Kevin Remde's IT Pro Weblog
This ad is just the best! Worth sharing here just for the humour value.
(And it puts me in the mood to watch one of my all-time favourite movies, too.)
“That’s one more, in’it…”
I received a great question in an email concerning a SQL Profiler demo I do in our live TechNet Briefings this quarter:
—
Kevin,
I attended your technical briefing in Chicago last month. Thanks for a very nice and informative session.
During the presentation for Yukon, you did a nice demo of analyzing
perfmon and trace files using Yukon profiler. I want to try that at my work. I opened up Yukon profiler but couldn't find a way to load
perfmon results for analysis. I wonder if you can help me out and tell me how to do that.
By the way, I use Beta 2 of Yukon. And my perfmon results is collected into a csv file.
Thanks in advance.
You’re welcome – in advance.
By the way – it’s okay to call it “SQL Server 2005” now, rather than Yukon.
Yeah, the tool is a little awkward in that regard. In SQL Profiler, I "Open" my saved SQL trace file, and I "Import" the performance data. In SQL Profiler you'll find that under the File menu -> Import Performance Data.
For my demo I had the performance data saved as a binary log file (.blg file), but .csv is also an option that can be imported into the profiler.
As promised, here are the “Best of Q&A” from the webcast I delivered on June 3, 2009, entitled "TechNet Webcast: Windows 7 Feature Overview (200)”
A BIG THANK YOU to Dan Stolts and Matt Hester for assisting in answering questions during the webcast. This blog post is primarily a result of their efforts.
Thanks for attending! ...and if you haven't seen the webcast yet, you can click on the link above (or the picture to the left) to get to the registration page.
UPDATE: I'm done posting the screencast recordings I made of the demos for this session. Check out THIS BLOG POST for the list of and links to the demo screencasts!
Also - Here the RESOURCES I pulled together for this webcast
I hope you find these useful!
Kevin
---
Questions and Answers
“I would like to know what the status is on supported drivers for Windows 7 i.e. what is the new figure above 47,000. Last time I was told "98 of the top 100 devices are now supported, and more than 47,000 drivers have been added since Windows Vista was released. 99% of Windows Vista PC’s have drivers for every single supported device installed.”
There are no available statistics as of yet, however 7 will retain Vista's driver model, ensuring hardware drivers written for Vista will work with the new operating system when it ships. I know also early on in the process we were required 64-bit device drivers to be signed. This was/is mandatory.
“Will Direct access allow for users on Windows 7 to reset their AD password against the DC”
Yes, the same ways you have done in the past. And yes, even while connected via DirectAccess.
“How does direct access work with a 2 factor authentication?”
Right now the only 2-factor authentication we allow for DirectAccess scenarios is SmartCard.
“Will the DirectAccess Server replace the NAP/NPS server feature of W2K8 SP1?”
DirectAccess is not directly related to NAP/NPS. DA is for connectivity – but using IPv6 across untrusted networks. NAP can be used in DA the same as you would use it on the LAN, for verifying health and granting access based on that health. But the one doesn’t replace the other.
“This technology (DirectAccess ) will be replace NAP?”
No, NAP or Network Access Protection confirms the machine meets all security requirements for corp policy. DirectAccess allows external machines to connect to the corp network.
“Is Windows 7 a new Windows 2010 OS?”
Windows 7 is a new OS from MS and will be available Oct-22-2009: http://blogs.technet.com/matthewms/archive/2009/06/03/windows-7-and-windows-server-2008-r2-ga-and-rtm-dates-announced.aspx
Yes, Matt.. I’ll even let you promote your blog on my blog. (smile)
“Has the BrancheCache feature been tested against WAN Accelerators that do the same thing from a hardware perspective?”
Nothing I am aware off, but they really are for two different things, the WAN acclerators traditional help compress traffic on the wire, while branchcache's goal is to avoid having the traffic go on the wire, by storing the file locally. For example your WAN accelerator could help with the initial download of the file, but then branchcache systems in the branch office would handle any other requests for the file locally and not cause traffice on the WAN link.
I know there are WAN accelerators that do provide similar functionality, but the beauty of BranchCache is that A) it’s included with the OS, and B) it is not using any special protocol or special tunneling of traffic to make it work. Those hardware accelerators sometimes get in the way of standard networking. For example, they make it impossible (or at least difficult) to encrypt traffic end-to-end.
“Is only Windows client going to be available this year? When is new server version going to come out?”
Windows 7 will be released in Oct and Windows Server 2008 R2 is expected to be released at about the same time. http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/features/2009/Jun09/06-02SteveGuggenheimer.mspx
(No promises here.. but I’m hoping they release it on the very same day – like they did with the Betas and the Release Candidates.)
“How is bitlocker to go compatible with previous versions of windows or even linux?”
For previous versions of windows they should be able to read the bitlocker unlocak file on the USB drive to be able to unlock the drive, I believe for all other OS's the drive will not be readable.
It’s actually pretty clever… there is an ordinarily hidden, very small partition on a BitlockerToGo encrypted drive. If I put it into, say, and XP machine (and who runs XP these days? Oh yeah.. almost everyone. L) , you’ll have the ability to run a little application from that partition that will add the ability to enter the password (or recovery key) and then read the drive. Smart stuff.
“If I purchase a new PC now, will I qualify for a free upgrade to Windows 7 or do I need to wait until October?”
I don’t think the timing on this has been officially announced, but there will likely be a day (soon) after which a purchase of Windows Vista (and likely only certain versions) will be freely upgradable to Windows 7.
“When is W7 RC2 available?”
There is no RC2. There is just RC. Beta was just beta. Next up: RTM
“What is recommended RAM for Windows 7?”
