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This update is free to all Parallels customers and evaluators.

The Workstation 2.1 update includes fixes for:

• Fedora Core 5 Linux installation problems
• Incorrect initialization of VT-x mode
• Minor Windows and Linux primary OS bugs
• Inoperable keyboard in RealVNC remote session
• Activation from non-root user account
• USB scanner operation
• The segmentation fault that sometimes occurs when working with USB
• The exception fault that sometimes occurs when compacting virtual disk image

This is a free upgrade to Parallels version 2.0 owners, for anyone else it is just $49.99 per license @ http://www.parallels.com

New features in 2.1 include:

• A completely redesigned, visually stunning user interface
• Stronger virtual machine performance, stability and isolation
• USB support enables users to access a wide range of popular USB devices like flash drives and PDAs directly in virtual machines.
• "Suspend and Resume" functionality that lets users instantly suspend a virtual machine's state and resume it at a later time without having to completely shut down and start up a guest operating system.
• Support for Physical Address Extension (PAE) allows Workstation 2.1 to run on PAE-enabled primary OSes with up to 4GB of RAM.
• Wireless networking support in Windows frees users from network cables. Now, users can connect virtual machines to the internet via any WiFi connection.
• Stronger support for Intel VT® technology and a more complex virtual processor significantly improve performance of a wide range of applications running in virtual machines.
• An improved, redesigned Parallels Tools package for Windows that provides useful add-on features that let each user customize their Parallels Workstation experience.
• New tools include guest/host time synchronization and complete support for normal video modes in Windows 95, 98 and Me.
• Support for dual-monitor mode enables users to export a virtual machine to a secondary display
• New "Compact Hard Disk" feature that removes unused space from expanding virtual machine hard drives, increasing the free disk space of the primary OS
• Primary and guest OS support for SuSE Linux 10, and guest OS support for Sun Solaris
• Improved OS/2 guest OS performance
• Fixes for Workstation 2.0 and 2.1 beta bugs that were found by our customers and downloaders

Wyse Collaborates With VMware To Deliver Enhanced Virtual Desktop Solutions And Joins VMware Community Source Program

Collaboration Offers Enterprise Customers Broad-scale Access to Industry-leading Virtualized Thin-Computing Solutions

SAN JOSE, Calif. and PALO ALTO, Calif. – 03/14/2006 - Wyse Technology, the global leader in thin computing, today announced that it is teaming with VMware, the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems, to deliver enhanced virtual desktop computing solutions. Wyse and VMware plan to work cooperatively on joint engineering projects, customer engagements, channel partner programs, and co-marketing initiatives.

As a key first phase of the collaboration, Wyse has joined the VMware Community Source program and plans to integrate its Wyse infrastructure deployment and management solutions with the VMware virtual infrastructure, across its thin-client platform portfolio: Windows XPe, Windows CE, Wyse Thin OS and Linux.

“We are very excited about working with VMware to deliver the combined benefits of virtualization and thin computing to our enterprise customers,” said Ali Fenn, Vice President Business Development & Alliances at Wyse Technology. “Both companies are committed to providing an end-to-end solution that makes for seamless adoption of this exciting new technology. A virtualized environment is the perfect complement for our thin clients, allowing customers to easily deploy integrated, end-to-end solutions.”

“Over the years many of VMware’s customers have extended their VMware virtual infrastructure, originally deployed for server consolidation, to also consolidate full end-user desktop environments onto centrally managed servers. This approach delivers a unique set of combination of increased security and reduced IT management costs while preserving compatibility with a dedicated end-user desktop model,” said Brian Byun, Vice President of Products and Alliances at VMware. “We are excited to be working with Wyse Technology to combine their leadership in thin computing with our proven capabilities in dynamic, virtualized server infrastructure. We look forward to enhancing our joint virtual desktop solutions through the VMware Community Source program.”

