Virtual PC & Server (SBS 2003 to Windows Server 2008)

Due to the host dependancies of many aspects of the domain I've decided to try out MS Virtual Server 2005 along with Virtual PC for testing purposes.

I have been quite satisfied with these products, especially Virtual PC as it is free (*see comment). The guest operating system files can be moved between Virtual PC and Virtual Server, this is ideal as working with the Virtal PC rendering of the guest O/S is much easier the the Server Client access. I get the O/S running with RDP as soon as I can, then I can leave the host machine and connect the guest O/S from somewhere more comfortable, i.e. teh deck.

For testing I still need to read up on accessing peripheral devices such as Web Cams and TV tuners, but no great need for these at the moment.

The Virtual Server provides a nice summary page from the HTTP access, a screen shot follows. I only have one O/S installed as the test box is very limited.



the Virtual Server native client is a little clunky, and for "console" access, Virtual PC works better for me, the following is a screen shot of Virtual PC to provide a contrast. Note the host is a dual processor machine, and as per microsoft documentation, only 1 of the processes is used in the guess O/S.



2-Apr-2008

My initial judgement of the remote client was ill-founded, and was a reflection of the hardware rather than the application. Now that I have completed the feasibility testing I invested in better, dedicated, hardware (Core 2 Quad 2.5 [1333] & 8GB DDR2 [800] RAM) and have found the remote client experience pleasurable.

Note: Had to downloaded the x64 Virtual Server as the 32bit version is not compatible with 2003 x64, but the quest O/S (32bit) run successfully on the x64 Virtual Server.



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