Virtualization
Virtual PC and Server Related Posts
This cartoon by Rohan Singh started my day off with a smile…..
Cheers!
Whew! I came home from Seattle for the weekend only to now be in Palm Beach, Florida. I am covering some Technet events for a co-worker who is working on a project. I am delivering in Palm Beach tomorrow and Tampa on Thursday. Looks like there are still spots open for registration. If you happen to be in either area this week, stop in and say hello! We will also be piloting a new customer registration system that should speed things up when you come in for the events. I would love to hear your feedback on the registration process.
I will be hopping on a plane Thursday evening to come back to SoCal.
Cheers!
I would like some feedback from those who read (or at least glance at) my blog. I have been struggling with direction since starting up my blog and have finally come to a crossroads where I need to make a change. A couple of things have brought me to this decision – 1) There is a new version of Community Server that I want to migrate to and I am going to improve my hardware for my network. I like rebuilding my home network now and then just to get my hands dirty. 2) I have a tendency to blog about things that are interesting to me that I think others might find interesting as well. I also NEED to blog more about Microsoft products and technologies as I am an IT Pro Evangelist for the company. The problem is, blogging for work and blogging for interest seem to be muddling up the blog (IMO).
I am not trying to increase hits and readership so much as organize and structure what does get posted. I am even considering splitting my blog into two separate blogs – one for work and one for personal. The downside there is maintaining two blogs. The upside is organization and clarity.
Now….I work mostly with our “BackOffice” server products. I tend to gravitate towards Windows 2003, ISA, and Exchange (and all of their predecessors). I even supported the Small Business Server product as a whole from it’s inception through SBS 2000. I also have a passion around the Media Center and other consumer products (am I not a consumer?). Of course there are blogs-a-plenty on all of those items so I want to offer something they don’t, if I can.
So I would like some feedback from you. Do you like it the way it is? Would you like to see it split? And from a Microsoft perspective, is there something missing from other MS Product and Technology blogs that you want filled in? For that matter, is there an MS Product or Technology that isn’t getting enough or the proper “air-time”? What about podcasts and webcasts? What is valuable to you?
What it really comes down to is this – I don’t want to push a corporate agenda, I want to give you what you want. So…..What do YOU want?
Send me an email – chris.avis@microsoft.com or comment on this post about it. You can even, give me a call if you want – 760-695-7838 – if I don’t answer, leave me a message with a number and I will give you a ring back.
Cheers!
I will be delivering some Technet sessions in Florida next week. Jan 17th in Royal Palm Beach and Jan 19th in Tampa. We are going to be covering a rather large set of topics including – New Features of Windows 2003 R2 such as Active Directory Federation Services, better Distributed File System capabilities, and benefits provided for Branch Office deployments. We will also be discussing some new features in Exchange 2003 SP2, and some great information on how to locate resources that every ITPro should know about to help make their day go a lot smoother.
I am looking forward to heading out to Florida next week and hope some of you make it as well.
Cheers!
Ps… I am delivering these same events in SoCal in late February. No registration links have been made available yet.
Presentations and WebCasts –
Deploying SharePoint Products and Technologies for Enterprise Collaboration – Detailed discussion about the design and deployment of the Microsoft IT hosted collaboration platform. The platform supports personal storage, team Web sites, group and division portals, and enterprise services. With server farms centralized in three regional data centers, Microsoft saves both hardware and support costs.
Moving to SQL Server 2005 at Microsoft – Discussion on how Microsoft IT moved its line-of-business applications to SQL Server 2005. Additionally, this paper also discusses a number of details and best practices that Microsoft adopted to move its applications on SQL Server 2005 that may help other organizations successfully plan and roll out SQL Server 2005.
Hotfixes, Patches, Updates, Service Packs —
Update for Windows XP x64 Edition – KB903651 – See Below
Update for Windows Server 2003 – KB903651 – See Below
Update for Windows 2003 for Itanium-based Systems – KB903651– See Below
Update for Windows Server x64 Edition – KB903651 – Install this update to allow more than one domain-based DFS namespace to be created on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition. After you install this item, you may have to restart your computer.
Australian Daylight Savings changes for Microsoft products for the Year 2006 – The Commonwealth Games are scheduled to be held during March 2006 in Melbourne Australia. Several Australian states including New South Wales, Victoria, Australian Capital Territory, South Australia and Tasmania, have changed the Daylight Savings transition end dates to the first Sunday of April 2006.
