So you need to completely isolate your LAB environment with no connectivity between the Production and Virtual Hosts. The customer states that we need connectivity to the Virtuals on the Virtual Host but the Virtuals themselves must not be able to directly communicate with the Virtual Host server which is also a member of the production domain.
Now for the problem and the solution.
Everyone knows that we can record existing CDs as ISO images which can be loaded on a Virtual instance as a CD. But what about all those tools, import files and other pieces of software that you need to install on the Virtual instance? Normally you could create an additional NIC using a Microsoft Loopback connector and apply an internal IP which does not allow routing except between the Host and the Virtuals. However the client states that this is not acceptable and provides too great a risk to the production environment. Now what?
You can cut all your tools, third part installs and import files to an ISO image without having to create a real CD. Ok great how do I do that you ask without having to create a CD first? Well there are a couple of tools that I do this with which can make life much easier. For quick drag and drop functionality try EasyIso found at http://www.softpedia.com/get/CD-DVD-Tools/CD-DVD-Images-Utils/EasyISO.shtml on www.softpedia.com. EasyIso is a single exe which can be executed from the desktop. Once executed simply drag and drop the files you wish to place on an ISO image to the interface and drop to the lower left Iso-Menu and say create ISO. Be sure to create all your ISO images in a single ISO directory which you have placed in the search path of Virtual Server 2005 under Virtural Server Search Paths.
EasyIso is freeware that means no cost!!! It provides a quick and easy method to transfer those needed files to a Virtual Instance without needing any kind of routing between the Virtual Host or Virtual instance. That mean no mapped drives i.e. NetBIOS connectivity between the Virtuals and the host thus meeting the need to isolate the Lab from production. Similar functionality can be obtained with WinISO found at www.winiso.com . However one needs to remember while there are significantly more features in WinISO it is Shareware meaning you are allowed to use it for a certain number of days with limited features and then pay a licensing fee. For the quick and free solutions use EasyIso which will make those file transfers to your Virtual Instances easy as well as Isolated.
Happy Virtualization!
