Real World Computing
MAPS accelerator
Review settings
I specified my logon details and then picked the part of AD where I wanted the search to take place (I could have just told it "find everything, everywhere"). If you plump for the lot, you'll get a list of domains and workgroups found, and then you'll be asked for the remote accounts to use for WMI. That done, I saw a list of the options I'd chosen, and being happy with them all I hit the Finish button. Depending on how many systems are going to be checked, this could take some time, so I went and made a cup of coffee. Once the survey had completed, the status screen updated to show what was and wasn't achieved. Clicking on Close took me back to MAPS, where I could choose to view the reports and proposals that were generated during the survey. My experience was that where the survey had failed to contact a particular machine (such as the machines I deliberately broke), the Excel worksheet told me specifically what was wrong, which makes it easy to fix. My next port of call in the worksheet was the tab labelled ServerDeviceSummary, which is where all the drivers the tool can find are listed, and next to each is a cell full of data as to whether or not there's a Windows Server 2008 driver available: in each case, I received the reassuring message, "No action required. Driver is available on the Windows Server 2008 DVD". Well let's hope so.
There's a ton of data to look through in the Excel worksheets, as there is in the Word document that talks you through Windows Server 2008, why you might want to switch to it, and assesses your surveyed systems for suitability. It also provides you with a nice long list entitled "Next Steps" and those are the ones I'll be looking at next month, as I take the plunge and go for a full Windows Server 2008 installation onto a Dell PowerEdge SC1425, based on the reports generated by the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Solution Accelerator. See you then.
David Moss
Virtual machine licensing
A few months back, I covered the issue of using virtual machines under Windows Server, and specifically the licensing facility that allows you to run four VMs if you have an Enterprise Server licence and unlimited VMs if you have Datacenter. I was of the opinion that this licensing option only applied if the base OS on your machine was said copy of Windows Server, either Enterprise or Datacenter versions, and didn't apply if you were running on a different VM host such as for VMware ESX for example. I reported how I'd said this to Microsoft spokespersons, who'd provided me with the URL of a well-hidden document that showed that in fact you are licensed for running on a non-Windows host base OS. I was happy to clarify this point, but I've had lots of emails from readers who are completely confused about what this actually means in practice, so I want to take another look at the topic. I've also exchanged emails with several important "Softies", but I'll confess that I haven't yet had any definitive answer from the lawyers who make all the decisions in such matters. As I understand it, this is the state of play.
Let's begin with Enterprise Server, which comes with four VM licences plus the base licence. The first surprise is that the base licence, which is installed onto the base metal of the hardware, is a licence to run the OS but not to use any of its features - in other words, it's there to let you run the Virtual Machine engine and service any plumbing requirements to host those VMs, but you can't slap Exchange Server, or SQL Server - or even, I assume, websites - directly onto the base OS.