Update for Software Update Services – Run this script and follow the instructions in KB912307 to resolve an issue in Software Update Services (SUS) 1.0 Service Pack 1 (SP1) in which all previously approved updates may revert to an unapproved state and the status appears as "updated". This script will reset your approval settings to their previous state. SUS 1.0 SP1 servers that were deployed on or after December 13, 2005 will not encounter this issue.
Tools and Apps –
SQL Server 2005 System View Map – The Microsoft SQL Server 2005 System View Map shows the key system views included in SQL Server 2005, and the relationships between them.
Active Directory Migration Tool v2.0 – The Active Directory Migration Tool (ADMT) version 2.0 provides an easy, secure, and fast way to either upgrade from Windows NT Server 4.0 to Windows Server Active Directory service or restructure Windows Server Active Directory domains between forests or within a forest. The tool migrates users, groups, and computers between domains in a way that allows users to have access to their resources and applications at all times. Version 2.0 includes new features, such as password migration, a scripting interface, and a command line interface, that make migrations easier.
Also available is the Active Directory Migration Tool v3.0, which provides an integrated toolset to facilitate migration and restructuring tasks in an Active Directory infrastructure.
BizTalk Server 2004 Load Generation Tool – This tool is intended for developers and IT professionals to simulate load on a BizTalk Server. Using this tool, you can simulate load to instrument performance and stress against a BizTalk deployment. In addition, this tool may also be extended by developers to simulate load for custom transports. This tool should be used in a test environment only, and should not be used in a production environment. This tool is provided "as-is" and is not supported.
Case Studies, Guides and Whitepapers –
Microsoft CRM 3.0 Implementation Guide – This Implementation Guide provides the information required for a successful Microsoft CRM implementation into your business. This guide addresses the planning, installing (both hardware and software), pre-deployment testing, and operating tasks for the maintenance of the Microsoft CRM system.
This guide is written for the computer system administrator. This guide also assumes that any organization implementing Microsoft CRM software will have the services of an independent software vendor (ISV) or value-added reseller who is partnered with Microsoft and will help you with the entire process of implementing and maintaining your Microsoft CRM installation. Because of this assumption, there are references in this guide to these "partners" who are expected to provide various services to you.
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 Virtual PC Demonstration – Microsoft Dynamics CRM 3.0 release Virtual PC Demonstration. This demo is a one computer setup with Microsoft CRM 3.0 server and Microsoft CRM 3.0 client for Outlook. This demonstartion also contains Microsoft Exchange Server 2003, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, and Microsoft Visual Studio 2005.
Microsoft File Server Resource Manager – The Microsoft Corporation Information Technology group uses Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 File Server Resource Manager as a centralized tool for managing file servers located in branch offices around the world. File Server Resource Manager is a suite of tools that allows administrators to understand, control, and manage the quantity and types of data stored on their servers.
Live Communications Server 2005 Document: Configuring Certificates – This document explains how Live Communications Server 2005 uses certificates and how to configure certificates for each server role using your existing certificate infrastructure.
Terminal Services Scaling and Performance on X64-based versions of Windows Server 2003 – Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003 Terminal Server lets users run Microsoft Windows®-based applications on a remote computer that is running one of the Windows Server 2003 family of operating systems. This white paper contains results, analyses, and sizing guidelines for Terminal Services on x64-based versions of Windows Server 2003. Hewlett Packard worked in cooperation with Microsoft to perform the initial sizing tests and data collection in the Microsoft Enterprise Engineering Center in Redmond, Washington. The tests were performed using Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise x64 Edition and Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition with Service Pack 1 (SP1).
DirectX End-User Runtime – Microsoft DirectX is a group of technologies designed to make Windows-based computers an ideal platform for running and displaying applications rich in multimedia elements such as full-color graphics, video, 3D animation, and rich audio. DirectX includes security and performance updates, along with many new features across all technologies, which can be accessed by applications using the DirectX APIs.
DFS Operations Guide: Using the DFSRAdmin Command-line Tool – The Dfsradmin.exe command line tool is new for the Distributed File System (DFS) in Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003 R2. Use this tool to administer DFS replication, including creation of replication groups and replicated folders, adding members to replication groups, and managing the location of staging folders. This guide offers step-by-step instructions for performing these common tasks by using DFSRAdmin.
