Jeff Coughlin's ColdFusion Blog - Misc

Convert VirtualBox (vdi) to VMWare (vmdk)

Fri, 27 Aug 2010 17:49:00 -0400

Recently I decided to switch from VMWare desktop to VirtualBox desktop VM software. I've heard great things about VirtualBox (speed and less-overhead being two very nice features). I did not need to migrate a VM because I wanted a fresh install of Win2008 R2 Enterprise and MSSQL 2008 R2 64-bit. I've been using VirtualBox for a few months now and for the most part it's worked out great, but there were certain things I missed from VMWare desktop. The reasons aren't really that important (I have nothing against VirtualBox and still think it's pretty awesome), but I thought I'd just share how I converted it. I did a lot of research on the web and found many tutorials and walkthroughs for earlier versions of VirtualBox, but when I went to use those lengthy methods, I found that they weren't possible anymore (at least not the same way). The old way (which is still possible, but with a different utility) also required another program called qemu-img. You actually can still use the old method of converting the VM to raw format and then convert it again to VMWare's vmdk format using Quem-img (each conversion can take a while depending on the size of the VM). However, as of VirtualBox 3.1+ you can now do it all in one command line (and only have to do one conversion). I'm on a Mac, so the example below is for Mac (using VMWare Fusion). But the same command line should work for Windows (you just need to substitute the paths and point to the vboxmanage.exe file instead of the contents in the app file as seen below). Also, the source and destination paths are custom in this case (I'm currently storing mine on an external storage device). In the following example I'm calling my virtual machine filename windows.vdi for simplicity (most likely your filename is long and has spaces like mine. Thus I suggest wrapping your file locations in quotes).


/Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/MacOS/Vboxmanage clonehd "/Volumes/Drobo/Virtual Machines/windows.vdi" "/Volumes/Drobo/Virtual Machines/windows.vmdk" -format VMDK -variant standard -type normal -remember

Note: It is VERY important to have the full paths to the source and destination files otherwise you'll get an ambiguous error message as I found out the hard way (with some google searching I was able to figure it out though). I believe this effects Windows users as well (not positive on that). I wish I could give credit to the forum post that I dug most of this up in (I believe it was somewhere in the VirtualBox forums). Sorry to whomever I'm not giving proper credit. After the conversion is complete, open VMWare and create a new virtual machine. Choose the option to open an existing VM. I converted the VM with VirtualBox v3.2.8 and then opened the new file in VMWare Fusion 3.1.1. VMWare said the vmdk file was an older format and needed to be updated (I agreed of course). A few seconds later the VM opened successfully. As expected, new drivers were auto-detected and added (I believe I had to reboot the VM OS twice) and then I installed the latest VMWare Tools (followed by another reboot - all expected). In all the process took about 30-40 minutes on a 50GB VM (about 10 minutes was the auto-update for drivers and the VMWare Tools install and reboot).

Online Backup Solutions. Which One Should I Choose?

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:58:00 -0400

I've been researching new backup solutions for both online and offline backups of my development computers. I don't just want to backup a few files, I need disaster recovery (if my machine completely fails, I want to be able to replace the HDD (or computer) and be able to restore it back to the way it was in a few clicks). For years I've been backing up my PCs using Acronis True Image Home to my local NAS drives. This works great for local backups, but I moved to a Mac last year and haven't found a backup software I really like yet that does compression as well as Acronis (currently PC-only) and offers something close to a GFS backup solution. But this blog post is to discuss online backup solutions. While I continue to try different offline backup solutions to backup my data to my NAS drives, I really need an offline backup solution for redundancy. Here are a list of some solutions I've been researching. I'd be grateful to hear people's thoughts on the products or to hear what other people are using that they might suggest to consider. I need something that can backup my Macs (most important), but if there is a product that can backup my PCs as well, it would be preferred:

Jungle Disk: Offline storage powered by Amazon S3. Very affordable at only 15 cents per gigabyte per month (and you only pay for what you use).
CrashPlan: A really cool product that allows you to use either their online storage facilities, or backup to your own servers (online and offline). You can even do redundant backups (backup to multiple devices, both your own devices and their online backup facilities). I really like this option, except it doesn't (yet) have an option to just backup to offline HDDs (like my NAS) without involving another OS (I say "yet" because their site lists that they are working on that option and may be offering it soon). Check out their video for a pretty cool demonstration.
Mozy: An online-only backup solution. This one has been around for a while. It still doesn't appear to officially support Mac OS 10.5 yet (like CrashPlan), but I've had friends say they're using it without a problem. I believe it deletes your data after 30 days.
Carbonite: An offline backup solution. This is a very enticing solution... only $49.95 per year with no file storage capacity storage limitation. What's that you say? You heard me correct. The downside is that its Windows-only (and I need a solution for the Mac). Still, it was worthy to list here. I believe it deletes your data after 30 days.
iDrive: Looks like a pretty cool online backup solution, but their pricing os too high for the amount of data I need to backup and it's Windows-only.
Drobo and DroboShare: Okay, I know... this product doesn't belong on this list of online backup solutions, but it was too cool not to talk about anyway :). The two devices together act like a NAS (using new technology that may replace standard RAID as we know it (my personal opinion)), but limitations like USB2 between the devices, no redundant gigabit connections, etc. are holding me back. Its been out for a while, so hopefully they will have a new version out soon with many of the missing features people have been asking for.

