virtualization.info Editors

AMD announces support for enterprise server virtualization

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Quoting from Le Revenue:

AMD today announced that VMware ESX Server, virtual infrastructure software that enables enterprises to partition,consolidate and manage systems in mission-critical environments, is qualified on AMD Opteron processor-based platforms from HP and IBM. VMware, Inc.’s qualification of the four-way HP ProLiant DL585 andIBM e325 for VMware ESX Server underscores the extent to which the AMDOpteron processor, the world’s first x86 processor for both 32-bit and64-bit computing, is well suited to the demands of server virtualization.

The AMD Opteron processor with Direct ConnectArchitecture features an integrated memory controller and HyperTransport technology, enabling more efficient memory and I/O access, which are critical to memory-intensive virtualization. “Enterprises are increasingly looking to the AMD Opteron processor, as the only processor that delivers simultaneous 32- and 64-bit x86 computing in multi-processor server platforms, to meet their server virtualization needs,” said Marty Seyer, vice presidentand general manager of the Microprocessor Business Unit, ComputationProducts Group, AMD.
“Additionally, feature enhancements planned forour future dual-core and single-core processor products will furtherenable the availability of 64-bit virtualization software and help provide the infrastructure needed for virtualization vendors to offer mainframe-quality virtualization to the x86 market.” Server virtualization generates improved return on IT investments and helps reduce the total cost of computing infrastructures ownershipby delivering resource consolidation, improved availability andinfrastructure flexibility.

According to research firm Gartner,”Strategically, enterprises that leverage virtualization technologieswill be able to react to changing requirements more rapidly by using server resources as a pool of resources. Enterprises should pursue long-term relationships with vendors that have solid virtualizationplans either directly or through partnerships.”

VMware recently announced its 64-bit roadmap in which support forconcurrent 32-bit and 64-bit virtual machines on 64-bit architectures,including AMD64, will be introduced across the VMware product line.Today support for AMD64 is available on an experimental basis in VMware GSX Server and VMware Workstation, with support for both RedHat Enterprise Linux 3 and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 8 64-bit host operating systems as well as for Windows Server 2003 (Beta) for 64-bit extended systems.

“AMD64 technology allows enterprises to leverage existing IT investments while simultaneously positioning them to respond faster tochanging business demands,” said Michael Mullany, vice president ofmarketing, VMware. “We are committed to providing our customers withthe support they need to maximize their technology investments, including support for technology like the AMD Opteron processor. The qualification of ESX Server on the AMD Opteron processor-based HP ProLiant DL585 and IBM e325 serversprovides users with performance-based platforms that support our 32-bit products today with the ability to migrate to our 64-bitproducts as they become available.”

VMware ESX Server continues to garner industry accolades

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Quoting from Yahoo Finance:

VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems, today announced that VMware ESX Server won the IDG Network Enterprise Product of the Year and the Microsoft Tech Ed Europe Best of Show awards, marking the second year in a row top honors have been bestowed upon ESX Server. Last year, VMware ESX Server won the CNET Networks Enterprise Product of the Year and the PC Magazine Technical Excellence awards.
The IDG Network judges evaluated products based on their innovative and effective use of networking technology. The Microsoft Tech Ed Europe Best of Show judges evaluated products based on their strategic importance in the market, competitive advantage and value to the customer. The field included more than 70 entries.

“VMware ESX Server provides a virtual server environment allowing IT professionals to host multiple live operating systems on one device,” said Graham Parker, Chairman of Vbug User Group and Microsoft Tech Ed Best of Show judge. “This product does not require a host operating system, and interacts directly with the hardware to provide multiple virtual machine environments. It supports nearly all operating systems and allows IT professionals to transfer environments from one machine to another using VMotion with no down- time.”

VMware ESX Server is virtual infrastructure software for partitioning, consolidating and managing systems in mission-critical environments. Adopted by thousands of IT organizations worldwide, VMware ESX Server has saved hundreds of millions of dollars in costs through providing server consolidation, provisioning, image/hardware independence, high availability and disaster recovery. ESX Server provides a highly scalable virtual machine platform with advanced resource management capabilities, which can be managed by VMware VirtualCenter.

VMware VirtualCenter is virtual infrastructure management software, providing a central point of control for virtual computing resources. Using VMotion technology in VirtualCenter, enterprises are able to respond to changing business demands in real-time and move virtual machines from one physical server to another with continuous service availability. The VMware Virtual Infrastructure SDK provides standards-based interfaces that enable ISVs, partners and customers to control VMware virtual infrastructure and to integrate into existing management frameworks.

“We are flattered and our vision is reinforced by VMware ESX Server winning these prestigious awards,” said Michael Mullany, vice president of marketing at VMware. “These awards underscore the value of ESX Server and validate the broad support that ESX Server enjoys from the thousands of customers using it as their standard for server virtualization. As we look ahead, we remain committed to continuing to bring useful and innovative technology to market.”

Microsoft Systems Management Server 2003 Service Pack 1 reaches Release Candidate

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Why Systems Management Server (SMS) 2003 SP1 is so interesting for virtualization technologies consumers? Because it will introduce centralized Virtual PC and Virtual Server management, adding enterprise administration capabilities mandatory for large datacenters adoption.

