This is provided ‘AS IS’ with no warranties, and confers no rights. Use of included samples are subject to the terms specified at Microsoft
Now you can manage your Virtual Machines hosted on Windows Server 2008 Hyper V from Windows 7 client OS,
Windows 7 comes with an inbuilt Hyper V management Snap In which you need to enable from Turn features on/off.
1. Go to Control Panel.
2. Click on Programs and Features and click on Turn Windows Features on/off
After you turn this feature ON, you can find the Hyper-V Management Console in Administrative Tools via Control Panel.
Let me know how it goes..
Hi All.
Welcome to my brand new blog, My Name is Iftekhar Hussain (You can call me Ifti).
I am working with Microsoft Corporation as a Partner Technology Specialist and i work on Microsoft Virtualization technologies and System Center Manageability Solutions like System Center Configuration Manager, System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
So Ifti why this blog????
Hmmm.. I am starting this blog to communicate my experiences, my opinion, my thoughts about certain technologies with Internet Community, my partners, my customers and of course my friends.
Virtualization is the next big thing..ummm wait a min.. What is Virtualization???
if you dont know what Virtualization is.. here is Microsoft’s definition.
Server virtualization, also known as hardware virtualization, is a hot topic in the IT world because of the potential for serious economic benefits. Server virtualization enables multiple operating systems to run on a single physical machine as virtual machines (VMs). With server virtualization, you can consolidate workloads across multiple underutilized server machines onto a smaller number of machines. Fewer physical machines can lead to reduced costs through lower hardware, energy, and management overhead, plus the creation of a more dynamic IT infrastructure.
Stay Tuned to my blog for more updates and more and more of tech talks and few non tech talks as well…. :)
ENJOY !!!!
Iftekhar
If you are read my last Blog post, you are all aware that Microsoft has just released Windows 7 RC for TechNet and MSDN subscribers, and it will be available for general public on May 5th 2009.
Microsoft Virtualization Team today introduced a new feature in Windows 7 where Windows XP Mode is a virtual Windows XP environment that customers of Windows 7 Pro, Windows 7 Ultimate and Windows 7 Enterprise can use to run older Windows XP applications with virtualization technologies such as Windows Virtual PC.
And now Windows XPM and Virtual PC will be new features of Windows 7.
Windows 7 Pro provides Windows XP Mode to run many older Windows XP productivity applications. With Windows Virtual PC, you can run Windows XP applications with a single click, directly from Windows 7 desktop.
Hmm… Isn’t it same as MED-V??
Well.. XPM is targeted for small businesses where there is no IT department.
Businesses with IT Professionals can reduce the cost of deploying and managing Windows Virtual PCs by using Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) which is part of Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack.
New Features of Virtual PC for XPM:
Easy setup of Windows XP Mode – Once both the Windows Virtual PC and the virtual Windows XP environment are installed, Windows Virtual PC provides a simple wizard to setup the Windows XP Mode with just a few clicks.
USB Support - Users can access USB devices attached to Windows 7 directly from Windows XP Mode. These devices include Printers and Scanners, Flash Memory/Sticks and External Hard Disks, Digital Cameras and more.
Seamless Applications – Publish and Launch applications installed on Windows XP Mode directly from the Windows 7 desktop, as if they were installed on the Windows 7 itself.
Folder Integration between Windows 7 and Windows XP Mode– Access your Windows 7 Known Folders: My documents, Pictures, Desktop, Music, Video, from inside the virtual windows environment, such as Windows XP Mode
Clipboard Sharing – Cut and paste between your Windows 7 and Windows XP Mode.
Printer Redirection – Print directly to your attached printer from your Windows XP Mode applications either in application mode or desktop mode.
So what is the system requirement to run Windows XP Mode?
You can download the Evaluation Guide of Virtual PC to setup XPM from here
So for all those who have already downloaded Windows 7 RC from TechNet and MSDN sites, go ahead and evaluate this great feature while others will be able to do that after May 5th 2009 when Windows 7 RC releases for general public.
And please do share your feedback and experience while evaluating XPM for Windows 7…
And stay tuned for the lots of exciting news and revelation related to Microsoft Virtualization coming up.. ;-)
There is no end of road for Virtualization Team here in Microsoft for coming up with great features in Hyper V.
So what's the BIG NEWS ??
Microsoft Announces following two features now supported on Hyper V R2 which is included in the Windows Server 2008 R2 RC and Hyper V Server 2008 R2 RC released recently.
Very Soon we all be working with 8 Core processors in our servers increasing the Logical processor no. to 64 ( 8 Processors X 8 Cores ). So now Microsoft Hyper V Supports 64 Logical processors, now you can consolidate more Virtual Machines on a single Host.
