I use both of these application day in and day out. So when these updates products get an update to support new guest with service packs than you just gotta get the update!
Virtual PC 2007 SP1
Download:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=28c97d22-6eb8-4a09-a7f7-f6c7a1f000b5&displaylang=en
Release notes:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9f3d3eb5-5e03-4712-999c-e96f91bdf128&displaylang=en
Details:
Virtual PC 2007 SP1 adds support for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows XP SP3 as both host and guest operating systems. It also adds support for Windows Server 2008 Standard Edition as a guest operating system.
Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 Update
Download:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=a79bcf9b-59f7-480b-a4b8-fb56f42e3348&displaylang=en
KB:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/948515
Details:
This update to Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 adds support for the following operating systems as both host and guest environments:
- Windows Server 2008, Core Edition
- Windows Server 2008, Standard Edition
- Windows Server 2008, Datacenter Edition
- Windows Server 2008, Enterprise Edition
- Windows Server 2008 Small Business Server
- Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1
- Windows Vista Business with SP1
- Windows Vista Enterprise with SP1
- Windows XP Professional with SP3
Every wondered where things get stored in Application Virtualization? Well Chris Lord one of the PMs gave an insite into this on the technet forurm @ http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2880423&SiteID=17 .
|
|
Package |
Location |
Description |
|
Per System |
Global Package Volume |
\Users\Public\Documents\SoftGrid Client\AppFS Storage\<Pkg+GUID>\GlblVol_sftfs_v1_S-1-5-20.pkg
|
Contains any application-specific data that is modified by a system process. The well-known SID for system is appended to the volume. In SoftGrid 4.0 and 4.1, this volume was used for all modified application data; in 4.2 and 4.5 modifications are separated into those made by system processes such as the Listener, and those made by user application processes. User modifications go instead to the Application Data Isolation Volume. The global package volume also contains the virtual environment configuration for system processes. |
|
Global User Volume |
\Users\Public\Documents\SoftGrid Client\
AppFS Storage\<Pkg+GUID>\UsrVol_sftfs_v1.pkg
|
Contains new or modified user-specific data from a system process that is not associated with a specific user context but is associated with a specific package. |
|
Per User |
Application Data Isolation Volume |
\Users\Public\Documents\SoftGrid Client\AppFS Storage\<Pkg+GUID>\GlblVol_sftfs_v1_<SID>.pkg
|
Contains application-specific files that are modified by any user process in the virtual environment. The SID of the user is appended to the volume name to uniquely identify it. |
|
User Package Volume |
\Users\<User>\AppData\Roaming\ SoftGrid Client\<Pkg+GUID>\ UsrlVol_sftfs_v1.pkg
|
Contains user-specific files that are modified—or new files that are created— by any user process in the virtual environment. This volume also contains the virtual environment configuration as modified by the user. |
The state management is different in 4.5 than in prior releases to provide better isolation between users as well as application packages. Any question that you have on this subject ping them up the forum for Chris to answer!
As always my boy Kalle got busy and updated the SFT Explorer tool. Get the update now!
SFT Explorer, version 1.4 - As MSI package SFT Explorer, version 1.4 - As SoftGrid package SFT Explorer, version 1.4 - As ZIP package SFT Explorer features:
Loads quickly SFT files - even slightly broken ones View internal filestructure, with regexp-based filtering View virtual registry View virtual services Export files/folders from package's filestructure Export registry entries from Virtual Registry Virtualized System View for package Resolve VFS mappingpaths to local directories View package properties View package history (for SoftGrid 4.x created sequences and up) View file/folder ACLs created by Microsoft Application Virtualization (MAV) 4.5 View deleted registry keys and values "Suite in" multiple SFTs to same view, combining files, registry and services
Travis my American PFE buddy posted a great post the other day! It was based on some of the TS work he has been doing state side!
--—-------------------------
I have been on site with a few customers lately and a common issue I have been seeing is high pool memory usage. This may manifest itself in user’s PKG files being written out as 0KB files and causing launch failures the next time the app is used. It can also cause 2020 or 2019 errors in the event log and cause the server service to fail to allocate resources which can also cause the Terminal Server computer to refuse connections.
