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Hyper-V R2 and right numbers of physical NIC’s
When it comes to network configuration, be sure to provide the right number of physical network adapters on Hyper-V servers. Failure to configure enough network connections can make it appear as though you have a storage problem, particularly when using iSCSI.
Recommendation for network configuration ( number of dedicated Physical Nic’s ):
- 1 for Management. Microsoft recommends a dedicated network adapter for Hyper-V server management.
- At least 1 for Virtual machines. Virtual network configurations of the external type require a minimum of one network adapter.
- 2 for SCSI. Microsoft recommends that IP storage communication have a dedicated network, so one adapter is required and two or more are necessary to support multipathing.
- At least 1 for Failover cluster. Windows® failover cluster requires a private network.
- 1 for Live migration. This new Hyper-V R2 feature supports the migration of running virtual machines between Hyper-V servers. Microsoft recommends configuring a dedicated physical network adapter for live migration traffic. This network should be separate from the network for private communication between the cluster nodes, from the network for the virtual machine, and from the network for storage
- 1 for Cluster shared volumes. Microsoft recommends a dedicated network to support the communications traffic created by this new Hyper-V R2 feature. In the network adapter properties, Client for Microsoft Networks and File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks must be enabled to support SMB
Some interesting notes when comparing FC with iSCSI:
- iSCSI and FC delivered comparable throughput performance irrespective of the load on the system.
- iSCSI used approximately 3-5 percentage points more Hyper-V R2 CPU resources than FC to achieve comparable performance.
For information about the network traffic that can occur on a network used for Cluster Shared Volumes, see “Understanding redirected I/O mode in CSV communciation” in Requirements for Using Cluster Shared Volumes in a Failover Cluster in Windows Server 2008 R2 (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=182153).
For more information on the network used for CSV communication, see Managing the network used for Cluster Shared Volumes.
It’s not recommend that you do use the same network adapter for virtual machine access and management.
If you are limited by the number of network adapters, you should configure a virtual local area network (VLAN) to isolate traffic. VLAN recommendations include 802.1q and 802.p.
Hyper-V : Virtual Hard Disks. Benefits of Fixed disks
When creating a Virtual Machine, you can select to use either virtual hard disks or physical disks that are directly attached to a virtual machine.
My personal advise and what I have seen from Microsoft folks is to always use FIXED DISK for production environment, even with the release of Windows Server 2008 R2, which one of the enhancements was the improved performance of dynamic VHD files.
The explanation and benetifts for that is simple:
1. Almost the same performance as passthroug disks
2. Portability : you can move/copy the VHD
3. Backup : you can backup at the VHD level and better, using DPM you can restore at ITEM level ( how cools is that! )
4.You can have Snapshots
5. The fixed sized VHD performance has been on-par with the physical disk since Windows Server 2008/Hyper-V
If you use pass-through disks you lose all of the benefits of VHD files such as portability, snap-shotting and thin provisioning. Considering these trade-offs, using pass-through disks should really only be considered if you require a disk that is greater than 2 TB in size or if your application is I/O bound and you really could benefit from another .1 ms shaved off your average response time.
Disks Summary table:
| Storage Container | Pros | Cons |
| Pass-through DisK |
|
|
| Fixed sized VHD |
|
|
| Dynamically expanding or
Differencing VHD
|
|
|
SCVMM 2012: Private Cloud Management. Got it!?
It’s great pleasure to see how far Microsoft SCVMM went with the SCVMM 2012.
Belevie me, it’s a whole new product.
So, if you are seriuos about Private Cloud Management, that’s the product you will look into.
•Fabric Management
◦Hyper-V and Cluster Lifecycle Management – Deploy Hyper-V to bare metal server, create Hyper-V clusters, orchestrate patching of a Hyper-V Cluster
◦Third Party Virtualization Platforms – Add and Manage Citrix XenServer and VMware ESX Hosts and Clusters
◦Network Management – Manage IP Address Pools, MAC Address Pools and Load Balancers
◦Storage Management – Classify storage, Manage Storage Pools and LUNs
•Resource Optimization
◦Dynamic Optimization – proactively balance the load of VMs across a cluster
◦Power Optimization – schedule power savings to use the right number of hosts to run your workloads – power the rest off until they are needed.