Wyse and VMware are designing their enhanced virtualized thin computing joint solutions to enable customers to easily deploy virtual desktop solutions across the enterprise. Using a combination of VMware virtual infrastructure and Wyse’s thin computing hardware and software, corporate IT administrators will be enabled to deploy virtual desktop environments to their end users using Wyse’s technology for device and user management while maintaining the central management, control and security benefits of their data center VMware virtual infrastructure.

About Wyse Technology

Wyse Technology is the global leader in thin computing. Wyse and its partners deliver the hardware, infrastructure software, and services that comprise thin computing, allowing people to access the information they need using the applications they want, but with better security, manageability, and at a much lower total cost of ownership than a PC. Thin computing allows CIOs and senior IT professionals to reduce costs, manage risk, and deliver access to information. Wyse is headquartered in San Jose, California, with offices worldwide.

For more information, visit the Wyse website at http://www.wyse.com or call 1-800-GET-WYSE

About VMware, Inc.

VMware, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC), is the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems. The world's largest companies use VMware solutions to simplify their IT, fully leverage their existing computing investments and respond faster to changing business demands. VMware is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit http://www.vmware.com or call 650-475-5000.

This is one of the questions that my sys-admin and I were asking last year at VMWorld... It only seems logical that if VMware is pushing the Virtual Hosted Destop solution to enterprises, they should team with someone to provide a solution for the desk-end of the problem. Here at my day-job, we use 2x's ThinClientServer. Not only is it cost-effective, but it also helps us re-use old PCs.

In an email to beta testers of VMware ESX 3.0 / Virtual Center 2.0 Beta customers, VMware announced that they plan to support x86 Solaris 10 U1 32bit in the upcoming release:

Solaris Support: VMware is now planning to include official support for x86 Solaris 10 U1 32-bit in ESX Server 3.0/VirtualCenter 2.0. We encourage customers who have an interest in running Solaris in a virtual machine to try it out as soon as possible during the beta phase. As with any functionality in the beta products, our goal is to get the earliest possible visibility into issues that may need to be addressed, so that the support can be delivered according to plan.

Also, it seems that they are also still accepting beta participants. If you're interested, here's the link.

OK, maybe this has nothing to do with virtualization, but it has to do with this website. I've been a slacker this week and that is virtually un-excusable... here's my story and I'm sticking to it:

I've spent most of my off-time the last couple weeks driving back and forth to the hardware stores in Topeka (That's about an hour round trip every time) getting stuff for our bathroom that we're remodeling. Oh what fun! Here's some pictures as proof. Needless to say, the rest of the house is a wreck, especially the kitchen below the bathroom since we had to run all the plumbing down there and then cover it up with soffits.

Excuse number 2 is seen here. Actually, he/she will be number six. FYI: Elmo is not the name we picked for this one... Calling our kids Elmo before they're given their real name has been a family tradition since well before the red guy on PBS.

Starting tomorrow evening I should have lots of time to devote to the site as I will be traveling to Las Vegas for a Nortel conference and to spend a day or two at TelecomNEXT. Since I'm not much of a party animal I'll have evenings off and will be working on my sites.

I've just uploaded an update to the Asterisk@Home virtual machine. It is now at version 2.7. Again, it is a bear-bones install with all usernames and passwords as per the AAH documentation. Click here to go to the original post for a link to download it.

Updates to this VM include many bug fixes (not specified by the developer) and Asterisk 1.2.5 which has tons of changes.

VMware has released the next beta for VMware Server. If you are currently using the first public beta, it is important that you update to this new version before your existing one times out on March 17th. The new version includes many fixes.

Issues Resolved in VMware Server Beta Build 22088:

• Virtual SMP virtual machines suspend automatically after 24 hours.


• Virtual machine might fail to power on when debugging is enabled.
  


• Unable to create new virtual machine over SSL connection.


• "Socket issue" reported when attempting to create virtual machine.

Known Issues:

• Virtual machine running Sun Microsystems Solaris 10 might fail to boot up.


