control. It can be also be used to manage mobile computers and it can function over wide area networks so it can provide central management to the remotest of sites. Finally, it provides a level of disaster recovery for the desktop, in the sense that, as long as adequate disaster recovery is provided for the central VMware and SoftGrid servers, they can deploy a user’s applications to any adequately configured PC anywhere.

So what is the impact on the user? As it happens, he impact is minimal. The way that SoftGrid works is that it does not install the whole application on the desktop but only the necessary parts of it, which usually amount to 20-40% of the code. For PCs that work in disconnected mode, the whole application including all the configuration details, is cached locally, but synchronized when connected. So, local operation is not prevented. VMware ACE provides a similar capability for the OS.