The intention of this book is to provide a thorough reference for those considering a migration into the virtualized world. The majority of our target readers will likely be seasoned system administrators and engineers who grew up in and still manage primarily a hardware-based server environment containing a large assortment of both newer and legacy applications. As much as we attempt to outline the granularities of Microsoft virtualization as a whole, done properly, the combinations and possibilities are truly endless. The IS world is nearing, and in some cases, has already passed the point of no return when it comes to large-scale virtualization implementations. Virtualization has evolved from something fun for ultra-geeks to play with in their spare time, to a solid development tool widely used by everybody from high-school students to goliath software development companies. The inevitable result of this evolution is a new way of looking at enterprise management, for not only the datacenter but also all of the components used by IS to provide the solutions required by the business it supports. The stigma once placed on the use of virtualization by industry leaders is diminishing, and rightly so.

We stress throughout the book the importance of proper research and documentation. These are two terms common to the IS world, but rarely used properly. Failure to fully research, understand, and document your virtualization strategy can easily turn what should be an enjoyable and very successful transformation into a nightmare for all involved.

We cover the broad spectrum of Microsoft virtualization in a way that will help the IS professional begin using virtualization in both theory and practice. Whether you are just beginning your IS career, or you are a seasoned professional, we hope you find this book useful in not only understanding the technology itself but also in learning how to best prepare to use the technology in everything from a small home-based test lab to a large enterprise production environment.

We knew from the beginning that this book would be written to target our fellow IS peers. The majority of the topics in this book focus on the use of virtualization in day-to-day operations of an enterprise-level IS organization. We do not sell Microsoft virtualization as the silver bullet to cure all of your IS problems; however, we do feel that the proper use of its collective technologies can help to alleviate a high amount of inadequacies that plague a large number of data centers today. From the small family-owned businesses to the largest of mega corporations, there is an aspect of virtualization that can help you to become a more successful IS professional. Whether it be something as simple as using Disk2VHD to create a backup of an office computer for use in the event of an unforeseen disaster, or something as complex as the full implementation of Microsoft System Center as the framework for managing thousands of servers, there are benefits to researching the use of virtualization in your environment.