Microsoft updates offline virtual machine servicing tool

Microsoft has quickly updated its patch management solution for offline virtual machines. They recently announced the second version of their Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool.

The new version completely replaces the previous 1.0 version and adds a few key support options for Hyper-V, Virtual Machine Manager 2008, and Windows Server 2008. Version 2 also adds support for System Center Configuration Manager 2007 SP1, System Center Configuration Manager 2007 R2, and Windows Server Update Services 3.0 SP1.

Microsoft said that when you install the new tool, the installer determines which version of System Center Virtual Machine Manager resides on the target computer, and then configures the Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 2.0 accordingly. Why? Certain features of the tool are only being made available when it is installed with System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008.

So why is this type of tool important?

Virtualization administrators know that for all of the great things virtualization offers them, security issues can quickly arise because of the way virtual machines are provisioned and stored. What do I mean by that?

A virtual machine can be created and used as a template from which to create other virtual machines through the cloning process. This is a great way to easily roll out new virtual machines without having to constantly reinstall the guest operating system every time you want a new virtual machine of that OS type. These template images are powered off and typically stored offline for extended periods of time until a new virtual machine is needed.

At the same time, some production virtual machines may also be powered off for periods of time in order to conserve power and resources rather than leaving them powered on, idle, only to consume and take away resources from other active virtual machines.

In both cases, these offline virtual machines are not automatically receiving operating system, antivirus, or application updates that keep them compliant and secure. If powered on or cloned and deployed, these unpatched virtual machines could pose a major risk to an IT organization. The out-of-date virtual machine could be vulnerable to attack or could attack other network resources within the environment.

For this reason, virtualization vendors have created the capability to patch offline virtual machines. VMware introduced Update Manager with the release of VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3.5, and Microsoft introduced its Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool.

You can download Microsoft’s updated offline patching tool, free.