VMware Server 2.0…

I’ve just taken the first tentative steps into the world of VMware Server 2.0. I had read some blogs posts about people experiencing issues and reverting to the previous version, but so far so good. I’ve installed it on my laptop and upgraded the VMware Tools on VMs and it all seems to be behaving so far.

Running previous VMware Server versions on Vista had one big drawback. The first VM to start after a reboot caused the whole laptop to hang for 5-10 minutes. Version 2.0 seems to have solved this problem. No hangs and the VMs seem to start pretty fast.

Version 2.0 also includes support for RHEL5 and its clones.

When I get back home I’ll have to give it a try on my main machine and see how RAC installations cope.

Cheers

Tim…

Vista SP1 and VMware Server 1.0.5…

Anyone following my tweets last night would know I installed Vista SP1 and VMware Server 1.0.5 last night.

While I was doing the Oracle workshops I didn’t really want to mess with my laptop much, but now I’m having a right good rummage.

The Windows Vista SP1 installation took about 45 minutes and didn’t report any problems. Since the install I’ve seen no problems. My AntiVirus software (AVG) works without complaint. My VPN software (Checkpoint) is happy as Larry. The box still talks to my Linux boxes and my NAS, which is a Linux appliance using Samba. So all in all it worked out OK, considering the various worry mongering going on in the press.

Remember, this is one laptop being used by a computer gumby. I’m not suggesting it’s safe for your whole organization to go Vista ans SP1. I just thought it was worth a mention.

While I was waiting for the SP1 installation I thought I’d give VMware Server 1.0.5 a go on my Linux (CentOS 5) server. It installed fine, and apart from having to update my VMware tools on each VM, everything ran as before. There doesn’t seem to be anything new compared to 1.0.4, probably just bug fixes, but I guess the big change will be when version 2.0 comes out of beta.

Once the SP1 installation was complete I put the new version of VMware Server on my laptop and it worked fine there also.

So it was a pretty successful evening, considering the devastation that could have resulted. 🙂

Cheers

Tim…

WordPress 2.3 and VMware Server 1.0.4…

It’s been an exciting couple of days on the upgrade front…

First, VMware released VMware Server 1.0.4. Don’t expect any new functionality. I can’t see anything different here, but it allegedly contains a whole bunch of security fixes, which is nice. Still no RHEL5 in the guest OS list, and the Vista support is still labeled as experimental. Both OS work fine, but I would have thought by now they could have sorted this. I guess you get what you pay for… 🙂

Next, WordPress released version 2.3 of their blogging software. If you’re reading this, the upgrade when well. 🙂

Happy upgrading…

Cheers

Tim…