If you Google "online backup solutions" you'll get a long list of products out there (only a few of which I've looked into). So, what do you use or suggest?

Google Announces Video Sitemaps

Mon, 17 Dec 2007 17:18:00 -0400

On the Official Google Webmaster Central Blog, Google announced a new feature called Video Sitemaps.

Video Sitemaps-an extension of the Sitemap Protocol that helps make your videos more searchable via Google Video Search

I played with it for a couple minutes and it looks pretty cool (I sense maybe a few more features for it coming... we'll see :) ). As the blog states: To get started, create a Video Sitemap, sign into Google Webmaster Tools, and add the Video Sitemap to your account.

Travel Tips: Ways to Save Money and Headaches

Thu, 22 Feb 2007 22:16:00 -0400

I travel usually 5-8 times a year. No, it's not as many as a lot of people I know, however nine times out of ten I have to pay out of my own pocket. So here are a few tips to save you money and a few headaches and still use the same resources you know and love.

Book Trips Online

First, as many of you probably know, consider using online flight and hotel purchasing. Because I go to a lot of conferences my hotels are usually taken care of, but what about flights? In the past I used to search on all the big-name sites like travelocity, CheapTickets, Expedia, Orbitz, etc. Unfortunately searching all of those sites for the best fare, flight times, seating, etc. can take so many hours (non-billable hours) that you could have just bought the tickets at MSRP and saved money.

Kayak.com

What if I told you there was a way to search all of those sites (and more) in a single search? Don't believe me, check out Kayak.com. I've been using it for almost two years now. It searches over 120+ providers. I really like their search results. Plus they let you pin (or save) a certain search result to compare to other saved results (as long as the session allows).

SeatGuru.com

The next thing I do is seating. We all know that where you sit on a plane is a gamble with regards to a pleasant ride. Will I have room under the seat in front me to store my carry-on or laptop? Will I be too close to a high-traffic area? Maybe you think you know a good place to sit on say a 777 because you've had a good experience in the past. But did you know there are many models/versions of a 777 and that each model can have drastic changes with regards to layout and seating experience? Not a problem. Check out SeatGuru.com; another Web2.0 site that gives you detailed information about the seating layout on a plane. Just hover over the seat(s) you are interested in and it will give you decent information. Maybe a seat you were looking to sit in only tilts back a few degrees (or not at all). Perhaps the television screen that plays from the ceiling cannot be seen very well from a particular row. This site covers it all in an easy-to-use interface and is free to use.

Watch Out for Those Pesky Underscores

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 03:55:00 -0400

Earlier this summer I had service done on my house (new home, lots of warranty things all spring and summer). I don't remember which company it was (could have been the sprinkler company), but when I got the bill from them I placed it on the kitchen counter and forgot about it the rest of the day. When my partner got home and saw it she couldn't stop laughing. I looked at the client info (me) and saw what she was laughing about. Apparently when I gave the woman over the phone my personal info, I had given her one of my generic email addresses that has an underscore in it. Yup, you guessed it. She actually wrote out the word underscore in my email address. Are there awards for people like this? :)

Digg.com Launches v3.0 of It's New Site Design

Mon, 26 Jun 2006 11:45:00 -0400

If you haven't checked it out yet, go on over to digg.com and see their new facelift (launched today). Even the new Netscape Beta design launched recently (Digg rip-off) will have to work harder to rip-off Digg's hard work again :).

Subeclipse 1.0.0 Released

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 15:50:00 -0400

The 1.0.0 version of Subeclipse has been released. In case you're not familiar with the project, it's a plugin for Eclipse used to connect to subversion (source control software) servers. Read more about the release on the Subeclipse website.

It's my 30th Birthday Today

Tue, 21 Feb 2006 07:59:00 -0400

It feels weird to say that ("I'm 30 years old"). It's a good feeling though... a milestone if you will. So I'm looking back at my accomplishments and failures over the last 30 years and I have to ask myself, "Self, where to now?" Well, so far I'm very pleased with where I am at the moment and the direction I'm currently headed in. My career decisions aside my family is what's most important to me. So what do I plan to cook up for the next 30 years? I have some really cool things planned for the next coming months, but beyond that things seem blurry. I guess as long as I keep my head high, and mind open to new possibilities and new horizons it should be another fun 30 years. So, work day or not, I'll have a beer, sit back for a few and toast myself to the next 30 years :).

Superbowl Commercials from Google Video

Mon, 06 Feb 2006 03:02:00 -0400

Go to Google Video to see the commercials for Super Bowl XL. They also have the GoDaddy commercials that were not accepted to be aired. I don't know about you, but I thought the Window Washer was GoDaddy's best one (gosh darn censors).

