OS X Server virtualization

[ppl1]

I'm planning to use VMware Fusion 2.0 in an OS X Server consolidation project. The host is OS X Server 10.5.x and the guests would all be OS X Server 10.5.x as well. Each of the guests provides web and file services managed by individual departments.

If anyone has any experience doing something similar, I'd be interested in hearing what they have learned.

In my initial testing, on an Xserve 2 x 2.8 GHz w/ 8GB RAM and a single NIC, I've run into the following issue that I have yet to resolve:

o What is the limit to the number of guests that can use a bridged network connection? In my test vm's, it appears that only one can be bridged at a time, but nothing in the log files suggests that the bridged connection has failed.

Thank you in advance.

[admin]

Fusion does not limit the number of bridged connections. Two things that come to mind: 1) Do your guests all have unique IP addresses and MAC addresses? 2) Some wireless routers only allow a single connection per physical adapter. If you're not using a wired connection, try that.

[ppl1]

thanks for the information on bridged connections.

yes, all of the guests have unique IPs and MAC addresses. all connections are wired.

the MAC addresses (as seen in the .vmx files) are all addressType = "generated".

here's a sample from one of the files (the rest only differ in their address values):

ethernet0.present = "TRUE"

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"

ethernet0.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"

ethernet0.linkStatePropagation.enable = "TRUE"

ethernet0.addressType = "generated"

ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "33"

ethernet0.generatedAddress = "00:0c:29:b4:af:d9"

ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = "0"

[ppl1]

More data...

It appears that copies (made in Finder when Fusion was inactive) are unable to run alongside one another --- where running alongside means that the second VM launched can't access the network.

If I create a new virtual machine from an install DVD, that new VM can run alongside any one of the previously created VMs (all of which are copies). If I copy the new VM, it can't access the network if its parent is running.

So now I have two parents, A and B, and their children A1, A2, B1, B2. Choosing any single VM from the As and any single VM from the Bs results in both being able to access the network. Choosing 2 from the As xor 2 from the Bs results in only the first launched being able to access the network.

Is Finder-based copying not the preferred way of creating clones?

[admin]

If the MAC addresses are unique, that satisfies Fusion; if the IP addresses are unique, that should satisfy normal networking. Normally, this is enough and copying in the Finder is fine. However, guests may have further unique identifiers (e.g. Windows has a SID); based on your observations, OS X has its own identifier somewhere. I would expect there's some way to clear this identifier, but I don't know what it is.