Here the features introduced with SP1:

– Inventory encryption and client authentication
– Client certificate provisioning
– Configurable communications port
– Watson support for server diagnostics
– Support greater number of distribution points to reduce maintenance cost
– More granular control of inter-site traffic
– Improved software distribution in multi-site hierarchies
– Folders structures for Queries, Packages, Advertisements, Reports
– Easily bypass inventory of the Windows directory for each inventory rule
– Client-side performance enhancements for Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) -based inventory
– Critical Patch Management

SP1 also broadens the supported configurations to include:
– Workgroups
– Support for Virtual Server 2005 and Virtual PC
– Advanced Client support for computers with 64-bit processors at the release of the 64-bit version of the OS
– Localized Admin console based on Operating System
– Elimination of WINS specific calls in SMS”

Whitepaper: Solution Accelerator for consolidating and migrating LOB applications

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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.

Microsoft Virtual PC 7.0 (for Windows and Macintosh) expected for October

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Quoting from MacMinute:

The next version of Virtual PC has been pushed back until October. An e-mail sent to MacMinute by Microsoft notes that: “As you may know, Virtual PC 7 ships with Windows XP both in a box by itself as well as in the Office 2004 for Mac Professional Edition. We are waiting for the release of Windows XP SP2 in order to offer the most recent, most secure version of Windows XP to our Virtual PC for Mac customers. Windows XP SP2 release has moved to August, which has impacted our schedule. Based on this, we anticipate that Virtual PC 7 with Win XP Professional and Home will release to manufacturing in September and be on store shelves by early October. Virtual PC 7 with Windows 2000 and the Standalone and Upgrade versions will be available a few months after this debut. Should the Windows XP SP2 release date change the Virtual PC 7 availability date will change accordingly.”

Seminar: EMC Documentum Enterprise Content Management platform in a VMware virtual environment

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Quoting from Yahoo Finance:

EMC Corporation, the world leader in information storage and management, today announced that it will host an online seminar on deploying the EMC Documentum Enterprise Content Management platform in a VMware virtual environment. This one-hour seminar will take place on Tuesday, July 27, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET.
VMware virtual infrastructure helps organizations increase efficiency, flexibility and responsiveness by enabling multiple applications, including EMC Documentum content management services, to run on a single or multiple hardware servers in a virtualized environment. With the addition of an abstraction layer between hardware and software resources, hardware management is separated from software management, allowing equipment to be treated as a single pool of processing, storage and networking power. This seminar will cover how implementing the VMware virtual infrastructure with the EMC Documentum Enterprise Content Management platform enables:

— Dramatically improved utilization of physical resources through server
consolidation
— Higher availability and zero downtime for hardware maintenance
— Improved system performance
— Faster response to business needs
— Greater deployment flexibility

EVENT LOGISTICS:

Date: Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Time: 10:00 a.m. PT/1:00 p.m. ET

Register: For more information on seminars and events related to EMC Documentum solutions visit: http://www.documentum.com/events

MSDN Magazine: Program customized testing environments without trashing your machine

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In August Issue of MSDN Magazine just appeared a very interesting article by Ben Waldron about Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 COM programming:

Topics:

-) Virtual Server 2005
-) Consuming the Virtual Server 2005 COM API
-) .NET/COM interop
-) Test automation

Abstract:

Often when I walk by the desk of a software developer or tester I notice the arsenal of hardware used to test applications on different operating system versions or configurations. Testing in different configurations is an integral part of the development process, but the time and energy consumed configuring and managing these environments can be taxing. This ultimately comes at the expense of application quality because less time is spent testing while more time is spent building or reconfiguring machines. Microsoft® Virtual Server 2005 improves developer productivity by simplifying the provisioning and management of testing environments. This article demonstrates how the extensive Virtual Server COM API can be used to create an automated application testing environment.
In the context of this article, a virtual machine can be best described as an isolated computer implemented entirely in software, running inside a host hardware-based computer. This makes it possible to have multiple operating systems running simultaneously on a single machine. Windows® 95 and above and even the next version of Windows, code-named “Longhorn,” can run concurrently on a single piece of hardware using Virtual Server. Non-Microsoft operating systems can also run inside a virtual machine. Applications running in a virtual machine behave as if they were running on their own physical system. The virtual machine concept has been around for more than 30 years, but until the advent of products like Virtual Server 2005 it has not been an affordable or manageable solution for application developers and testers.

Read whole article here and download example code here.

Release: VMware ESX Server 2.1.1 released!

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VMware just released its major product addressing some compatibility issues and extending support to some technologies.
Here the complete What’s New list:

-) Expanded Support for Processors
ESX Server version 2.1.1 includes support for the AMD Opteron processor.

-) Support for IBM TotalStorage® SAN Volume Controller (SVC)
ESX Server version 2.1.1 includes support for the IBM TotalStorage® SAN Volume Controller (SVC).

-) Support for ProLiant ML570 G2 CD-ROM Drive
ESX Server version 2.1.1 includes support for the ProLiant ML570 G2 CD-ROM drive.

-) Support for LSI 1020/1030 Controllers in Shared Mode with Mirrored Disks
ESX Server version 2.1.1 supports using a LSI 1020/1030 SCSI controller in shared mode with mirrored disks.

-) Support for More Than 48GB of RAM in a Non-NUMA Server
ESX Server version 2.1.1 supports using more than 48GB of memory on non-NUMA servers.

-) Support for Citrix MetaFrame
For ESX Server 2.1, running Citrix MetaFrame in a Windows 2000 Server guest operating system may have caused the system to fail or show errors. This issue is resolved in ESX Server version 2.1.1.