Hyper V Evolution from 16 Logical Processor Support to 64 Logical Processor Support:
Why do we need Processor Compatibility mode??
The OS and applications within a VM are exposed to the processor features on that server. However, when the VM is quick/live migrated to another server, the destination server may have a processor with a different set of features. An OS or application may try to execute CPU features that it discovered when it was started on source host but may not be present on the destination host - resulting in a failure.
Now You can do the live migration of Virtual Machines from one host to another in a cluster even if the processors features sets are different (But same Family Intel-Intel, AMD-AMD)
So far we need to have identical processors on all the nodes in our cluster for Live Migration to work, but what if other node has different feature processor. Processor Compatibility Mode comes to rescue.
When a VM is started with processor compatibility mode enabled, Hyper-V only exposes guest visible processor features that are available on all Hyper-V enabled processors of the same processor architecture, i.e. AMD or Intel. This allows the VM to be migrated to any hardware platform of the same processor architecture.
Note: You cannot do a Live Migration from Intel to AMD or vice versa. Processor family should be the same. :-)
Note: Processor compatibility mode does not leverage Intel’s FlexMigration or AMD’s AMD-V Extended Migration technologies. Processor compatibility mode has no dependencies on these technologies.
VM’s processor compatibility mode is OFF by default. It can be turned on by one of the two ways:
Using Hyper-V Manager: from Hyper-V Manager, select CPU setting wizard of the VM. Check a check-box labeled “Migrate to physical computer with a different processor version”.
You can change this setting only when VM is not running.
Using System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 RC : Releasing SOON
This is just amazing, Hyper V Team is outperforming themselves over and over again. WAY TO GO TEAM!!!!
Let me know your comments and feedback
Service Pack 1 Beta
If you haven't seen it already, Microsoft has released an FAQ document related to Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 BETA
Notable thing here is this one:-
Q. Can I upgrade from the beta builds to the final build of SP1? A. No. You will have to uninstall the Service Pack or do a clean install of Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.
So there wont be any support for upgrading from Beta to SP1 Final version, so its recommended to run SP1 beta in Test and evaluation environment only and not in production.
Here is the complete FAQ:
Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 Beta Frequently Asked Questions
Q. What is Windows 7 SP1? A. Windows 7 Service Pack 1 is an update for consumers and IT Pros that helps keep your PCs supported, provides ongoing improvement to the operating system, by including previous updates delivered over Windows Update as well as continuing incremental updates to the Windows 7 platform based on customer and partner feedback, and is easy for organization to deploy a single set of updates.
Q: What is Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1? A: Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 is an update for enterprises and IT Professionals that includes virtualization enhancements, previous improvements delivered via Windows Update, and addresses feedback from customers.
Q. What are the system requirements for the Service Pack 1 beta? A. Your current operating system must be the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 (build 7600).
Q. Can I install the beta on an evaluation version of Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2? A. Yes. The beta of SP1 can install on RTM evaluation versions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
Q: When will SP1 be released? A: Service Pack 1 will be released within the first half of calendar year 2011.
Q: Who should download and install the Service Pack public beta, when it’s available? A: The public beta is best suited for IT Pros and developers who need to test the service pack in their organization or with the software they are developing. The ISO download for Windows 7 SP1 will contain both 32 and 64 bit versions. The final release of Service Pack 1 will be available through Windows Update for consumers when it is ready.
Q: Should customers who are considering deploying Windows 7 wait for SP1? A: No. Windows 7 is a high quality release and provides many benefits to consumers and businesses alike. SP1 will include all updates previously available to Windows 7 users through Windows Update, so there is no reason to wait or delay their use of Windows 7.
Q. Will there be a slipstream build of SP1 beta? A. No. The beta will only be available as the Service Pack update itself. You will need to have a Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2 to install the beta of the Service Pack.
Q. What languages will be released at beta? A. For beta, we will release English, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish.
Q. Will I be able to uninstall the service pack beta? A. Yes, you will be able to uninstall the service pack beta if you need to.
Please Note, it is always a best practice to back up your data prior to installing any beta software.
Q. Will the beta stop functioning after a certain amount of time? A. Yes. You will be reminded beginning March 30, 2011. The beta will expire on June 30, 2011. You will have to upgrade to a newer build or uninstall and return to the RTM build by that time.
Q: What other improvements are included in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 besides the virtualization enhancements? A: Please see the Notable Changes document for detail on the additional improvements in SP1.
Q: Is RemoteFX different than Remote Desktop Services? How do they integrate? A: RemoteFX describes a set of rich media capabilities that are available to customers using the Remote Desktop Services platform to deploy a virtual machine- or session-based remote desktop infrastructure. Specifically, RemoteFX enhances the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) in Remote Desktop Services, so that remote workers can access any type of application or screen content, including rich media and 3D applications, improving end user productivity.
