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Q. When will the next version of System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2008 be released?
A.
VMM 2008 R2 RTM is available now. You can download it here.
Q. Does licensing and/or pricing change with VMM 2008 R2?
There are no licensing changes to VMM with the introduction of VMM 2008 R2. VMM 2008 R2 comes in Workgroup (WGE) and Enterprise (EE) editions. The EE edition is available as a standalone product or can be acquired as part of the Server Management Suite Enterprise (SMSE) or Server Management Suite Datacenter (SMSD) offerings. VMM 2008 R2 pricing and licensing is as follows:
VMM 2008 R2 EE as part of SMSE and SMSDServer Management Suite Enterprise (SMSE) includes the Enterprise Server Management Licenses for Operations Manager 2007 R2, Configuration Manager 2007 R2, Data Protection Manager 2007, Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2; the Management Server license for Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2; and, rights to manage up to four operating system environments on a single server. Price: US$1,198.00* Server Management Suite Datacenter (SMSD) includes the Enterprise Server Management Licenses for Operations Manager 2007 R2, Configuration Manager 2007 R2, Data Protection Manager 2007, Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2; the Management Server license for Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2; and, rights to manage an unlimited number of operating system environments on a single server. Price: 749.00* per processor with a 2 processor minimum (minimum $1498*).
VMM 2008 R2 EE as a Stand-alone ProductIncludes Virtual Machine Manager management server software and the Enterprise Management License. Price: US$869*
VMM 2008 Workgroup Edition:VMM 2008 WGE includes Virtual Machine Manager management server software and management licenses to manage a maximum of 5 physical host servers. Price: US$505*
* The prices listed above are estimated prices and reflect the starting prices—Open NL—of licenses that will be available in volume licensing programs; reseller pricing can vary. Licensing and pricing information can be found here.
Q. What are the key capabilities of VMM 2008 R2?
VMM 2008 R2 is a comprehensive management solution for virtualized infrastructure that takes advantage of many of the great new features of Windows Server 2008 R2, including:
Live Migration: Enables the movement of in-operation virtual machines from one virtual host to another with no downtime.
Hot addition/removal of storage: Allows the addition and removal of new virtual hard disks (VHDs) and iSCSI pass-through disks running on virtual infrastructure.
Networking optimizations through two new technologies—Virtual Machine Queue (VMQ) and TCP Chimney—providing increased network throughput while demanding less CPU load.
Quick Storage Migration enables migration of a VM’s storage both within the same host and across hosts while the VM is running with minimum downtime.
Queuing of Live Migrations enables users to do multiple Live Migrations without needing to keep track of other Live Migrations that are happening within the cluster.
Rapid Provisioning lets users take advantage of SAN provider technologies to clone a LUN containing a VHD while utilizing the VMM templates.
Host compatibility provides deep checks so administrators determine if VM is compatible with the destination host before performing a migration.
Support for third party CFS for users requiring a true clustered file system, VMM 2008 R2 supports third party file systems by detecting CFS disks and allows for deploying multiple VMs per LUN.
Support for Veritas Volume Manager where VMM 2008 R2 recognizes Veritas Volume Manager disks as a cluster disk resource.
Also, VMM 2008 R2 adds new functionality, such as Maintenance Mode, which automates the process of migrating virtual machines to other hosts for server maintenance or upgrades. The management of SANs has also been enhanced, allowing simplified virtual machine migrations in and out of clusters. A full list of “What Is New” in VMM 2008 R2 is available at www.microsoft.com/scvmm.
Q. How does Live Migration compare to Quick Migration?
Live Migration is technology new to Windows Server 2008 R2, which allows the migration of a virtual machine from one virtual host to another without interruption for users or services. Quick Migration, available on Windows Server 2008, also moves virtual machines between hosts but involves a short interruption in service while the virtual machine is restarted on another host.
Q. Does Live Migration require CSV?
Live Migration does not specifically require CSV but is certainly optimized for it. It does require shared storage.
Q. What does Clustered Shared Volumes (CSV) do?
Clustered Shared Volumes (CSV) is a new Failover Clustering feature, which enables all nodes to concurrently access virtual machine files on a single shared logical unit number (LUN). While it delivers similar functionality as a clustered file system, CSV is a Hyper-V-optimized solution. The ability to support multiple virtual machines per LUN greatly simplifies the creation and ongoing management of a SAN and also allows virtual machines to be migrated on and off of hosts via Live Migration.
Q. Why did we release an R2 vs. an SP?
Typically, R2 releases involve significant product enhancements, and in evaluating the feature set that this release entails—including enabling Live Migration, Clustered Shared Volumes (CSV), and other new functionality—we felt that it was more representative of an R2 release than an SP.
Q. How will VMM2008 customers get access to updates of fixes—will they have to buy R2 (for those without Software Assurance)? Will there be an SP?
The VMM engineering team will continue to release QFE and Knowledge Base articles in support of VMM 2008. Any existing critical issues will be handled on a case-by-case basis—customers should contact their Technical Account Manager (TAM) or authorized support partner for resolution.
Q. What is the upgrade path in moving to VMM 2008 R2?
The recommended upgrade process is installing VMM 2008 R2 into an existing Windows Server 2008 R2 installation.
Q. Will VMs created in VMM 2008 run on Windows Server 2008 R2?
Yes, they will run and be managed without change on Windows Server 2008 R2.
Q. Can VMM 2008 manage VMs on Windows Server 2008 R2?
No. Managing VMs on Windows Server 2008 R2 requires VMM 2008 R2.
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