Step 5: Installing And Configuring The Guest Virtual Machines - NEC Express 5800 Quick Start Manual

STEP 5: Installing and Configuring the Guest Virtual
Machines
After you install Virtual Server R2 SP1, you need to deploy virtual machines. You must run the virtual machines
from the disks that you mirrored in STEP 3: Install the Server Hardware to gain the benefits of the fault tolerant
disks.
The Guide solution virtualizes the following physical servers:
•
Domain controller
•
File server
•
Email server
After virtualization, the physical servers will be decommissioned.
There are three approaches to deploying the virtual machines. These are:
•
Build the virtual machine on the production virtual server and install software manually.
•
Build the virtual machine on a remote virtual server and copy the virtual machine files to the production
virtual server.
•
Migrate physical servers to virtual machines by using a physical to virtual (P2V) process.
You can build the virtual machines directly on the production virtual server by using standard installation media.
You must then replicate or restore data to the virtual machine. If the virtual machine is remote to the replication
or backup source, the data must travel across the wide area network (WAN).
Alternatively, you can initially create the virtual machine in a separate location, such as a remote site. This
enables you to replicate or restore data locally before deploying the virtual machine to the production virtual
server. You can create a virtual machine on any virtual server and, because the virtual server virtualizes the
underlying hardware for the virtual machine, you can copy that virtual machine to any other virtual server. This
is useful for building a production environment in situations where it is easier to build the virtual machine in a
separate location to the final, operational location.
Figure 14 shows this process.
NEC Express5800 Fault Tolerant Virtual Server Quick Start Guide 19