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Now Available: Virtual Machine Manager 2016 book

February 28, 2018 1 comment
9781785881480

VMM 2016 book

Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2016 is part of the System Center suite to configure and manage private clouds.

Now available: System Center 2016 Virtual Machine Manager Cookbook – Third Edition

The book will be your best companion for day-to-day virtualization needs within your organization, as it takes you through a series of recipes to simplify and plan a highly scalable and available virtual infrastructure. You will learn the deployment tips, techniques, and solutions designed to show users how to improve VMM 2016 in a real-world scenario. The chapters are divided in a way that will allow you to implement the VMM 2016 and additional solutions required to effectively manage and monitor your fabrics and clouds. We will cover the most important new features in VMM 2016 across networking, storage, and compute, including brand new Guarded Fabric, Shielded VMs and Storage Spaces Direct. The recipes in the book provide step-by-step instructions giving you the simplest way to dive into VMM fabric concepts, private cloud, and integration with external solutions such as VMware, Operations Manager, and the Windows Azure Pack.

vmm-table of contents.PNG

By the end of this book, you will be armed with the knowledge you require to start designing and implementing virtual infrastructures in VMM 2016.

The book has been updated to reflect the updates available on VMM 2016 1801 release.

What You Will Learn

  • Plan and design a VMM architecture for real-world deployment
  • Configure fabric resources, including compute, networking, and storage
  • Create and manage Storage Spaces Direct clusters in VMM
  • Configure Guarded Fabric with Shielded VMs
  • Create and deploy virtual machine templates and multi-tier services
  • Manage Hyper-V and VMware environments from VMM
  • Enhance monitoring and management capabilities
  • Upgrade to VMM 2016 from previous versions

Authors

  • Roman Levchenko
  • Edvaldo Alessandro Cardoso

Order your Copy

You can order your copy of the VMM 2016 book here

 

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Automating the deployment of Hyper-V hosts with VMM 2016 with Baremetal deployment

November 30, 2017 1 comment

To deploy a new Hyper-V host from bare metal, the following simple steps are carried out by System Center 2016 Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) :

  1. VMM Discovers the physical computer through out-of-band management (BMC)
  2. VMM Installs an OS image on the physical computer using a previously created physical computer profile.
  3. VMM Enables the Hyper-V role on the physical computer.
  4. VMM Brings the computer under VMM management as a managed Hyper-V host.

Now in order for that to happen, let’s see what pre-requisites you are required to provide first:

  1. DNS and Active Directory
    Create DNS entries and Active Directory account for the machine names.
  2. BIOS

    a. Set up the BIOS on the machine to support virtualization: Configuring the BIOS boot order to boot from (PXE)-enabled network adapter as the first device.
    b. Configure the BMC settings. Configure the logon credentials and IP address settings for the BMC on each computer.
  3. Add a PXE server environment: A PXE server integrated to VMM is required for Bare Metal deployment.
  4. Add resources to VMM library: Add a generalized virtual hard disk with an suitable OS to use as the base image, and driver files that will be added to the during installation of the OS.
  5. Create a Run As account. In VMM create a Run As Account with permissions to access the BMC.
  6. Create Physical Computer profiles: In the VMM library, create one or more physical computer profiles. These profiles include configuration settings, such as the location of the operating system image, and hardware and OS settings.


Now let’s have a look on the step by step to provision a Hyper-V host using Baremetal Deployment:

  1. Click Fabric > Servers > Home > Add > Add Resources > Hyper-V Hosts and Clusters.
  2. In the Add Resource Wizard > Resource location, select Physical computers to be provisioned as virtual machine hosts.
  3. In Credentials and Protocol select the Run As account with permissions to access the BMC. In the Protocol list, click the out-of-band management protocol that your BMCs use. If you want to use Data Center Management Interface (DCMI), click Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI). Although DCMI 1.0 is not listed, it is supported. Make sure the correct port is selected.
  4. In Discovery Scope, enter the single IP address, the IP subnet, or the IP address range that includes the IP addresses of the BMCs

Note:

  • If you specify a single IP address, when you click Next, the computer is restarted.
  • If you specify an IP address range, when you click Next, information about the computer is displayed, and you can confirm that you specified the computer that you meant to.

