Amit Pawar - Infrastructure blog

Core parking requirements

Core Parking has no hardware or processor dependencies

In general no – there are no specific requirements. As long as the processor has more than one core, core parking will opportunistically park cores. Core parking is simply a mechanism to express to the scheduler a preference on which processors to use.  By virtue of the scheduler adhering to that preference, we are able to consolidate work on to fewer processors.  The “parked” processors which should have less work to do will likely transition to “Idle” sooner and for longer, thereby providing greater power savings.  Hence, there are no hardware requirements for the actual “parking/unparking” selection process.

“Parked” is not the same as “Idle”

Parking is a hint to the scheduler; parking promotes the chances of the core to enter idle. It does not imply idle; nor is it a pre-requisite for idle.

Power saved during “Idle” is highly dependent on HW/processor characteristics.

For example features such as C1E, C6 and others all potentially increase power savings- some processors have these some don’t.  Again, core parking does not directly influence how much power is saved during idle. It only promotes the chances of being idle.

The Core Parking engine does not park sockets/packages

All parking is done on a logical processor basis. If all cores that constitute a package get parked during the operation of the engine; it is coincidental. In fact, this is rare because the engine always leaves at least one logical processor per NUMA node unparked and so if a package/socket is a NUMA node, there will never be a case in which all cores in the socket are parked. Hence the only way all logical processors in a package get parked is if there are multiple sockets per NUMA node.

Resource Monitor shows the current parking status of each core.

There isn’t a way to know which cores/sockets are idle at a particular time instant. This information may not be very interesting because a processor is typically transitioning in and out of idle 100s of times a second. %idle time is in many cases the metric of interest.

In performance Monitor – Processor Information -> %Idle Time. You can select the logical processors of interest and the counter says what fraction of time the processor has been Idle. This performance counter gives information about the % of time each logical processor in the system has been idle. Unfortunately, there is no similar counter for sockets.

NetApp storage best practices for Microsoft Virtualisation

NetApp and Microsoft last week announced a 3 year partnership. The fruits of this partnership are already being delivered. NetApp has just released their storage best practices guidance for Microsoft Virtualisation

NetApp Storage Best Practices for Microsoft Virtualization, also known as TR-3702, has been updated for the release of Hyper-V R2 and SCVMM 2008 R2.  NetApp has added new sections covering the following:

• Hyper-V Server Networking Considerations
• Hyper-V Cluster Networking Considerations
• Hyper-V Server Storage Provisioning
• Virtual Machine Storage Provisioning
• NetApp FlexClones and Snapshot technology
• Backup and Recovery
• Disaster Recovery and High Availability

This guide now contains not just best practices, but additional content provided to educate the reader on how and why we established some of our best practices. I have received lots of great feedback on this document so far, mostly because it’s packed with everything that folks have been asking for to help them with their Hyper-V deployments.

But wait there’s more the following guides have been updated too:

• NetApp Implementation Guide for Microsoft Virtualization (TR-3733)

Who is using Microsoft’s Virtualisation solution?

Everyday there are customers choosing to use Microsoft’s Virtualisation solution over other Virtualisation solutions like VMware.

Find out who these customers are and how they are getting the benefits of Virtualisation while they save money.

Hit this link for these case studies http://www.microsoft.com/casestudies/Case_Study_Search_Results.aspx?Type=1&Keywords=virtualization&LangID=46

If you are a customer in Australia using Microsoft’s Virtualisation solutions and want to share your story with the rest of the world please email me apawar@microsoft.com

Hyper-V R2 Poster

One page to see all the features of Hyper-V R2.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=64a5cc28-f8a1-4b30-a4a2-455c65bda8d7&displaylang=en

Microsoft Virtualisation – How to Videos

If I had a dollar for every time a customer and partner asked me a bout how do I get started with Microsoft’s Virtualisation solutions I could probably retire.

So here is a link for the How to Videos that the Virtualisation team has released http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/en/us/demo.aspx

One stop Hyper-V Technical Information and Resources

I get a lot requests for information on how do I do the following with Hyper-V

• Plan
• Install
• Best Practices
• Deployment
• Pre-Deployment Tools
• Management
• Performance
• Workload Specific Guidance

Microsoft now has one page that lists these resources http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/dd565807.aspx

Planning a Windows Server® 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services infrastructure

The Microsoft Infrastructure an Planning guide for Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services Infrastructure leads the reader step by step through the process of planning a Windows Server® 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services infrastructure.