Q: Will Dynamic Memory be available on Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2? A: Yes.
You can access the online version here
Cheers
Its a great day today for the Computing world, Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 RC is now available for download to Microsoft TechNet and MSDN Subscribers.
Get your copy NOW.
Dont have MSDN or TechNet Subscription??
For those who don't have MSDN and TechNet Subscription, Please wait till May 5th when its available for general public.
I am downloading my copies of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 RC NOW…. ARE YOU??
Please do send your comments and feedback as always. :-)
If you are following my blog, I discussed about Microsoft VDI solution and how it can proved to be a great solution for organizations to lower their management cost and enable flexible work scenarios such as work from home and hot-desking, increased data security and compliance, as well as easy and efficient management of the desktop OS and applications.
Today I’ll talk about enhancements in Terminal Services in Server 2008 which is now renamed to Remote Desktop Services,
Now RDS, in addition to other Terminal Service roles, provides an platform for companies to implement a centralized desktop strategy and for partners to provide additional innovation.
It introduces the new Remote Desktop Connection Broker – an expansion of the Session Broker in Windows Server 2008 – which provides the administrator with a unified experience for setting up user access to both virtualized desktops (running as a full Windows client OS on top of Microsoft’s virtualization infrastructure) and traditional session-based remote desktops.
Together with Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager, the Remote Desktop Connection Broker enables a VDI solution for low-complexity, departmental environments, and a platform for partners who are delivering rich, extensible solutions where heterogeneous client support is a prerequisite, and when enhanced management and scalability is a requirement.
The Remote Desktop Connection Broker it complements other, shared RDS infrastructure components in Windows Server 2008, such as Remote Desktop Web Access or Remote Desktop Gateway. With the Remote Desktop Connection Broker, partners will find an extensive set of APIs that will allow them to continue innovation and deliver added value to customers.
Other important improvements in our virtualization platform in Windows Server 2008 R2, such as Live Migration, will further contribute to making Windows Server 2008 R2 an excellent platform for VDI, improving both availability and scalability of a virtual desktop deployment.
RDS in Server 2008 R2 supports two VDI Scenarios:
1. Personal Virtual Desktops
2. Virtual Desktop Pool
The Architecture of VDI deployment using RDS would look something like this.
Learn More about Microsoft VDI and RDS, Please follow the links below
http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/products/desktop/default.mspx
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/rds-r2.aspx
Isn’t that Interesting, I know you cant wait to do a hands on with Microsoft VDI with RDS in Server 2008 R2.
How to setup a VDI lab with RDS?? I’ll be posting step by step soon.
Please stay tuned.. ;-)
Today we’ll talk about Optimized Desktops and how its different from Traditional desktops.
There is lots of buzz word around for Optimized Desktop but do we really know what exactly a Optimized desktop means.
Enterprise IT infrastructures are increasingly complex to manage. Microsoft Optimized Desktop model enhances application deployment and compatibility, increases IT responsiveness and end user uptime, and helps reduce total cost of ownership (TCO) of your desktop software and IT management. With Microsoft VDI, a true optimized Desktop solution can be achieved.
There is this never ending war between Users and IT department. User wants more flexibility, IT wants control and security. Now Optimized Desktop is THE Solution here.
When do you need a Optimized Desktop over Traditional Desktop in your organization?
Lets have a look in these scenario when you need Optimized Desktop:
Microsoft Optimized Desktop is perfect solution to these scenarios taking care of both user and IT department’s requirement.
With Microsoft Virtual desktop Infrastructure(VDI) and Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack(MDOP), a true Optimized Desktop can be achieved.
PLEASE WATCH THIS GREAT 15 MINS DEMO OF MICROSOFT OPTIMIZED DESKTOP.
If you are one of these above User you MUST watch it to see what flexibility and productivity it brings to you and how it can completely change the way you work.. And if you are an IT PRO, you should DEFINITELY watch it to realize the potential of Optimized desktop for your IT and Business. YOU WILL NOT REGRET IT..!!!
Technologies Involved:
As always.. do send me your feedback, comments or views, they are really appreciated. :)
In addition to Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 RC, Microsoft also announced the public availability of Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC (the stand-alone Hypervisor based product) this week.
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC is a bare metal hyper Visor without the Operating System, and Its FREE download from Microsoft.com
So what are the new features of Hyper V Server 2008 R2?
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 contains the same Virtualization enhancements as in Windows Server 2008 R2 RC.
To name a few:
Configuration Utility (SConfig) and is included with both Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core.
New configuration options have been added for R2 including:
So how its different from the previous Hyper V Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2?
Here is the chart:-
So go ahead and download the Windows Hyper V Server 2008 R2 RC from here and GET VIRTUAL NOW and do let me know what you think..