SQL Server 2005 Business Intelligence Metadata Whitepaper – This white paper covers several interesting and unique methods for managing metadata in SQL Server Integration Services, Analysis Services and Reporting Services using built-in features including data lineage, business and technical metadata and impact analysis.
Related Download: The SQL Server 2005 Metadata Samples Toolkit can be downloaded from:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=11DAA4D1-196D-4F2A-B18F-891579C364F4&displaylang=en
Security –
Improving Security at Microsoft through Deployment of Windows XP SP2 – Overview of why and how Microsoft IT proactively deployed Windows XP Service Pack 2. Windows XP Service Pack 2 is a critical security release that addresses Internet-based security threats.
Windows Server 2003 PKI Operations Guide – How to configure and operate a Windows certificate authority, with operational scenarios, custom configuration information, sample commands, and best practices.
MBSA 2.0 Scripting Examples – Sample scripts that illustrate how to extend MBSA 2.0 for greater scalability during scanning and report rollup.
Cheers!
Virtual Server 2005 R2 Release Notes — These release notes provide information about how to install and use Virtual Server R2. They include information about performing new and upgrade installations, as well as descriptions of the new features and known issues of this release. It is important to note that all information about the new features available in this version is provided in these release notes. This new information is not included in the Virtual Server Administrator’s Guide or Administration Website Help.
Virtual Machine Network Driver for Microsoft Device Emulator — The Virtual Machine Network Driver allows the Device emulator's OS (or even the Virtual PC OS, as the case may be) to emulate its own network connection. Since the physical network interface on the host machine is now "virtualized", you have a way to get two IP Addresses - one for the host PC, and one for the operating system that is running within the Device Emulator (or Virtual PC). Device Emulator users using the VMNet Driver can connect to the host machine over TCP or UDP as the alternative to the standard "Activesync over DMA" solution.
Cheers!
Using iSCSI with Virtual Server 2005 R2 — This paper provides brief background information about iSCSI and describes ways to use iSCSI with Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2.
The iSCSI protocol, which unifies the TCP/IP networking protocol with the SCSI storage protocol, defines the rules and processes for transmitting and receiving block storage data over TCP/IP networks. Support for iSCSI is provided with Microsoft® Windows Server™ 2003, Microsoft Windows® 2000, and Microsoft Windows XP, and in Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2. With iSCSI, the hardware needed for connecting servers to storage is less expensive and less complex than with the common alternative, Fibre Channel.
Virtual Server Host Clustering Step-by-Step Guide for Virtual Server 2005 R2 — This document provides an introduction to the methods and concepts of Virtual Server host clustering. With Virtual Server host clustering, you can provide a wide variety of services through a small number of physical servers and, at the same time, maintain availability of the services you provide. If one server requires scheduled or unscheduled downtime, another server is ready to quickly begin supporting services. Users experience minimal disruptions in service.
Virtual Server host clustering is a way of combining Microsoft® Virtual Server 2005 R2 with the server cluster feature in Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003. This document describes a simple configuration in which you use Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 to configure one guest operating system, and configure a server cluster that has two servers (nodes), either of which can support the guest if the other server is down. You can create this configuration and then, by carefully following the pattern of the configuration, develop a host cluster with additional guests or additional nodes.
Cheers!
I was recently notified I won a contest (that I didn’t know existed!) for most blog post hits for the month of October. Dean Andrew, a manager in our Technet Webcasts group, posted about my winnings.
The great thing about that particular post is that it was a post to help advertise a webcast for another team member.
Everybody Wins!
Cheers!
Improving IT Efficiency at Microsoft using Virtual Server 2005 — Microsoft uses the new capability within Virtual Server to consolidate server in a data center and enhance utilization and reduce costs associated with large datacenters.
Cheers!
Installing the Virtual Server Admin Web Site on a Seperate Computer — Microsoft Virtual Server can be configured so that the Virtual Server service and the Administration Web site, with its corresponding installation of IIS, are on different computers. You may want to install the Administration Web site on a different physical computer if you want to have multiple physical computers running Virtual Server, but only one IIS server, or if you want to dedicate a physical computer to running only the Virtual Server service. This might be for performance or security considerations. This paper describes how to configure the Virtual Server service and Administration Web site on separate computers for both a new installation of Virtual Server and an existing installation of Virtual Server.
Cheers!
