William Warren hescominsoon@emmanuelcomputerconsulting.com wrote:
Here is what i am looking to do. i have a server SBS 2k3 machine. I want to load linux on it then virtualize the SBS server inside the linux installation. I would then be able to compress backup just the
Check out VMware Server, a free product from VMware. I believe you can buy support for the product for them, if you need it.
Qemu might be a truely OSS solution. I personally have not used it in quite a long time, though, but I've heard it can be reasonable when used with the accelerator module.
robert
On 2/27/07, Robert Becker Cope robert@gonkgonk.com wrote:
Check out VMware Server, a free product from VMware. I believe you can buy support for the product for them, if you need it.
I've been very happy with VMware -- but note that Windows Vista has licensing restrictions that make it illegal to use it as the "guest" operating system in many virtualization environments. Unless you're using XP or 2000 Server or something older, check your license before deploying.
Server 2k3 isn't a problem in that regard..:)
Bart Schaefer wrote:
On 2/27/07, Robert Becker Cope robert@gonkgonk.com wrote:
Check out VMware Server, a free product from VMware. I believe you can buy support for the product for them, if you need it.
I've been very happy with VMware -- but note that Windows Vista has licensing restrictions that make it illegal to use it as the "guest" operating system in many virtualization environments. Unless you're using XP or 2000 Server or something older, check your license before deploying. _______________________________________________ CentOS mailing list CentOS@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
.
William Warren wrote:
Server 2k3 isn't a problem in that regard..:)
indeed, you said SBS 2003.
More importantly, perhaps, moving a running windows systme into a different hardware environment (from a physical system to a virtual machine in this case) can be challenging.
I'd seriously consider clean installing on the vmware environment, reinstalling any serverside applications you're using, then restoring a backup of the system state including active directory, along with any user data files (websites, exchange folders, SQL Server databases, etc etc).
o i intend to do just that. backup all windows server configurations and then install from scratch..setup the vm..setup the windows install..then restore the backups..<G>
It'll take a good couple of days and of course the current box will be left running(i'll donate a new server for the job)..<G>
John R Pierce wrote:
William Warren wrote:
Server 2k3 isn't a problem in that regard..:)
indeed, you said SBS 2003.
More importantly, perhaps, moving a running windows systme into a different hardware environment (from a physical system to a virtual machine in this case) can be challenging.
I'd seriously consider clean installing on the vmware environment, reinstalling any serverside applications you're using, then restoring a backup of the system state including active directory, along with any user data files (websites, exchange folders, SQL Server databases, etc etc).
CentOS mailing list CentOS@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
.
CentOS mailing list centos@centos.org writes:
William Warren wrote:
Server 2k3 isn't a problem in that regard..:)
indeed, you said SBS 2003. More importantly, perhaps, moving a running windows systme into a different hardware environment (from a physical system to a virtual machine in this case) can be challenging. I'd seriously consider clean installing on the vmware environment, reinstalling any serverside applications you're using, then restoring a backup of the system state including active directory, along with any user data files (websites, exchange folders, SQL Server databases, etc etc).
Or, right after you download the free VMWare Server, download their free P2V Migration tool (also at www.vmware.com) and use that to migrate the server instance into VMWare Server.
The catch you have to deal with is, you need two physical systems not just one. Where do you install CentOS and VMWare, before you virtualize the SBS server? Not on the same disks, that's for sure...
If you have a whole weekend to do this over, use a workstation with lots of disk space as your "swing" server - install VMWare Server (any host OS will do) on that workstation. * Install the P2V tool on the workstation. * Use the P2V tool to migrate the SBS server into a VM on your workstation. * Shut down the original SBS server. Boot the SBS VM and *MAKE SURE IT WORKS 100%* before continuing. * Install linux on the original SBS server, overwriting the old SBS hard disks. * Install VMWare Server on your new linux server. * Shut down SBS VM on your workstation, and COPY the files over to the linux server. * Import the VM into VMWare Server on the linux server. * Boot the SBS VM... make sure it works before continuing. * Delete the VM from your workstation * Uninstall VMWare tools from your workstation * Done!
There are quite a few technotes in the VMWare knowledgebase about moving VMs from one server to another. The free "VMWare Server" product is closest to the "GSX Server" and/or "Workstation" products, so technical information on those two should apply (more-or-less) to the free edition too.
-Adam Thompson Divisional IT Department, St. James-Assiniboia School Division 150 Moray St., Winnipeg, MB, R3J 3A2 athompson@sjsd.net / tel: (204) 837-5886 x222 / fax: (204) 885-3178
now i like that idea. I can definitely do that..hrmm time to evaluate this method..<G>
Adam Thompson wrote:
*CentOS mailing list <centos@centos.org mailto:centos@centos.org> writes: *William Warren wrote:
Server 2k3 isn't a problem in that regard..:)
indeed, you said SBS 2003. More importantly, perhaps, moving a running windows systme into a different hardware environment (from a physical system to a virtual machine in this case) can be challenging. I'd seriously consider clean installing on the vmware environment, reinstalling any serverside applications you're using, then restoring a backup of the system state including active directory, along with any user data files (websites, exchange folders, SQL Server databases, etc etc).
Or, right after you download the free VMWare Server, download their free P2V Migration tool (also at www.vmware.com http://www.vmware.com) and use that to migrate the server instance into VMWare Server.
The catch you have to deal with is, you need two physical systems not just one. Where do you install CentOS and VMWare, before you virtualize the SBS server? Not on the same disks, that's for sure...
If you have a whole weekend to do this over, use a workstation with lots of disk space as your "swing" server - install VMWare Server (any host OS will do) on that workstation.
- Install the P2V tool on the workstation.
