Extra credit points for use of "minion". -sc
> -----Original Message----- > From: Ben Scott [mailto:[email protected]] > Sent: Wednesday, June 17, 2009 11:15 PM > To: NT System Admin Issues > Subject: Re: Dying XP workstations - what are my virtualization options > > On Wed, Jun 17, 2009 at 4:58 PM, aci <[email protected]> wrote: > > ... graphics editing software ... > > As someone else said, you probably won't get acceptable performance > out of graphics editing software on anything but a real hardware > display. Both VM and RDP lose practically all hardware acceleration. > DirectX and OpenGL stuff often won't even start, or fails > spectacularly. > > > accessed simultaneously and on multiple clients via multiple > instances of the > > original workstation? > > Not exactly. > > Virtual machines generally act just like physical machines (except > when they don't). Think of it like removing the hard drive from an > existing computer, and then installing that hard drive in a completely > different model of computer. This model of computer just happens to > be manufactured by VMware, rather than Dell. > > You get all the same problems with P2V that you have when you move a > hard drive. Windows has drivers for old computer, not new computer. > The P2V wizards generally fix that up for you automagically. Anything > that cares about MAC address or machine configuration will be > perturbed. That includes any kind of software activation that watches > hardware. > > But just because you've visualized a machine doesn't mean it > magically becomes multiple computers. You can clone VMs, just like > you can clone (Ghost) hard drives. But put two computers cloned from > the same disk on the same network, and they'll conflict. (Unless you > SYSPREP or whatever. And you can SYSPREP a cloned VM, just like a > cloned HD.) > > The keyboard, video, and mouse (KVM) of the VM are managed by the VM > software on the host. They're generally virtualized. For VMWare > Workstation and Server, you get a window on your screen that > corresponds to the virtual monitor display; your K&M are grabbed from > the host when you click on it. ESX exports the KVM over the network > (kind of like RDP). > > RDP itself also works with VMs, same as physical machines. Just the > other day, my minion needed a Windows Server VM for testing something, > but didn't have one ready. So I started the one I had on my PC (in > VMware Workstation), then minimized the window. Minion RDP'ed into > that server just like it was on our server rack. > > > Kind of like RDP, which offers multiple sessions ... > > I'm not sure what you mean here. You're talking Win XP here, right? > Win XP will only let you RDP to the console session. You can't have > multiple people using that same session at one time. (Well, unless > you count Remote Assistance, or use a third-party product like VNC. > But even then, you're sharing the same desktop; just with two mice and > two keyboards.) > > A virtualized Windows terminal server (or Citrix or whatever) would > allow multiple RDP session, just like a physical terminal server > would. > > > ... but is VM session are not linked to the currently logged in > user??? > > I'm sorry, I don't understand that at all. :) > > > No cost for the P2V software? How is that possible? > > "P2V software" refers to the software utility package that actually > takes the physical machine and converts it into a virtual machine. > Kind of like Ghost. > > You still need licenses for the software you end up running on the > VM. Windows, MS Office, etc. > > > Ultimately any workstation I virtualize is licensed, probably Dell > OEM's in most > > cases along with all of the MS office installations on each. > > Microsoft's OEM licenses are *not* transferable to different > hardware. They stay with the original machine. They die with the > original machine, too. So if your Windows and Office licenses are > OEM, you will need to buy new licenses (retail or volume) if you > virtualize. Or violate the license agreement, but we all follow those > to the letter, right? ;-) > > Also, be aware that volume Windows workstation licenses are upgrade > only. You can't use them for a VM, as far as I know. You'll have to > buy FPP (Full Packaged Product, i.e., "retail box"). > > > 1. If I have 10 XP client licenses & 10 MS office licenses is there a > way to offer 10 virtualized > > XP-Office "seats" out to other host PC's running either plain XP or > Vista? > > By "XP client license" I assume you mean a license for an > installation of Windows XP. Not a "Client Access License". > > You need an OS license for each installed instance of Windows. So > if you've got virtualized Windows XP boxes, and you are exporting > those VMs over the network to other computers also running Windows, > you need a Windows OS license for both the VM and the "other > computers". Two OS seats per user, in other words. > > For Office... I'm not sure. I think you only need a license for the > instance installed in the VM, assuming we're talking XP or Vista in > the VM (which can only have one user at a time). Terminal servers > (Citrix, etc.) need a seat for each concurrent user, I *think*. > > > 2. If I wanted to add a virtual exchange or wsus server into a test > environment > > (separate domain) can I run those off the same server as the > virtualized > > XP workstation I originally mentioned? > > Yup. > > With VMware Workstation (payware), at least, you can also create > virtual LANs and connect different VMs to them. I've got a VM Team on > my workstation that is a simulation of our production LAN, with a > couple Windows VMs and a Linux VM. The Windows VMs connect only to > the virtual LAN. The Linux VM has two virtual network interfaces, one > connected to the virtual LAN, and the other connected to our real > Linux gateway. This may also be possible with the free ESXi; I'm not > sure. > > > If yes... is that also with the free server VM software? Really??? > > Yup. > > -- Ben > > ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ > ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~ ~ Finally, powerful endpoint security that ISN'T a resource hog! ~ ~ <http://www.sunbeltsoftware.com/Business/VIPRE-Enterprise/> ~