◦PRO – integrate with System Center Operations Manager to respond to application-level performance monitors.
•Cloud Management
◦Abstract server, network and storage resources into private clouds
◦Delegate access to private clouds with control of capacity, capabilities and user quotas
◦Enable self-service usage for application administrator to author, deploy, manage and decommission applications in the private cloud
•Service Lifecycle Management
◦Define service templates to create sets of connected virtual machines, os images and application packages
◦Compose operating system images and applications during service deployment
◦Scale out the number of virtual machines in a service
◦Service performance and health monitoring integrated with System Center Operations Manager
◦Decouple OS image and application updates through image-based servicing.
◦Leverage powerful application virtualization technologies such as Server App-V
Note: The SCVMM 2012 Beta is NOT Supported in production environments.
Download SCVMM 2012 Beta Now
Hyper-V Integration Services should be updated after applying SP1 on Virtual Machines
Now that you installed SP1 on Hyper-V/Windows 2008 R2 servers, you should upgrade the Integration Services in all virtual machines or have the SP1 installed on the VM’s also.
To do this using the Virtual Machine Manager, connect to the VM :
1. Click in ACTION,
2. Click Insert Integration Services Setup Disk
3. Click Install Hyper-V Integration Services
4. Click OK, when a message informing about a previous installation show.
To check the Integration Services version, look at the Driver version of the Microsoft Virtual Machine Bus Network Adapter in Device Manager
Microsoft Virtualization for VMware Professionals : Free Online Classes taught by two of the most respected authorities on virtualization technologies
Microsoft Virtualization for VMware Professionals – Free Online
Classes – March 29 – 31
Just one week after Microsoft Management Summit 2011 (MMS), Microsoft Learning will be hosting an exclusive three-day Jump Start class specially tailored for VMware and Microsoft virtualization technology pros. Registration for “Microsoft Virtualization for VMware Professionals” is open now and will be delivered as a FREE online class on March 29-31, 2010 from 10:00am-4:00pm PDT.
What’s the high-level overview?
This cutting edge course will feature expert instruction and real-world
demonstrations of Hyper-V and brand new releases from System Center Virtual
Machine Manager 2012 Beta (many of which will be announced just one
week earlier at MMS). Register Now!
- Day 1
will focus on “Platform” (Hyper-V, virtualization architecture, high
availability & clustering)- 10:00am– 10:30pm PDT: Virtualization 360 Overview
- 10:30am– 12:00pm: Microsoft Hyper-V Deployment Options & Architecture
- 1:00pm– 2:00pm: Differentiating Microsoft and VMware (terminology,etc.)
- 2:00pm– 4:00pm: High Availability & Clustering
- Day 2
will focus on “Management” (System Center Suite, SCVMM 2012 Beta, Opalis, Private Cloud solutions)- 10:00am – 11:00pm PDT: System Center
Suite Overview w/ focus on DPM - 11:00am – 12:00pm: Virtual Machine
Manager 2012 | Part 1 - 1:00pm – 1:30pm: Virtual
Machine Manager 2012 | Part 2 - 1:30pm – 2:30pm:
Automation with System Center Opalis & PowerShell - 2:30pm– 4:00pm: Private Cloud Solutions, Architecture & VMM SSP 2.0
- 10:00am – 11:00pm PDT: System Center
- Day 3
will focus on “VDI” (VDI Infrastructure/architecture, v-Alliance, application
delivery via VDI)- 10:00am – 11:00pm PDT: Virtual
Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Architecture | Part 1 - 11:00am – 12:00pm: Virtual Desktop
Infrastructure (VDI) Architecture | Part 2 - 1:00pm – 2:30pm:
v-Alliance Solution Overview - 2:30pm– 4:00pm: Application Delivery for VDI
- 10:00am – 11:00pm PDT: Virtual
- Every section will be team-taught by two of the most respected authorities on virtualization technologies: Microsoft Technical Evangelist Symon Perriman and leading Hyper-V, VMware, and XEN infrastructure consultant, Corey Hynes
Who is the target audience for this training?
