Project Bliss for Microsoft Virtual Server : @VMblog

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Project Bliss for Microsoft Virtual Server

Check out Project Bliss over at CodePlex.com. The vision is to provide Windows XP users with a WinForms application for managing Microsoft Virtual Server configurations (.vmc and .vhd files) and mirrors the look of Microsoft Virtual PC Console to the casual observer. This facilitates a wider adoption of Microsoft Virtual Server than is currently possible and brings the performance benefits of the multithreaded MSVS to the multi-core desktops of today.

Scope

This project does not compete with Virtual Machine management tools. We specifically focus on having many configurations, not multiple running VMs. This is not a server management tool for provisioning VMs nor monitoring performance nor resource management.

The audience we will incorporate most feedback from are programmers, testers and trainers who have many dozens of VMs configured but only run 1 to 4 of them at any one time.

In the current scope we have two primary objectives:
1. WinForms interface to mirror Virtual PC Console.
2. Managed Code library providing a wrapper for the VS API to make scripting and building alternative UIs very easy in .NET (and hiding COM interop issues).
3. Building a Virtual Server Power Toys collection of tools demonstrating the features in the API from WinForms-based applications.

Second objective is now met, though the library is not feature complete. All known COM interop and threading issues have now been resolved (remote connection capability is unknown), so now it is just a matter of time before we reach the feature complete milestone.

Development

Initial prototype user interface and second prototype library is complete. Now begins the iterative process of adding features and refining the UI. If you would like to see a specific feature implemented on a deadline, feel free to upgrade one of the many long haul flights I'm on. That way I'll have at-seat power and I can implement your feature :)

HELP

An open invite: we need a number of WinForms developers to further develop the user interface and get it more feature complete but also closer to the VPC Console's look. And soon, we'll need a VPC2007 look! Anyone interested in perhaps implementing a skin-based UI? WinAmp-style UI for Virtual Server?