Handling Virtual Environments via VMM 2008
When Microsoft first showcased the System Center Virtual Machine Manager, many people were impressed by its ability to scale down the interface when it came to handling any virtual infrastructure that was running MS Virtual Server.
To deal with the introduction of Hyper-V, a newer version of the VMM, or Virtual Machine Manager, has been offered. The new Virtual Machine Manager is not only capable of handling the older versions of Microsoft Virtual Server, but it can also handle the Hyper-V installations as well, and it offers support for the infrastructure of the VMware.
When it comes to using VMM, you now can work with a management interface which is highly integrated, but it still will work with the whole virtual infrastructure, which includes the VMware systems.
VMM also offers support for the classical virtualization methods, and one good example of this is the VM deployments which went from templates to VMs which were pre-configured.
The integration of VMM along with the whole system center collects the management of both virtual and physical systems for one glass pane. It is important to understand the brand new features that VMM 2008 offers to those involved in IT administration.
The System Center Virtual Machine Manager could be thought of as an application which is standalone, one that offers management of virtual machines which extends to the enterprise level. This management is also heavily centralized, and it is designed to operate in conjunction with the Microsoft Virtual Server.
When it is included together with the all the System Center products, the VMM offers a virtual and physical infrastructure which is end-to-end. It is also important to understand the architectural layout for the VMM. One thing that many veteran VMM users will notice is that there are more interfaces in the newest VMM when compared to older versions.
Virtual Machine Manager Structure
The VMM is comprised of a number of things, and some of them include the system inputs, management servers, and the host systems. Included in the VMM is the server service. On top of this are a number of distinct interfaces which include the PowerShell Interfaces, the Self Service online portal, and the Administrator console.
The Windows PowerShell is responsible for creating the basis for every bit of access to the VMM server. The VMM admin console must be constructed completely on the PowerShell, and all you will need to do is generate the scripts for Windows PowerShell so that the VMM service is capable of running.
This basically means that the API for VMM which is public will be the Windows PowerShell, and any of the programs which can successfully leverage the VMM through the usage of Windows PowerShell is extremely valuable.
Another good example for this phenomenon is the integration for the Desktop controller along with the VMM, which will be accomplished completely through the PowerShell for Windows. Providing support for the VMM is SQL Server, and this may be a complete installation of simply the Server Express Edition, depending on whether or not the database is there.
While the diagram offers the Virtual Machine Manager and the Operations Managers, which points to the SQL server, both programs do not share the database. The goal of both of these is to operate on the identical SQL server version.
The true integration among the Operations Manager along with the VMM will be conducted via a connector that is offered by the VMM. The connector will allow the OpsMgr along with the VMM to transfer data back and forth, which will allow virtualization to be maintained through VMM for the actions. The lower half of the diagram showcases the hosts which are being managed.
Virtual Machine Architecture
One thing which has not changed with the newest version of VMM is that the latest version is still responsible for the management of the Virtual Server, and this includes the virtual machine hosts and the library share, which is centralized.
Another thing to note is that within VMM, the library share does not come in the form of a server or specific file store. Instead, it is basically a Windows file share which is managed through the VMM. It is possible to manage the library through the VMM, but you also have the option of deleting files or copying them through the file share, allowing VMM to understand the changes.
It is also possible to have many libraries, and this can be good when it comes to the delegation for servers and those servers which are available in the remote offices. Another new VMM feature which is quite powerful is the management of Hyper-V.
It is also possible to manage ESX as well, and the management of these hypervisors will be conducted through the WinRM, or Windows Remote Management. It can also be done through the WMI, or the Windows Management Instrumentation. When the Hyper-V host is put in, should the Hyper-V role not be allowed within the Windows Server, the VMM can immediately allow this role for the person who is the administrator.
The management for the ESX hosts will be conducted via the Virtual Center server for VMware. The VMM 2008 is responsible for connecting the virtual center with the API for the web services. This means that a server for Virtual Center is needed for the management of VMware.
