Machine Emulation & Developer Workstation Environment –

Microsoft’s VirtualPC

Dan Dyer

Metrolist, Inc.

Examples of what Virtual PC can do:

• Enable installation of a refrigerator in your workspace

• Increase quality of life by 2% per year

• Allow you to build a trebuchet

How a VPC works

• Simulates generic Intel hardware and drivers

• Emulation begins with the BIOS

• Shares hardware with host machine– Optical Drives/ISO image mounting

Features• Most x86 OSs supported

Features• Multiple VPCs on one machine

– Limited only by RAM and disk space

Results: More machines & space

Multiple VPCs per computer = more floor space

Increased floor space +

lower heat output =

refrigerator* in your workspace

*Not provided by Virtual PC

Configurability

• CPU prioritizing

Configurability

• RAM allocation

Features

• Dynamic/Fixed virtual hard drives– Expand/contract

• Linked hard drives– Link directly to physical disk

• Differencing hard drives– Users all share one network drive– Differences saved in local file

Features

• Saved states– Fast startup/shutdown

• Undo disks– Restore system to previous state

Results: Efficient machine mgmt

VPC State management and restoration =

7.63% reduction in stress*

Average stress reduction per week = 3.6 hours

Additional stress-free days per year = 7.8

Approximate yearly happiness increase = 2.1%

*Individual results may vary

Benefits

• Portability– Copy virtual machines to any location

• Stability– Crashes only affect specific virtual machine

• Archivability– Preserve legacy/reference sites

• Compartmentalizationability– Conflicting products run on same machine

Benefits

• Test installations– Reset OS environment between tests– Test automated OS deployment

• Networking– Test remote deployment– Simulate production network– Honeypots

Results: More Time

Portability + Stability + Compartmentalizationability =

extra time to build one of these:

Image courtesy of www.cathares.org

Coming: Virtual Server 2005

• Release date: November 2005

• Web-based Administrative Interface

• Migration Toolkit– Transfer physical installations to virtual

• Supports Windows Server 2003 64-bit

• Expanded Linux support

• 180 day trial now available

Additional Link

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtualpc/evaluation/evalguide.mspx