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Why Virtualization is Hot – and Could Become Even Hotter

Mark Edward Soper — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:24:36 -0600

Virtualization has become one of the biggest buzzwords in IT during the last couple of years, and for good reason. Virtualization enables you to run more than one operating system at the same time on a single system, enabling you to run legacy applications in their preferred environment instead of the janky compatibility mode built into Windows. Virtualization enables you to use a single physical system to perform the jobs of two or more systems, each performing different tasks, and it makes migrating these tasks from system to system much easier, whether you're upgrading hardware or replacing a dying machine. Virtualization also enables you to create a safe "sandbox" environment for testing applications within an existing computer, so you no longer need to tie up a separate system for testing.

Because combinations of operating systems and applications can be packed into virtual hard disks (a file that contains a ready to run virtualization environment), you can also use virtualization technology to create and use ready-to-run trials of applications, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer 7+Windows Vista and Internet Explorer 8+Windows Vista trials. And, virtualization enables you to use one physical system to provide tech support for different operating systems at the same time.

Virtualization's a Big Hit in Serverville

Virtualization is making deep inroads into the server room, because it provides a way to get more use out of the same number of servers, and thus makes possible significant reductions in hardware budgets, physical network infrastructure requirements, cooling requirements, and power consumption.

Estimates from IDC indicate that about 16.5% of physical servers sold in the first half of 2009 include virtualization software, compared with 14.5% in the same period of 2008.

Leading virtualization technologies for servers include Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2, which includes Hyper-V virtualization technology, a subset of which is also available free of charge in Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. VMWare also offers free server virtualization with its VMWare Server and ESXi platforms. Commercial products include VMWare vSphere and its companion vCenter Server, and Citrix XenServer.

For several years, servers have featured all of the elements needed to make virtualization work well:

The rise of 64-bit processors.
Large amounts of RAM.
Hardware virtualization support in the CPU

64-bit server processors such as Intel's Xeon and AMD's Opteron shatter the 3.25GB usable memory limit of 32-bit processors, enabling systems to use 4GB, 8GB, or more memory. Since each virtualized operating system uses a portion of total system memory, the more memory that's directly addressable in a system, the faster each virtualized OS and its applications can run. These processors also support hardware virtualization, providing much faster virtualized performance than is possible when the virtualization application is solely responsible for making virtualization work.

Virtualization for Desktops

Most new desktops and laptops now include 64-bit processors and 4GB or more of RAM, as well, fueled by low memory prices (DDR2 available for under $30/GB). There's no shortage of desktop virtualization tools available (and many of them are free).

Microsoft once charged for its Virtual PC desktop virtualization program, but now offers both Virtual PC 2007 (for Windows XP and Window Vista) and Windows Virtual PC (for Windows 7) free of charge. Windows Virtual PC enables Windows 7 ~~Business~~ Professional and Ultimate editions to run a free virtualized version of Windows XP (Windows XP Mode).

Free third-party virtualization tools for Windows desktops include VirtualBox and VMWare Player. VMWare also offers its commercial VMWare Workstation for those needing more powerful management features.

What Desktop Virtualization Needs Before It Can Take Off

With all that virtualization has going for it, why is it still regarded as an exotic use on the desktop? Many desktop and laptop systems in business are still running 32-bit versions of Windows XP with less than 2GB of RAM, a poor platform for virtualization. Although 64-bit processors from AMD and Intel have become widespread in the last few years, the lack (until recently) of mainstream 64-bit desktop operating systems and motherboards designed for 64-bit operation made a widespread move to virtualization dependent upon sweeping Windows XP-class systems out of the way.

Windows 7 is the broom that may do the job: it's making most users forget about Windows XP's presumed successor, Windows Vista, and most new desktop and laptops systems shipping with Windows 7 are running 64-bit versions with at least 4GB of RAM. So, is desktop virtualization about to make a big leap in popularity? In an upcoming column, you'll find out what pieces of the virtualization puzzle are missing from most of today's most popular small-business desktops and laptops.

About Mark Edward Soper
Mark's work has been featured in Maximum PC and MaximumPC.com, and he is the author/co-author of over 20 books on technology subjects, including these current titles: CompTIA A+ 220-701 and 220-702 Cert Guide, Easy Microsoft Windows 7, and The Shot Doctor: the Amateur's Guide to Great Digital Photos.