• VMware Management interface may show incorrect information about number of host CPUs.
  


• VMware Management Interface may return to login page unexpectedly.


• VMware Management Interface may display message repeatedly.


• Connect with console to dismiss some hint messages reported in VMware Management Interface.


• Do not mix components of VMware Server and VMware ESX Server or VMware GSX Server.


• Error message when attempting to use GSX Server console is not informative.


• Do not rely on SSL on an unsecure network.


• Check for updates dialog box shows incorrect information about previous check.


• Error message may appear after check for updates.


• Sound driver needed for 64-bit Windows guest operating systems.


• VMware Management Interface log on may fail on some 64-bit Windows Server 2003 hosts.


• Different build number appears in some logs and in Windows interface.


• Do not create virtual machine using a partition as a physical disk.


• Do not use parentheses in the name of a virtual disk.


• Creation of a new folder on a remote host may fail without warning.


• When you shrink a virtual disk, no progress bar appears.


• Omit switch from command line command to connect to virtual machine.


• Some command line switches do not work correctly.


• Grab on keypress may interfere with typing in dialog boxes.


• Turn off disk caching for clustered virtual machines.


• Administrator can delete private virtual machine created by normal users.


• Client DVD/CD-ROM drive can be used only for data discs.


• Some hints continue to appear after you attempt to turn them off.


• Two steps needed to switch between host and client DVD/CD-ROM drives.


• Virtual machine creation occasionally fails with invalid handle message.

Complete details are available at the VMware Beta Documentation Site.

Virtualization Improves IT Efficiency, Reliability

Business growth invariably demands IT infrastructure growth. Servers are often added to support new applications, which in turn can lead to many under-utilized servers, higher network management costs, and decreased agility and reliability. Learn how Intel can help you reduce server proliferation, simplify server management, and significantly improve server utilization, network agility and network reliability by consolidating multiple applications onto fewer enterprise-level servers.

Hardware-Assisted Virtualization for Today's Businesses
Intel Virtualization Technology provides greater support for increasing server utilization in your data center by consolidating more applications, at the same time improving data center reliability and reducing the complexity of software-only virtualized environments.

Enhanced Virtualization on Intel(r) Architecture-based Servers:
Improve Utilization, Manage Change, Reduce Costs
Server virtualization on Intel processor-based platforms is already helping businesses consolidate servers, simplify test and development environments, reduce total costs and respond more quickly to shifting workload requirements.

Driving a Virtual Revolution in Efficiency with Intel and VMware
Companies are using VMware software running on Intel processor-based workstations to download controlled and protected software environments onto the PCs and laptops of consultants and telecommuters, so they can provide network access while ensuring a higher level of security.

This is very off-topic, but I feel this needs to get seen. If your company is looking to buy a new LARGE shredder, this deal is unbelieveable! HippoDeals.com has the Fellowes Powershred 520 for $1743. This thing has an MSRP of $4699 but can be found elsewhere on the web as low as $2585.

Just to be fair, I should let you know that I am a partner in that biz, so I am getting something out of the sale of these... but it is such an awesome deal, I had to pass it on. If you are not the shredder purchaser in your company, please do me a favor and pass this link on to them... or to anyone else you may know who needs an awesome shredder.

Check it out here: http://www.hippodeals.com/fepo520copas.html

HippoDeals.com also has the 520C that does cross-cut for a little more than this one.

I just could not resist posting this. A friend emailed it to me, had to share! Forget serial/parallel connections, need of a real-time clock, etc... Sometimes virtualization just cannot do what a physical machine can:

This looks like another winner from the industry leader in virtualization. A freely available, stand-alone utility that will import VMs from different source formats to many VMware formats.

