Abstract: A virtual machine manager that provisions of virtual machines on hosts that share a tenant store. Virtual machines can be provisioned using an arraying subsystem of the tenant store without having to actually physically copy all of the operating system files for each virtual machine. Instead, the arraying subsystem virtually copies the operating system files by generating virtual operating system containers that point to a master operating system container that actually contains operating system content in the tenant store. To increase the limit on the number of virtual operating system containers that can be virtually copied from a master operating system container, the master operating system container may itself by physically, rather than virtually copied. Then, virtual operating system containers may be virtually copied from any of the master operating system containers that contain the same operating system content.

Abstract: A virtual machine manager that provisions of virtual machines on hosts that share a tenant store. Virtual machines can be provisioned using an arraying subsystem of the tenant store without having to actually physically copy all of the operating system files for each virtual machine. Instead, the arraying subsystem virtually copies the operating system files by generating virtual operating system containers that point to a master operating system container that actually contains operating system content in the tenant store. To increase the limit on the number of virtual operating system containers that can be virtually copied from a master operating system container, the master operating system container may itself by physically, rather than virtually copied. Then, virtual operating system containers may be virtually copied from any of the master operating system containers that contain the same operating system content.

Abstract: Physical (or prior virtual) machine volumes can be converted to virtual machines at a virtual machine host while the physical machines are running. In one implementation, a volume shadow copy service can be used to create an application (and/or file system)-consistent snapshot of one or more physical machine volumes while the one or more volumes are running. The snapshot data can then be transferred to a mounted virtual hard disk file (dynamic or fixed) at a virtual machine host. Operational information (e.g., boot record, system registry, drivers, devices, configuration preferences, etc.) associated with the virtual hard disk file and the operating system(s) within the virtual machine can then be modified as appropriate to ensure that the corresponding virtual machine is bootable and functional at the virtual machine host. The virtual hard disk file can then be un-mounted, and used as a new virtual machine.

Abstract: Physical (or prior virtual) machine volumes can be converted to virtual machines at a virtual machine host while the physical machines are running. In one implementation, a volume shadow copy service can be used to create an application (and/or file system)-consistent snapshot of one or more physical machine volumes while the one or more volumes are running. The snapshot data can then be transferred to a mounted virtual hard disk file (dynamic or fixed) at a virtual machine host. Operational information (e.g., boot record, system registry, drivers, devices, configuration preferences, etc.) associated with the virtual hard disk file and the operating system(s) within the virtual machine can then be modified as appropriate to ensure that the corresponding virtual machine is bootable and functional at the virtual machine host. The virtual hard disk file can then be un-mounted, and used as a new virtual machine.