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[Hunter]

Wow, Virtual Machines are awsome!

Its like having a new PC with a fresh new install of the operating system to work with. Everything installed in this virtual environment will not affect anything outside the window/environment.

I got a Virtual Machine set up, basically a closed environment of Windows 7 32-bit within my regular PC of Windows 7 64-bit. Can be used to host WinXP, Linux, anything. I used an ISO to install the Windows OS on the Virtual platform.

See pic below. Yes my regular desktop is mostly black color, and inside the window is the virtual windows all self contained in its own environment. (Sorry if I seem amazed like some noob, but this is the first time I've done something like this and this should definitely make things easier and faster to creating more custom content on EZ Server)




From http://www.devx.com/vmspecialreport/Article/30383 some quotes / info below about VM - why they are cool.

Isolation
One of the key reasons to employ virtualization is to isolate applications from each other. Running everything on one machine would be great if it all worked, but many times it results in undesirable interactions or even outright conflicts. The cause often is software problems or business requirements, such as the need for isolated security. Virtual machines allow you to isolate each application (or group of applications) in its own sandbox environment. The virtual machines can run on the same physical machine (simplifying IT hardware management), yet appear as independent machines to the software you are running. For all intents and purposes—except performance, the virtual machines are independent machines. If one virtual machine goes down due to application or operating system error, the others continue running, providing services your business needs to function smoothly.

Ease of Testing
Virtual machines let you test scenarios easily. Most virtual machine software today provides snapshot and rollback capabilities. This means you can stop a virtual machine, create a snapshot, perform more operations in the virtual machine, and then roll back again and again until you have finished your testing. This is very handy for software development, but it is also useful for system administration. Admins can snapshot a system and install some software or make some configuration changes that they suspect may destabilize the system. If the software installs or changes work, then the admin can commit the updates. If the updates damage or destroy the system, the admin can roll them back.

Virtual machines also facilitate scenario testing by enabling virtual networks. In VMware Workstation, for example, you can set up multiple virtual machines on a virtual network with configurable parameters, such as packet loss from congestion and latency. You can thus test timing-sensitive or load-sensitive applications to see how they perform under the stress of a simulated heavy workload.

Now all I need to do is install everything I need for a test server such as MySQL, Perl, C++ Compiler, etc.

I feel like a 1990's computer noob all over again 

[Darubious]

Virtual Machines are great for testing. I used to open VM to test files I downloaded from p2p. If you get a virus. Close VM then reopen. Viola! Everything back  to perfect.

[Hunter]

And I read about roll back. Make a "copy" of your virtual machine / windows, sort of like a state save in emu consoles like a NES Emulator. Hope makes sense. Yes, very good way to protect yourself against virus.

I wonder how it else it could protect. Maybe it'd be a safe environment to check email and bank accounts? Or just the opposite, if your going to visit questionable websites that spam you with spyware, popups, etc, then do it on the VM so your real machine isn't affected? Sorry for noob ideas and/or questions, its my first time

[nulland]

You still need to keep them protected with prudent browsing and download habits... also keep them fully patched.

[Hunter]

Yes, but in case you get infected with a virus on your virtual machine, your real physical machine should be safe?

Also, I just did ipconfig on both the real machine and virtual machine, and they have different local IP addresses (yay).

[nulland]

In most cases, yes, as long as it's not that perfectly timed virus that can exploit an unpatched vulnerability on your physical machine (over the network only).  But like you mentioned, if you NAT, they're on different networks, and you can easily firewall that entire network off from your physical box.

[Hunter]

Awsome!

[Darubious]

This is actually pretty interesting. I have messed around with AX-Classic, and ran a server on and off EQEmu, but never thought about trying it in a VM.
I have never had a virus find it's way out of VM, but that definitely does not mean it is impossible. VM is pretty much self-contained. I have had no problem running an EQEmu server on windows 7, but the compatibility with the particular versions of programs needed is much better with windows XP. You can get windows XP virtual machine for free on windows 7 professional and ultimate. http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/default.aspx

[Hunter]

Oh crap, free? Probably will have to download it but you don't have to buy a key?

[Darubious]

Yessir. I think it may be limited in ways. I used to use Sandboxie, until upgrading windows 7. Now if I need to use application isolation, I use the winxp VM from microsoft.

[Darubious]

I am pretty sure that winxp VM is free for anyone on windows 7 professional or ultimate.

[nulland]

Indeed.  Quite handy for the x64 installations that have some off-the-wall application for which the vendor is lagging in support.  I had one client that did payroll through a web app that required ActiveX, and it simply would not work when printing to a PDF (they were being cheap and refused to buy current version of Acrobat).  It was a known issue with x64 and older versions of Acrobat.  Anyway, using XP Mode, I was able to create a desktop shortcut that actually opened up an "instanced" IE, so they could move on with their lives.  Not the best solution, but it worked.  Just download and install... no special requirements other than Pro/Ultimate.

[Hunter]

Just noticed the screenshot displays that my CPU is i7 hehe.

[Hunter]

So far things with the VM is still working great. Able to transfer files between the VM and outside to the real machine, and within the VM able to update the EZ Live machine too (Quest, DB, etc).

This makes things so much easier, and since we can now reboot to test changes without having to reboot EZ's Live server, new edits / updates will now come faster.

I don't have any other new updates for this weekend though, this (and some other stuff) took up all my available time this weekend, so we'll probably see some updates in a week. This VM update is one of the best updates IMHO though. We'd have a lot more new content, esp new spells already, if I had this earlier.

[Noel]

You should be running Vsphere ESXi (free) if you are doing servers..

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