Google Maps Gets a User Out of a Traffic Ticket

Wed, 20 Jul 2005 13:32:00 -0400

While in court defendant Edwin Soto used his laptop, a little WiFi, and some quick thinking to prove to a judge that the officer was incorrect.

"Thanks to an open WiFi network and some quick thinking, defendant Edwin Soto was able to use Google Maps to get out of jail free."

Read the full article at arstechnica.com. Update: Here is the original article.

James Doohan Dies at Age 85 (Scotty from Star Trek)

Wed, 20 Jul 2005 12:36:00 -0400

James Doohan, most notably known as Scotty from the hit series Star Trek, passed away earlier today. He will be missed by many fans. Here are a couple links detailing more information: CNN and a good obituary on BBC.

ColdFusion's 10th birthday - Meeting Jeremy Allaire

Thu, 14 Jul 2005 22:21:00 -0400

Last night I drove up to Newton, MA (just outside of Boston) with Jeff Houser to celebrate ColdFusion's 10th birthday Macromedia-style (it was only a 1.5 hour drive from where I live in CT). I remembered to bring my camera and take a few pictures. However, we were there a little early, so we hung out with Michael and Judith Dinowitz and Simon Horwith until MM's security would let us through the door at 4pm (EST). After taking a few pictures (only a few early ones) I got tired of carrying around my camera and decided to temporarily put my camera in Jeff's car until later (not smart). Well, I didn't remember the camera again until a few minutes into the interview presentation. I was talking to Steven Erat earlier in the evening and he mentioned that Jeremy Allaire was supposed to be there earlier in the day but was delayed in Philidelphia (flight delays). By the way, if you watch the Breeze presentation, I'm the second guy that walks by at around the 10-second mark. My 1 second of fame... w00t. So after missing about 100+ awesome photo ops I went out to Jeff's car during break to get my camera (what seemed like a mile-walk. Man that place was huge). I walked out the front door of the building and instantly realized that I forgot to bring Jeff's keys (d'oh). There getting out of a cab in front of me was Jeremy Alliare. Did I say hello? No. Did I say "Hey Jeremy, it's a pleasure to meet you." No. Instead, the first words that came out of my mouth were "Dude, you're late" (nice one). Luckily Jeremy has a sense of humor. Even though he had an awful travel day, was probably exhausted, and very likely did not want to have some guy cracking tardiness jokes on him... He laughed and said some joke about airlines (don't recall it, sorry). We went to the front door (there was another attendee who had just shown up as well) and found it locked. I'm thinking "Okay, I'll just call Jeff. No wait; he's not carrying a cell phone". I turn to Jeremy, "Do you know anyone's cell number up there?" "Nope." Okay, we're screwed. Jeremy smiles and says, "C'mon, I know a side entrance". Of course! He did actually work there a couple years ago. After a long trek to the "side entrance" we made our way back in the building (to which I was missing part of the second-half of the presentation) and Jeremy was able to make a grand entrance. Tim Buntel did a great job the whole time improvising the presentation without Jeremy there and made Jeremy's timing look planned. All-in-all it was a great event. MM provided food (lots of pork. mmm... ribs) and of course beer (and of course wine and soda for the light at heart). Aymii (if I spelled that right) sitting next to me at dinner commented that they didn't have water. I had my beer, so I was good :). To many people there it was sort of a farewell to Macromedia ColdFusion. Who knows what will come with Adobe ColdFusion. I'm not one to speculate or get into the debates. I'll just ride it out and go with the masses. So ColdFusion, this ones for you (/me holds up a beer).

Mozilla Releases Thunderbird v1.0.5

Thu, 14 Jul 2005 15:16:00 -0400

Mozilla today released Thunderbird v1.0.5. Not sure what happened to v1.0.3 or v1.0.4, but I'm sure I just missed it along the way :).

How many coffee shops do you need within 2 blocks?

Sun, 01 May 2005 21:50:00 -0400

I went to Wal-Mart the other day to pickup a card for my wife (mother's day coming up). When I entered the building I noticed they added a new Dunkin Donuts. That makes 3 Dunkin Donuts within two blocks (on the same road). You can count a 4th if you go down an extra 1/4 of a mile down the road. I know this is common in many cities (I've seen 4 Starbucks on four corners), but I live in a semi-rural area. So how many do we actually need? This just goes to show that we as a society (including myself) cannot go about our daily lives without relieving our daily caffeine addictions. Man I love coffee. Just thinking about it (even this late in the evening) makes me want a cup. Time for some decaf :).

Yagoohoogle.com

Sat, 09 Apr 2005 12:56:00 -0400

When I saw the site yagoohoogle.com last week I got a good chuckle (note: His router goes down at times). Then last night a friend forwarded me a link to gizoogle.com and I couldn't help but bust out laughing. I wonder how much time people actually spend on writing these things. By the way, if you're a PSP fan like myself you might get a kick out of this photo.