This can happen on Terminal Server/Citrix servers under heavy load because pool memory is a finite resource and by default is tuned to the middle setting. In a Microsoft Exchange world, this setting needs to favor PTEs but in TS we use very few PTEs and thus can tune the other way to maximize pool memory. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/312362/en-us for more information on the error and how to tune this setting.
However, the 2020 error is not always logged because not all processes log when pool memory allocations fail. So Perfmon can show you the amount of pool memory you are using and windbg can show you the amount you have. See the Advanced Windows Debugging and Troubleshooting blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/ntdebugging/archive/2006/12/18/Understanding-Pool-Consumption-and-Event-ID_3A00_--2020-or-2019.aspx for a detailed walkthrough on identifying pool memory usage.
I have found one culprit causing this issue in the MDM (Machine Debug Manager - http://support.microsoft.com/kb/321410/en-us) that is included in Office packages. It can contribute to high pool memory consumption when as a service it starts for each user that launches an Office application. By disabling this service in Office packages and tuning the memory settings to maximize the available pool memory the overall performance of and stability of both TS and SoftGrid is increased.
Hope this helps,
Travis Guinn | Premier Field Engineer - Microsoft Application Virtualization
Well there were none for April…… will keep an eye on this for May and post when any new ones pop up
There was only one in March but it was a really cool little KB. For all the gang that were having problems with the MSI Utility the below KB is a massive help!
The best practices and the troubleshooting information for the MSI Utility for Microsoft Application Virtualization
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=949050
You can probably tell I am playing catch up :o) I am currently on a course with Brian Kelly who is keeping me very entertained :o)
Anyway lets get everyone upto date on KBs!
A McAfee antivirus program may detect the Sftfsxp.sys SoftGrid file as a Backdoor-BAC Trojan horse program
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=947666
You cannot use SoftGrid Sequencer to upgrade an existing 2007 Office package to 2007 Office suites Service Pack 1
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=947667
If you don't know Robert Larson by now ...... then we better get you more aware! Robert is one of our MCS guru that deals with lots of hardware virtualization designs and management methodologies!
Now this video is a little old but it does give you some great info for Microsoft Virtualization and the system centre products to help virtualize workloads!
http://www.microsoft.com/emea/spotlight/sessionh.aspx?videoid=733&PUID=00030000820E5F92
I stumbled across this today! Its a cool little video of John Sheehan TechEd giving a break down of all the great 4.5 Beta Features! If you have never had the time to play with 4.5 than this Video may suite you better as it gives you a great overview without you having to do anything! http://www.microsoft.com/emea/spotlight/sessionh.aspx?videoid=733&PUID=00030000820E5F92
You may need to log in with your live passport ID ....... but we all have one :o)
Arlindo posted a 2nd part of the VMM Beta 2008 work that has been played with to date!
==================
In the first part of this blogpost I’ve explained how you can install and what to expect during the installation of the server components of SCVMM 2008 Beta.
Now we are going through the Console installation ( not much to go through though) and I’ll show how to add a Hyper-V host to SCVMM both using the console or by using PowerShell.
First you install the console and here again it’s very straightforward. First we show you some legal license terms, do a prerequisite check and ask for the installation location/
I’ve installed this onto my Windows Server 2008 (x64) box and the install process added the .Net Framework and PowerShell feature before installing the SVMM Console. After this setup you can run the SCVMM console.
Let’s now add my Hyper-V host.
First of all you need to define which host you will add a domain joined, one in the perimeter or another host.
Fill in the Host server name and go on with the installation. As you can see SCVMM detects which kind of Virtualization technology your host machine is using in my case it was Hyper-V. In the following screens you need to define to which host group you are going to add this machine, define the default storage paths and enable the remote control capability.
