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<table border="0" cellspacing="0" width="100%"><tr><td width="20%">[[VMM 2008 System Requirements|Previous]]<td align="center">[[VMM 2008 Essentials|Table of Contents]]<td width="20%" align="right">[[A Guided Tour of the VMM Administrator Console|Next]]</td><tr><td width="20%">VMM 2008 System Requirements<td align="center"><td width="20%" align="right">A Guided Tour of the VMM Administrator Console</td></table><hr>  <htmlet>vmm</htmlet>  Previous chapters of [[VMM 2008 Essentials]] have focused on the architecture and system requirements of Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (VMM 2008). With those topics now covered , this chapter will move onto the task of verifying that the system configuration of the target system, is suitable for running VMM 2008 components and obtaining and installing VMM 2008.

Before embarking on an installation of VMM 2008, the first task is to verify that the system on which the software is to be installed meets at least the minimum software and hardware requirements. These requirements are so important that Microsoft has created a tool called the VMM 2008 System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Configuration Analyzer for the specific purpose of checking whether a system is suitable to run VMM 2008. Similar system checks are also performed during component installation, but the use of this tool avoids the necessity to download the entire VMM 2008 software package before checking system compatibility.

Before the Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Configuration Analyzer can be installed, the Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer (MBCA) must first be installed on the target system. If this is not already installed, it may be [http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=DB70824D-ABAE-4A92-9AA2-1F43C0FA49B3&displaylang=en downloaded]from the Microsoft web site.

Select the VMM 2008 components which that are to be installed. If components are to be installed on systems other than the local system, enter the name of the remote systems together with any login and password credentials which will be needed by the analyzer to gain access. Once the configuration options has have been specified, click on the ''Scan'' button to initiate the system analysis.

Assuming the target systems onto which VMM 2008 components are to be installed meet the requirements, the next step is to obtain VMM 2008 prior to ready for installation.

At time of writing, the trail trial download consists of three separate files, each a little over 1GB is size. One of these files is an executable named SCVMM2008_EVAL.part1.exe. Launching this executable will begin the process of unpacking all of the archives. When prompted, specify a destination folder for the unpacked files and click on the ''Install'' button to begin the unpacking process.

The menu beneath the ''Setup'' heading provides options to install each of the VMM 2008 components. For the purposes of this chapter, we will begin by installing VMM Server together with Microsoft SQL Express and the VMM Library on the local system. Begin this process by clicking on the ''VMM Server'' option on the Setup screen. Setup will copy a number of temporary files in preparation for the installation before displaying the ''License Terms'' screen. Read and accept the license terms before clicking ''Next'' to proceed to the Customer Experience Program options. Make the desired selections and click ''Next'' to proceed to Product Registration screen where a user and organization name need to be entered.

Once the registration information has been entered, the next screen will perform a hardware and system check to ensure that the the target system is capable of running the VMM Server component. Assuming the system meets the necessary requirements the system prerequisite checks will be reported as successful and the installation can proceed by clicking the ''Next'' button. In the event of a failure, correct the reported problem using the steps provided and click the ''Check again'' button to repeat the test.

The next screen requests a destination folder into which the VMM Server files will be installed. The default is ''C:\Program Files\Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008'', although an alternate location may be selected either by typing it into the text box, or navigating the file system graphically via the ''Browse'' button.

Although the VMM Server component performs most of the 'behind the scenes' work for VMM 2008, it is the VMM Administrator Console which makes it possible for users to manage and monitor virtual machines. In fact, until the VMM Administration Console has been installed on one or more systems, the VMM Server is of very little use.

The VMM Administrator Console is installed using the VMM 2008 Setup wizard. To begin the installation process, insert the VMM 2008 media into a drive, or launch the ''setup.exe'' executable from the downloaded VMM 2008 trial. When the main screen appears, click on the ''VMM Administrator Console'' option, read and accept the licensing terms and click ''Next''. If VMM Server is already installed on the system, the Windows Experience Improvement Program setting for the Administrator Console will be inherited from that installation. Click ''Next'' to perform the prerequisites check. If any problems are reported with the hardware or software configuration, resolve the problems and re-run the check. Once the check passes successfully, specify the installation location for the files associated with this component and click ''Next'' to configure the port which will be used to communicate with the VMM Server. The default is recommended unless the VMM Server has been configured to use a different port, in which case VMM Administrator Console must be configured to use the same port.

Finally, click ''Next'' to review the configuration settings, followed by ''Install'' to initiate the installation process. Once the installation process is complete, Setup will provide the options to check for updates, add a VMM Administrator Console shortcut to the desktop and to launch the Console when the wizard exits. Make the appropriate selections and click ''Close''.

As with the other VMM components, the Self-Service Portal is installed using the VMM 2008 setup wizard which can be launched either from the VMM 2008 media, or the trial download. Once Setup is running, click on the ''VMM Self-Service Portal'' option and wait while some temporary files are copied. Read and accept the licensing terms and conditions, make a Windows Experience Improvement Program selection if prompted to do so, and run the prerequisites check. If any problems are reported by the check, resolve the issues and re-run the check until it passes successfully. Any problems will be accompanied by step-by-stepo step instructions on how to resolve the issue.

* '''TCP port for the Self-Service Portal''' - The port by which users will connect to the Self-Service Portal via their web browsers. The default of port 80 will avoid the necessity for users to specifically enter a port number along with the portal URL but may conflict with other web sites served by the web server. if If this is the case, specify another port, or use a host header (see below).

Any Hyper-V or Virtual Server based hosts which that are to be managed by VMM 2008 must have the VMM Agent installed and running. If VMM Server is installed on any of these hosts, the VMM Agent will already be installed. For any other hosts, VMM Agent will need to be installed before adding the hosts to VMM 2008. The VMM Agent is installed using the VMM 2008 Setup wizard, launched either from the VMM 2008 media or the trial download. To initiate the installation, launch setup and select the ''Local Agent'' option. Read and accept the license terms, configure the installation folder and proceed to the Configuration Settings screen where the ports for communicating with the VMM Server components may be specified. Accept the default values unless VMM Server has been configured to use different ports. The Security Folder screen specifies the settings for the storage of security files. These files are used by VMM 2008 to manage hosts which are not part of an Active Directory domain. If the host on which the agent is being installed is not part of a domain, set the ''This Host is in a Perimeter Network'' option, enter an encryption key as illustrated below and change the folder location if the default setting is not acceptable:  [[Image:vmm_agent_security_folder.jpg|Configuring a VMM Agent Security Folder]]  Click ''Next'' to proceed to the final screen where clicking the ''Install'' button will install the VMM Agent on the local system such that it can be managed by VMM 2008.