- Use the P2V tool to migrate the SBS server into a VM on your workstation.
- Shut down the original SBS server. Boot the SBS VM and *MAKE SURE IT
WORKS 100%* before continuing.
- Install linux on the original SBS server, overwriting the old SBS hard
disks.
- Install VMWare Server on your new linux server.
- Shut down SBS VM on your workstation, and COPY the files over to the
linux server.
- Import the VM into VMWare Server on the linux server.
- Boot the SBS VM... make sure it works before continuing.
- Delete the VM from your workstation
- Uninstall VMWare tools from your workstation
- Done!
There are quite a few technotes in the VMWare knowledgebase about moving VMs from one server to another. The free "VMWare Server" product is closest to the "GSX Server" and/or "Workstation" products, so technical information on those two should apply (more-or-less) to the free edition too.
-Adam Thompson Divisional IT Department, St. James-Assiniboia School Division 150 Moray St., Winnipeg, MB, R3J 3A2 athompson@sjsd.net mailto:athompson@sjsd.net / tel: (204) 837-5886 x222 / fax: (204) 885-3178
CentOS mailing list CentOS@centos.org http://lists.centos.org/mailman/listinfo/centos
Or, right after you download the free VMWare Server, download their free P2V Migration tool (also at www.vmware.com) and use that to migrate the server instance into VMWare Server.
The catch you have to deal with is, you need two physical systems not just one. Where do you install CentOS and VMWare, before you virtualize the SBS server? Not on the same disks, that's for sure...
If you have a whole weekend to do this over, use a workstation with lots of disk space as your "swing" server - install VMWare Server (any host OS will do) on that workstation. * Install the P2V tool on the workstation. * Use the P2V tool to migrate the SBS server into a VM on your workstation. * Shut down the original SBS server. Boot the SBS VM and *MAKE SURE IT WORKS 100%* before continuing. * Install linux on the original SBS server, overwriting the old SBS hard disks. * Install VMWare Server on your new linux server. * Shut down SBS VM on your workstation, and COPY the files over to the linux server. * Import the VM into VMWare Server on the linux server. * Boot the SBS VM... make sure it works before continuing. * Delete the VM from your workstation * Uninstall VMWare tools from your workstation * Done!
There are quite a few technotes in the VMWare knowledgebase about moving VMs from one server to another. The free "VMWare Server" product is closest to the "GSX Server" and/or "Workstation" products, so technical information on those two should apply (more-or-less) to the free edition too.
-Adam Thompson
Adam,
Step 1 : backup original server and/or data (one or more times) etc before doing anything.
- rh
--
Robert - Abba Communications
On Wednesday 28 February 2007, Adam Thompson wrote:
- Install the P2V tool on the workstation.
- Use the P2V tool to migrate the SBS server into a VM on your
workstation.
- Shut down the original SBS server. Boot the SBS VM and *MAKE SURE IT
WORKS 100%* before continuing.
- Install linux on the original SBS server, overwriting the old SBS
hard disks.
(AHEM...) If the server is at all important, DON'T OVERWRITE THE ORIGINAL DISKS. Spend $75 and get new disks. Even if they aren't cheapie SATA drives, the cost of a new replacement drive is so miniscule compared to the likely value of the data on the server.
Put another way: How can you be truly sure that it works 100%?
- Install VMWare Server on your new linux server.
- Shut down SBS VM on your workstation, and COPY the files over to the
linux server.
- Import the VM into VMWare Server on the linux server.
- Boot the SBS VM... make sure it works before continuing.
- Delete the VM from your workstation
- Uninstall VMWare tools from your workstation
- Done!
There are quite a few technotes in the VMWare knowledgebase about moving VMs from one server to another. The free "VMWare Server" product is closest to the "GSX Server" and/or "Workstation" products, so technical information on those two should apply (more-or-less) to the free edition too.
-Adam Thompson Divisional IT Department, St. James-Assiniboia School Division 150 Moray St., Winnipeg, MB, R3J 3A2 athompson@sjsd.net / tel: (204) 837-5886 x222 / fax: (204) 885-3178
-- This message has been scanned for viruses and dangerous content by MailScanner, and is believed to be clean.
On Tue, 2007-02-27 at 15:37 -0800, Bart Schaefer wrote:
I've been very happy with VMware -- but note that Windows Vista has licensing restrictions that make it illegal to use it as the "guest" operating system in many virtualization environments. Unless you're using XP or 2000 Server or something older, check your license before deploying.
I read a comment on a Slashdot story about this. The comment stated the Vista license seems to say that you can't virtualize Vista if it's the copy that's already installed on the host.
I'm not familiar enough with the license to know it that's true.
Regards,
Ranbir
On Wed, 2007-02-28 at 18:25 -0500, Kanwar Ranbir Sandhu wrote:
On Tue, 2007-02-27 at 15:37 -0800, Bart Schaefer wrote:
I've been very happy with VMware -- but note that Windows Vista has licensing restrictions that make it illegal to use it as the "guest" operating system in many virtualization environments. Unless you're using XP or 2000 Server or something older, check your license before deploying.
I read a comment on a Slashdot story about this. The comment stated the Vista license seems to say that you can't virtualize Vista if it's the copy that's already installed on the host.
I'm not familiar enough with the license to know it that's true.
Regards,
Ranbir
http://searchservervirtualization.techtarget.com/tip/0,289483,sid94_gci12405...
hth,
Calin
================================================= No matter what happens, there is always someone who knew it would.
-
Adam Thompson -
Bart Schaefer -
Benjamin Smith -
John R Pierce -
kalinix -
Kanwar Ranbir Sandhu -
R Lists06 -
Robert Becker Cope -
William Warren