4a. If you specified an IP subnet or IP address range the Target Resources page appears. Select the BMCs you want to provision as Hyper-V hosts.

  1. In Provisioning Options, click a host group for new Hyper-V hosts. Select the physical computer profile you want to apply.
  2. In Deployment Customization, provide information for each computer that you want to provision as a Hyper-V host:

Note: To remove a BMC from the list, select it and then click Remove.

For each BMC IP address in the list:

    • Click the BMC IP address and specify a unique computer name, without wildcard characters.
    • Select or clear Skip Active Directory for this computer name. The Active Directory check prevents deployment if the computer account already exists.
    • For each BMC IP address in the list:
    • Click on the Network Adapter (on the left) to modify the configuration, or fill in more information. You can specify the MAC address of the management NIC (not the BMC) and static IP settings for this network adapter.
    • To specify an IP address select a logical network and an IP subnet if applicable. If the selected IP subnet includes IP address pool, you can check Obtain an IP address corresponding to the selected subnet. Otherwise, type an IP address that’s within the logical network or its subnet.
    • Configure the adapter settings for each network adapter. You must specify any information that is missing for the adapters.
    • When all information for the listed BMC are completed, click Next.
  1. In Summary, confirm the settings, and then click Finish to deploy the new Hyper-V hosts and bring them under VMM management.

Make sure that all steps in the job have a status of Completed.

  1. To confirm that the host was added click Fabric > Servers > All Hosts > host group, and verify that the new Hyper-V host appears in the group.

 

Note: Nano Server is not a supported OS for infrastructure-related roles like Hyper-V. I recommend that you use Windows 2016 Core Server version

Windows 2016 released and with it Hyper-V and System Center

September 27, 2016 Leave a comment

Microsoft released today at the Microsoft Ignite conference in Atlanta the newest release of Windows Server 2016!

Windows Server 2016 is jam-packed with innovation and customer response has been overwhelming, with more than half a million devices running the final Technical Preview. These customers range from large global enterprises to private cloud hosters to organizations of every size from every corner of the globe – Erin Chapple, General Manager, Windows Server

 

Windows Server 2016 delivers powerful innovation across three areas:

  • Advanced Multi-layer Security: Use Shielded Virtual Machines to help protect your virtual machines from a compromised fabric as well as improve your compliance. Shielded Virtual Machines are encrypted using BitLocker and will run on healthy hosts. To help prevent attacks and detect suspicious activity with new features to control privileged access, protect virtual machines and harden the platform against emerging threats.Watch an introduction to Shielded Virtual Machines
  • Software-defined Datacenter with Hyper-V: Run your datacenter with the utmost confidence with an automated, resilient server operating system. Azure utilises Windows Server and Hyper-V at a massive scale. Windows Servers delivers a more flexible and cost-efficient operating system for any datacenter, using software-defined compute, storage and network features inspired by Azure. Explore server virtualization with Hyper-V
  • Cloud-ready Application Platform: Run your existing apps on Windows Server 2016 without modifying them. Take advantage of enhanced security and efficiency features in the fabric. Applications are at the heart of every organization and its ability to serve customers and compete effectively for their loyalty.  Windows Server 2016 delivers new ways to deploy and run both existing and cloud-native applications – whether on-premises or in Microsoft Azure – using new capabilities such as Windows Server Containers and the lightweight Nano Server deployment option.  Learn more about containers  and Learn more about Azure Service Fabric on Windows Server 2016

 

Availability: Windows Server 2016 is available for evaluation starting today

Note: Volume licensing customers will be able to download fully licensed software at General Availability in mid-October.

System Center and Cloud Technologies showcase at SCU Australia

December 25, 2015 1 comment

For the FIRST time ever, System Center Universe is coming to Australia in 2016! This is a first-class community conference where you can mingle with experts and fellow industry professionals to explore new technologies. The conference has been running for many years in Asia, typically Singapore and Malaysia and also in Europe and USA.

This one days event will be showcasing upcoming System Center solutions and Cloud Technologies with integration of the latest Windows 10!

Who should attend SCU?

