First published on TECHNET on Sep 17, 2009
Greetings,
Today I am announcing the Release to Web of System Center Virtual Machine Manager Configuration Analyzer (VMMCA) that adds support for SCVMM 2008 and 2008 R2 and also adds additional troubleshooting rules.
Overview
Customers have come to rely upon, and appreciate, the added value that VMMCA tool provides, so getting it out an update within weeks of SCVMM 2008 R2 RTM is critical for customers to assist in helping plan implementation and then also provide value-add during the ongoing operational phase of SCVMM 2008 and 2008 R2.
Description
The VMMCA is a diagnostic tool you can use to evaluate important configuration settings for computers that either are serving or might serve VMM roles or other VMM functions. The VMMCA scans the hardware and software configurations of the computers you specify, evaluates them against a set of predefined rules, and then provides you with error messages and warnings for any configurations that are not optimal for the VMM role or other VMM function that you have specified for the computer.
You can use VMMCA before installing VMM, to help you evaluate the configuration of computers that you might use for the following VMM roles:
· VMM server
· VMM Administrator Console
· VMM Self-Service Portal
You can also use VMMCA after installing VMM, to evaluate or troubleshoot the configurations of computers that you are now using or might use for the VMM roles listed above, as well as computers that you are using or might use for any of the following VMM functions:
· Windows Server–based host
· VMware Virtual Center Server
· P2V source computer
· Operations Manager agent
System Requirements:
Before you install the VMMCA, you must download and install the 64-bit version of Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer (MBCA). To download the MBCASetup64.msi file, go to
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=97952
.
Note
The system requirements for the MBCA indicate that only Windows Server 2003 is supported. However, the VMMCA and the MBCA have been tested and are supported on Windows Server 2008 64-bit.
You must install and run the VMMCA on the computer that either currently is or will become your VMM 2008 server. To review the system requirements for the VMM 2008 server, go to
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=133516
.
Download VMMCA Now
Common Usage Scenarios
The list of scenarios are not comprehensive, but will provide you with some common usage scenarios to provide you with an understanding of when to use VMMCA 2008.
Scenario 1 –
I have a Windows Host that is in a not responding state. Use VMMCA 2008 to check the host for commonly known issues.
Scenario 2 –
A Windows host shows a status of “Needs Attention”. Use VMMCA 2008 to check the this host for commonly known issues.
Scenario 3 –
I am using SCVMM 2008 to manage a VMware environment, but I am unable to create new virtual machines on the VMware environment. Use VMMCA 2008 to evaluate the Virtual Center environment for commonly known issues.
Scenario 4 –
I am using the integration between SCVMM 2008 and Operations Manager, but I am unable to see a particular VM or Host in the integrated mapping view. Use VMMCA 2008 to check the host or virtual machine for an operations manager agent.
Scenario 5 –
I am using SCVMM 2008 to do P2V conversions and the job is failing. Use VMMCA 2008 to check the P2V source for commonly known issues.
Scenario 6 -
I tried to create a Virtual Machine and it failed during customization and installation of virtual guest services. Use VMMCA 2008 on the Windows Host to find commonly known issues.
Carmen M. Summers
Program Manager | Virtualization & Datacenter Management
