Advantages of Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization software

The Hyper-V hypervisor will finally meet you with the launch of the latest RC1 version. Microsoft is also switching from the Main Engineering Operation Model to cross-the-I's and dot-the-t's meticulous attention to details. Hyper-V subjects, including a large list of supported operating systems, are currently ready. Microsoft users can confidently migrate their test VMS to the trial-run hypervisor.

However, the Microsoft Hyper-V host and Virtual Machine Management Solution, Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, still needs to be improved and is currently in the public beta stage, microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Management 2008 (MSCVMM) is limited by the inherent limitations of the Hyper-V hypervisor, in particular, Hyper-V cannot migrate virtual machines in real time.

Comprehensive Analysis

First, let's take a look at the advantages of MSCVMM: MSCVMM uses a more advanced new user interface to manage Microsoft's various virtualization environments, including Hyper-V management programs and previous virtual server product lines. The MSCVMM console allows you to filter information in an effective way to quickly access conventional tasks.

Main functions such as controlling virtual machines and managing different working engines are divided into different logical subgroups based on the executed workload. Each logical subgroup provides a wide range of filtering options for users, such as adding hosts or virtual machines in special circumstances. This is a simple device, but it is very distinctive when managing a large virtualized environment.

The MSCVMM library is also very helpful for storing Virtual Machine images. This means that Microsoft is switching from a working group virtual machine to a data center participant, and the MSCVMM library can easily allocate and track virtual machines through the evolving Microsoft Virtual Machine infrastructure.

Select the desired virtual machine from the MSCVMM console and allocate it to the target host. The MSCVMM database server and proxy server can copy the virtual machine image to the corresponding physical machine and display it online. This feature can also be combined with the new fast Migration Feature to achieve snapshots through the network. The mature library mode of MSCVMM makes it easier to upgrade Hyper-V.

Disadvantage: Unfortunately, ease of management is only one of the features that Microsoft is catching up with VMware. The company has not solved the problem of real-time migration. VMware's VMotion can achieve seamless migration of virtual machines between physical servers without downtime.

Microsoft also planned to add this feature to Hyper-V, but Hyper-V was expected to be available within half a year after Windows Server 2008 was launched, to allow Hyper-V to meet the public on time as planned, Microsoft had to give up the idea. Although Quick Migration can migrate virtual machines between physical hosts in the system running state, it still needs to be taken offline during the Migration process, it is not the first choice for highly practical application environments.

In addition, the Linux client operating system officially supported by Hyper-V hypervisor is limited to NOVELL's Suse Linux Enterprise Server 10. All other Linux operating systems can only be treated as second-class citizens. Other Linux operating systems can run, however, only the Suse operating system has obtained Microsoft's installation support and upgrade license to improve integration of Hyper-V hypervisor, such as integration of mouse and keyboard between client and host operating systems) and performance scalability.

In stark contrast, VMware's ESX Server can directly support dozens of Linux operating systems and provide integrated client operating system components, namely, VMware Tools) to improve the system performance and running capability on the ESX platform. Of course, the target market of Hyper-V hypervisor is the integration of Windows server, so everyone thinks that Microsoft can quickly address the threat from VMware, the biggest competitor.

Microsoft strategy

However, Microsoft's current market strategy also shows that Microsoft has made various efforts to compete with VMware for the virtualized territory. One of the strategies is to position product R & D to the application needs of the public user group. For example, although Microsoft's Quick Migration of Quick Migration cannot achieve the performance level of VMotion seamless Migration, it is also a good choice for common users who do not have high practical requirements, this product provides most of the functions and features required for server integration.

By combining its technical reliability with the hyper-v hypervisor with good performance, you can also face the challenges of virtualization with ease. In addition, the tempting price of Microsoft's single-host solution Hyper-V is priced at only $28) is enough to make Microsoft's virtualization attack a threat that competitors cannot underestimate.

Another Microsoft strategy is to allow Hyper-V and VMware virtualization products to directly manage VI3 assets in the MSCVMM management environment. By combining with VirtualCenter, The MSCVMM administrator can use the local VirtualCenter Service to manage VMware virtual machines including VMotion.

Microsoft uses a tracing record that has been successfully combined with its competitor's technologies to achieve tracking in the Microsoft environment. Microsoft also adopted a similar approach in NOVELL NetWare and Unix. Apparently, Microsoft believes that this operation on VMware with profound technical resources can achieve the original results. However, some experts believe that Microsoft is somewhat arrogant this time. "This happened before and will not be repeated in the future ".

Expert Testing

Experts tested Hyper-V RC1 and MSCVMM 2008 test versions on Dell PowerEdge 2950 servers running Windows Server 2008 operating system X64 Enterprise Edition Hyper-V requires 64-bit operating environment.

To activate Hyper-V, you only need to click the Server Manager check box and select the network interface card used for virtual network management. The installation of MSCVMM is a little troublesome. You need an SQL Server 2005 instance,. Net Framework 3.0, and Active Directory ). Fortunately, MSCMM automatically provides the SQL Server 2005 quick installation option to solve the SQL problem. Although. Net 3.0 is not the default activation item, it is bundled with the Windows Server 2008 operating system. Therefore, the. Net version is not required to install Server 2008.

Final Conclusion

In short, Microsoft's Server virtualization platform is developing smoothly as a feasible choice in the competition for Data Center virtualization. It is especially important for those users who have invested heavily in Windows Server technology and are favored. Although it is not as tested by the market as VI3, the combination of Hyper-V and MSCVMM is also a huge breakthrough in the infrastructure of virtual servers on the host platform for a long time.

The question is, will VMware be restless now? I have to say yes. From a historical perspective, no company shows the patience and courage that Microsoft has tried for several years. With its current prototype, Hyper-V may not be enough to win the heavyweight favor of data centers. However, for most users, the Hyper-V hypervisor will be a very good product, microsoft has begun to pose a threat to VMware's market share and is actively preparing for a new generation of products to eventually replace VMware's dominant position in the virtualization field in the competition. Let's wait and see.