The guide addresses the following fundamental decisions and tasks:

• Identifying which applications and which desktops will be delivered by Remote Desktop Services.
• Determining whether to deliver desktops by using session-based presentation virtualization or Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI).
• Designing the infrastructure needed to use Remote Desktop Services to serve the selected applications and desktops.

Download it from Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services

Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 Documentation

Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee441285.aspx

Server Core

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc753802(WS.10).aspx

HP BladeSystem reference architecture for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 virtualization (Hyper-V)

HP has released a document that will help with the architecture of Hyper-V R2 running on HP Bladesystem.

http://h20195.www2.hp.com/V2/GetPDF.aspx/4AA0-2391ENW.pdf

Sydney and Melbourne Microsoft Virtualisation Unplugged Events - Telling it like it is

We are pleased to invite you to hear from one of the founders of x86 virtualisation. Our keynote is Kenon Owens, Technical Product Manager, Microsoft Corp. He has worked in the computer industry for over 15 years as an email and virtualisation specialist. During that time, Kenon was employed by other industry virtualisation vendors for over 9 years as a corporate technical specialist.

Australia is a strong adopter of virtualisation. In this market, there is a lot of information about Microsoft virtualisation technologies and it can be hard to know what’s true and what’s not. In this session we will discuss what each of the virtualisation vendors are delivering.

You will learn about:

• The future vision of virtualisation, not just in the next generation of products, but also in what direction virtualisation is heading.
• The evolution of integration components for this multi-vendor environment.
• The functionality to manager a multi-vendor environment that many customers are adopting.

Sydney
Date: 3 December, 2009
Time: 9:30am registration, session: 10:00-11:30am
Location: Microsoft, 1 Epping Road, North Ryde NSW
Click here to register

Melbourne
Date: 4 December, 2009
Time: 9:30am registration, session: 10:00-11:30am
Location: Microsoft, Level 5, 4 Freshwater Place, Southbank VIC
Click here to register

How scalable is Remote Desktop Service for you ?

Virtual Desktops are all the rage right now and there is a lot of discussion about where and how Virtual Desktops provide the right solution for the diffent types of users in your environment. Microsoft categorises the different types of users in your environment

1. Mobile Knowledge workers
2. Office Knowledge workers
3. Task Workers
4. Contractors or Offshore workers
5. Access from Home

For more details on these types of users go to http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/en/us/solution-desktop.aspx

During any Virtual Desktop conversation the scalability of Virtual desktop and Remote Desktop Services (artist formerly known as Terminal Services) is frequently dsicussed. There are many figures and test that suggest that Remote Desktop Services in Windows SErver 2008 R2 is significantly more scalable than running multiple Virtual desktops on the same hardware. Now we have a tool to test this for your situation called the Remote Desktop Load Simulation Tools

Remote Desktop Load Simulation Tools provide the ability to easily create and control simulated loads on a remote desktop server. The suite includes the following automation tools:

Test Control Infrastructure

• Test Controller - RDLoadSimulationController.exe
  The RDLoadSimulationController tool is the central control point for the load simulation testing. It is typically installed on the test controller machine. RDLoadSimulationController controls all test parameters and defines the progression of the simulated user load. It also controls all custom actions that are executed at any point during the test process. It communicates with RDLoadSimulationClients and RDLoadSimulationServerAgent to synchronize and drive the client-server remote desktop automation. It commands the RDLoadSimulationClients to run scripts that load the remote desktop server at operator-specified intervals.
• Client Agent - RDLoadSimulationClient.exe
  The RDLoadSimulationClient tool controls the client side of the load simulation testing. RDLoadSimulationClient is typically installed on the test client computers. RDLoadSimulationClient receives commands from RDLoadSimulationController to run scripts that load the remote desktop server at operator specified intervals. It executes custom commands received from the RDLoadSimulationController and also sends the status of the executing scripts to the RDLoadSimulationController. RDLoadSimulationClient also performs desktop management on the test client computers. It creates a new desktop for each script that it launches and provides the means to navigate between all desktops.
• Server Agent - RDLoadSimulationServerAgent.exe
  The RDLoadSimulationServerAgent tool runs on the target Remote Desktop server. It runs custom commands that are sent to it by the RDLoadSimulationController. It is also used by RDLoadSimulationController for test synchronization.
• SwitchDesktop.exe
  The SwitchDesktop tool runs on the test client computers. It runs inside each new desktop that is created on the client. Its only function is to provide a way to switch back to the default desktop where the RDLoadSimulationClient is running.