In our case we will add this server to the All hosts group and enable the Remote control capability, also not the view script button. Here you have the choice either you click on install or you click on view script and you will then be able to copy the PowerShell script to add this host through PowerShell instead of using the console. Here is how this script looks like:
$Credential = get-credential
$VMHostGroup = Get-VMHostGroup -VMMServer localhost | where {$_.Path -eq "All Hosts"}
Add-VMHost -VMMServer localhost -ComputerName "hysrv02.virtual.local" -Description "" -Credential $Credential -RemoteConnectEnabled $true -RemoteConnectPort 5900 -VmPaths "e:\" -Reassociate $false -RunAsynchronously -VMHostGroup $VMHostGroup
I used the PowerShell script and it went fine, once you run the script there is a job scheduled. You can monitor all steps executed during the job by clicking onto the jobs console.
This is the actual console after adding the host, as you can see on the screenshot he detected all my virtual machines running onto this host.
In the coming days weeks I will be playing with this software more extensively and share my findings with you.
I came across a couple of great posts from Arlindo the other day! He has been writing up some bits on SCCVMM Beta! which as previously mentioned is just going into Beta! have a read of how to get your self set up in this two part series!
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As I mentioned in me previous post System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2008 Beta is available for download and as a coincidence (believe it or not but it's true) I installed the bits today to test this new management tool.
The installation process of SCVMM is very straightforward during the setup you have 4 different options you can Install in this post we will focus on the Server and Administration tool, furthermore I’ll show some screenshot's on how to add a Hyper-V host machine and how it recognize my VM’s running onto the physical box.
First I did run the Server setup process.
The install process checks if all pre-requisites are met based on the Hard- and Software Requirements.
Next you need to specify the installation path note that this is not the location where we will store the VM Library it’s just for the SCVMM program files.
Here you have the option either to use an existing SQL Server 2005 Server or to install the SQL Server Express edition, know that the express edition has some limitations compared to the full blown server.
The next step is to define the Library share, this is the location where you can store the different VM templates, offline VHD’s, ISO, scripts, etc ….
By default SCVMM will create the MSSCVMMLibrary share as shown on the above screenshot but you can easily select another share and this can be a local share or an existing share onto a file server for example.
With the installation almost done you now need to define which ports SCVMM will use for the server connection, agent connection and file transfer. If your’e firewall is enabled the install process will try to open those ports.
This concludes the installation of the server components. Now we need to install the management console to be able to manage our virtual environment, note that this can be installed onto another server.
In the part II of this blogpost I’ll go through the Console installation.
It has been announced at MMS conference during Bob Muglia his keynote System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Beta is publicly available at the connect site.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 enables customers to configure and deploy new virtual machines and to centrally manage their virtualized infrastructure, whether running on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 or VMware ESX Server. When used in conjunction with the broad System Center management suite, customers can use SCVMM 2008 to effectively manage both their virtualized and physical servers and applications.
Some of the key features of SCVMM 2008 are:
- Clustering support. You will now be able to support Quick-Migration functionality
- Performance Resource Optimization, this allows Operation Manager support.
- Delegated administration.
- Support for managing Hyper-V and VMware ESX
You can download the beta from: http://connect.microsoft.com/
Log into connect, Go to "Connection Directory" and you will find the above there!!! Happy Testing!
In SCCM R2 we have the option to stream from a distribution point! At that moment you think great...... You go straight into the SCCM Management Console > Site Database > Site Code > Site Settings > Site Systems > Server > Distribution Point
There you will find this lovely new tab "Virtual Application", and if your the excited administrator you will enable the virtual application Streaming Server
When you than try to stream a virtual application to a client it will fail as the Virtual Application Server part has actually not been installed!
Why is this you cry??? well if you look at the installation directory for the Streaming Server component (by default located %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\VirtualApp\Server ) you will notice that there are two files.
- data1.cab
- softgridvirtualapplicationserver.msi
Notice that both files in this directory are 0 bytes in size. There lays the problem..... go back and turn of your eagerness to become "the best admin in the world" by turning off the Virtual Application Server role from the distribution point! You can remove the data1.cab and softgridvirtualapplicationserver.msi from the SCCM server.
