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Virtual machine configuration detected

[This topic is intended to address a specific issue called out by the Exchange Server Analyzer Tool. You should apply it only to systems that have had the Exchange Server Analyzer Tool run against them and are experiencing that specific issue. The Exchange Server Analyzer Tool, available as a free download, remotely collects configuration data from each server in the topology and automatically analyzes the data. The resulting report details important configuration issues, potential problems, and nondefault product settings. By following these recommendations, you can achieve better performance, scalability, reliability, and uptime. For more information about the tool or to download the latest versions, see "Microsoft Exchange Analyzers" at https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=34707.]  

Topic Last Modified: 2005-12-15

The Microsoft® Exchange Server Analyzer Tool queries the Win32_ComputerSystem Microsoft Windows® Management Instrumentation (WMI) class to determine whether the value for the Model key is set to "Virtual Machine".

The Exchange Server Analyzer also queries the Win32_Service WMI class to determine the value of the Started key for ClusSvc, the Windows Cluster service. A value of True for the Started key indicates that the Cluster service is started. A value of False indicates that the Cluster service is not started.

The Exchange Server Analyzer queries the Active Directory® directory service to determine the value of the serialNumber attribute for all objects that have an object class of msExchExchangeServer. If the string value includes "Version 6.5" and "Service Pack 2", the computer is running Exchange Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 (SP2).

Finally, the Exchange Server Analyzer reads the following registry entry to determine whether virtual machine additions have been installed:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Virtual Machine\Guest\Parameters

The presence of this registry path indicates that virtual machine additions have been installed. The absence of this registry path indicates that virtual machine additions have not been installed.

The Exchange Server Analyzer displays a best practice message if the following conditions are true:

  • The Exchange server is running as a guest under Microsoft Virtual Server 2005.

  • The Exchange server is running Exchange Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 or a later version.

  • The Exchange server is not clustered.

  • The Virtual Machine Additions for Virtual Server 2005 have been installed on the Exchange server.

There are some requirements for running in this configuration that the Exchange Server Analyzer cannot detect. Therefore, we recommend that you review the following article for the latest information about supportability and performance tuning for this configuration before you run Exchange Server 2003 in a Virtual Server 2005 environment:

Microsoft Knowledge Base article 320220, "Support policy for Exchange Server 2003 running on hardware virtualization software" (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=3052&kbid=320220).