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Posts Tagged ‘Virtualization’

Hyper-V : 4 Tips to improves overall performance

October 1, 2010 Leave a comment

Here are some performance tips that will improve the Hyper-V experience:

1. Allways install the the Integration Services. This will dramatically improves overall workload performance. ( Note : the Hyper-V Integration Services are already installed as part of W2008 R2 )

Note : it is important to check for the Virtual Machine Bus in Device Manager, to look for device malfunction.

2. DO NOT RUN services on the parent partition other the Hyper-V. ( This is suppose to be obvious!! )

 Run them in virtual machines instead The parent is differentiated for scheduling.

3.  When possible, use Windows Server 2008 and newer as the guest OS – fully enlightened.  Enlightenments reduce the cost of OS functions like memory management

Keep in mind that new operating systems run better than old operating systems.

4. Hyper-V Manager and Virtual Machine Connection sessions should be closed after use.  It consume resources. Hyper-V manager causes WMI activity in parent partition. Also, video emulation is disabled when Virtual Machine Connection is closed.

Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 3.0 released

September 30, 2010 1 comment

Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 3.0 helps you reduce IT costs by making it easier to update your offline virtual machines, templates, and virtual hard disks with the latest operating system and application patches—without introducing vulnerabilities into your IT infrastructure.

This Solution Accelerator provides automated tools and guidance that IT professionals can use to update offline virtual machines, templates, and virtual hard disks efficiently and without exposing them to security risks.

Click here to download : http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/confirmation.aspx?FamilyId=8408ECF5-7AFE-47EC-A697-EB433027DF73

To install the .msi package (VMServicing_X86.msi or VMServicing_X64.msi):

  1. Navigate to where you extracted the .zip file content on your hard drive.
  2. Double-click the .msi file you want to install.
  3. Accept the Microsoft Software License Terms.
  4. Follow the steps in the installation process to complete the installation.
  5. Find the installed files in C:\Program Files on your computer in the folder Microsoft Virtual Machine Servicing Tool.

Everyone should read this : Reducing the cost of virtualization using Microsoft Hyper-V and System Center

September 30, 2010 Leave a comment

One of the first things you should do when thinking about virtualization is to understand the client environment : Asessment phase. During this phase you should list, understand and write down all workloads .

It’s that only? No, that are so many other variables. I found a good article at Microsoft Virtualization Blog Team that talk about this. Take a look at http://blogs.technet.com/b/virtualization/archive/2010/09/22/reducing-the-cost-of-virtualization-using-microsoft-hyper-v-and-system-center.aspx

Free eBook:Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions — From the Desktop to the Datacenter

September 28, 2010 Leave a comment

Learn about the benefits of the latest virtualization technologies and how to plan, implement, and manage virtual infrastructure solutions based on these technologies.

Free eBook:Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions — From the Desktop to the Datacenter

Virtualization: Top 10 Virtualization Best Practices

September 28, 2010 Leave a comment

Source:TechNet Magazine  , by Wes Miller *

Virtualization has gone from being a test lab technology to a mainstream component in datacenters and virtual desktop infrastructures. Along the way, virtualization has occasionally received a “get out of jail free” card, and has not had the same degree of efficient IT practices applied to virtual deployments as would be expected of actual physical machines. This is a mistake.

If you had an unlimited budget, would you let everyone in your organization order a new system or two and hook it up to the network? Probably not. When virtualization first appeared on the scene, unlimited and unmanaged proliferation was kept in check by the fact that there was actually a cost associated with hypervisor applications. This provided some line of defense against rogue virtual machines in your infrastructure. That is no longer the case.

There are several free hypervisor technologies available, for both Type 1 and Type 2 hypervisors. Anyone in your organization with Windows installation media and a little free time can put up a new system on your network. When virtual machines are deployed without the right team members knowing about it, that means a new system can become an unwelcome honeypot for new zero-day vulnerabilities, ready to take down other systems on your network that are business critical.

Virtual systems should never be underappreciated or taken for granted. Virtual infrastructures need to have the same best practices applied as actual physical systems. Here, we will discuss 10 key best practices that should always be on your mind when working with virtual systems.

To read to full article go to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-au/magazine/gg131921.aspx

*Wes Miller is the director of Product Management at CoreTrace (CoreTrace.com) in Austin, Texas. Previously, he worked at Winternals Software and as a program manager at Microsoft. Miller can be reached at wm@getwired.com.

New version of the Linux Integration Services for Hyper-V

September 27, 2010 1 comment
 

A new version (2.1) of the Linux Integration Services for Hyper-V have just been made available.

This new version has some significant improvements:  

  • Driver support for synthetic devices: Linux Integration Services supports the synthetic network controller and the synthetic storage controller that were developed specifically for Hyper-V.
  • Fastpath Boot Support for Hyper-V: Boot devices take advantage of the block Virtualization Service Client (VSC) to provide enhanced performance.
  • Timesync: The clock inside the virtual machine will remain synchronized with the clock on the host.
  • Integrated Shutdown: Virtual machines running Linux can be gracefully shut down from either Hyper-V Manager or System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
  • Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) Support: Supported Linux distributions can use up to 4 virtual processors (VP) per virtual machine.
  • Heartbeat: Allows the host to detect whether the guest is running and responsive. 
  • Pluggable Time Source: A pluggable clock source module is included to provide a more accurate time source to the guest. 

This version of the integration services for Hyper-V supports Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.4 / 5.5.

 

 

SPRINGBOARD SERIES TOUR NEAR TO YOU!