Once you have done this go to your Streaming Server download from http://connect.microsoft.com
Within this folder we have 2 files that we want to copy from the directory and place on are SCCM Server in %ProgramFiles%\Microsoft Configuration Manager\VirtualApp\Server ;
data1.cab Softgrid Virtual Application Server.msi 
When you do this you will need to rename "Softgrid Virtual Application Server.msi" to softgridvirtualapplicationserver.msi
Lastly go back and re-enable your Streaming on the distribution point....
Don't forget to let your client agents know that you have enabled virtualized applications......
So I wrote a little bit on SCCM R2 and SoftGrid Application Virtualization 4.5 integration. It was a really nice quick way to build your test lab and get you to speed!
Well if you download your SCCM VM and changed the IP address to give your self access to the updates, than installed R2 you may have a little problem.
So lets put the scenario together!
- You have got your SCCM VHD
- Download SP1 and R2
- Added any updates
- Got the Virtual Application Integrated
- Uploaded to your Distribution Point
- Advertised your Virtual Package
You now try to push this to a client, the advertisement pops up! yeah it works....... or does it.......... :o)
When you hit run the following pops up;
"The requested software cannot be located. The system might be in the process of transferring these files. Try again later, or if this operation continues to fail after several attempts, please contact your administrator or helpdesk operator" while trying run a program from "Run advertised programs"
Well if your IP address has changed than you may have accidentally forgotten to update your SCCM Site Boundary.
In the VHD we use the default-first-site from Active Directory Sites and servers, be sure to update this Site with a defined IP/Subnet for your site.
Also in the SCCM site boundary update your site boundary for fast access also
Once that is completed you should be able to run and download your great virtual applications!!!
Jeff has been posting up a great number of articles to give the world better clarity on the subject! He posted part 3 earlier on..... and wanted to keep this series up to date!
Part 1
Part 2
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Virtualization Nation,
In the last two blogs, I discussed the importance of HA for unplanned host downtime. Today, let’s talk about planned downtime, Quick Migration and Live Migration. Let’s start by understanding the primary usage scenario. Specifically, why do customers require migration capability?
For planned downtime, there are two primary reasons:
1. Hardware servicing. The underlying hardware needs additional storage, memory, or a BIOS update. The server needs to be taken offline and customers want to quickly move virtual workloads off the server for this scheduled maintenance.
2. Patching the Root/Host operating system. If the root partition needs to be patched and that patch requires a reboot, then customers want to quickly move virtual machines off the server for this scheduled maintenance. (This is a good time to point out that the best practice for running Hyper-V will be to do so with a Server Core installation which will reduce the need to patch Windows because it’s running a minimal footprint.)
We’ve drilled into these scenarios further and asked customers, who have currently have Live Migration capabilities, if they have changed their servicing process. In particular, when do they perform their hardware servicing. Is it during business hours 9-5? The overwhelming answer is, “No, we still schedule server downtime and notify folks of the scheduled downtime.”
Even customers with Live Migration still wait until off hours to service the hardware.
What’s my point?
My point is that if you’re scheduling downtime to service the virtualization server and you’re doing it off hours, the difference between sub-second downtime (Live Migration) and even 5, 10, 20 seconds of downtime (Quick Migration) is less of an issue than you might think at a fraction of the cost.
My suggestion: just try it. :-)
One last benefit with HA/Quick Migration capability is that when you set up this configuration, you’re actually setting up solutions for both planned and unplanned downtime at the same time because they use the same underlying Failover Clustering technology.
BTW: Many of us will be at Microsoft Management Summit (MMS) next week in Las Vegas and hope to see you there.
Cheers, -Jeff
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Q: What are the system requirements for High Availability/Quick Migration?
A: Hyper-V High Availability/Quick Migration requires:
1. Windows Server 2008 Enterprise or Datacenter x64 Editions. High Availability/Quick Migration requires Windows Failover Clustering which is available in Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Datacenter Editions.
2. Shared Storage. Failover clustering requires shared storage in the form of a SAN (iSCSI, Fiber Channel or SAS).