System Center Universe Australia is a technical conference for administrators, engineers, architects, project managers and other technical-oriented people that are focused on Microsoft products and technologies. Less technical oriented people can still benefit from the conference by getting a broad overview of problem-solving solutions and of course by connecting to exhibitors and community specialists.

Why is SCU different from other conferences?

SCU is a first-class community conference that lives from inputs and ideas from people who are part of the community and knows about real-world requirements and solutions. That said, we are not marketing-driven but to present the latest and greatest content with the best speakers. Sessions are presented with lots of live demos and can go technically deep, mainly down to level 300 or 400 (advanced and expert). Attending SCU gives you ready-to-use knowledge and allows you to connect and build long-term relations with speakers and attendees from all over the world.

Conference Date
March 11, 2016

Conference Venue
Crown Promenade Melbourne, Australia

Conference Language
English

REGISTER NOW – XMAS SPECIAL

Microsoft released System Center 2016 TP4

November 20, 2015 Leave a comment

Microsoft today announced the release of Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016 Technical Preview 4.

tp4sc

This new build includes new features that enables hybrid datacenter solutions.

Running at cloud scale also produces technology innovation for management. System Center 2016 brings cloud learnings to the datacenter, enabling seamless management of complex environments. Moving into the hybrid world, System Center 2016 combines with Microsoft Operations Management Suite to provide an integrated, 360-degree view across any cloud, any operating system, from infrastructure to applications. Management anywhere means IT has the ability to take robust data about system performance, security, and emerging issues and turn that into action as rapidly as possible. With management tools designed to handle complexity, IT can allow for more agility in the environment as a whole. Core enhancements in System Center 2016 Technical Preview 4 include:

  • Advanced software-defined datacenter support for Windows Server 2016 including new technologies such as patching of hosts while provisioning, simplified logical network creation, scale-out file server with Storage Spaces Direct and SAN storage automation, and improved storage monitoring.
  • Protecting customer IP through shielded VM’s and Guardian Host deployment and management
  • Easy to use monitoring improvements in Operations Manager through data-driven management of alerts and enhanced visualization

Download Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 4: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-technical-preview

Download System Center 2016 Technical Preview 4: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-system-center-technical-preview

 

Microsoft Windows Server 2016 TP4 released

November 20, 2015 Leave a comment

Microsoft today announced the release of Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016 Technical Preview 4.

tp4

This new build includes new features that enables hybrid datacenter solutions.

The three main features: Hyper-V Containers, Software-defined datacenter capabilities and increase agility and Enhanced management capabilities:

Hyper-V: Now includes an early preview of nested virtualization, along with Direct Device Assignment, and improved PowerShell support for VM upgrades. Nested virtualization can be used in dev and test scenarios and is a key enabling technology for Hyper-V Containers.

  • Networking:  high availability for the network controller, better East-West load balancing, enhanced container networking, and support for live migration. New: Virtual Machine Multi-Queue to enable 10G+ performance.
  • Storage:  Storage Spaces Direct to support all-flash configurations with NVMe SSD and SATA SSD devices, and Erasure Coding for increased storage efficiency. Also in this release, support for Storage Health Service provides easier health monitoring and more streamlined operations, with a single monitoring point per cluster. Storage QoS now supports adjusting the normalization size of the algorithm from the current default 8 KB settings. Additional enhancements are designed for increased control, such as maximum bandwidth settings for a VHD/X.
  • Security: Enhancements to shielded VMs and the Host Guardian Service are directed toward ensuring readiness for production environments. Just Enough Administration, which limits administrator rights for additional security, has been expanded to domain controllers and server maintenance roles.

 

Make innovation easier with Windows Server 2016 and System Center 2016 Technical Preview 4.

Core enhancements in System Center 2016 Technical Preview 4 include:

  • Advanced software-defined datacenter support for Windows Server 2016 including new technologies such as patching of hosts while provisioning, simplified logical network creation, scale-out file server with Storage Spaces Direct and SAN storage automation, and improved storage monitoring.
  • Protecting customer IP through shielded VM’s and Guardian Host deployment and management
  • Easy to use monitoring improvements in Operations Manager through data-driven management of alerts and enhanced visualization

Download Windows Server 2016 Technical Preview 4: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-windows-server-technical-preview

Download System Center 2016 Technical Preview 4: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-system-center-technical-preview

 

Hybrid Cloud Computing with Microsoft and Red Hat

November 5, 2015 1 comment

Microsoft and Red Hat announced a partnership that will help customers embrace hybrid cloud computing by providing greater choice and flexibility deploying Red Hat solutions on Microsoft Azure.

redhat-msRed Hat Enterprise Linux will be the preferred option for enterprise Linux workloads on Microsoft Azure.