Windows XP Mode Goes RTM – Ready For Download On October 22nd

Justin Kerr — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:29:49 -0500

Microsoft announced today via its Windows Blog that it has released the final version Windows XP Mode to manufacturing, and it should be available for download on October 22nd, the day of the Windows 7 launch. Presumably the new version of Virtual PC is included in this RTM, curiously however, no mention of this was made. Microsoft has also not indicated if this would be available early for MSDN or TechNet subscribers, but let’s face it, October 22nd isn’t as far away as it used to be.

For those who haven’t yet hard about Windows XP mode, it’s a way for Windows 7 users to run applications within a virtualized Windows XP shell for compatibility reasons. Windows 7 RC users who want to give the beta version a test drive can still download the technical preview at the Microsoft Download Center up until the new version is released on launch day.

Want to learn more about Windows XP Mode? Check out our feature focus series which helps you make sense of all the new features.

Windows 7 Feature Focus: Virtual Windows XP (AKA XP Mode)

Mark Edward Soper — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 13:30:00 -0500

Although Windows has included the Program Compatibility Wizard and Compatibility tab to help older programs to run properly under the current version of Windows since Windows XP, these features are not always able to help older applications to run. While Windows 7 continues to offer these features, some editions can also use a better way to run older Windows applications: XP Mode.

XP Mode at a Glance

XP Mode (also known as Virtual Windows XP) enables some editions of Windows 7 to run Windows XP in a virtualized window, and to run individual Windows XP-compatible apps in a virtualized environment directly from the Windows 7 Start menu.

XP Mode is supported by the following Windows 7 editions: Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise. The System properties sheet tells you what version you have:

By providing an actual Windows XP environment, as opposed to an emulation of Windows XP as provided by the Program Compatibility Wizard and Compatibility tab in a program's properties sheet, XP Mode enables business programs that require 100% Windows XP compatibility to run within Windows 7. Unlike Microsoft's previous virtualization environment, Virtual PC 2007, XP Mode enables Windows XP-compatible programs to be launched directly from the Windows 7 Start menu. You can also pin XP Mode programs to the Taskbar or Start menu in Windows 7.

XP Mode also enables you to use peripherals (such as older scanners and multifunction devices) that are not supported by Windows 7; you can run them in XP Mode and save the output to locations accessible to both XP Mode and Windows 7

To use older versions of Windows utilities such as Internet Explorer 6 supplied with Windows XP, launch a windowed or full-screen XP Mode virtual machine and run programs within it.

The FAQs About XP Mode

Since XP Mode was announced as an optional feature for Windows 7 Professional, a lot of erroneous information has been published about XP Mode. Here are the FAQs:

Q. What do I need to run XP Mode?

A. There are three requirements:

You must be running Windows 7 Ultimate, Professional, or Enterprise editions.

You must have a processor capable of supporting hardware virtualization (Intel refers to this feature as Intel Virtualization Technology; AMD refers to this feature as AMD-V).

3. Hardware virtualization must be enabled in the system BIOS.

Q. Do I need a copy of Windows XP to use XP Mode?

A. No. Microsoft provides Windows XP SP3 as a VHD file for use with XP Mode.

Q. What are the benefits of using XP Mode instead of running Virtual PC 2007 and installing Windows XP as a virtual machine?

A. There are several advantages to XP Mode over VPC 2007+Windows XP, including:

When you install programs into XP Mode, they are automatically published to the Windows 7 Start menu, so you can run them in separate windows on the Windows 7 desktop, or in full-screen, or within the Windows XP VM desktop. Virtual PC 2007 must run Windows XP programs within the Windows XP VM desktop.

You must manually configure Virtual PC 2007 to run Windows XP - this is not necessary with XP Mode.

You can move your mouse freely between XP Mode and the Windows 7 desktop - with Virtual PC 2007, you must click within the window to capture the mouse cursor, then press the right alt key to release your mouse to return to the Windows 7 desktop

VPC 2007 cannot use USB mass storage devices – XP Mode can use USB mass storage devices.

VPC 2007 runs Windows XP as a VM very poorly (slow CD-ROM access, etc.) unless you install VPC 2007 extensions. XP Mode does not require you to install extensions.

XP Mode automatically integrates the Windows clipboard, printers, drives and smartcards at startup, and you can also also selectively disable and select whether to enable at start up (default).

Q. Is XP Mode designed for 3D gaming?

A. No. XP Mode does not support 3D graphics APIs such as DirectX. If you need to play 3D games that will not run in Windows 7, set up a dual-boot environment.

