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Virtual Server 2005 R2 (VS2005 R2) gives network administrators an easy way of consolidating multiple servers and operating systems onto a single computer. Instead of using a dedicated server for every application and service you require, you can run the applications and services on virtual server instances. This allows you to continue to isolate applications and services while making better use of existing hardware. If you've decided that server virtualization is ideal for your environment, here is the gist of what you need to know to install VS2005 R2.

Author's note

In this article, I'll outline the hardware and software requirements that must be met prior to installing VS2005 R2. I'll also discuss how to install VS2005 R2, as well as how to install a guest operating system.

System requirements

First, the computer that you are installing R2 on -- also referred to as the host computer -- must meet a set of minimum hardware and software requirements. The minimum hardware requirements include:

  • 550-MHz processor with L2 cache (1 GHz is recommended)
  • CD-ROM or DVD drive
  • Super VGA or higher
  • 256 MB of RAM (512 MB is required if you are running SBS 2003 Premium Edition or Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition)
  • 2 GB of free disk space (4 GB is required if you are running SBS 2003 Standard or Premium Editions)

If your computer has multiprocessors, you should be aware that Microsoft has not yet addressed the issue of multiprocessor use in VS2005 R2.

R2 comes in two editions: Standard and Enterprise. The Standard edition can make use of up to four system processors, whereas the Enterprise flavor supports more than four physical processors. However, unlike VMWare's GSX and ESX offerings, guest operating systems running inside a R2 virtual machine cannot use more than a single processor, effectively eliminating VS2005 for high-end use until this is addressed.

So how does this affect your deployment? Before you proceed with deploying an application on a R2 server, ask yourself if the application can run smoothly on a single processor. If not, leave the application on a multi-processor server until Microsoft releases a version of Virtual Server in which guest operating systems can use symmetric multiprocessing (SMP).

The host operating systems that Virtual Server 2005 R2 can be installed on include:

  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition
  • Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional

Note: The host operating system must be using NTFS.

You also need to consider the guest operating systems that you can actually run inside a virtual machine. VS 2005 R2 supports most versions of Windows, including all versions of Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server, with the exception of the Datacenter varieties, and Windows NT 4.0 SP6a.

Finally, if you plan on running the Administration Web site on the computer, you are also going to have to install Internet Information Services (IIS).

Installing Virtual Server 2005 R2

There are a few different scenarios for installing R2, each of which will be discussed in more detail. You can proceed with a new installation or, if you are running Virtual Server 2005, you can upgrade directly to R2. You can also install the Virtual Server service on one computer but run the Administration Web site on a separate computer, or have both components run on a single computer.

Performing a clean installation

Assuming that the computer meets all the hardware and software requirements, you can proceed with the installation steps described below. Completing these steps will install both the Virtual Server service and the Administration Web site.

  1. Insert the Virtual Server CD-ROM to launch the Setup Wizard. The wizard can also be started manually using setup.exe.
  2. Click through the wizard until you reach the Setup Type page.
  3. Select Complete as shown in Figure A. This installs Virtual Server using the default configuration. Click Next.

    4. Figure A

    The easiest way to install VS R2 is to do a full installation.
  4. On the Configure Components page, either accept the default Web site port of 1024, or type in a new port number. Click Next.
  5. Accept the default option to Configure The Administration Web site to always run as the authenticated user, or select Configure The Administration Web site to always run as the Local System account. Click Next.
  6. Click Enable Virtual Server exceptions in Windows Firewall if users will access the virtual server through Windows Firewall. Click Next.
  7. Click Install.
  8. Click Finish when the Setup Complete page appears.

Upgrading to Virtual Server 2005 R2

If you need to upgrade an existing version of Virtual Server, you can follow the same steps described in the previous section for performing a clean installation. The only difference is you must first complete these preliminary tasks to prepare the computer for the upgrade:

  • Turn off all virtual machines

  • Perform a backup of all Virtual Server files

  • Stop the Virtual Server and Virtual Help Services

You can now proceed with the numbered steps described in the section entitled "Performing a Clean Installation".

Installing Virtual Server 2005 and the Administration Web site on separate computers

You can separate the Virtual Server service from the Administration Web site and run them on separate computers. You may be wondering why you would want to implement this configuration. Aside for the performance and security purposes, if you are running multiple virtual servers, you may only want IIS to be installed on one computer.

The first step in implementing this configuration is to install the Virtual Server service on the host computer(s). The process is similar to the one described earlier, only this time you need to perform a custom setup instead of a complete setup.

To install the Virtual Server service:

  1. Insert the Virtual Server CD-ROM to launch the Setup Wizard. The wizard can also be started manually using setup.exe.
  2. Click through the wizard until you reach the Setup Type page.
  3. On the Setup Type page, select Custom. Click Next.
  4. Click Virtual Server Web Application, and select This Feature Will Not Be Available, as shown in Figure B. Click Next.
  5. Click Install.
  6. Click Finish when the Setup Complete page appears.
  7. Repeat these steps on each additional computer that you want to install R2 on.

Figure B

You can install the Virtual Server service and Administration Web site on separate computers.