Suggested prerequisite skills include real-world experience with Windows Server 2008 R2,virtualization and datacenter management. The course is tailored to these types of roles:
- IT Professional
- IT Decision Maker
- Network Administrators & Architects
- Storage/Infrastructure
Administrators & Architects
How do I to register and learn more about this great training opportunity?
Register: Visit the Registration
Page and sign up for all three sessions
- Blog: Learn more from the Microsoft
Learning Blog - Twitter: Here are a few posts you can retweet:
- Mar. 29-31
“Microsoft #Virtualization for VMware Pros” @SymonPerriman Corey
Hynes http://bit.ly/JS-Hyper-V
@MSLearning #Hyper-V - @SysCtrOpalis Mar.
29-31 “Microsoft #Virtualization for VMware Pros” @SymonPerriman
Corey Hynes http://bit.ly/JS-Hyper-V
#Hyper-V - Learn all the cool new
features in Hyper-V & System Center 2012! SCVMM, Self-Service Portal 2.0, http://bit.ly/JS-Hyper-V
#Hyper-V #Opalis
- Mar. 29-31
What is a “Jump Start” course?
A “Jump Start” course is “team-taught” by two expert instructors in an engaging radio talk show style format. The idea is to deliver readiness training on strategic and emerging technologies that drive awareness at scale before Microsoft Learning develops mainstream Microsoft Official Courses (MOC) that map to certifications. All sessions are professionally recorded and distributed through MS Showcase, Channel 9, Zune Marketplace and iTunes for broader reach.
Windows 7 and W2008 R2 SP1 released. Important Steps to follow before you install
SP1 Download link : http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=c3202ce6-4056-4059-8a1b-3a9b77cdfdda
Before you install Windows 7 SP1 , make sure that you follow these steps:
| STEP 1 : Uninstalling SP1 using Programs and Features |
The easiest way to uninstall SP1 is using Programs and Features.
- Click the Start button
, click Control Panel, click Programs, and then click Programs and Features. - Click View installed updates.
- Click Service Pack for Microsoft Windows (KB 976932), and then click Uninstall.
If you don’t see Service Pack for Microsoft Windows (KB 976932) in the list of installed updates, your computer likely came with SP1 already installed, and you can’t uninstall the service pack. If the service pack is listed but grayed out, you can’t uninstall the service pack.
| Uninstalling SP1 using the Command Prompt |
- Click the Start button , and then, in the search box, type Command Prompt.
- In the list of results, right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
If you’re prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation. - Type the following: wusa.exe /uninstall /kb:976932
- Press the Enter key.
Step 2: Back up your important files
Back up your files to an external hard disk, DVD or CD, USB flash drive, or network folder. For information about how to back up your files, see Back up your files (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Back-up-your-files) .
Update device drivers as necessary. You can do this by using Windows Update in Control Panel or by going to the device manufacturer’s website.
Important If you are using an Intel integrated graphics device, you should be aware that there are known issues with certain versions of the Intel integrated graphics device driver and with D2D enabled applications, such as certain versions of Windows Live Mail. The versions of the Intel integrated graphics device driver that are known to be problematic are Igdkmd32.sys and Igdkmd64.sys versions 8.15.10.2104 through 8.15.10.2141. For more information about a known issue with these drivers and with Windows Live Mail, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 2505524 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2505524) .
To check whether you are using the Intel integrated graphics device driver Igdkmd32.sys or Igdkmd64.sys versions 8.15.10.2104 through 8.15.10.2141, follow these steps:
- Start DirectX Diagnostic Tool. To do this, click Start, type dxdiag in the Search programs and files box, and then press Enter.
- Click the Display tab.
- Note the driver and driver version.
- If you have the Intel integrated graphics driver Igdkmd32.sys or Igdkmd64.sys versions 8.15.10.2104 through 8.15.10.2141, visit the computer manufacturer’s website to see whether a newer driver is available, and then download and install that driver.
Step 4: Install Windows Update KB2454826
Install Windows Update KB2454826 from Windows Update (http://www.update.microsoft.com/) if it is not already installed. If you install the service pack from the Microsoft Download Center and do not install Windows Update KB245862, you could encounter a Stop error in Windows in rare cases.