A lot has been said and written about Microsoft Licensing policy related to CALs required to access non Windows Server 2008 VMs on Microsoft Server 2008 Server Hyper – V.
Problem Scenario
If you move your physical Windows Server 2003 Operating System Environments (OSE) to run as virtual machines hosted by Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, Can i use my existing server 2003 CALs?
No, as the virtual instance of Server 2003 running on Windows Server 2008 instance you need to have Server 2008 CALs and not server 2003 CALs.
Those who have Microsoft Software Assurance license can upgrade their licenses to Server 2008
Problem Solved
Microsoft has changed its licensing policy relating to CALs accessing Virtual Machines on Server 2008 Hyper V.
Windows Server 2008 CALs are no longer required if you are using Windows Server 2008 solely as a virtualization host. The only exception to this is if you are running Windows Server 2008 virtual machines, which would require Windows Server 2008 CALs.
Check these scenarios:
I hope this will ease the adoption of Microsoft Virtualization Solutions for our customers, for more detailed information, please read the updated Volume Licensing Brief.
Microsoft provides Virtualization Solutions from Desktop to Datacenter, Virtualization doesn't only means Server Consolidation or Server Virtualization,
Today, I am going to discuss about Microsoft Virtualization Solution in Desktop Space.
MED–V or Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization.
So Ifti, what is MED-V and why it is required??
When you want to upgrade to a new OS, you are required to go through a certain process, verifying that all applications work in the new OS, migrate those applications that do not work, or get the approval for making those unavailable to users, and only then you can start upgrading the end users desktops. This process can takes months to complete, and meanwhile your users cannot benefit from the benefits of the new OS. The process requires a lot of investment in testing and migration, even for application that are not used extensively, and eventually delays the upgrade.
With MED-V you can change this cycle – you can first upgrade to Windows Vista as soon as you want, and then deal with testing and migration at your convenience.
How this can be done?
Lets say, you have an Business Application which is not compatible with Windows Vista and it works only on Windows XP.
Now you can go ahead and upgrade all your clients OS to Vista and let Med-V takes care of your legacy application till developers redesign it to work with Vista.
The admin creates a virtual image using MS VPC, installs Windows XP OS and all those apps.This VPC image is then delivered to end users and they can use the applications. This solution can actually be achieved by just using VPC.
But to do that in a corporate environment and enterprise scale, admin cant just run VPC, he needs a centrally managed solution – and this is where MED-V is introduced.
MED-V is what makes VPC deployable in scale for end-users throughout the enterprise and beyond it.
With MED-V has 4 functions:
The architecture of the Med-V looks like this.
So with MED-V, your legacy application will pin to your task bar of your Vista and will run seamlessly as if its installed on Host operating System (VISTA) though its installed on a Virtual Machine (Win XP).
Here is the screenshot of MED-V desktop
Isn’t it Great!!!! MED-V is currently in Beta and will be released in first half of Year 2009
Register and download MEDV v1 Beta and nominate for early adoption https://connect.microsoft.com/site/sitehome.aspx?SiteID=665
Download MED-V datasheet (PDF, XPS)
Download MED-V Architecture White Paper (PDF, XPS)
Read about Microsoft Desktop Virtualization
Watch an Introduction video or demo
Listen to a Technical Springboard session about MED-V
Let me know what you think.
Yeah.. i know its been a long time i blogged.. I am not keeping well these days.. with a really busy schedule.. Actually not keeping pace with the changes in life and weather in Bangalore.
So thats me..So how’ve u been??
Today i am posting a really exciting news..
Microsoft’s Windows 7 Team is working hard to review and correcting and implementing those feedback which you have sent for Windows 7 Beta.
Here is a Post from Microsoft Windows 7 Engineering Team which has mentioned some changes to Windows 7 which will show up in RC1 ( Release Candidate 1).
To name a Few changes:
Desktop Experience
Touch
Networking
Control Panel
Windows Media Player
Device Stage
Windows Explorer and Libraries
Performance
Wooh!!! thats lots of changes to BETA 1.. Yeah.. thats right and i am sure the RC1 will bring more enhancements than what is listed here..
I am currently evaluating Windows 7 Build 7057 released for Microsoft Internal Employees and trust me its getting better day by day.. and we are on our way to have THE Best Windows EVER.
Stay Tuned..
Its quite hectic these days in Virtualization world as i am actively involved in planning Practice Accelerator for Virtualization. In addition to that I’ve been engaged in lots of Virtualization opportunities and whenever i speak to customers and partners, I tend to get lot of questions about setting up preferred network for Live Migration on Hyper V based clusters.
