Beta Version of Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool Now Available

• By Michael Domingo
• 05/19/08

Microsoft has released a beta version of its Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool on the Microsoft Connect site. The intent of the software is to maintain up-to-date operating systems, servers and applications for large numbers of virtual machine environments, according to information posted on TechNet.

The Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool will prove most useful in situations where admins may need to maintain a large number of VMs, with particular concern for VMs that might be brought online and offline as needed. According to the TechNet posting, it's those offline machines that might not "receive operating system, anti-virus, or application updates that would keep them compliant with current IT policy."

The Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool works in concert with Systems Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007 and Windows Server Update Services 3.0 or System Center Configuration Manager 2007 to wake up, update and then close offline VMs. Admins schedule servicing tasks via the Windows Task Scheduler, with jobs and processes customized through PowerShell scripts.

Participation in the beta requires access to the Microsoft Connect site. To learn more, click here.