Kevin Remde, one of my fabulous co-workers is delivering a webcast on Virtual Server 2005 tomorrow. It is an overview of VS 2005 but don’t let that fool you. Even if you are familiar with Virtual PC or Virtual Server, you will find some interesting tidbits you may not be aware of.
If you have never worked with Virtualization technologies before, I suggest you check it out as they are a benefit to just about everyone from the End User wanting to play with software and applications on a minimal hardware allowances to ITPros testing and configuring software in a lab to huge corporations that are consolidating servers.
I will be sitting in on Q&A along with others from the Technet Evangelist group.
Cheers!
ugh…….
Demonstrating a product can be a love/hate relationship. BillG knows this first hand from the famous and quite public Comdex 1998 USB Crash.
I like demos. In fact I prefer demos to all of the slides because, when they work, they seem to communicate MUCH better than a PowerPoint slide ever could. I am pretty darn good at cutting slides in favor of demos and that is the way I like it.
But when demos fail, they just leave you feeling blah….
I have had 3 webcasts in the past week and at least one demo failed in each one. In my most recent webcast, EVERY demo failed. I tried to recover but I realized pretty quickly that it wasn’t going to happen so I pressed on. I have committed to posting a video of the working demo so everyone can see what it is supposed to do.
I am going to cheat a little…..
I have done the ISA session from this morning after least dozen times either as a webcast or a live Technet Briefing. So I am going to point you to a version of this I did in JANUARY where the demos didn’t fail.
Now…..here is WHY they failed.
We use a product called Virtual PC for hosting mulitple Operating Systems on a single piece of hardware. It is a truly amazing product. But it does have to be configured properly. In particular, if the virtual machines have to talk to each other via networking. You see….my laptop has 2 interfaces, my local ethernet and my wirless adapter. For those of you that watched the ISA webcast, I was supposed to first publish a web site, secure it with SSL and then view it.
That Failed…..
I was then supposed to publish OWA, secure it with SSL and view it…..
That failed….
Why?????? My VM’s were not connected. In retrospect I should have realized this when I pinged from my client machine and the name resolved but the ping timed out. But when you are flustered and in a crunch for time, those details sometimes get missed. My “client” machine was on the wireless adapter while my ISA and Web servers were connected to the local LAN adapter. To put it another way – if the networks aren’t connected they don’t talk to each other.
So needless to say, as soon as the session was over I found the issue, tested, and the demos went off without a hitch. I still don’t know WHY I was configured that considering I ran through the demos several times just this morning and don’t recall switching networks….
So there ya go…..check out the good version of the webcast and let me know what ya think and if you have any questions……
Cheers….
ps…..I also promised some information on SONAR and Secure-NAT…..those posts will be later today or over the weekend. Right now……lunch.
This nice little titbit regarding virtulization came across the wire today……
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Microsoft President, Steve Ballmer, stated publicly at the Microsoft Management Summit in Las Vegas on April 20th, 2005 that we see virtualization as a core enabling technology. To that end, Microsoft will provide Windows virtualization in the Longhorn Server wave.
This is not a secret. Virtualization technology is going into the OS.
Rather than try to paraphrase, I’m going to point you to the URL so you can see and hear Steve yourself as well as obtain a transcript and copy of his PowerPoint deck. If you don’t believe the Microsoft commitment to virtualization after this, listen to it again. If you want to skip to the part on Microsoft virtualization, fast forward about 50 minutes into the demo. Since this is public information, you should feel free to forward this link to your customers as well.
Keynote:
http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/mgmtsummit/keynotes.asp
On a more detailed level, we have a publicly available slide deck delivered by Mike Neil, Windows Virtualization Product Unit Manager at WinHec. This deck explains our roadmap from Virtual Server 2005 RTM to Windows Virtualization. This deck details some of the key features we are considering and discusses the new architecture that will be employed in Windows virtualization. This deck is publicly available at:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/8/f/98f3fe47-dfc3-4e74-92a3-088782200fe7/TWSE05008_WinHEC05.ppt
Some of the key points in this deck are:
- Virtualization is going into the OS in the Longhorn Server wave.
- Windows virtualization will be hypervisor based and take full advantage of hardware innovations from Intel and AMD in the forms of VT and Pacifica, respectively.
- Windows virtualization will provide 32-bit and 64-bit guests.
- We will have a smooth migration from path from Virtual Server to Windows virtualization. We want our valued customers know that their Virtual Server investment will be safe with a migration path to Windows virtualization.
- …and plenty more so check out the deck…