Nelson Araujo's WebLog : Virtual Server Deployment Manager (VSDM)

Updating a template

Nelson Araujo — Tue, 04 Apr 2006 07:26:00 GMT

Due to the way the file system is organized into the disk, it is not possible to patch the disk on the parent without invalidating (thus destroying all modifications made since then).

The recommended procedure to update a template would be:

Create a new Virtual Machine from a template
Install updates and make any other changes you wish
Save & Commit the VM
Move the updated VHD file to the template folder (with another name different from the current template)
Update the <Template> entry with the information

Change the ID of the template
Add the same path
Keep the same <Name> & <Description>

Mark the original template as disabled

After that any new VM created will use the new template. You can use the report on the Administration section to monitor when the old template is idle

Delete the original template when it is idle

Installing VSDM on a 64-bits Windows Server System 2003

Nelson Araujo — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 02:04:00 GMT

VSDM works on a 64-bits system. To enable it the system needs to be correctly configured. Please follow the steps below to enable VSDM to run on those systems.

System Requirements

Install Virtual Server 2005 AMD64
Install .NET Framework 1.1
Install .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack
Execute the following command from a Command Prompt window:
cscript %SystemDrive%\inetpub\AdminScripts\adsutil.vbs set w3svc/AppPools/Enable32bitAppOnWin64 1

Security: Do not forget to visit Windows Update (or Microsoft Update) to make sure all the installed software is up-to-date with the latest critical security patches available.

Installing VSDM

After you meet the requirements above, follow the normal installation and configuration of VSDM. No other changes are necessary to run VSDM on a 64-bits system other than configuring the server correctly.

Automating VSDM via scripts

Nelson Araujo — Wed, 18 Jan 2006 23:39:00 GMT

Sample scripts are bundled with VSDM in its installation folder (by default C:\Program Files\VSDM\samples). It is recommended that you have some understanding of the VSDM solution before continuing to read this article.

Option Explicit
Dim server
Dim wsh
Dim inet
Dim newVM
Dim vmName
Dim template
Dim network
Dim vmID
Dim rand

' This variable points to your VSDM server root
' e.g.: http://yourserver:81
server = "http://myserver"

' These variables define your VM name and template used
vmName = "AutomationTest" ' Your machine name
template = "xp-pro" ' Machine template to base on
network = 2 ' 2 = Internal Network (but subject to change)

' Random number to avoid collision when running this sample
rand = Now
rand = Replace(rand, "/", "-")
rand = Replace(rand, ":", "-")

Set wsh = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
Set inet = CreateObject("InternetExplorer.Application")

' Building your VM name
vmID = wsh.ExpandEnvironmentStrings("%USERNAME%." & template & "." & vmName & " " & rand)

' URL to create a new VM
newVM = server & "/vm_ctrl.asp?action=add&name=" & vmID &_
   "&template=" & template &_
   "&types=" & template &_
   "&nettype=" & network

'WScript.Echo "Create <[" & newVM & "]>"

' Call the Internet object to perform the action
WScript.Echo "Performing action. Please wait..."
inet.Navigate newVM

' Wait the request to complete
while inet.Busy
WScript.Echo "Waiting to complete..."
WScript.Sleep 1000
wend

WScript.Echo "Request completed"

Security: What to configure when using VSDM?

Nelson Araujo — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 01:51:00 GMT

Q: What do I need to configure on Virtual Server or File System to secure my installation?

A: Nothing!

If you are using VSDM to manage your Virtual Server, whenever you apply the Security Policy VSDM automatically hardens Virtual Server and File System for you. Just make sure your <Security> section (or in the Wizard: Users, Teams, Guests) are correct.

Whenever you change these settings, VSDM will popup a request for you to apply the policy again. Just click the Apply button and you are good to go.

Error "FATAL: Cannot load config file"

Nelson Araujo — Fri, 23 Dec 2005 01:42:00 GMT

If you just installed VSDM and when you create a virtual machine you continuously get this error message, you might be missing some configuration information. To resolve this issue, follow the steps below:

Make sure you log in as administrator
Select "Administration" page on VSDM main page

Tip #1: If you cannot open the page and you get access denied, please review the Security settings of the vsdm_config.xml file or go back to the Wizard and check the settings.

Look at the "System Dashboard" and make sure all the items show a green check
If you have any missing configuration, warning messages will show there. Please act on all of them (usually a "one click" resolve button is provided)

Done, you might be good to start using VSDM.

Tip #2: If your machine is not joined to a domain, only local accounts can be authorized by Windows, even if you come from a domain-joined computer. In this case, please use the computer name as the Domain for the administrator account.

Tip #2.1: You might create local accounts that match the same username and password on the domain and authorize those. Windows will automatically enable them if you are using Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater.

Why my VM does not start?

Nelson Araujo — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 08:07:00 GMT

In my previous post I talked about the need to keep the template ID and VM names small. If you make them too big, your machine might not start. You can check the Virtual Server Web Administration page to make sure this is the reason (Administration > Launch)

You might also inspect your default VMs folder on vsdm_config.xml file. All those ingridients are mixed together and if one or more are too big, it might overflow the OS limit.

Fix: Try to reduce the template ID, machine names and/or folder locations to smaller lengths.

Hint: Keep you Template ID small

Nelson Araujo — Fri, 19 Aug 2005 08:04:00 GMT

A very useful hint for the VSDM administrators: keep the template IDs as small as possible. The Template ID will be used to build the Virtual Machine name, virtual machine folder and other important system information.

The operating system has a maximum file and path names and making either the template ID or the VM name too big (or both) might lead the system to fail to start the VM.

If possible also avoid using spaces or other "funny" characters on it. Dots (".") are definitely prohibited to be used as part of the template ID.