Q. Can I run Virtual PC 2007 and XP Mode on the same PC?

A. No. You must uninstall Virtual PC 2007 before you can use Windows Virtual PC and XP Mode.

Q. How do I get XP Mode?

A. There are two files you need to make XP Mode a reality:

First, download the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows Virtual PC (choose the same version as your edition of Windows 7 supports). Second, download Windows XP Mode.

Both are available from the Microsoft Virtual PC website.

Installing Windows Virtual PC and XP Mode

To get started with XP Mode, download Windows Virtual PC (WVPC). Then download Windows XP Mode (XPM). After installing WVPC, you must restart your computer before you install XPM.

During installation of XPM, you must configure Windows Update to provide automatic or manual updates, and you must enter a password. To save yourself frustration, click the checkbox to Remember Credentials, and you won't need to remember the password to start XPM.

During installation, you must also select the location for the VHD file used by XPM. By default, the location is C:\Program Files\Virtual Windows XP\, but you can browse to other locations as desired. The target drive must have about 1.6GB of free disk space.

Using XPM in Desktop Mode

XPM supports two modes. These modes, as described in Microsoft's "Running Windows XP Mode with Windows Virtual PC: A How-to Guide for Small Businesses" (PDF link) are Desktop Mode and Seamless Mode.

In Desktop mode, you start XPM from the Windows 7 Start menu:

In Desktop mode, all programs that use XPM run from within the Windows XP VM:

In Desktop Mode, XPM works about the way you'd expect a standard Windows XP installation to run. After you start XPM in Desktop mode, wait a few seconds after the desktop appears before the desktop fully initializes. During the startup process, progress bars inform you of what's going on:

Once XPM starts, you'll note that, because of its support for hardware virtualization, it's fairly peppy on a system with 4GB of RAM or more, even with the default XPM virtual machine (VM) memory size of 256MB.

However, there are some significant differences between XPM and a standard non-virtualized Windows XP installation. These include:

Autorun on CDs doesn't work - you must manually run the program referred to in Autorun.

AutoPlay on CDs, DVDs, and USB devices doesn't work. You can manually run the program you prefer to use with the media's contents, or open the media with Windows Explorer

Accessing drives connected to the host PC. XPM uses Remote Desktop Connection to work with these drives, which is why they're listed as network drives by XPM's My Computer.

Adjusting XPM's VM Memory Size and Other Settings

As with Windows Virtual PC's ancestor (Virtual PC 2007), you must shut down a VM before you can adjust its settings. However, closing the XPM window does not shut down the Virtual Windows XP VM. Instead, it hibernates the VM. To close the VM, click the Ctrl-Alt-Del button at the top of the XPM desktop window (1) and select Shut Down from the Windows Security dialog (2):

Note that XPM does not use Fast User Switching because Offline Files is enabled by default.

To adjust the settings used by XPM after closing it down:

1. Open the Virtual Machines folder in the Windows Virtual PC folder in Windows 7's Start menu:

2. Right-click the Virtual Windows XP VM and select Settings:

3. Select the setting you want to adjust (in this example, memory size assigned to the VM) and select or enter the appropriate option:

4. Repeat as needed with other settings, then click OK when finished to close the dialog and save changes.

Note: The settings you use for the XPM VM affect not only XPM in Desktop mode but also in Seamless mode.

Using XPM in Seamless Mode

Although XPM in Desktop mode is easier than working with Virtual PC 2007 + Windows XP, the real benefit for users comes in XPM's Seamless mode. In Seamless mode, you can launch one or more programs installed in XPM directly from the Windows 7 Start menu. Each program runs within its own XPM VM, and you can resize each window and drag it to a different display.

When you install programs in XPM's Desktop mode, start menu shortcuts are automatically added to both the Windows XP Start menu in XPM and to the Start menu for the Windows 7 host PC.

To start a program from Seamless mode, open the Virtual Windows XP Applications folder beneath the Windows Virtual PC folder on the Windows 7 host system and click the program you want to run:

To pin XPM or an XPM application to the Windows 7 Start menu, right-click the shortcut in Windows 7's Start menu and select Pin to Start Menu. To pin XPM or an or an XPM application to the Windows 7 Taskbar, right-click the shortcut and select Pin To Taskbar:

Networking in XPM

Normally, if your Windows 7 host PC is able to connect to the Internet, so can your XPM VM. However, if you want XPM to use the resources of other physical PCs on your network, you might need to tweak the normal network settings. If you are unable to view other network PCs from XPM's My Network Places menu, check the following:

1. Make sure the workgroup name in XPM matches the name of your existing workgroup. To see the current setting, right-click My Computer from the XPM Start menu, select Properties, and click Computer Name. If the workgroup name needs to be changed, click Change, click Workgroup, and enter the correct workgroup name. Click OK, and restart XPM to finish the process.

