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Automating Development and Testing Through Virtualization

Automating Development and Testing Through Virtualization. Anil Desai Austin Code Camp (Austin .NET User’s Group) March 4 th , 2006. Outline. Virtual Server Architecture Managing VMs Managing Virtual Hard Disks Managing Virtual Networks Managing Removable Media Monitoring Performance

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Automating Development and Testing Through Virtualization

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  1. Automating Development and Testing Through Virtualization Anil Desai Austin Code Camp (Austin .NET User’s Group) March 4th, 2006

  2. Outline • Virtual Server Architecture • Managing VMs • Managing Virtual Hard Disks • Managing Virtual Networks • Managing Removable Media • Monitoring Performance • Virtualization Best Practices

  3. Virtualization Features • Benefits • Simplified administration • Hardware independence/portability • Increased hardware utilization • Server consolidation • Decreased provisioning times • Improved security • Scenarios • Software Development • Testing / Quality Assurance • Product evaluations / demonstrations • Training • Disaster Recovery

  4. Development/Testing-Related Scenarios • Setting up a complex test lab • Testing multi-tier applications • Isolated networks • Simulating multiple clients • Rapid setup and tear-down of test environments • Consistent configurations • Ability to easily roll-back changes • Automation of VM setup and software installation • Other Benefits • Portability of VMs • Duplication of errors • Simplified administration

  5. Virtual Server Architecture An Overview of Virtual Server 2005

  6. Virtual Server Overview

  7. Virtual Server Components • Virtual Server Components • Virtual Server Service (vssrvc.exe) • Virtual Machine Helper (vmh.exe) • Virtual Server Administration Web Site • Virtual Machine Remote Console (VMRC) • New Features in Virtual Server 2005 R2 • 64-bit Host OS Support • Improved Guest OS Support • Updated Virtual Machine Additions • Improved performance • Other Features: • Virtual SCSI Driver • Virtual Disk Precompactor • Support for PXE booting

  8. Virtual Server Features: Improved performance (multi-threaded) Web-Based Administration Scripting and automation support (COM API) Improved security Advanced networking Manageability SCSI Device Support Reliability/availability features (clustering) Virtual PC Features: Optimized for one or a few concurrent VMs (single-threaded) Simplified administration Sound card emulation Easier file sharing Automatic client desktop resizing Virtual Server vs. Virtual PC

  9. VM Compatibility (VPC vs. Virtual Server) • Compatible: • Virtual machine hardware platform • VM configuration files (.vmc) • Virtual hard disk files (.vhd) • Differencing disks • Undo disks (.vud) • Incompatible: • Saved-state files (.vsv) • SCSI-mounted virtual hard disks • CD/DVD-ROM devices (VirtualPC = 1; Virtual Server = 4) • Sound card support (not available in VirtualPC) • Network files

  10. Installing Virtual Server • Pre-Installation: • Admin Web Site Requires IIS (Application Server Role) • On Windows XP, new Virtual Directory will be created • On Windows Server, new web site will be created (port 1024) • Warning: Network connections will be temporarily dropped during installation • Administration Web Site: • Default URL: http://ServerName:1024/VirtualServer/VSWebApp.exe • Basic Virtual Server Settings • Search Paths • Enabling the VMRC Server • Viewing the Event Log

  11. Emulated Hardware Platform

  12. Creating a New VM • VM Hardware Configuration (demo) • OS Installation Options: • 1) Physical Media • 2) ISO Files • 3) Network-Based Installations • 4) Automated deployment • Installing the Virtual Machine Additions • Improved general performance • Improved mouse and keyboard support • Time synchronization with the host • VM “heartbeats” • Enabling Remote Management in the Guest

  13. Virtual Server Files

  14. Automating Virtual Server Accessing the Virtual Server COM API

  15. Introduction to the Object Model • Setup installs the “Virtual Server 2005 Type Library” • Can be accessed directly using VBScript • Can be added as a COM reference in Visual Studio 6.0 / Visual Studio .NET • VirtualServer object • Connect to a local or remote instance of Virtual Server • Add/Remove virtual machines • .VirtualMachines collection provides list of defined VMs • .FindVirtualMachine method used for getting a VM object by name • Create “global” objects: virtual networks, virtual hard disks, etc. • VirtualMachine object • Represents an existing virtual machine • Control VM power states (turn on, turn off, etc.) • Contains properties and collections for the virtual hardware configuration • .Accountant can be used to get performance statistics

