VMMCA 2008 Update 1 - Your first stop when troubleshooting SCVMM 2008 RTM

[System-Center-Team]

First published on TECHNET on Jun 12, 2009
Greetings,

There are many occasions on the public forums where a customer is struggling with a commonly known issue on VMM 2008 RTM.  For those commonly known issues we have bundled those up into a tool called the Virtual Machine Management Configuration Analyzer.  This tool enables customers to quickly identify issues that are well known .  So before you pick up that phone and call Microsoft Support try the VMMCA first as it just might save you time and money.

Below is an overview of the VMMCA that includes download location, common usage scenarios, and frequently asked questions.

Carmen M. Summers
Program Manager | Virtualization & Datacenter Management

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 Update 1 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 Update 1 after installing VMM, to evaluate 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 Update 1, 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

Get it Now

You can download the newest release here:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=02d83950-c03d-454e-803b-96d1c1d5be24&d...

Note: If  VMMCA is currently installed on your VMM Server you must uninstall it from Programs and Features before installing VMMCA Update 1.

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  on the Windows Host to find commonly known issues.

Scenario 7- I know that VMM and Hyper-V hosts require certain updates for steady VMM operations.  Use VMMCA to check your VMM server and hyper-v hosts for required updates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: Does VMMCA 2008 work on the newly release VMM 2008 R2 RC?

Answer: At this time it is not supported on VMM 2008 R2 RC, but there will be a new VMMCA released within 60 days of VMM 2008 R2 RTM.

Question : Do I have to install MBCA 1.0 and VMMCA 2008?

Answer : Yes, VMMCA 2008 uses the MBCA 1.0 64 bit engine that enables the rule checks for VMMCA 2008.

Question : Where can I install VMMCA 2008?

Answer : VMMCA 2008 is installed on a Windows 2008 64 bit server that is or will become the VMM Server.

Question : MBCA 1.0 64 bit system requirements state that it is only installable on Windows 2003 platform.  Can I install it on Windows 2008 64 bit.

Answer : The SCVMM 2008 has tested the MBCA 1.0 on the Windows 2008 64 bit platform for all of the rule sets defined in VMMCA 2008.

Question : Does VMMCA 2008 perform all pre-requisite checks for SCVMM 2008?

Answer : No, the VMMCA does not duplicate or replace the prerequisite checks performed during the setup of VMM 2008 components.

Question : Can I run a check against a individual ESX hosts?

Answer : No, VMware checks are run by selecting the “other computers” check box and then from the drop menu selecting VMware VirtualCenter.  Add  the VirtualCenter name and run the scan.  VMMCA 2008 will access the managed ESX hosts by using information in VMM 2008.

Question : Is VMMCA 2008 capable of running against a VMM 2007 environment?

Answer: No, there is a seperate VMMCA for VMM 2007 RTM.

Enjoy!