Windows Update KB2454826 will automatically be installed when you install the service pack by using Windows Update. However, Windows Update KB2454826 is not automatically installed when you install the service pack from the Microsoft Download Center.
To check whether Windows Update KB2454826 is installed, click Start, type View installed updates in the Search programs and files box, and then press Enter. Notice whether Update for Microsoft Windows (KB2454826) is listed. If the update is not listed, you will have to install it from Windows Update
Step 5: Check for malware
Check your computer for malware by using antivirus software. Some antivirus software is sold together with annual subscriptions that can be renewed as needed. However, much antivirus software is also available for free. Microsoft offers Microsoft Security Essentials, free antivirus software that you can download from the Microsoft Security Essentials (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=168949) website. You can also visit the Microsoft Consumer security software providers (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=135654) webpage to find third-party antivirus software.
Important If your computer is infected with malware and you install Windows 7 SP1, you could encounter blue screens or a Windows Update error such as 8007f0f4 or FFFFFFFF. If malware is detected, Windows Update will be unable to install SP1.
Virtualisation:Go beyond doing more with less
Source : Microsoft Technet
Go beyond doing more with less and reducing your carbon footprint; virtualization enables a more agile, responsive infrastructure and lays the foundation for cloud services.
By Mitch Irsfeld
With IT departments wedged between limited budget growth in 2011 and the expectations for new services–especially cloud computing–getting in the virtualization game has become a virtual no-brainer. The reason: Running enterprise workloads on virtual machines not only positions your existing IT infrastructure for cloud services, it delivers substantial savings over physical servers and enables a more agile, scalable and resilient server environment…
To read the comple article go to : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/magazine/gg591293.aspx
SCVMM for VDI deplyoments: tuning
SCVMM as a platform
While most people are aware of SCVMM (System Center Virtual Machine Manager) being used for managing virtualized datacenters, it’s probably less well known that a number of partners have built products using SCVMM as a platform by using the powershell based API. Products that use SCVMM as a platform include Citrix XenDesktop, Quest vWorkspace and Visual Studio Lab Management (this is not an exhaustive list by any means). Two of those products (XenDesktop and Quest workspace) are VDI (Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) management products that can be used to manage VDI desktop VMs.
VDI
VDI management has different usage patterns compared to server virtualization management. For example, VDI VMs are powered on during the morning when the users need to log on to their desktops and they get powered off in the evening after users log off (all this is controllable via policy). So it’s fairly common to power on large number of VMs in a short period of time which causes a spike in load on VMM to handle large number of parallel jobs. These kind of spikes in load can cause the system to become overloaded. While we continue to make improvements in future versions of SCVMM to handle such scenarios, this post is about best practices for configuring SCVMM 2008 R2 for managing VDI environments. The size of the environment is around 1000 desktop VMs, if you have larger environments, you’ll probably need to use multiple instances of SCVMM
to read the full article : http://blogs.technet.com/b/vishwa/archive/2011/02/01/tuning-scvmm-for-vdi-deployments.aspx
Microsoft Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track with Dell technology
Curious about Cloud ?
- Should you use public cloud offerings from providers, build your own private cloud, or develop a hybrid of both?
- What cloud-based services are right for you?
- What are the best practices and proven process for implementing cloud technologies that minimize risk and maximize success?
Microsoft in partnership with Dell
Microsoft Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track is a reference architecture for building private clouds that combines Dell technology, including servers, networking and storage, with Microsoft software, technical guidance and validated configurations.
Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track solutions offer a turnkey approach to delivering scalable, preconfigured, validated infrastructure platforms for on-premises private cloud implementations. With local control over data and operations, your IT can dynamically pool, allocate, secure and manage resources for agile IaaS. Likewise, business units can deploy line-of-business applications with speed and consistency using self-provisioning and automated data center services in a virtualized environment.
Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track solutions offer:
- Faster deployment — Rich features and support make private clouds easy to deploy.
- Reduced risk — Validated configurations mean you can implement with confidence.