VSDM :: Customizing the help page

Nelson Araujo — Wed, 18 May 2005 10:46:00 GMT

VSDM offers the administrator the option to customize the appearance of the help page. This is very useful to put important information about troubleshooting, contacts and other relevant information for the daily job, without poluting the main page. It is actually very simple to add help topics to VSDM. This feature is not provided by the Configuration Wizard though. You have to edit the vsdm_config.xml directly (with Notepad or any other text or XML editor).

How does it work?

The configuration file contains a section called <HelpTopics> that contains the information that will be presented to users when they visit the help page. For every <HelpTopic> you add to that section, a new item will show up for the users. Simple like that. Let's take a look at an example of a help topic:

<HelpTopic target="_blank">
<Title>Sample Help Topic: Microsoft Web Site</Title>
<URL>http://www.microsoft.com</URL>
</HelpTopic>

HelpTopic Fields

Title (mandatory, node): Text that will be displayed to the user
URL (optional, node): Makes text in <Title> will be presented as a clickable hyperlink, and specifies where the browser should be pointed when clicked.
target (optional, attribute): Specifies the target window to display the help topic. I suggest you leave "_blank". This will make your browser open the topic in a new window.

VSDM :: Displaying notices to users (billboard)

Nelson Araujo — Sat, 30 Apr 2005 07:34:00 GMT

VSDM has a built-in capability of displaying messages, like a billboard. To unveil this feature, you have to edit the vsdm_config.xml directly, as the Wizard does not have support to manage it using the graphical interface.

The only important advise is to be very careful to avoid breaking the XML. I recommend you view the XML file in Internet Explorer to make sure it is well-formed. Start by opening it in IE, then perform the changes and refresh IE. If IE complains the XML is malformed, you mistyped something. Nevertheless important to remember: backup your vsdm_config.xml file before start, just in case something wrong happens.

How does it work?

The configuration file contains a section called <Notices> that contains the information about all notices on the system. A notice can be one of the three possible types: notice, warning or critical. Depending on the type of the notice, its appearance changes (e.g. critical notice appears in red to call for attention). A sample notice entry is displayed below:

<Notice type="notice" date="03/30/2004 10:10" expires="04/01/2006" owner="Jack">
   <Title>Sample Notice</Title>
   <Text>
      This is a sample notice. The color will depend on the type.
   </Text>
</Notice>

Notice Fields

Some fields are mandatory whereas others are not. The list below summarizes the fields you can use in this feature:

Title (mandatory, node): Title of the notice
Text (mandatory, node): Text to be displayed inside the notice
type (mandatory, attribute): Determines the type of the notice. Possible values are: notice, warning and critical
date (optional, attribute, in date format): Date when the notice was published
expires (optional, attribute, in date format): Date when the notice will expire (VSDM will automatically hide all expired notices from users. This field is useful when you know when you should take the notice away)
owner (optional, attribute, text): Name to be displayed as owner of the notice
duration (optional, attribute): Duration of the task (if it is a maintenance for example)

Note: Date format is in the form "MM/DD/YYYY HH:MM" (without quotes)

VSDM :: Installation Guide

Nelson Araujo — Thu, 28 Apr 2005 01:19:00 GMT

Paul Adare created a comprehensive step by step guide on how to install VSDM. The link to the guide is here: http://www.identit.ca/blogs/paul/2005/04/vsdm_installati.php

This is a great addition. Thanks Paul!

VSDM :: Post Installation Steps

Nelson Araujo — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 21:25:00 GMT

Configuring your server proxy settings

VSDM requires internet access to be able to retrieve information about new releases. If you wish to disable this feature, please see the "Enabling/disabling new version check reminders" topic.

The proxy settings are controlled by the <Proxy> section in vsdm_config.xml file (located in the config folder). Please open this file and change the setting, using one of the approaches below:

If you do not have a proxy server

If you have a proxy server but do not require authentication

     <Proxy enabled="true">
       <URL>http://your_proxy_address:80</URL>
     </Proxy>

If you do have a proxy server and require authentication

     <Proxy enabled="true">
       <URL>http://your_proxy_address:80</URL>
       <User>proxyuser</User>
       <Password>proxypass</Password>
     </Proxy>

Note about password security: The proxypass password specified in the <Password> field will not be visible by regular VSDM users. But be aware that the password will be able to be seen to whoever can see the vsdm_config.xml file (usually only VSDM administrators). Please make sure users cannot logon locally to the server if you use password and they shall not see it.

Tip: It is usually more secure to create an exception on your proxy server to allow traffic flow from the VSDM server rather than using the password field. But this depends on the user-by-user scenario, of course.

Where do I get VSDM from?

Nelson Araujo — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 19:43:00 GMT

You can download VSDM 1.3.0 from this location: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=FF59C543-5107-42F6-9252-A8CDE3B53915

VSDM :: Project Home Page

Nelson Araujo — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 05:18:00 GMT

Welcome to VSDM Project Here are some quickly links to get you started with the VSDM solution What is VSDM? What is a template? Where do I download VSDM from? Step by step Installation Guide Post Installation steps Frequently asked questions In this web...(read more)

VSDM :: Frequently Asked Questions (Q 'n' A)

Nelson Araujo — Fri, 15 Apr 2005 04:16:00 GMT

Q: What do I need to be able to see my Virtual Machine's console? A: You have to enable VMRC on your Virtual Server (VS) administrative console. This is the only step you must do from the original VS administration. Follow the steps below to enable it:...(read more)

What is a template?

Nelson Araujo — Thu, 14 Apr 2005 03:17:00 GMT

A VSDM "Template" is a Virtual Machine Hard Disk image that is used as a master image. Like the image that generates a CD that will be applied to a blank media, a virtual template works in an analogous way. Once the user creates an image based on the...(read more)