Its highly recommended to use Cluster Shared Volume (CSV) while setting up the storage for Live Migration, CSV has following advantages:
It looks like something like the diagram below, You can see in this diagram, that all the three nodes has simultaneous access to the same share running their respective VHD files. In the event of one node failure there is no drive ownership change and hence faster failover.
By default, Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) and Clustering use a private network with the lowest value for Metric property. To prevent CSV and Clustering from sharing the same network with live migration, the default network order used for live migration is changed so that a network with the lowest value for Metric property is at the bottom of the list of networks for live migration. This will reduce the possibility of CSV, clustering, and live migration using the same network.
This helps ensure live migration speeds by placing live migration traffic in a separate network path.
In the Failover Cluster Manager, right-click on the virtual machine and select Properties:
By selecting the “Network for Live Migration” tab, you can specify what network is used for Live Migration. You can specify multiple networks in order of preference. For me, I normally have my 10 Gb/E network set as the first network.
See this screenshot:
Once you select the appropriate network, you will see the performance enhancement and decreased failover times However your Virtual Machine is always high available while its being migrated.
I hope it helps, please feel free to reach me if you need more information.
Cheers..
We all have seen the great series of products coming out from Microsoft this year, For all you knowledge thirsty out there, who are eager to learn new technologies like Windows 7, Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Virtualization R2 Solution and office 2010 and if you haven’t seen them already here are some of the E Books released by Microsoft and best part is they are all FREE
Download Now Download Now
Download Now
Let me know what you think.. :)
Cheers !
Microsoft Virtualization Hour is currently in progress and lots of announcements is made to day with respect to Microsoft Virtualization.
Following Announcement is made : (from PressPass)
So now Licensing for VDI is very simplified as VECD is now part of SA, So all SA customers dont need to purchase VECD separately to access their Virtual Desktops.
DYNAMIC MEMORY: Another great announcement is new capabilities in Hyper V like Dynamic Memory, We have received lots of feedback from our customers about not having Dynamic Memory as in some scenarios they’d like to increase VM density with their current memory.
Read more on Microsoft Official blog here
Remote FX: Now experience Aero Glass, 3D Graphics and rich multimedia applications in Virtual Desktops without any changes into the VM. Run rich audio and HD video support like MP4, H.264 formats and more.
Both these capabilities will be available in Service Pack 1 for Windows Server 2008 R2:
No Announcement made today with respect to release of the SP1 but watch out this space, you’ll be first one to know when that get announced. :)
With all these announcements, Microsoft has made it very clear that how seriously we are committed to Virtual Desktop Infrastructure and with our great portfolio of Virtualization Solutions from desktop to Datacenter.
If you have missed today's Virtualization Desktop Hour Live… On Demand will be available Soon here http://www.desktopvirtualizationhour.com/
Watch out this space for more….
Bye for now :)
This is the time of the year when anybody who works on Microsoft Virtualization and System Center technologies gets excited about Microsoft Management Summit which happens every year where thousands of IT PROs joins to share knowledge, exchange ideas, indulge in networking and get to do some deep dive technical learning on new technologies and make themselves aware about new innovations that are happening around Microsoft Virtualization and System Center Technologies.
Historically MMS has gained its reputation of a platform for major product announcements and launches, Last year at MMS 2011, we announced the availability of System Center 2012 Beta and discussed through our keynotes and sessions how it enables Microsoft Private Cloud Platform. It was really nice speaking and meeting lot of you last year at Mandalay Bay.
I am really excited about our upcoming MMS 2012 which is scheduled to be held from April 16 – 20, 2012 at The Venetian, Last Vegas for so many reasons.
We published the following abstract of Brad Anderson’s Keynote Speech to give you an insight what is stored for you in MMS 2012.
Day 1: Microsoft Private Cloud. Built for the Future. Ready Now. Cloud computing and the delivery of true IT as a Service is one of the most profound industry shifts in decades. Join Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President of Microsoft’s Management and Security Division, as he shares Microsoft’s vision for cloud computing and shows how System ...Center 2012, as part of the Microsoft private cloud, will enable you to deliver the promise of cloud computing in your organization today.
Day 2: A World of Connected Devices Clouds and cloud-connected devices are changing the world of work and our daily interactions. Tech-savvy and always-connected, people want faster, more intuitive technology, uninterrupted services, and the freedom to work anywhere, anytime, on a variety of devices. Join Brad Anderson, Corporate Vice President of the Management and Security Division at Microsoft to learn how System Center 2012 and Windows Intune can help IT embrace this new reality today, and in the future, by making the right intelligent infrastructure investments.
I am also excited to present this year about all new capabilities of System Center 2012- Virtual Machine Manager with following objectives in mind.
You can get more information about the session below and if you are a registered attendee you should be able to add it to your Session builder.
