I want to give props to the fine folks at VMWare. Their products helped me to solve a nagging and difficult problem, quickly and cheaply.

This was the problem. I work at a small java development shop which started with a Windows infrastructure. Back in around 1999 or 2000 someone set up a box to act as our Windows domain controller. The little Dell workhorse is still running nine years later. The odds are that thing is going to fail one of these days, leaving us in the lurch.

Over the years we have been moving away from Windows. Our standard dev box is now the Mac Pro, and several old boxes have been turned to linux servers. But we need the domain controller because most of the non-tech staff still uses Windows. Losing our domain controller abruptly would hurt. On the other hand, time is money, and no one has had the time or expertise to set up a new domain controller. And we don’t want to sink more money into Windows.

So here’s what I did. I downloaded the free VMWare Converter and used it to make a virtual clone of the domain controller. I installed VMWare Worstation on a decent underused machine, only about year old. I shut down the physical domain controller and brought up the virtual one. I then changed the virutual controller’s ip address to match the physical controller’s.

I’ve only done about an hour of testing, but everything seems to work as before, including mail, Window remote terminal services, access to shared resources on the LAN, and VPN access. Time will tell, but I have the feeling that this is going to work.

The benefits of the change:

  • The virtual machine on the newer hardware is faster the the ancient physical machine.
  • No time or effort wasted on configuring a new domain controller .
  • We can easily back up the virtual machine, and migrate to new hardware as needed.
  • We can take snapshots of the virtual machine prior to changes, and easily roll back the changes if necessary.
  • We no longer rely on a nine year old machine for a critical function.
  • Money out the door: $189 for a copy of VMWare Workstation.