Optimize Lab Infrastructure with Virtualization

VMware Lab Manager 2.5 includes the following enhancements and new features:

• iSCSI and NFS Support – You can now use iSCSI and NFS to store Lab Manager virtual machines.
• 64-bit Support – Create, deploy and manage virtual machine configurations with 64-bit guest operating systems.
• Solaris 10 Support – Run Solaris 10 x86-edition in virtual machines.
• Automatic Server Pool Cleanup – Set policies to undeploy and clean up unused virtual machines.
• Storage Server Maintenance – See how much disk space you could free up by consolidating or deleting virtual machines.
• Managed Server Maintenance – Quickly undeploy and redeploy virtual machines on new managed server hardware.

VMware Lab Manager is an image library management and automated provisioning system for use with VMware Infrastructure. It enables:

• Rapid provisioning, including the ability to provide users with self-service access to the image library
• Deploy, reset or capture multi-machine configurations with a single mouse click (not a single VM at a time) in 30 seconds or less
• Easy to use – optimized for use by non IT professionals, hides things like “which physical host should I deploy this VM to?"
• IT policy and quota enforcement – users operate within the bounds set by IT including resource usage limits

With VI3, systems are handled as single images (i.e., not as an interconnected “set” of systems that comprise a particular multi-tier environment), so there is still a lot of manual configuration required. Further, without Lab Manager’s centralized library of multi-tier systems, organizations run the risk of “VM sprawl” – that is, VMs that are randomly stored on file servers, which are difficult to manage and share effectively.

VMware Workstation provides virtualization capabilities for individual users who need to run multiple operating systems locally on their desktop or laptop computers. Lab Manager is a server-based virtualization product that enables teams of users to share hardware resources and access virtual machine configurations from a shared image library.

Simply download the latest product binaries, uninstall the program files of the previous version and install the new bits. Make sure you back up the Lab Manager database before you begin the upgrade process. Your VMware Lab Manager 2.4 license key will continue to work with the new release. Please consult the Installation Guide for detailed upgrade information.