In addition to the speaking opportunities, I would also be available to meet you all during "Speaker Q&A" session at the end of the day of the session and also at Microsoft Pavilion.
Since I work very closely with Microsoft partners, I would like to meet few of you and discuss how we can enable you to drive, develop and design System Center and Microsoft Private Cloud solutions for our customers.
Please use the Email Author link to drop me an email if you would like to meet, please mention your partner id so that I can get more information about your organization.
And if you are a twitter enthusiast like me and would like to keep up with the event, follow me at www.twitter.com/iftekharh
See you at Las Vegas.
Cheers,
This article is cross posted from my post on PTS Official Blog
As you all know that SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 just gone RTM adding two new virtualization capabilities: Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX
Let’s first understand these capabilities in details.
Dynamic Memory: An enhancement to Hyper-V R2, Dynamic Memory pools all the memory available on a physical host. Dynamic Memory then dynamically distributes available memory, as it is needed, to virtual machines running on that host. Then with Dynamic Memory Balancing, virtual machines will be able to receive new memory allocations, based on changes in workload, without a service interruption.
RemoteFX: Microsoft RemoteFX leverages the power of virtualized graphics resources and advanced codecs to recreate the fidelity of hardware-assisted graphics acceleration, including support for 3D content and Windows Aero, on a remote user’s device. This allows for a local-like, remote experience.
In the light of new features, service Pack 1 will also be released for VMM 2008 R2 to manage Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX on multiple Hyper V Servers from a single pane of glass.
Lets understand the requirements on your Hyper V hosts and VMs to be able to manage by VMM 2008 R2.
System Requirement for Manage Dynamic Memory:
RemoteFX Requirements on Hosts
RemoteFX requirements on VMs
VMM 2008 R2 SP1 now has settings to manage Dynamic Memory setting of VMs which are as follows:
To manage the RemoteFX , following settings have been added
Since RemoteFX requires you to have SLAT CPU and specific GPU and available GPU memory, VMM 2008 R2 SP1 will also let you identify the following on the hosts.
1. CPU Supports SLAT
2. GPU and available Memory
3. Intelligent Placement
While creating a new VM or migrating a new VM from one host to another, VMM 2008 R2 SP1 added new check for Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX in the Intelligent placement.
o Use Current Memory footprint for DM VMs on hosts: While doing the migration or creating new VM, VMM will check how much is the current memory the VM is running with, for E.g, you have specified startup memory as 1 GB and max memory as 6 GB but at the time of migration the VM is running at 2 GB memory. In that case, VMM will check if the other host has at least 2 GB free memory to be able to migrate this VM.
o Check for GPU-compatibility when migrating RemoteFX VMs : While migrating a RemoteFX based VM, VMM 2008 R2 checks if identical GPU is available on the other hosts with required memory, Remote FX should be enabled in RDS.
4. Updates to Performance and Resource Optimization
PRO ties specific Operations Manager alerts to remediation actions in VMM, VMM moves a load-balance VMs in a cluster when CPU or Memory exceed a threshold. SP1 update to VMM PRO Pack a consider Current Memory utilization and not the fixed memory for DM VMs and matches it with the memory available on the other nodes.
How do I upgrade from SCVMM 2008 R2 to SP1.
Pretty simple, just 4 steps to upgrade
VMM 2008 R2 SP1 will take the virtualization management to a whole new level and is scheduled to be released within 30 days of SP1 released by the Windows Server Team. So we can expect it sometime next month.
I hope this post was of some help for those who are expecting VMM to be able to manage Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX on multiple hosts from a single console instead of managing it locally using Hyper V manager on each box.
If you have any further queries, please feel free to reach me
Hello everybody, yeah yeah.. i know its been a while i blogged, actually was kinda really busy with loads of things, To name a few:
My Speaker profile can be seen here:
Microsoft premier technology conference Tech-Ed India 2010 is currently happening in Silicon Valley of India, Bangalore.
After hours of planning, dry runs, preparation of presentation slides, demo labs.. it all finally paid off with a error free presentation on Day 1 of Tech-Ed India 2010.
Had to get up really early for last minute touch up, dry run and final tech check of Demo lab setup. Lab setup not working at last minute is a presenters nightmare.. We as a presenters always pray to deliver a error free technical demo but sometimes when you are LIVE things tend to go wrong… and nothing is more disheartening than that.
Thank god nothing like this happened this time.. :)
Reached Microsoft Bangalore office in the Morning at 7:30 AM, had a little breakfast and left for Hotel Lalit Ashok with other Presenting team, the Tech Ed India 2010 event site.
Met my track owner, Ranjana Jain, Collected my Speaker Badge and then head towards the Speaker Lounge. had a bit of coffee to be up for the presentation and then went in to attend the Keynote speech,
It was a great day as Visual Studio 2010 was released worldwide
Had to leave the keynote speech in the middle as I had to do a final Tech check of my laptop with the Conference hall projector, Audio Video check, final review of the slides and demo check.