Scenario execution tools

• Script automation tool - RemoteUIControl.dll
  RemoteUIControl.dll is a COM based tool which provides functionality for driving the client side load simulation. It exposes functionality for creating RDP connections to the server, as well as sending keyboard input to the remote desktop session. It synchronizes executions based on drawing events in the applications that are running inside the remote desktop session.
• RUIDCOM.exe
  RUIDCOM is a DCOM tool which is a wrapper around RemoteUIControl.dll. This tool exposes all the functionality of RemoteUIControl.dll. Test scripts use RUIDCOM instead of directly using RemoteUIControl.dll as it provides some extra functionality. RUIDCOM communicates with the RDLoadSimulationClient to report the status of a simulated user.
• TSAccSessionAgent.exe
  TSAccSessionAgent runs on the target remote desktop server. One instance of TSAccSessionAgent runs inside every remote desktop session that is created for a simulated test user. RemoteUIControl.dll on the client side communicates with TSAccSessionAgent to synchronize user input with drawing events in the applications that are running inside the remote desktop session.

Microsoft Site Recovery Solution

Recently in my discussions with customers regarding virtualisation the topic of Site Recovery is becoming very popular. I thought it would be worthwhile listing some the resources available to help you understand how Microsoft virtualisation solutions can help you with Site Recovery

The Microsoft Site Recovery Solution helps customers implement and manage cost effective, end-to-end site recovery programs.  Built on proven capabilities in Windows Server 2008 R2 and the System Center management suite, Microsoft is helping IT Professionals leverage Windows Server Hyper-V and Failover Clustering along with tools like Virtual Machine Manager to deliver cost effective site recovery.  

Microsoft is working with a broad range of storage replication to deliver solutions that take advantage of the Microsoft Cluster Resource DLL.  With cluster integration IT Professionals can deploy streamlined and automated site recovery.  Not only do the solutions provide streamlined fail-over, they also deliver fail-back while System Center delivers the physical and virtual management capabilities necessary to operate this solution.

White paper and Documents

• Disaster Tolerant Virtualization Architecture with HP StorageWorks Cluster Extension and Microsoft Hyper-V
• Customer Blueprint: Improving Efficiency and Availability Using Microsoft Hyper-V and NetApp Storage
• EMC: Disaster Recovery in a Geographically Dispersed Cross-Site Virtual Environment
• Hitachi Storage Cluster for Microsoft Hyper-V: Optimizing Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery in Microsoft Hyper-V Environments

Webcast

• On-Demand Webcast: Build Effective and Highly Available Disaster Recovery Solutions Using Microsoft Virtualization
• Double-Take for Hyper-V Workload Availability and Protection Webinar
• Webcast: EMC Deduplication and Backup for Microsoft Hyper-V Virtualization – Understanding Best Practices

Booting Hyper-V R2 from USB

Lot of customers have been asking me about booting Hyper-V R2 from a USB drive

There is documentation for that

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee731893(WS.10).aspx

To make this process easier there is a app for that

http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/BootHVSR2FromUSB

Beyond the compete - Microsoft vs VMware

This session will focus on the key technologies within the Microsoft Product Family that address very real needs that any organisations adopting VWWare Technology has.  We will focus on discussing how to manage VMWare and Hyper-V side by side.
Technologies covered include System Center Virtual Machine  Manager, Windows Server 2008 R2

Speaker details

Amit Pawar has been with Microsoft Australia for nearly nine years in various roles from Support Engineer, Consultant to currently being the Technology Specialist for Windows Server and Virtualisation. Amit has been involved with many successful proof of concepts, pilots and production deployment of Microsoft virtualisation technologies in both enterprise and small medium business customers in Australia.

View this webcast at http://msevents.microsoft.com/cui/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-AU&EventID=1032416803&CountryCode=AU

Hyper-V Unleashed - Online Event on July 21