September 21, 2010 Leave a comment
 

Microsoft Windows, Office and MDOP Deployment Workshops

www.springboardseriestour.com

 

Amsterdam – 25 Oct | Stockholm – 27 Oct | Helsinki – 29 Oct | Reading – 1 Nov | Rome – 3 Nov | Vienna – 4 Nov

 

The Microsoft Get On the Bus Tour is taking a winter hiatus to bring you a new tour – the Springboard Series Tour: Microsoft Windows, Office and MDOP Deployment Workshops!  Amsterdam marks our first stop on a 6-city European tour, en route to TechEd Europe, in Berlin, Germany. Are you looking to plan, pilot or deploy Windows and Office? Our workshops will cover the Office 2010, key deployment strategies for Windows 7, the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack, as well as show you the value of getting trained and certified in these key products.

Learn why Windows 7 has received rave reviews from IT organizations and is setting records as the fastest selling operating system in history, and find out why so many IT Pros are ready to deploy Office 2010. Give us five hours, and you will have a clear understanding of the tools, tips and tricks you need now to jumpstart the successful deployment and management of your Windows desktop environment today. Come join members of the Windows and Office US Product Teams, as well as local Microsoft Technology Evangelists for technical training, professional networking, and real world guidance. Don’t miss your chance to attend a workshop in the 2010 Springboard Series Tour, register today at www.springboardseriestour.com.

 

Get your Tour updates first! Follow us on Twitter, @MSSpringboard

Windows 7 XP Mode : hotfix if your computer does not have hardware-assisted virtualization

September 20, 2010 Leave a comment
 
 
If you receive the message “This computer does not have hardware-assisted virtualization,” your computer does not meet the hardware requirement for Windows Virtual PC, but you can still use Windows 7 XP Mode by running this hotfix.
 
Be aware that XP Mode will run much better if hardware-assisted virtualization can be enabled.
 
If you receive the message “Hardware-assisted virtualization is not enabled on this computer,” turn on hardware virtualization in your PC BIOS
 

If you receive the message “This computer is configured with hardware-assisted virtualization,”  download and install Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode.

Does my DELL support hardware virtualization, and is the BIOS setting turned on?

September 20, 2010 Leave a comment
 
Turn on your DELL and :
 
  • Press the F12 key when boot menu text appears at startup
  • Select BIOS setup and press the Enter key
  • Using the mouse, expand the Virtualization Support menu item by clicking on the plus to the left of Virtualisation Support and
  • Select Virtualisation
  • Check the Enable Intel Virtualisation Technology checkbox
  • Click Apply
  • Click Exit
  • Fully shut down (power off), wait a few seconds, and restart your computer ( IMPORTANT!!!!)
Please note that if you could not find the Virtualization Support menu, either your machine does not support Hardware Virtualization or the BIOS is not updated. Go to http://www.dell.com.au and under Drivers and Downloads, using your machine service tag, check if you have the latest Bios version. Be carefull when updating your machine BIOS.

Duplicate virtual machines (VMs) may appear in the SCVMM Administrator Console window after a Hyper-V VM in a cluster fails over to another cluster node. HotFix KB2308590

September 17, 2010 Leave a comment
If you have SCVMM2008R2 installed and are experiencing the following issue :
Duplicate virtual machines (VMs) may appear in the SCVMM Administrator Console window after a Hyper-V VM in a cluster fails over to another cluster node. Additionally, the status for one of the duplicate VMs is set to Missing. If you try to remove the missing VM from the SCVMM Administrator Console window, the VM is not removed.
Microsoft released an hotfix http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2308590
 
How to obtain this SCVMM 2008 R2 hotfix rollup package: This hotfix rollup package is available on Microsoft Update.To obtain this update from Microsoft Update, follow these steps on the SCVMM server:

  1. Click Start, and then select Control Panel.
  2. In Control Panel, double-click Windows Update.
  3. In the Windows Update window, click Check Online for updates from Microsoft Update.
  4. Click important updates are available.
  5. Select Update for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 (KB2308590), and then click OK.
  6. Click Install updates.
Note If the Virtual Machine Manager or Virtual Machine Manager Agent service is running when this hotfix rollup package is installed on the SCVMM server, you have to restart the computer. 
How to update the SCVMM agent on the Hyper-V and Virtual Server host
This update requires updating the VMM agent on the Hyper-V and Virtual Server hosts. The hosts will have a status of Needs Attention if the agent has not been updated.

To update the SCVMM agent on multiple hosts, follow these steps:

  1. Open the SCVMM Administrator Console window. 
  2. Click Administration, and then click Managed Computers.
  3. Select the hosts, and then click Update Agent.
  4. Enter your user account credentials, and then click OK.
To manually download the hotfix rollup package from the Microsoft Update Catalog, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

 
Note The Microsoft Update Catalog has different versions of the hotfix rollup package. These different versions have the EVAL, OEM, RETAIL, and WORKGRP labels. Download the appropriate version for your installation.To install this hotfix rollup package that can be downloaded from the Microsoft Update Catalog on the SCVMM server, follow these steps: 

  1. Extract the VmmServer64Update-RETAIL.cab file to a temporary directory.
  2. Open an elevated command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER to install the update:
    msiexec /update vmmServer64Update-RETAIL.msp BOOTSTRAPPED=1
    Note The name of the package varies, depending on the version that was downloaded.
  3. After the hotfix rollup package is installed on the SCVMM server, update the SCVMM agent on the Hyper-V and Virtual Server hosts.
Hotfix rollup information
Prerequisites

You must have SCVMM 2008 R2 installed.