  16. Setup: Visual Studio .NET • Add the COM reference for “Virtual Server 2005 R2 Type Library” • Add the namespace of Microsoft.VirtualServer.Interop • Should use the multi-threaded apartment (MTA) model (STA may cause performance problems) • COM Security: • Virtual Server requires “Impersonation” (or higher) level • “Identification” is the default, therefore must call CoIntializeEx(), then CoInitializeSecurity() before accessing the Virtual Server Interfaces • Alternatively, use DComCnfg.exe (or the Component Services Administrative Tool) and modify the Default Properties to set the Default Impersonation Level to “Impersonate” • Visual Studio 2005: • Disable debugging under the Visual Studio host process to prevent COM security errors • In Visual Studio, click on the Properties of a project, then uncheck “Enable the Visual Studio hosting process.” • More information: • Virtual Server Programmer’s Guide (full sample code for C#) • Blog: “Programming Virtual Server from a managed application” (Ben Armstrong)

  17. VM Power States • Virtual Machine power operations: • Turn On / Turn Off • Reset • Shut Down Guest OS • Save State • Pause • Guest OS Power Management • Standby • Suspend • Hibernate • By default, VMs are placed in Saved State when the Virtual Server service is stopped • VMs are not automatically started, by default

  18. Virtual Machines: Tips • Whenever possible, store files for each VM in a single folder • Moving/Copying VMs: • Shut down (or save state of) the virtual machine. • Move or copy all required files to the destination server. • Add the virtual machine on the destination server (using the Virtual Server Administration web site) • If the path to any physical VHD file has changed, edit the configuration of the virtual machine to point to the new physical location • (Optional) Remove the VM from the source server (to prevent conflicts)

  19. Disk Architecture: Technical Overview

  20. Base Virtual Hard Disk Types • Base Disk Types: • Fixed-Size VHDs • Best performance, lowest space utilization • Dynamically-Expanding VHDs • Overhead due to expansion and fragmentation • Can be compacted to reclaim space • Linked Disks • Links to an entire physical disk (not just a volume) • Used primarily for physical-to-virtual (P2V) conversions • Virtual Attachment Options: • IDE • 2 channels * 2 devices each • Up to 127GB disk size • SCSI • Up to 4 controllers * 7 devices each • Up to 2.0TB disk size

  21. State-Related Disks • Undo Disks (.vud) • Applies to an entire virtual machine • Options: • Keep • Commit • Discard • Differencing Disks (.vhd) • Can be based on fixed-size, dynamically-expanding, or linked hard disks • Allows the creation of a disk hierarchy • Parent disks must be read-only • Saved-state files (.vsv) • Contains contents of memory • Virtual Server automatically reserves disk space based on memory allocation

  22. Undo Disks: Example

  23. Differencing Disks: Example

  24. Merging Differencing Disks

  25. Managing Virtual Hard Disks • Converting VHDs • Fixed-Size  Dynamically-Expanding • Linked disk to Fixed-size or dynamically-expanding • Compacting VHDs • Disk space requirements • Use the Virtual Disk Precompactor • Can be very resource intensive • Disk Defragmentation • Host: Optimizes VHD file placement • Guest: Reduces IO within the VM

  26. VHD Management: Objects

  27. Disk Management: Scripting • Enumerating virtual hard disk files • objVirtualMachine.HardDiskConnections • Collection of Hard Disk Connection objects • objHDConnection.HardDisk.File • Phyiscal filename/path of the VHD file • Creating virtual hard disks • objVirtualMachine.CreateDynamicVirtualHardDisk(path, size) • objVirtualMachine.CreateFixedVirtualHardDisk(path, size) • objVirtualServer.CreateDifferencingVirtualHardDisk (path, ParentPath) • Adding a virtual hard disk: • objVirtualMachine.AddHardDiskConnection (path, BusType, BusNumber, DeviceNumber)