2. If you are still unable to "see" other PCs on the network from within XPM, click the Tools button at the top of the XPM window, click Settings, and look at the Networking setting. The default setting is Shared Networking (NAT). If this setting does not permit you to see workgroup computers, select the physical network adapter in your system:

You can still access the network and the Internet from the physical PC hosting Virtual Windows XP as well as from within XPM.

Working with USB Devices

XPM is way ahead of Virtual PC 2007 in its handling of USB devices such as printers, scanners, and mass storage devices (VPC 2007 didn't support USB mass storage at all). However, using USB devices in either XPM mode requires that you understand how to attach and release them as needed.

Open the USB menu to see the USB devices available to Virtual Windows XP. The devices are listed in two categories: Attach and Shared. Devices listed in the Shared category are supposed to be available automatically to both the Windows 7 host and XPM. However, in my tests, I found that both types of devices needed to be attached to XPM to make them available to XPM in either Desktop or Seamless modes.

Reminder: when a device is attached to XPM, it cannot be used by your host Windows 7 operating system.

Attaching/Releasing a Device

To attach a device, open XPM's USB menu and click a device with the status of Attach or Shared (if the device status is listed as Release, it is already attached to XPM):

XPM detects the device, and if you are attaching it for the first time, XPM will prompt you to search for drivers with the Found New Hardware Wizard, or you can install drivers manually. If the wizard is unable to install drivers automatically, download the latest Windows XP-compatible driver for your device within XPM and install it. You might be prompted to reboot XPM to complete driver installation.

Tip: if you are installing a multifunction device, do not reboot XPM until you have finished installing all of the drivers and utilities necessary.

After drivers are installed, you might need to open the USB menu again and attach the device before you can use it. In this example, we're using the Epson Scan feature of the Epson WorkForce 600:

When you are finished with the device, open the USB menu again and click the device to release it. The device can then be used by the host Windows 7 session.

Reminder: You must attach devices with XPM Desktop mode before they can be used by applications running in XPM Seamless mode.

So, is XP Mode for you?

If you're trying to run 3D games that don't get along with Windows 7, the answer is 'No'.

But, if you need to get more life out of peripherals or applications that don't run under Windows 7, or you need to run Windows XP without rebooting your Windows 7 PC, the answer might be 'Yes.'

XP Mode is free to try right now with Windows 7 RC, and if you want to use its final version after Windows 7 goes live, be sure to upgrade to Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, or Enterprise editions (it will be free for those editions, but will not work with Home Premium).

Tell us how you're doing with XP Mode - click Comment to get started.

More About XP Mode for Windows 7

Mark Edward Soper — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 17:58:29 -0500

Tuesday, Microsoft clarified exactly what Windows 7 users will need if they want to run XP Mode (officially known as XP Virtual Machine). Although it appeared initially that XP Mode would include Windows XP SP3, Cnet's Ina Fried reports that users will need to supply their own licensed copies of Windows XP SP3 to go along with the free XP Mode download for Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate editions.

As we reported Monday, XP Mode will indeed require hardware virtualization support in the processor, meaning that low-end processors as well as some older mid-range and high-end processors from Intel and AMD won't support XP Mode. Microsoft also states that computers will need at least 2GB of memory to run XP Mode. Thankfully, potential XP Mode users won't need to wait until after Windows 7 ships to see if XP Mode works for them: Fried states that Microsoft will roll out a beta of XP Mode at the same time as Windows 7 RC - May 5th for most of us.

So, who exactly is XP Mode designed for? If you haven't guessed already, it's designed for businesses using Windows XP. Here's why (from the Microsoft PressPass Q&A):

Windows XP Mode is best suited for older business and productivity applications such as accounting, inventory and similar applications. Windows XP Mode is not aimed at consumers because many consumer applications require extensive use of hardware interfaces such as 3-D graphics, audio, and TV tuners that do not work well under virtualization today.

In other words, if you want hardcore gaming on Windows XP, virtualization is not for you.

If you need to manage XP Mode on your business PCs, though, Microsoft is rolling out an update to its MED-V management tool for Virtual PC. MED-V 2.0 will be available in beta form within 90 days of the general release of Windows 7.

Keep tuned to Maximumpc.com for more about Windows 7 RC and XP Mode.