Virtual Server or Virtual PC

Gnovald

Hi all!

I am setting up a server with two virtual windows 2003 servers, one running Business Notification the other running Employee Portal with Sharepoint Services.

My big question is if I should use Microsoft Virtual PC (which I have experience working with) or i should use Microsoft Virtual Server?

The customer has a enviroment with 4 servers in a domain with ca 20 users. What is the real different in setting up either VPC or VS on a small network like this? I know the differences in the products but now I just want to know if someone else have had this experience and can give me some pointers in the choice ahead of me

One more question. I have tried to find out if a virtual installation with VPC can be used with VS or vice versa? Have searched Google for this but didnt't find any quick answers!

/Gnovald

groover

From my experience, I can tell you that you can use VPC images on Virtual Server. I have a few Virtual Server environments (VS 2005R2)running (one at home, two at the office), and each of them has quite a number of virtual images (some of them are XP, others are W2003 servers). I am really very excited about this.

I started out using VPC on Windows XP. At some point, I changed my OS to Windows 2003, and I got the message that VPC was not supported on Windows Server 2003. You can install it, but it is not supported. It is a bit like drinking and driving: you can combine it, but if something goes wrong, ...

I have no clue about prices of both products, but if I were you, I would suggest to run VS. It is officially supported and in addition much more flexible in management as you can manage it completely via a simple web interface. Besides:
* VS runs as a service on the OS, VPC doesn't.
* You can setup the VS startup and VS stop actions of each of the virtual images: in case the physical server needs a reboot, the VS service will automatically start and all necessary images can start automatically too...

Gnovald

Hi Groover!

I thank you for the insights, this will give me something to work on but really the choice is already made - ofcourse I am going to use VS, as you point out running as a service is way better than anything else.

Do you have any experience moving a virtual server between domains? Is it like a fysical server, not recommended?

/Gnovald

groover

Hi Gnovald,

I have some experience moving servers between domains, as a few years ago, I did the migration between our local Navision network infrastructure to the Microsoft CorpNet infrastructure. I must say that that went rather smoothly, but you will have to consider the role of the server: if it is a dummy file server, I don't see big problems, but if you want to move a mail server e.g., you are facing another type of challenge (I wouldn't recommend doing that, BTW).

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think you are preparing virtual images in your own domain, to later transfer them to the customer's domain.

If you are talking about BN and EP... I can advise you to make sure that these platforms don't use too many domain accounts (because you will have to change these accounts in the Sharepoint Admin, on the IIS with Application Pools, etc.). You can try to use "local" Windows accounts, but that is not always possible of course: sometimes you HAVE to use a domain account.

When it comes to SQL accounts e.g. for the Sharepoint, you can use Database Logins instead of Windows Logins, but try to use the same logins and/or passwords.

In addition, I strongly recommend NOT to rename the servers. Sharepoint 2003 (even SPS) doesn't like that at all.

Hope this helps you.

Gnovald

You are guessing right there Groover I am testing at my office using different virtual servers on my workstation, but I have already figure out the naming problem if moving between domains - I don't want more work than I already have... So I thought I could connect the virtual server via VPN to the customers network, making the virtual server a member in the domain - but when my co-workers began complaining when the Internet connection slowed down I had to abbonden that idea

I am taking the new server that just arrived here to the customers office and I am going to set up everything from the start on location, propably working the whole weekend

/Gnovald

kine

1) Virtual server is for server usage
2) Virtual PC is for desktop usage - e.g. demo machine for presentations etc.