  28. Disk Management Tips: • Monitor Disk Space • PerfMon: Logical Disk  % Free Space • Use Virtual Server / Virtual Machine events to send alerts • Host Interface Types: • IDE • Serial ATA (SATA) • SCSI • RAID Controllers • Performance Tips • Separate files across multiple spindles • Use SCSI disks within the virtual machine • Monitor disk resource usage to better distribute virtual machines

  29. Managing Media: Overview • Changing media: • Media can be mounted/changed while the VM is running • Media devices can only be added or removed when the VM is not running • Hardware: • Can have up to four virtual CD/DVD devices and one floppy device • Can capture a physical device on the host or capture image files • Image File Types: • ISO Images: • Can represent CD or DVD media • Read-only • Floppy Disk Images • Can be created within Virtual Server • Read/Write

  30. Managing Media: Scripts • Adding/Removing DVD ROM drives: • objVirtualMachine.DVDROMDrives: Collection of VMDVDDrive objects • objVirtualMachine.AddDVDROMDrive(BusType, BusNumber, DeviceNumber) • objVirtualMachine.RemoveDVDROMDrive(VMDVDDrive object) • Capturing Media: • objDVDRomDrive.AttachHostDrive(string HostDriveLetter) • objDVDRomDrive.AttachImage(string path) • objDVDRomDrive.ReleaseImage(string path) • Tips: • Mounting media files is useful for software deployment/updates • Use startup Registry keys to automatically install software

  31. Network Architecture: Overview

  32. Network Automation

  33. Network Architecture: Details • Virtual network options: • Guest-only • Host Network • Guest-to-host only (through Microsoft Loopback Adapter) • Network Adapters • All Ethernet NIC types are supported • The Virtual Machine Networking Service must be enabled for Virtual Server to use the adapter • Each VM can have up to four virtual NICs • A dedicated NIC can be used for Virtual Server • Only the Virtual Machine Networking Service must be bound • More Features • Virtual DHCP Server for each virtual network • Integration with Internet Connection Firewall (ICF) and Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)

  34. Networking: Scripting • Managing Virtual Networks: • objVirtualServer.VirtualNetworks • Collection of virtual networks • objVirtualServer.CreateVirtualNetwork (name, path) • objVirtualServer.RegisterVirtualNetwork (name, path) • Managing Virtual Network Adapters • objVirtualMachine.NetworkAdapters • Collection of network adapter objects • objNetworkAdapter.AttachToVirtualNetwork() • objNetworkAdapter.AttachToVirtualNetwork(NetworkName) • objNetworkAdapter.DetachFromVirtualNetwork()

  35. Network-Based Storage • Improving Performance: • Use NIC Teaming • Fail-over • Load-balancing • Use Jumbo Frames • Remote Storage • CIFS / SMB (UNC Shares) • Multiple VMs can access the same files • Network-Attached Storage (NAS) • Dedicated “appliances” that provide file-level I/O • Storage Area Networks (SANs) • Fibre Channel-based, block-level I/O • High performance, but highest cost • iSCSI • Block-level I/O over Ethernet • Performance benefits of SANs with much lower costs (uses copper) • Supported on the Host OS as well as from within Guest OS’s

  36. Networking: ICF and ICW

  37. Networking: Firewalls

  38. CPU Management • CPU Resource Allocation • Weight-Based Resource Allocation • Simpler method (single number to adjust) • Ensures full resource usage • Constraint-Based Resource Allocation • Reserved capacity • Maximum capacity • More complicated, but finer-grained control • Host CPU Options: • Hyper-Threading • Dual-Core / Multi-Core • 64-Bit (Large Memory Support) • Virtualization Support • AMD’s “Pacifica” • Intel’s VT • Heat-Related Issues • CPUs will automatically step-down when heat thresholds are exceeded

  39. CPU Management: Example

  40. CPU Management: Scripting • CPU Performance History • objVirtualMachine.Account.CPUUtilization • Last CPU utilization statistic • objVirtualMachine.Account.CPUUtilizationHistory • Array of CPU util. stats • Viewing CPU Settings • objVirtualMachine.Accountant. • .relativeWeight • .reservedSystemCapacity • .allowableMaximumSystemCapacity • .allowableReservedSystemCapacity • .NET Apps can also easily use system performance counters