Microsoft Azure will become a Red Hat Certified Cloud and Service Provider, enabling customers to run their Red Hat Enterprise Linux applications and workloads on Microsoft Azure. Red Hat Cloud Access subscribers will be able to bring their own virtual machine images to run in Microsoft Azure.

Customers will be offered cross-platform, cross-company support spanning the Microsoft and Red Hat offerings in an integrated way, unlike any previous partnership in the public cloud. By co-locating support teams on the same premises, the experience will be simple and seamless, at cloud speed.

Red Hat CloudForms will interoperate with Microsoft Azure and Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager, offering Red Hat CloudForms customers the ability to manage Red Hat Enterprise Linux on both Hyper-V and Microsoft Azure. Support for managing Azure workloads from Red Hat CloudForms is expected to be added in the next few months, extending the existing System Center capabilities for managing Red Hat Enterprise Linux

In addition, Expanding on the preview of .NET on Linux announced by Microsoft in April, developers will have access to .NET technologies across Red Hat offerings, including Red Hat OpenShift and Red Hat Enterprise Linux, jointly backed by Microsoft and Red Hat. Red Hat Enterprise Linux will be the primary development and reference operating system for .NET Core on Linux.

Source: http://www.redhat.com/en/about/press-releases/microsoft-and-red-hat-deliver-new-standard-enterprise-cloud-experiences

What are your prefered Operations Manager Management Pack? What are the TOP 5?

September 15, 2015 Leave a comment

The System Center community is large and continually growing. For new users that are just getting to grips with the new software, there is an abundance of additional management packs that need to be installed before getting the full benefit. These Management Packs (MPs) take the form of updates from Microsoft, free software from 3rd party vendors, and paid-for solutions from 3rd party vendors.

VOTE NOW

We want to know what your top 5 must-have MPs are in each category. Whether you are an IT Manager, Administrator, consultant, or MVP, this is your chance to share your experience and let others know what MP’s everyone should have. We will publish the results in a later blog highlighting the top 5 System Center MPs. Whether you are a new user with Microsoft System Center or a seasoned professional, the survey is completely anonymous

N.B. All Management Packs included were available on Microsoft Pinpoint or Microsoft Technet at time of writing: Vendor Management Packs, Microsoft Management Packs

Matthew Carr

Posted by Savision https://www.savision.com/resources/blog/vote-your-top-system-center-management-packs

Modern Infrastructure: Provisioning private clouds and virtualized data centers. September 8th @Microsoft Brisbane

September 2, 2015 Leave a comment

post

What’s New in System Center VMM 2016?

System Center 2016 will continue to speed time to value with new provisioning, monitoring and automation capabilities designed for your software-defined datacenter. Optimized for both traditional management and private cloud environments.

Tuesday 8 September I will be presenting an event at Microsoft Brisbane about the new features in System Center VMM and the rich enhancements provided with Microsoft Azure Operational Insights and Automation. Learn best practices for using VMM to manage your datacenter fabric. Come and see how other customers are using System Center.

We will also have a sneak peek of Containers and management of Windows Server Containers using PowerShell.

When
Tuesday, 8 September 2015 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM (AEST) Add to Calendar
Where
Microsoft Brisbane – Level 28. 400 George st. Brisbane 4000 AU – View Map

Is System Center Operations Manager still relevant in the Cloud?

June 19, 2015 1 comment

EXCLUSIVE Whitepaper: Is OpsMgr still relevant in the Cloud by MVP Cameron Fuller

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The addition of the Cloud has truly changed how we monitor in Microsoft solutions. In this whitepaper, Microsoft MVP Cameron Fuller tackles the elephant in the room and answers the question of the relevance of Operations Manager. Find out whether Operations Manager is still relevant in the world of the Cloud