RTM = Released to Manufacturing
SCVMM = System Center Virtual Machine Manager
and JAFJ = Jump Around for Joy! Woohoo!
Yesterday, the product responsible announced that they have “shipped” System Center Virtual Machine Manager?
“Cool, Kevin… but what is it?”
This is another in the suite of System Center tools… and it manages virtual machines. Hence the name. Duh! Some of you who have been watching the SCVMM site may recall that I interviewed Edwin Yuen about System Center Virtual Machine manager after his talk at TechEd this year in Orlando.
You really should take a look at this tool if you’re considering managing virtual machines in your IT admin plans. It is the future of virtual server management; really at the heart of doing true “dynamic systems”, were we can provision, allocate, and re-allocate or distribute “servers” to our host hardware based on usage and current needs.
“Is this a tool for Windows Server 2008’s Windows Server Virtualization (WSV)?”
Not at this time – because WSV isn’t released yet. And so this version doesn’t support that capability. But yes, eventually it will – and this is going to be the way you’ll want to manage your virtual machines on their respective hosts in the new WSV world as well.
“Show it to me! I want to see it in action!”
You’re in luck! My teammate and friend Keith Combs has put together some FANTASTIC screencasts to show off how it all works. Check out his blog post here, which includes a great write-up and links to his screencasts.
“Cool! Can I get it now?”
Well.. the evaluation will be available soon at this location. As you may recall from Windows Vista when it RTM’d last November… RTM doesn’t mean “on store shelves now” or “available for purchase now”. It means, “We’ve signed off and are ready to ship this sucka!” The pricing has been announced here. And you should really check the deals you get when you buy it as part of an Enterprise suite.
Absolutely Full of I.T. 