VMware adapters & unidentified networks in Vista & 7

Posted on November 19th, 2009 in Server 2008, Virtualisation, Vista, Windows 7 by alt-92

Most VMware Workstation users prefer not to enable the Host Only and NAT adapters, but for some scenarios you want to be able to do so.
Unfortunately, as soon as you enable  those adapters, they’re detected as unidentified networks (worst-case) or as a separate public/private network connection in the Network and Sharing Center.

index

And as soon as that happens, Windows (Advanced) Firewall kicks into Public mode effectively locking your box down. Which is A Good Thing  – mostly, just not always what you want.

VMware KB article 1004813  also describes possible solutions to fix this. Aside from disabling the NICs (hey, we wanted to use those, remember?)  or changing the NICs over to Private Network (which you would have to do every reboot), you can configure the VMware adapters as so called Endpoint Devices per the procedure listed.
More information on the Endpoint device configuration is available on MSDN:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb201634.aspx
Reverting to the normal behaviour is as easy as flipping the DWORD to 0 or deleting the entry.

vmnix2

 

There is also a useful side effect to the *NdisDeviceType  setting:
Remote Desktop connections will keep working even with enabled virtual NICs, whereas by default Remote Desktop (TS) binds itself to all available network connections.

Which means I can finally RD into my desktop machine from my laptop with Host-Only and NAT adapters enabled to run a proper multi-machine, multi-network test.
Yay :)

[edit]

Link to KB article fixed 

Mounting VHD files in Vista

Posted on July 9th, 2009 in Server 2003, Server 2008, Storage, Virtualisation, Vista, Windows 7 by alt-92

Windows 7 features include attaching and detaching Virtual Harddrive files (.VHD) via Disk Management.
This allows you to mount and dismount your Complete PC Backup .vhd file to restore a single item from backup or prestage a Virtual PC/Server diskfile, or even your HyperV disks.

Vista does not have this feature, but there is a workaround available. Installing the VHDMount utility from Virtual Server 2005R2 SP1 lets you use the VHD storage driver and the vhdmount utility.

  1. Download the Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 setup from http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualserver/downloads.aspx .
  2. Run setup and choose Custom Setup type:

    vhdmount1
    vhdmount2

  3. Verify the default selection for VHD Mount is marked:

    vhdmount3

    Click Next to install and finish the setup.

    vhdmount4

  4. You can use the command line vhdmount utility to attach a .VHD file, or alternatively, use these registry entries to create a context menu for the four actions. 

    01
    Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
    02
     
    03
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD]
    04
    @="Virtual Machine Hard Drive Image"
    05
     
    06
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\DefaultIcon]
    07
    @="C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Virtual PC\\Virtual PC.exe,-327"
    08
     
    09
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell]
    10
    @="Mount"
    11
     
    12
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Commit]
    13
     
    14
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Commit\command]
    15
    @="\"C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Virtual Server\\Vhdmount\\vhdmount.exe\" /c \"%1\""
    16
     
    17
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Discard]
    18
     
    19
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Discard\command]
    20
    @="\"C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Virtual Server\\Vhdmount\\vhdmount.exe\" /d \"%1\""
    21
     
    22
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Dismount]
    23
     
    24
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Dismount\command]
    25
    @="\"C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Virtual Server\\Vhdmount\\vhdmount.exe\" /u /d \"%1\""
    26
     
    27
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Mount]
    28
     
    29
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Classes\Virtual.Machine.HD\shell\Mount\command]
    30
    @="\"C:\\Program Files\\Microsoft Virtual Server\\Vhdmount\\vhdmount.exe\" /p \"%1\""
    The result is a context menu on right-clicking a .VHD file like this.

    vhdmount5

    Mounting your disk file is now as easy as a right-click away, and the VHD will show up as a new disk in Explorer.

Technet Direct Plus 3 month trial – update

Posted on February 26th, 2009 in Server 2003, Server 2008, Vista, Windows 7 by alt-92

Dutch Technet enthusiasts once again can register for a free 3 month trial of Technet Direct Plus.

[update] The offer period has expired and new entries are no longer available.
Normal subscriptions are of course still possible .

header_technet_plus

Just klick http://technet.microsoft.com/nl-nl/dd491981.aspx and enter your data, wait a couple of days for confirmation and you’ll get access to all the latest and greatest Server operating systems & software.

Prices are 370 € (ex VAT/BTW) for a full year, renewals are 270 € (ex VAT/BTW).
Technet Plus Direct means online access to the software library (download only – no CD shipments), two support calls (worth 299 €) and free e-learning courses.

For a list of available software, See the complete list on the TechNet Plus Subscriptions home page.

Windows 7 VHD boot option – no more VDI for testing?

Posted on February 21st, 2009 in Deployment, Server 2008, Vista, Windows 7 by alt-92

The beta version of Windows 7 (the public build 7000, and build 7022) offers support in BCDedit to boot from a VHD file on hard disk.
As explained in this Edge video (http://edge.technet.com/Media/Boot-from-VHD-in-Win7/) the install behaves just like normal, with a few exceptions such as BItlocker support and Hibernate (since these are disk-dependent).

It looks like a ‘nice to have’ feature for the ubertweaker and enthusiast at first, but think about this:

What if you need to support a DTA environment for desktops? Now, you don’t have to mess around with Virtualization software – just provision and deploy the VHD file with the appropriate configuration (such as a segmented VLAN for Test or Dev) and let your application developers use the same hardware.
No double PCs, no double network outlets, no extra poweroutlets or powerconsumption (think green here).

Sure, it needs some tweaking (preventing disk access between images) but.. tempting nonetheless…

Vista SideShow Media Center Gadgets

Posted on January 24th, 2009 in Media Center, Vista by alt-92

Windows SideShow is a new technology that delivers information from your PC to a secondary display on two kinds of devices: those that are integrated into a computer, such as a small color display in a laptop lid; and those that are separate from a computer, such as a remote control or Windows Mobile phone.

While Sidebar is basically a Webpart, SideShow is managed code which means .NET code.
The Developers Preview SideShow for Windows Mobile devices was released in june 2008.
Unfortunately, a coding mistake meant that december 31st 2008 the Mobile code stopped working…
… just when the Media Center Gadgets were announced.

Oops.

With the error now corrected,  Sideshow allows you to view settings, images and remote control Vista Media Center and Office applications (Outlook and PowerPoint 2007) from a Bluetooth connected WM5 or WM6+ device.

Some screenshots:

ScreenShot5 ScreenShot1

ScreenShot2 ScreenShot3

ScreenShot4 ScreenShot6

SideShow gadgets are available from Live Gallery and include System monitors (complete with Remote control options e.g. shutdown, sleep, reboot), Outlook and PowePoint Gadgets and even iTunes Remote.

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