Virtualization guidance for Microsoft developers using Visual Studio 2010

IT administrators are certainly no strangers to the benefits provided by server virtualization, but virtualization providers like Microsoft and VMware are also now trying to spread that message throughout the developer community.

In August 2009, VMware announced the acquisition of SpringSource, an innovator and driving force behind some of the fastest-growing open source development communities, application frameworks, and management tools. The acquisition was a big deal to VMware, and it was discussed and heavily promoted throughout VMworld 2009.

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Even earlier than that, during TechEd 2008, Microsoft discussed the virtualization directions it had planned for Microsoft technology developers using Visual Studio 2010. Currently still in beta, the final release of Visual Studio 2010 is less than three months away with a debut planned for sometime in April 2010. That timeline hasn’t stopped Microsoft from pushing forward with plenty of education and content to get its development community ready.

One of the many features of Visual Studio 2010 is Lab Management, which allows software development and QA teams to produce higher-quality applications in less time. Lab Management helps accelerate the setup and teardown of machines, increases the utilization of engineering assets, and with Visual Studio Team System 2010 helps provide better collaboration between teams and better bug reproduction/resolution. By integrating these tools with Microsoft Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager out of the box, Microsoft will be able to compete with other existing products such as Surgient Virtual Automation Platform, VMLogix LabManager, and VMware Lab Manager.

And to help bring developers into the virtualization fold, Microsoft created the Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010 VM Factory — a community Web site designed to provide virtualization guidance to help make the transition from the physical to the virtual much more palatable. VM Factory is described as such:

…the reference implementation of a software solution that automates the creation of Visual Studio 2010 and Team Foundation Server 2010 virtualized environments. The purpose of this project is to build prescriptive guidance around virtualization of the Visual Studio 2010 and guidance for full automation of the creation of virtual machines using the VM Factory. The goal is to help users with the installation and configuration of virtualized environments with least effort and maximum automation.

The content found here is released under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 license, making it free of charge and accessible to everyone. It was created with support from Microsoft Product Group, Microsoft Most Valued Professionals (MVPs), and technical specialists from technology communities around the globe. It currently includes the following:

1. Rangers Virtualization Guidance
   • Focused guidance on creating a Rangers base image manually and introduction of PowerShell scripts to automate many of the configuration tasks
   • Virtualization guidance looking at the why and how to use virtualization for Team Foundation Server and Visual Studio, including planning, prerequisite software, use of non-Microsoft virtualization technologies, and introducing use-case scenarios
2. Rangers Factory Package and Guidance
   • Reference walk-through documentation on how to install, configure, and support a Microsoft internal or an external factory to automate the installation of Team Foundation Server and Visual Studio environments
   • Microsoft Deployment Toolkit metadata and PowerShell scripts used to create a Rangers factory

If you are planning on virtualizing any part of your Visual Studio 2010 installation, this virtualization guidance should prove invaluable. If you are still on the fence about whether or not you should virtualize it, consider this a must-read.

This story, “Virtualization guidance for Microsoft developers using Visual Studio 2010,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in virtualization and Visual Studio at InfoWorld.com.