Back from Microsoft TechEd 2012 in Amsterdam I have collected some information about the Service Pack 1 of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012.
The Service Pack 1 will introduce first support for Windows Server 2012 and for Microsoft SQL Server 2012. They will also support the latest versions of the major virtualization platforms as shown by the following image:
The main changes introduced by the Service Pack 1 di VMM 2012 will address the following aspects:
Ø Support for the new format of the virtual disk VHDX. The VHDX format has a maximum capacity exceeding (up to 64 TB) compared to the previous VHD format. It also has a mechanism to protect against data corruption during shutdowns of the VM. To learn more about the benefits of the new VHDX format introduced in Windows Server 2012 I invite you to consult the following document: Hyper-V Virtual Hard Disk Format Overview. In particular, VMM 2012:
ü will be able to convert VHD to VHDX. The conversion process also includes any associated checkpoint.
ü When creating a new VM with a virtual drive blank is able to automatically detect whether the format of the disc must be .VHD or .vhdx based on the version of the operating system the destination host.
ü Library servers with Windows Server 2012 will automatically also indexing files. vhdx.
Ø Added support for Add-ins of VMM console that will extend its capabilities. Thanks to the Add-ins you can enable new action or make available additional configurations for objects in VMM.
Ø Support for new Live Migration mechanisms introduced in Windows Server 2012.
Ø In the cluster you can manage the settings of "Possible/Preferred Owner", will introduce support for CSV v. 2 and you can set up rules of anti-affinity for virtual machines.
Ø Improvements in Bare Metal Deployment process:
ü During the process of discovery of the hardware you can perform what is called "deep discovery" to retrieve detailed information about the hardware (network adapters, CPU, memory, etc.) before you begin the deployment process of the operating system. At this stage you can also change network adapter settings that VMM defines how network management card.
ü In the process of provisioning a physical computer as a Hyper-V Host, you can use a file .vhdx or .VHD as an image of the Windows Server operating system 2012.
Ø Network virtualization management: VMM will be able to govern all new networking features introduced in Windows Server 2012.
Ø Improvements on the management of Storage that will cover:
ü the new Windows Service Standards-Based Storage Management that allows the discovery of storage via different providers.
ü thin provisioning of logical unit through VMM. Storage array must support and having thin provisioning enabled.
ü the features that take advantage of the new version 3.0 Server Message Block Protocol (SMB) introduced in Windows Server 2012.
Ø Expand the capabilities of Service Template, that enable you to deploy virtual machines in a flexible manner with certain roles and services are already installed. It will also introduce new type Web Application Host that will deploy existing web server to MS Web packages (you know that physicists).
When the SP1 of VMM 2012 is being CTP2 ("Community Technology Preview") and can be evaluated with Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate by downloading the virtual disk in VHD format directly from Microsoft Download Center at the following link: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?ID = 30166.
Francis
