Yesterday, during the  Microsoft Management Summit keynote, Microsoft announced the availability of System Center 2012 RTM. You could download for free, the evaluation version via the following link : http://aka.ms/PvtCld

The Microsoft private cloud evaluation includes:

System Center 2012

• System Center 2012 Unified Installer is a utility designed to perform new, clean installations of System Center 2012 for testing and evaluation purposes only. If you want to upgrade from an existing System Center installation or choose set up options such as high availability or multi-server component installs, please refer instead to the System Center 2012 component installation guides located on the Microsoft Private Cloud Evaluation Resource Page.
  User’s Guide >>
• System Center 2012 App Controller provides a common self-service experience across private and public clouds that can help you empower application owners to easily build, configure, deploy, and manage new services.
  System Requirements >>
• System Center 2012 Configuration Manager provides comprehensive configuration management for the Microsoft platform that can help you empower users with the devices and applications they need to be productive while maintaining corporate compliance and control.
  System Requirements >>
• System Center 2012 Data Protection Manager provides unified data protection for Windows servers and clients that can help you deliver scalable, manageable, and cost-effective protection and restore scenarios from disk, tape, and off premise.
  System Requirements >>
• System Center 2012 Endpoint Protection, built on System Center Configuration Manager, provides industry-leading threat detection of malware and exploits as part of a unified infrastructure for managing client security and compliance that can help you simplify and improve endpoint protection.
  System Requirements >>
• System Center 2012 Operations Manager provides deep application diagnostics and infrastructure monitoring that can help you ensure the predictable performance and availability of vital applications and offers a comprehensive view of your datacenter, private cloud, and public clouds.
  System Requirements >>
• System Center 2012 Orchestrator provides orchestration, integration, and automation of IT processes through the creation of runbooks that can help you to define and standardize best practices and improve operational efficiency.
  System Requirements >>
• System Center 2012 Service Manager provides flexible self-service experiences and standardized datacenter processes that can help you integrate people, workflows, and knowledge across enterprise infrastructure and applications.
  System Requirements >>
• System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager provides virtual machine management and services deployment with support for multi-hypervisor environments that can help you deliver a flexible and cost effective private cloud environment.
  System Requirements >>

Christopher KEYAERT

nworks · operations manager · opsmgr · SCCM · Scom · SCOrchestrator · veeam · VMWare

Extend System Center to VMware

Protect your investments in Microsoft System Center and manage your physical and virtual environment from one console with the Veeam nworks Management Pack™ for VMware.

The nworks Management Pack provides scalable, fault-tolerant and agentless VMware infrastructure monitoring and management directly in Microsoft System Center, eliminating the need for a separate monitoring framework.

Discover the results of our valued customer feedback and what version 5.6 of nworks Management Pack includes.
May 9, Mon, starts at 10:00 am (GMT+01:00)
Register

Learn how you can protect your investments in Microsoft System Center and manage your physical and virtual environment from one console.
May 25, Wen, starts at 10:00 am (GMT+01:00)
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Christopher KEYAERT

nworks · opsmgr · Scom · veeam · VMWare

Sometime, you have a Virtual Machine in a Microsoft VHD format and you would like to use it with your VMware Workstation application. So this little guide will explain how to perform this operation.

Pre-requisites

• A Microsoft VHD File
• VMware Converter 4 standalone (http://www.vmware.com/download/converter/)

Step 1

Create a working folder on one of your computer drive and paste your VHD file into it.

Step 2

For the conversion, VMware Converter needs a VMC file. A VMC is the configuration file of the Microsoft Virtual Machine, it’s in this file that you the all the settings of the VM.

So, download the VMC file that is available here (http://www.vnext.be/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/MyVM.Rename-to-dot-vmc.txt), rename the extension to .vmc and paste it to your working folder:

Open it with notepad and edit the path to your VHD file like below:

Step 3

Start VMware Converter 4 standalone

Click on Convert Machine:

• Select source type : Backup image or third-party virtual machine
• Virtual machine file : The path to your VHD file

Click on Next and choose the following parameters:

• Select destination type : VMware Workstation or other VMware virtual machine
• Select VMware product : VMware Workstation 7.0.x

Click on Next and choose the following parameters:
Adapt the parameters to your need, but be sure that Install VMware Tools is set to YES

Click on Next and review all the information:

Click on Finish and wait the end of the process:

After a few minutes, the process is complete:

Go to your working folder, enter in the new created folder and double click on the .vmx file.

VMware workstation will now start:

Review your Virtual Machine configuration and start your new VM:

After you’re first Log on, Windows will install the drivers related to VMware Workstation, so let the process continue and restart you virtual machine when it’s done:

When all the drivers have been installed and you virtual machine restarted, you will have to reactive your copy of Windows:

When the activation process ended, you could now enjoy your virtual machine with VMware Workstation:

Christopher KEYAERT

conversion · microsoft · vhd · virtual machine · vmk · VMWare

Hello All,

If you only use the command GET-VM, you will receive back the VMs List only from the Virtucal Center that you last connect on. If you want the get all the VM from your both virutal centers, you absolutely need to add the parameter -server $vcs to you command.

If you want to connect to more than one virtual center at the same time, here the starting code :

In a general way, don’t forget to add -server $vcs to every command than you use with the VI Toolkit.

As always, RTM -> the documentation on VI Toolkit :
http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC-4210

Christopher Keyaert

PowerShell · script · virtual center · VMWare