VMRCplus is a free new Microsoft tool for Virtual Server 2005 R2. It allows you to configure Virtual Server and to manage virtual machines with a real (graphical) interface. Today, I had a quick look at this nifty tool.

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Virtualization.info reports that there will be a session about VMware Infrastructure VMware Server 2.0 at VMware World 2007 where they also will discuss some of the new features of VMware Server 2.

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Microsoft finally released Service Pack 1 for Virtual Server 2005 R2. I agree with Josh that “Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1″ is not really an ideal product name. Considering the new features, Virtual Server 2007 might have been better name.

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The Windows Server Division WebLog reported that the public beta of Windows Server Virtualization (a.k.a. “Viridian”) will be available only in the second half of 2007, not in the first half, as previously planned. I have expected Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 to be released these days, but it will probably be shipped in Q2 only. I think that both virtualization products are very interesting, so I am a little disappointed to have to wait a little longer to get my hands on them.

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Robert L. Mitchel wrote an interesting article about the virtualization technology in Windows Server Longhorn. I’ve read several times that Longhorn will come with its own hypervisor, which always confused me. I didn’t understand how a typical guest operating system can have a hypervisor because I thought a hypervisor is just some kind of an OS.

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When I read recently that Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 will support Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) I was quite excited. This means that you can backup a running virtual machine without shutdowns. Some weeks ago I decided against Virtual Server 2005 and for VMware Server. However, VSS support is a killer feature in my view. Today, I tried to backup a running virtual Windows Server Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 Beta2 using Symantec Backup Exec 10d.

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VMware Virtual Machine Importer allows you to import virtual machines from Microsoft Virtual PC and Virtual Server. The 2.0 beta supports the latest versions of Microsoft’s virtual machines format. You can also import from Symantec’s LiveStat and Ghost 9. Provided you use one of this Symantec tools, Virtual Machine Importer is an alternative to VMware P2V Assistant, as you can use it to transfer physical installations into virtual machines. Importer 2.0 also supports the latest VMware formats, especially ESX Server 3.0 Beta 2. VMware Virtual Machine Importer 2.0 Beta is now available for download. Also check out their press release.

Yesterday, I was quite surprised how bad the remote control performance of VMware Server beta 2 is. It was so slow that I wasn’t able to remotely manage a server using VMware Server Console with a 6 Mbit/s DSL connection. Today, I tested the performance of Virtual Machine Remote Client (VMRC) for Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2.

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I have read this today on a German news service, heise.de. They say that Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 will be for free. There will be no standard edition anymore, only an enterprise edition. Virtual PC remains a commercial product though.

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