Didn’t make it to TechEd this year? Don’t worry!  This month, we’ll be releasing a new article series that highlights the Best of TechEd announcements and technical information for IT Pros.  Today’s article focuses on enhancements in Hyper-V server virtualization in the upcoming Windows Server 2012 R2 release.

Last week at TechEd 2013 North America, we announced Windows Server 2012 R2 – the next major release of Windows Server! We’ve already made significant virtualization improvements around Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 – across the board, including scale, availability, management, storage, networking – BUT there’s a TON of new and enhanced capabilities planned for Hyper-V in the forthcoming Windows Server 2012 R2 release. 

In this article, we’ll provide an overview of these enhancements. After you review these new capabilities, I’m sure you’ll see why the R2 release is a MAJOR RELEASE – so MUCH MORE than “just another” Service Pack release!

Hyper-V – What’s New in Windows Server 2012 R2

Ben Armstrong, Hyper-V Program Manager, delivered an outstanding session at TechEd 2013 that provides an overview of the new and enhanced Hyper-V virtualization capabilities that will be available in Windows Server 2012 R2.  Below, I’ve provided a clickable index to Ben’s recorded session, so that you can easily concentrate on learning about the areas that are most important to your environment.

Download the deck and video for offline viewing.

Session Index – What’s New in Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 R2

• [ 05:50 ] New Generation 2 Virtual Machines
• Free of Legacy Virtualized Hardware
• VM Boot from Virtual SCSI and Synthetic Network Adapters
• Enables UEFI Secure VM Boot
• Supported by 64-bit versions of Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012 and later running inside VMs
   
• [ 08:11 ] Automatic Server OS Activation inside VMs
• Zero-touch activation of Server OS license inside VMs
• Requires Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter on Hosts and Windows Server 2012 R2 running inside VMs
   
• [ 11:10 ] DEMO: Moving Virtualization Forward in Windows Server 2012 R2
• Generation 1 vs Generation 2 VMs – Legacy and Synthetic Virtual Hardware
   
• [ 14:32 ] Performance Improvements in Generation 2 Virtual Machines
• 20% Faster VM Boot / 50% Faster OS Install inside VM
   
• [ 15:22 ] DEMO: VM Control via Remote Desktop Services over VMBus
• New Copy / Paste between Host and VM via Shared Clipboard
• Audio redirection
• Smartcard Login
• Even when VM network is down
   
• [ 22:04 ] Upgrade and Live Migration Improvements in Windows Server 2012 R2
• Zero downtime VM migration with Cross-Platform Live Migration – Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server 2012 R2
• Includes Shared Nothing Live Migration
• Easy In-Place Host Upgrades – Even when VMs have Saved States and Snapshots
• Fast Live Migration with Compression
• Fastest Live Migration with SMB-Direct ( RDMA ) and SMB-Multichannel
• Learn more at Upgrading Your Private Cloud ( MDC-B331 )
   
• [ 23:44 ] Online VHDX Virtual Disk Resize
• Increase AND decrease size of virtual hard disks while VM is running
   
• [ 24:28 ] Live VM Export and Clone
• Export complete copy of running VM – including memory state
• Export any snapshot of a VM
   
• [ 24:47 ] DEMO: Live Migration Enhancements
• Cross-Platform Live Migration from Windows Server 2012 to Windows Server 2012 R2 Hosts
• Faster Live Migration with Compression over 1Gbps Ethernet
• Fastest Live Migration with SMB-Direct ( RDMA ) and SMB-Multichannel over 10Gbps Ethernet
   
• [ 39:18 ] DEMO: Online VHDX Virtual Disk Resize
   
• [ 40:50 ] DEMO: Live VM Export and Clone of Running VM
   
• [ 43:14 ] Linux Guest V Enhancements
• Full Dynamic Memory Support
• Online VM Backup from Hyper-V Host
• Online VHDX Virtual Disk Resize
• New Video Driver for Improved Performance and Integration
• Learn more at Running and Managing Linux with Hyper-V and System Center ( MDC-B202 )
   
• [ 44:40 ] Storage Quality of Service ( QoS )
• Enables consistent SLA delivery
• Dynamically configurable while VM is running
• Set Maximum IOPS Threshold for Overactive / Disruptive VMs
• Set Minimum IOPS Alert Threshold
• Learn more in Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Storage Performance ( MDC-B345 )
   
• [ 45:07 ] Guest Clustering with Shared VHDXs
• Guest clustering with commodity storage
• VM presented with Shared Virtual SAS Disks
• Maintains separation between clustered VM tenants and host infrastructure
• Learn more at Application Availability Strategies for Private Cloud ( MDC-B311 )
   
• [ 45:49 ] DEMO: Storage Quality of Service ( QoS )
   
• [ 47:58 ] DEMO: Linux VM Integration Enhancements 
• Improved Video Driver Integration
• Dynamic Memory Support
• Online Backups from Linux VMs
   
• [ 51:13 ] Hyper-V Replica Site-to-Site Replication Enhancements
• Finer replication frequency control – 30-seconds, 5-minutes or 15-minutes
• Extended replication to a third ( tertiary ) Hyper-V Replica Target
• Learn more at Understanding Hyper-V Replica: Performance, Networking & Automation ( MDC-B373 )
   
• [ 52:10 ] DEMO: Hyper-V Replica Enhancements in Windows Server 2012 R2
   
• [ 56:54 ] Summary and Q&A

Now, it’s your turn … Let us know your feedback!

Which of the new capabilities of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 R2 are your favorites? Let us know in the comments section below …

- Keith