New Features
The newest version under development features the following functionality:

• Updated support for the latest VMware product sources & destinations
  - Including beta versions of VMware Server 1.0, ESX Server 3.0, and VirtualCenter 2.0


• Expanded ability to import pre-existing VMware virtual machines or system images stored in various 3rd party formats
  - Including Symantec LiveState, and Microsoft Virtual PC/Server images


• Added capabilities for transforming physical images restored into virtual disks to be compatible with virtual hardware
  - P2V of Symantec Livestate & Ghost 9 images


• Simple to use graphical wizard interface

Be sure to checkout the beta site here.

I've updated the ESX version of my IPCopVM to include all the same add-ons as the WPS (workstation, player, server) version. The original post about the IPCop ESX VM is still available here and that is where the link to download it is. This was built on VMware ESX 2.5.2. For a diagram, check out the original post here.

Enjoy :)

Jim

I'm really liking the whole idea of bittorrents. With these large Virtual Machines out there, it makes it a lot easier to deploy a new virtual machines and not worry so much about bandwidth issues. As a windows guy, I have not had much luck figuring out how to start a torrent... I haven't spent much time on it either. But I did find a very cool BitTorrent client that gives nice feedback on how your connection is being used.

http://www.analogx.com/contents/download/network/bitpump.htm

I've been using this guys utilities for years. There's some great stuff on his site and his newest is this client. If you enjoy using it, let the guy know. Also, if you enjoy Virtual Machines from here or anywhere else, don't be afraid of being a nice guy and seeding the files for a while after you've downloaded them.

One last thing... If anyone could point me to a place where I can learn how to setup my own torrents, I'd much appreciate it. Keeping in mind that I'm a windows schluck running all windows servers... Thanks!

I've updated the IPCop virtual Machine to include a very cool add-in called BlockOutTraffic. A friend of mine told me about it when I asked him how I could go about using IPCopto block p2p. Click here to view the original post about my IPCoptest rig and for a link to download it.

BOT will block all traffic that is allowed in a normal IPCop installation. For example Green -> Red is blocked after installation of BOT.
Rules must be created to allow traffic, which means (hard) work but allows for more influence on traffic to and through your firewall.

BOT Rules are created by using a very intuitive extension to the IPCop WebGUI.

• BlockOutTraffic key features


• Seamless GUI integration


• Control of traffic to and through IPCop


• Traffic restrictions by MAC addresses, IP addresses and interfaces


• Conveniently grouping of addresses


• Definition of custom services


• Grouping of services


• Time based firewall rules


• Control of firewall-logging

To get started using it, be sure to check out the Getting Started Guide.

Thanks to the guys over at linuxtracker.org, there's a torrent available for the vmwarez.com-aah26bb file.

Click here to visit the main page and to find the torrent link.

OK, This time this VM is just the bare bones Asterisk at Home VoIP PBX. It has not had any updates applied, no passwords have been changed, nothing... Just the fresh install. The virtual hardware is a little different, though. It has the usb and audio configured. For some reason I got more errors on the initial install when I didn't have those.

Also, the hard drive is SCSI! That was very exciting for me to see because it made me think I may be able to install this new version on one of my ESX servers... NOPE! However, there is a new patch to ESX 2.5.2 that says it now supports RHEL4 w/ the buslogic scsi driver and a driver disk image is available for download. So, next time I get the chance, I'll apply this patch to our servers and we'll see if we can then install asterisk@home on ESX. If I can get it to work, I'll post the file.

If you want to see lots of great info about how to update the OS and add all kinds of neat features, check out www.nerdvittles.com. Also, www.voipjots.com has a very cool (free) click-to-dial application that is a breeze to install.

Downloads are still pretty heavy and at times slow for the amount of people trying to download. I'll be taking down any previous version of AAH so that the downloads of the older version don't slow down this new one. If anyone is kind enough to setup a torrent, please send me a link and I'll post it on here... and seed it from my home 3.0mb Fiber connection.

To download the newly updated VM, check out the original post for a link to the download file:
http://www.vmwarez.com/2006/01/asteriskhome-voip-opensource-pbx.html