Managing virtual machines
Virtual Machine Manager 2008 supports Microsoft virtualization products as well as VMware infrastructures.
In summary:
| • | Virtual Machine Manager now offers support for Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware infrastructures. |
| • | Integration with many other Microsoft tools improves manageability. |
| • | PowerShell creates scripts to move VMs among physical servers. |
It's a complex world out there, and that includes virtualized data center operations. Now, though, it is easier to manage Microsoft-based virtual systems and to work with virtual systems based on VMware infrastructure. With the beta release of Microsoft Systems Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (formerly code-named "Virtual Machine Manager vNext"), you can effectively manage both virtualized and physical servers and applications across desktops and data centers with a single set of consistent, compatible tools.
The new product, slated for full availability in the second half of this year, allows administrators to configure and deploy virtual machines and to centrally manage their virtualized infrastructure, whether it's running on Windows Server 2008 Microsoft Hyper-V, Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2, or VMware ESX Server. Andi Mann, an analyst with Enterprise Management Associates, says the critical difference between VMM 2007 and VMM 2008 is that the newer version supports multiple hypervisors. In addition, in January Microsoft announced that future versions of Virtual Machine Manager will support Citrix XenServer, while Citrix said it would integrate Hyper-V with Citrix XenServer.
Mark Bowker, an analyst at Enterprise Strategy Group, says VMM is an essential complement to Microsoft Hyper-V that makes it possible to perform quick migrations—moving virtual machines between physical servers. Its support for VMware infrastructure means that organizations already committed to VMware-based server virtualization can continue to use VMware along with Hyper-V using a single management point. "VMM can also be used to set up failover scenarios so that if a physical server fails, resident virtual machines can be restarted on another physical server," he says.
VMM enables administrators and authorized users to rapidly provision virtual machines. It integrates closely with Operations Manager 2007 to deliver a new feature called Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO). Operations Manager itself is able to leverage its built-in awareness of the IT environment, including operating systems, applications, and hardware, to identify ways to achieve more efficient physical and virtual resource allocation. The Virtual Machine Manager console then generates "PRO tips" that can be used to optimize operations based on predefined policies and the changing demands of users—all in real time.
Further value comes from several Microsoft partners, including Brocade, Dell, EMC, Emulex, HP, NetQOS, QLogic, and Quest, that have committed to deliver management packs enabled for PRO. These packs will support the integration of domain-specific knowledge directly into VMM, further integrating physical and virtual environments.
Key Functionality in VMM 2008
Virtual Machine Manager 2008 has a long list of features:
| • | It integrates with clustering support in Windows Server 2008 to help create fault-tolerant and cluster-aware virtual machines. |
| • | PRO can alert an administrator of an unhealthy system or application state and its proposed recommended corrective action, or it can respond automatically. |
| • | The granular level of monitoring available to PRO can trigger corrective action. |
| • | PRO's capabilities are also available for VMware ESX or Virtual Server hosts. |
| • | VMM 2008 is fully cluster-aware, meaning that it can detect and manage Hyper-V host clusters as a single unit. |
| • | Virtual hosts that are added or removed from the cluster are detected automatically. |
| • | High-availability virtual machines (HA VM) can be created by clicking a single checkbox. |
| • | Improved HA VM management features include the Failover Cluster Management Console for various cluster-related tasks such as designation and management of cluster reserves, letter-less disk drives, and guest clusters. |
| • | VMM provides support for guest virtual machines for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista operating systems, as well as physical-to-virtual (P2V) and virtual-to-virtual (V2V) support for those guest operating systems. |
Windows PowerShell
Finally, notes Bowker, VMM works with Windows PowerShell scripting. "If you want to move virtual machines between physical servers, you can use PowerShell to generate the script. You don't have to be a power user—you can just use the cut and paste function to generate other scripts you may need," he says.
Windows PowerShell is easy to use because it works with existing IT infrastructure and script investments, and because it runs on Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows Server 2003. (PowerShell is included as part of Windows Server 2008.) VMM also leverages Windows PowerShell to improve administrator control, efficiency, and productivity.
With VMM, says Bowker, "people will start to make their decision on virtualization based on the capability of the management tools rather than just the hypervisor." Mann at EMA agrees: "My research shows that enterprises overwhelmingly prefer to use different hypervisors for different missions, and with VMM, Microsoft is the only company that offers this kind of multivendor management capability."
 | Alan R. Earls is a contributing writer for Momentum, the Microsoft Midsize Business Center newsletter. |
