Virtualization questions and answers

Paul's picture
17
2009

In this section I will try to answer questions posted by the members of this site.
Simply post your question as a comment on this page and I'll do my best to reply.

Paul's picture
Virtualization question 1

You paint a very positive picture of virtualization but have you come across any situations where it causes problems?

I haven't come across any real problems but users need to bear in mind that if the host requires a restart then so do all the guest VMs. I have minimized the requirement for restarts by installing only VMWare Server on the hosts. However, on occasions Microsoft issues ‘patches' which require a restart.
 
Corporate versions of VMWare server (such as ESX) that have an embedded, lightweight, custom kernel, would tend to further minimize the need for host restarts.

Paul's picture
Virtualization question 2

Is it possible to move a VM between hosts?

Yes, moving a VM is a relatively simple process, since it is a collection of data files. In fact VMWare ESX has functionality that permits movement of a VM between hosts without shutting the VM down.