Before my presentation, there is another presentation in the same hall
Building the Foundation for a Cloud Computing Infrastructure with Dynamic Datacenter Toolkit. Tejas Shah and Anand did a great job in articulating Microsoft Cloud Strategy.
My presentation on Virtual Machine Advance Provisioning using System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2. This session was all about how can we reduce the provisioning time of Virtual Machines with effective use of Templates, Hardware profile, Software profile. Rapid Provisioning and extending provisioning rights to user using Self Service Portal.
The session started on time and i had exact 60 mins to complete the slide deck, Technical Demonstration and answers questions from the attendees.
Yeah, it was tight schedule and we’ve been instructed to keep the time check as there were back to back sessions in that hall and I have to give the way to the other presenters to do their final check before their presentations.
The presentation went really well.. i hope it helped the attendees understand the value of Microsoft Virtualization with advance management and understand the real potential of flexibility and advantages of Virtualization. there was good participation from the attendees, they came up with loads of questions, which were really good, i found them really engaging and eager to learn new things. there is no fun giving one sided presentation when there is no participation from the attendees. Since i was running completely out of time, I had to end the Q & A session as next presenters was getting ready.. though i did take few questions offline on the hallway and at Microsoft Partner Network Booth.
If any of you attendees are reading this blog, i am really sorry i couldn’t take all your questions, but i do appreciate them and please feel free to send them using Email me link here on my blog. I will surely answer them,
Technical demonstration went really well. Following scenario were shown in the demo:
After the presentation, had a great lunch and then relaxed a bit at the Speaker Lounge, chatting with other speakers who were preparing for their presentation in next 2 days.
Did spend some time with interacting with partners at Microsoft Partner Network Booth at Tech-Ed India 2010 Site.
Also attended some of the other sessions which my colleagues delivered. In the evening attended the Demo Extravaganza at the keynote hall. It was back to back demos, no slides.
Just Demos and demos of cool Microsoft Technologies like, Bing Search, Bing Maps, Windows Phone 7, MS office 2010, MS Office Communicator, MS LifeCam. etc,
What a event to end the day 1 of Tech-Ed India 2010. Lots of goodies were distributed to the attendees.. they were seem to be really enjoying a lot at the event.
After the session, Attended a special gala dinner organized specially for the Speakers at the hotel.
What a day it was.. It was a well spent day, met some great minds of technology world, catchup with some colleagues and really enjoyed the day 1 of TechEd 2010. Will cherish it for a long time.
Next Destination: Tech-Ed North America 2010 in new Orleans, LA. Here i come :
If you are attending Tech-Ed North America 2010, hear me speak on Advance Virtualization Management with SCVMM 208 R2 (Session Code: VIR309)
http://northamerica.msteched.com/Topic/List?fbid=Ui7LNjfs1F1#a
And if you are not attending Tech-Ed North America 2010, here is the reasons why you should, Also tips how you can convince your boss. Click here
See you all there.
Microsoft® VDI
Microsoft has just released Virtual Lab for Implementing Citrix XenDesktop 4 on Hyper V R2.
This lab is intended for IT Professionals who would like to deliver virtual desktop computers using Microsoft Hyper-V Server, Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager and Citrix XenDesktop.
Users will work through the steps to simulate deploying multiple virtual desktops, and will first capture a reference image using the Citrix Provisioning Server for Desktops. Next, the user will verify that the computer can be booted from a diskless client computer. The user will create multiple virtual machines using the reference computer as a template.
Finally, the user will use the Citrix Desktop Delivery Controller and System Center Virtual Machine Manager to create a group of virtual desktops and deploy them to end devices. At the end of this lab, the user will have worked through all the steps required to implement Citrix XenDesktop using Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager and Microsoft Hyper-V Server.
Access the LAB here
May be I don't say enough.. I just love this company, its culture, Diverse people.. I am just amazed to see the passion each one of us has for our customers and building products that change the world..
I am Microsoft and a proud one.. :)
We always felt the need of Hardware capacity guidance and sizing information for Terminal Services or Remote Desktop services for Server 2008 R2, Whenever I am engaged in any architectural guidance discussion for RDS deployment i always get a question what needs to be taken into consideration while deciding the hardware configuration and to do capacity planning.
Here are some bullet points which I recommend to my partners and customers to consider:
In addition to that, Microsoft has just released a whitepaper on Capacity Planning in Windows Server 2008 R2.
