Last November, Microsoft delivered new versions of three of the main components in its System Center suite of datacentre management tools, each designed to help IT departments manage their Windows systems with minimum fuss.

Virtual Machine Manager

Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2007 enables firms to manage virtual machines (VMs) hosted by Microsoft Virtual Server 2005. The next version of the suite, due by the end of 2008, will also be able to manage VMware and XenSource VMs, plus those running under Microsoft’s forthcoming Hyper-V hypervisor. Unfortunately, some VM management tasks, such as adjusting the amount of CPU resource available to a VM, cannot be performed from VMM, and must instead be done using the Virtual Server 2005 console.

While firms with only one or two Virtual Server 2005 systems might manage their VMs using the Virtual Server console, VMM allows IT departments to manage multiple VMs running on multiple servers from a single VMM console. This gives them a better overview of their virtual enterprise, and enables them to clone VMs and more easily move them between host servers.

Like VMware’s VirtualCenter management tool, VMM cannot be installed on a VM, and requires a server operating system running Windows Server 2003 SP1 or later. The Microsoft tool also requires a copy of SQL Server 2005 to store various parameters and management data, and it uses Windows Remote Management to connect to VM consoles. However, the VMM installation disk comes with a copy of SQL Server 2005 licensed for use with VMM.

As well as its Windows graphical user interface (GUI), VMM 2007 has two other interfaces that may be more suitable for performing certain tasks. One is PowerShell, which lets server administrators use scripts to repeatedly perform management tasks without needing to use the Windows GUI each time. For example, a script could be developed so that routine maintenance tasks are automatically performed by the Windows Task Scheduler, rather than relying on somebody correctly starting them by hand each week.

Also available is the Delegated Provisioning User Interface, a web-based portal that can be configured so that people can create and control their own VMs without needing intervention from Virtual Server administration staff. The portal administrator would configure the portal users so these VMs did not consume too many resources on the host server. For example, each member of a software development team could use the portal to create and destroy their own VMs as they progressed from project to project, without risk of them overloading the host servers or accidentally deleting VMs belonging to colleagues.

Data Protection Manager

Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2007 is a disk-based backup system that can be used to continuously backup file system changes on systems running Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and the forthcoming Windows Server 2008.

If a file is damaged by a user, virus or hardware failure, people can restore it directly from their Windows desktop using the Previous Versions Client that is built into some editions of Windows XP and Vista. They simply need to click the right-hand mouse button on the folder or file in Windows Explorer and they will see a list of the previous versions that could be restored. Another click will instantly restore the file. Thus, one of the main benefits of DPM is that end users can restore their own files without contacting the helpdesk or server administrators.

As well as monitoring NTFS file systems and continually noting any changes to individual files, DPM 2007 can also take up to 512 snapshots of the data held in Microsoft Exchange, SQL Server, SharePoint and Virtual Server systems.

The latest version supports several tape devices, so although data is initially backed up to disk, the files can subsequently be sent to tape for archiving. Tapes can also be sent to third parties, for example, where firms must provide copies of their employee’s mailboxes to a third party for discovery, auditing or legal processes. While the cost of providing such data without the use of a DPM-like system can be crippling, the Microsoft tool makes it extremely quick and easy to provide data in this way.

Like most backup options, DPM requires an agent to be loaded and running on the servers it is protecting. Given that the agent and the protected applications are produced by Microsoft, there is a cast iron guarantee that the backups made by DPM can be restored successfully when they are needed.

Configuration Manager

Conceptually, the simplest of the recently released Microsoft System Center components is Configuration Manager (CM) 2007. This is designed to remotely deploy operating system and application software onto newly acquired and refurbished systems. While the previous version of the software, Systems Management Server 2003, was focused on desktop PCs, CM’s name change reflects the fact that it has been thoroughly reworked so it is just as good at deploying software onto servers, desktops and laptops.

CM can discover existing equipment on a network by sending ICMP ping packets and noting the devices that respond, but it cannot manage those devices unless there is a CM agent running on the device. The suite can also find out about a group of systems by importing a file containing, for example, a list of MAC addresses and machine descriptions. However, the reliance on agents means CM is only able to manage Windows systems. With an agent installed and running, the tool can gather detailed software and hardware inventories, and automatically distribute and install software using a schedule defined by IT staff.

As well as being extremely adept at such deployments, CM can produce a range of reports, for example covering inventories of the hardware and software that is actually deployed in an enterprise, which might well highlight differences with the hardware and software that an organisation thought it had deployed.

Such reports could be an extremely efficient way of demonstrating compliance with industry specific regulations or best practice guidelines.