  41. Managing Memory • Memory Architecture • Virtual Server can use all of the memory avaialble to the host OS • For 32-bit, large memory support, enable PAE • For large installations, 64-bit is better • Up to 3.6GB of physical memory per VM • Memory settings can be changed only when VM is turned off • Be sure to leave physical memory for the host OS • Allow an additional ~32MB for each virtual machine (virtualization overhead) • Physical memory cannot be over-committed • Scripting Memory Settings • objVirtualMachine.Memory property • Amount of Memory (in bytes) (read-write property)

  42. VMRC: Overview • Configuring the VMRC Server • VMRC Server is disabled by • Enabled in Server Properties (VS Admin Web Site) • Potential security issues with default configuration: • Unencrypted communications • NTLM security • Can customize TCP address and ports • Can enable SSL/TLS security • Encryption • Certificates • VMRC Client • ActiveX control that can be hosted in IE or within a client app • COM Reference: • Virtual Machine Remote Control (VMRC) ActiveX client type library • Added to .NET namespace VMRCClientControl.Interop • In Visual Studio, add the ActiveX control using Tools  Choose Toolbox Items. Under “COM Components”, enable “Microsoft Virtual Server VMRC Control”

  43. Virtualization Best Practices Tips and techniques for making the most of virtualization

  44. Managing Performance • Profile your applications • Windows System Monitor • Counter Logs • Event Viewer • Task Manager • Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) • Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) • Systems Management Server (SMS) • Monitoring Approach: • Host Server: Aggregate performance data • Guest OS: Detailed resource usage

  45. VM Maintenance • Establish a base library of images • Ensures consistency • Helps in troubleshooting • Prepare VMs for duplication (SysPrep) • Create a Library of ISO files • Manage virtual machines as if they were physical machines • Security updates • Automatic Updates (if supported in Guest OS) • Microsoft Baseline Security Analyzer (MBSA) • Windows Server Update Services (SUS) • Patches • Corporate security standards • Configure anti-spyware / anti-malware exceptions • *.vhd, *.vud, *.vsv, *.iso • Automate common tasks

  46. VM Backup and Recovery • Backup and Recovery • Option 1: • Shut down/save state of the VM • Copy all required files. • Resume the VM • Option 2: • Use Backup Agents within the Guest OS. • Automating backups: • Build scripts/applications to automate virtual machine backup and recovery: • 1) Save state of the virtual machine • 2) Copy all related files • 3) Resume the virtual machine

  47. More Best Practices • “Virtualization on a stick!” • Use removable media for creating portable VMs • Treat virtual machines like physical ones • Standard security and maintenance practices • Consider performing Physical to Virtual (p2v) migrations • Virtual Server Migration Toolkit (VSMT) • Third-party utilities

  48. The Future of Virtualization • Other Virtualization Platforms: • VMWare: • Workstation • GSX Server • ESX Server • XEN Open Source Virtualization Platform • CPUs: • Intel • AMD • Sun • Third-Party Vendors • Windows Vista / Longhorn Server • Virtualization will use a “hypervisor” approach and will be included in the platform

  49. References • Microsoft Resources • Microsoft Virtual Server Web Site • Downloadable White Papers and updates • Pricing and licensing information • Microsoft Virtual Server Script Repository • Hundreds of sample scripts (VBScript format) • “Program Customized Testing Environments Without Trashing Your Machine” (Ben Waldron, MSDN Magazine) • Community Resources • http://AnilDesai.net • Virtualization.info (blog) • Virtual PC Guy’s WebLog (Ben Armstrong)

  50. For More Information • Do More With Less: The Power of Virtualization • Microsoft TechNet Magazine (March, 2006) • http://www.microsoft.com/technet/technetmag/ • The Rational Guide to Managing Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 (Anil Desai) • Q1, 2006 • The Rational Guide to Scripting Virtual Server 2005 (Anil Desai) • Q2, 2006 • Contact Anil Desai • E-Mail: Anil@AnilDesai.net • Web Site: http://AnilDesai.net • Copies of the slides and source code

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