- Dell advantage — Dell provides business-ready configurations for virtualization that are optimized for Microsoft Hyper-V.
Dell Business-Ready Configurations for Microsoft Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track
Dell offers a range of pre-engineered, business-ready configurations that conform to Microsoft’s Hyper-V Fast Track reference architecture:
- Business-Ready Configurations: Hyper-V, Rack Servers, 10 Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) Internet SCSI (iSCSI)
Designed for large-enterprise deployments using 10 GbE iSCSI storage - Business-Ready Configurations: Hyper-V, Rack Servers, iSCSI Storage
Designed for small and medium deployments - Business-Ready Configurations: Hyper-V, Rack Servers, PowerVault Internet SCSI (iSCSI)
Designed for small, medium and remote deployments - Business-Ready Configurations: Hyper-V, Blades, Fibre Channel (FC) Storage
Designed for a range of deployment sizes using FC storage
Hotfixes for SCVMM 2008 R2
Hi
Here is the recommended hotfixes for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2
Recommended updates for the Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) Server and Admin Console
2308590 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2308590) Description of the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 hotfix rollup package: September 14, 2010
982523 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/982523) Description of the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 Admin Console hotfix rollup package: June 8, 2010
Windows Server 2008 – Recommended updates for Microsoft Hyper-V Server and for the VMM server
The following list applies only to systems that are running Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 1
954563 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954563) Memory corruption may occur with the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista Service Pack 1
955805 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955805) Certain applications become very slow on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista SP1-based computer when a certificate with the SIA extension is installed
956774 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956774) A Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) client cannot handle files that have paths that contain the volume GUID in Windows Server 2008 or in Windows Vista
958124 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958124) A wmiprvse.exe process may leak memory when a WMI notification query is used heavily on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista-based computer
The following list applies to systems that are running Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 1 or Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2
968936 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968936) A rollup hotfix package for Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering WMI provider
970520 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/970520) The Wmiprvse.exe process creates a memory leak on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 if you remotely monitor this process by using the WMI interface on a computer that is running Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP
971244 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971244) Windows Remote Management (WinRM) does not accept HTTP authorization requests that are larger than 16 KB on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista
971403 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/971403) The “Win32_share” WMI class cannot enumerate file shares or create file shares on a node in a Windows Server 2008 failover cluster
To see a list of recommended Hyper-V updates for Windows Server 2008 and for Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008, visit the following Microsoft TechNet website: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd430893(WS.10).aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd430893(WS.10).aspx)
Windows Server 2008 – Recommended updates for Hyper-V Failover Cluster nodes
957311 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957311) Recommended hotfixes for Windows Server 2008-based server clusters
Windows Server 2008 R2 – Recommended updates for Microsoft Hyper-V Server and for the VMM server
981314 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981314) The “Win32_Service” WMI class leaks memory in Windows Server 2008 R2 and in Windows 7
981845 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/981845) The Windows Remote Management service stops responding in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
To see a list of recommended Hyper-V updates for Windows Server 2008 R2 and for Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, visit the following Microsoft TechNet website: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff394763(WS.10).aspx (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ff394763(WS.10).aspx)
Windows Server 2008 R2 – Recommended updates for Hyper-V Failover Cluster nodes
974930 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/974930) An application or service that queries information about a failover cluster by using the WMI provider may experience low performance or a time-out exception
980054 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/980054) Recommended hotfixes and updates for Windows Server 2008 R2-based server clusters
Recommended updates for Windows Server 2003 systems that have Virtual Server installed
936059 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936059) An update is available for the Windows Remote Management feature in Windows Server 2003 and in Windows XP
Recommended updates that should be applied to Windows 2000 systems before a P2V is performed
834010 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/834010) A deadlock occurs when a program that uses WMI calls the LoadLibrary() or the FreeLibrary() function in Windows 2000
843527 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/843527) The Win32_SCSIController WMI class cannot obtain SCSI controller information after you install the MS04-011 security update
892294 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/892294) A WMI event notification query does not detect a user permissions change on Windows 2000 or Windows Server 2003
More info : http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2397711
Recommended Books
System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 Cookbook
Cloudtidings.com 