Your next step in this process is to install the Administration Web site. Keep in mind that the computer hosting the site must be running IIS.

To install the Administration Web site:

  1. Insert the Virtual Server CD-ROM to launch the Setup Wizard. The wizard can also be started manually using setup.exe.
  2. Click through the wizard until you reach the Setup Type page.
  3. On the Setup Type page, select Custom. Click Next.
  4. Click Virtual Server Service, select This Feature Will Not Be Available, and click Next.
  5. On the Configure Components page, either accept the default Web site port value of 1024, or type a new value for the port.
  6. Select Configure The Administration Web site to always run as the Local System account. Click Next.
  7. Click Install.
  8. Click Finish when the Setup Complete page appears.

Virtual Machines

Now that you've installed Virtual Server 2005 R2, you're ready to move onto the next steps which are to create a virtual machine, install a guest operating system, and install the Virtual Machine Additions.

Adding a New Virtual Machine

To create a new virtual machine, start the VS2005 R2 administrative interface. You can either browse for it on the Start menu, or browse to http://FQDN:1024/VirtualServer/VSWebApp.exe. Log in as an administrative user and follow the procedure below.

  1. In the navigation pane, under Virtual Machines, click Create.
  2. In Virtual Machine Name, type a name for the virtual machine. If you do not want the virtual machine configuration (.vmc) file to be created in the default virtual machine configuration folder, specify a fully qualified path to the location where you want to create the virtual machine.
  3. In Virtual machine memory, specify the amount of RAM (in megabytes) used by the virtual machine.
  4. In Virtual hard disk, do one of the following:

    • Select "Create a new virtual hard disk". Next, to set the size of the virtual hard disk, specify a value in Size, and then select either MB for megabytes or GB for gigabytes.
    • Select Use An Existing Virtual Hard Disk. If the virtual hard disk (.vhd) file is located in a folder whose location is specified in Virtual Server Search Paths, you can select the .vhd from Location. Otherwise, in File name (.vhd), type the complete path to the location of the .vhd file.
    • Select Attach A Virtual Hard Disk Later to create a virtual machine without a virtual hard disk.
  5. Under Virtual Network Adapter, in Connected To, select a networking option from the drop-down menu.
  6. Click Create.

Installing a Guest Operating System

Earlier in this daily drill down, I provided you with the list of guest operating systems supported by VS2005 R2. If the guest operating system is supported, there are a few different ways that it can be installed. You can use a startup CD or image file, or you can use a startup disk.

If you are using a startup CD or image file, open the Administration Web site, point to Configure under Virtual Machines, and click the appropriate Virtual Machine. In Configuration in the lower part of the page, click CD/DVD, do one of the following, and then click OK:

  • Insert the startup CD for the operating system into the CD drive on the physical computer running the Virtual Server service. Next, click Physical CD/DVD drive, and, if necessary, select the corresponding CD or DVD drive letter from the drop-down menu.
  • Click Known Image files. If the ISO image (.iso) file containing a startup CD image is located in the default folder (\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Shared Virtual Machines\), it is available from the drop-down menu. Otherwise, in Fully Qualified Path To File, type the complete directory path to the image file.

In Status, point to the virtual machine name, and then click Turn On. Once the virtual machine is turned on, point to the virtual machine name, and then click Remote Control.

Once you are connected to the virtual machine, you can proceed with the installation of the operating system.

Installing from a startup disk is a slightly different process. When you reach the Configuration pane, click Floppy Drive, and do one of the following:

  • If you have a system floppy disk, insert it into the floppy disk drive, click Physical Floppy Drive, and if necessary, from the drop-down menu select the corresponding floppy drive letter.
  • If you have an existing virtual system disk located in the default directory (\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Shared Virtual Machines\), it is available from the Known Floppy Disks drop-down menu. Otherwise, in Fully Qualified Path To File, type the complete directory path to the .vfd file.

Installing the Virtual Machine Additions

Finally, you need to install the Virtual Machine Additions on each virtual machine. This component includes features designed to improve the integration and performance of a virtual machine. A guest operating system can not be used efficiently until the Virtual Machine Additions is installed. Since it is not installed by default when you install R2, you must do so afterwards using the process outlined below.

  1. Open the Administration Web site.
  2. In the navigation pane, under Virtual Machines, point to Configure, and click the appropriate virtual machine.
  3. In Status, point to the virtual machine name, and click Turn On.
  4. Once the virtual machine has started, point to the virtual machine name, and click Remote Control.
  5. Log on to the virtual machine using an account with administrative privileges.
  6. Once the guest operating system is loaded, press the HOST KEY to release the mouse pointer, and then in the lower-left corner, under Navigation, click Configure virtual_machine_name.
  7. In Configuration, click Virtual Machine Additions, and click Install Virtual Machine Additions. Click OK.
  8. Under Status, point to the virtual machine name and click Remote Control.
  9. Click in the Remote Control window to return to the guest operating system. The Virtual Machine Additions installation wizard will start. Proceed through the wizard.
  10. Once the wizard is complete, you will be prompted to restart the virtual machine to complete the installation.

You'll now have a fully functional VS2005 R2 server, and a virtual machine running inside of it.