Download it here
The Remote Desktop Session Host (RD Session Host) role service lets multiple concurrent users run Windows®-based applications on a remote computer running Windows Server® 2008 R2. This white paper is intended as a guide for capacity planning of RD Session Host in Windows Server 2008 R2. It describes the most relevant factors that influence the capacity of a given deployment, methodologies to evaluate capacity for specific deployments, and a set of experimental results for different combinations of usage scenarios and hardware configurations.
You can also use this document for sizing Terminal Services on a Hyper V Platform
Also use the Remote Desktop Load Simulation Tools available at following link to do the load testing for number of users on RDS Server
I hope it helps, Let me know if you have any questions.
Hello Friends,
Yes its time to raise the curtains from much awaited, much rumoured, most anticipated next version of Windows Phone.
Today, at Mobile World Congress 2010 in Barcelona, Microsoft Announced Windows Phone 7 and demonstrated the new Mobile Platform. Watch Video on Demand
Windows Phone 7 is build to take the mobile experience to a whole new level. With Windows Phone 7 Series, we have taken a generational leap forward to deliver a unique, delightful customer experience with inspiring hardware from our OEM partners.
Windows Phone 7 Series includes six hubs built on specific themes reflecting activities that matter most to people:
• People. This hub delivers an engaging social experience by bringing together relevant content based on the person, including his or her live feeds from social networks and photos. It also provides a central place from which to post updates to Facebook and Windows Live in one step.
• Pictures. This hub makes it easy to share pictures and video to a social network in one step. Windows Phone 7 Series also brings together a user’s photos by integrating with the Web and PC, making the phone the ideal place to view a person’s entire picture and video collection.
• Games. This hub delivers the first and only official Xbox LIVE experience on a phone, including Xbox LIVE games, Spotlight feed and the ability to see a gamer’s avatar, Achievements and gamer profile. With more than 23 million active members around the world, Xbox LIVE unlocks a world of friends, games and entertainment on Xbox 360, and now also on Windows Phone 7 Series.
• Music + Video. This hub creates an incredible media experience that brings the best of Zune, including content from a user’s PC, online music services and even a built-in FM radio into one simple place that is all about music and video. Users can turn their media experience into a social one with Zune Social on a PC and share their media recommendations with like-minded music lovers. The playback experience is rich and easy to navigate, and immerses the listener in the content. • Marketplace. This hub allows the user to easily discover and load the phone with certified applications and games.
• Browse and Bing Search: Quick access to local results and maps in one glance-able view. With a search hardware button on every Windows Phone, you’re only a click away from maps, directions and the web. Search like a pro when surfing by highlighting the word and hitting “search”.
• Office. This hub brings the familiar experience of the world’s leading productivity software to the Windows Phone. With access to Office, OneNote and SharePoint Workspace all in one place, users can easily read, edit and share documents. With the additional power of Outlook Mobile, users stay productive and up to date while on the go.
Windows Phone 7 is scheduled to be available in Holiday 2010.
Here is the feature Video of Windows Phone 7 Series.
For more Demos, videos, Features, discussion please visit http://www.windowsphone7series.com/
I am currently carrying HTC Touch Diamond 2 powered by Windows Phone 6.5 and cant wait to have a hands on Windows Phone 7. Let me know what you think.. :)
Now this is Interesting…
Top Facts VMware Does Not Want You to Know About Microsoft Hyper-V.
This video describes key facts that VMware does not want customers to know about Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
Top Facts VMware Does Not Want You to Know About Microsoft Hyper-V
Its finally the time of year when you need a break to recharge yourself.. Yes.. Its vacation time for me, I ll be on a vacation for next two weeks starting this Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon I’ll fly to my home city New Delhi and will spend quality time with my Family and hangout with my childhood friends.
New Delhi
This vacation is also special as I looking forward to celebrate Eid (great Islamic Festival) with my family and friends this Sept 21st .
“ Eid ul-Fitr or Id-ul-Fitr (Arabic: عيد الفطر ‘Īdu l-Fiṭr), often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting. Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity", while Fiṭr means "to break the fast" (and can also mean "nature", from the word "fitrah"); and so the holiday symbolizes the breaking of the fasting period. It is celebrated starting on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal “
I know what i am going to pray to God this Eid.. to bring end to this economic recession and bring peace and prosperity to the world. Ameen!
I’ll leave you with this funny video when Terry takes a vacation.. Enjoy!
I’ll see you when i come back :)
IE 8 now ready to take your Internet browsing to a new level.
Much awaited Microsoft Internet Explorer is now released and available for download.
I have been using the IE8 RC1 for sometime now and now cant wait to have my hands on IE8 final release.
Top Eight reasons to have Internet Explorer 8:
Check some of the great Videos here.
Windows 7 Beta users: A windows update with specially updated version of Internet explorer is on its way.
Download IE8 NOW
Let me know how you like it..