At the time of the RC, the requirements are:
“Is Windows 7 RC deployable through WDS?”
Absolutely. We’re using the same imaging technology. You definitely should look at http://www.microsoft.com/deployment for links and information about the current state of deployment, and the free tools and guides available. For example – there is a beta of the WAIK and of the Microsoft deployment Toolkit that have additional functionality to support deploying Windows 7. But even without additional updates, WDS will deploy a Windows 7 image as readily as it will a Windows Vista one.
“Will hardware drivers written for Vista work in Windows 7?”
Yes. Or more correctly, “it’s overwhelmingly likely”, since the driver model is the same.
“What is the airspeed velocity of an un-laden Swallow?”
What do you mean? An African or European Swallow?
My friend and teammate Kai Axford delievered an EXCELLENT webcast just a few minutes ago, for which I had the honor of covering the Q&A. The webcast was all about ways to secure your messaging using Exchange 2003, Outlook 2003, ISA Server 2004, S/MIME, PKI, OWA… Great stuff!
Here is the link to the webcast for On Demand Viewing.
And below I’ve listed the Q&A from the session, so you webcast viewers can take advantage of the resource links directly. I hope you find them useful!
-Kevin
Here’s the link to Brian Komar's PKI Security Book Kai mentioned:
http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/authors/auth6745.asp
How to protect SMTP using Transport Layer: Check out "How to help protect SMTP communication by using the Transport Layer Security protocol in Exchange Server" http://support.microsoft.com/?id=829721
Securiing email using S/MIME and Exchange Server 2003:Read the “Exchange Server 2003 Message Security Guide” available at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2003/library/exmessec.mspx.
“Please ask Mr. Kai to not speak so loudly into the microphone. Thank you.”This just happens when he gets exctied. Hopefully he toned it down enough for you later in the webcast.
“If I install S-MIME in my organization, I will have impact with the users that have out of my company?”Not necessarily. As Kai said, it has everything to do who you trust and how those who trust you have access to a trusted root authority. The impact will be in getting the public keys out to recipients of emails that you want to sign or encrypt, so that they can take advantage of it.
“What is Certificate Services?”http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/windowsserver2003/library/TechRef/63e3ba1c-cc23-40b1-9ca2-853869677318.mspx
“But what is the real-world impact of switching to S-MIME in an organiztion as it pertains to outside trusts, ie. hotmail, sbcgloabl, yahoo, etc.?”Their client will have to support certificate authentication. (S/MIME). It's pretty common now. AND they will have to install the public key you provide them.
“What's that desktop bkgrd called with the host ip and domain script?”He's probably run a tool to build that. I know there is one like it at SysInternals.com called "BGInfo". http://www.sysinternals.com/Utilities/BgInfo.html
“The installation of certificate services were done in the exchange servers with the mailboxes user?”Certificate Services is outside of Exchange in Exchange 2003. It is a free component that you can install on any Windows 2000 or 2003 Server. It’s included with the OS.
“Thanks, so of this way, is not necessary any configuration between exchange server and certificate server?”Other than that checkbox Kai showed earlier for supporting certificates, no.
For more PKI / S/MIME information: Read the “Exchange Server 2003 Message Security Guide” available at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2003/library/exmessec.mspx
“Where can you get the certificates services ? is this something already in windows 2000 /2003 or is this something that has to be downloaded from microsoft.com if downloaded what is the website address ?”FREE.. and you already have it. It's an installable component of the server product.
More information on using Windows Rights Management: See http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/rightsmgmt/default.mspx
“WRM can be deployed to all users into a organization?”|Yes.
“Does WRM protect email from being forwarded when sent to an email system other than Exchange?”Yes. It stops on your end before it goes out.
“Is Windows IRM free or cost money ?”
Windows Rights Management Servce is a product. It does cost money. See:http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/technologies/rightsmgmt/default.mspx
“What is the diference between sign and encrypt the message? when the message goes signed can be spyed?”Signed just means you can be sure that it came from who it says it came from, but doesn't mean the message itself is encrypted... so yes, if you're not using some other encryption, the message can be read.
For a complete list of the other ports required in the Exchange front-end and back-end server,see “Front-End and Back-End Topology for Exchange Server 2003 and Exchange 2000 Server” at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2003/library/febetop.mspx
For more information about Exchange Server 2003 RPC over HTTP(S) deployment configurations, see “Exchange Server 2003 RPC over HTTP(S) Deployment Scenarios” at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/2003/library/ex2k3rpc.mspx
“Asked: is there other solution such as certificate services of other providers?”Yes. S/MIME and email signing and encryption doesn't have to use the Microsoft certificate services. It will work with any standard PKI you want to use.
“Does it work on a 2003 exchange cluster server?”Yes.
“What is the e-mail addres of Kai? Can he receive questions to his e-mail?”
kaiax@microsoft.com. Yes, he's happy to get emailed questions from you. But try me first. :)
Using ISA Server 2004 with Exchange Server 2003:see http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/isa/2004/plan/exchage2003.mspx
“Can we get a hold of those scripts that change the IPs?”
Email Kai. He may be able to get them to you.
Deployment Scenarios for RPC over HTTP(S):http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/exchange/guides/E2k3RPCHTTPDep/ee9b228f-db48-4860-8bfd-3195881b8980.mspx
For more information about limiting client access to Exchange Server,Refer to Article ID: 328240 at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/328240
For more information about the Outlook 98 and Outlook 2000 version of the e-mail security enhancements, refer to “Outlook 98 E-mail Security Update” at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/archive/office/office97/support/out98sec.mspx and “Outlook 2000 SR-1 Update: E-mail Security” at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/office/office2000/support/o2ktool.mspx
For a list of the restricted file types, see the “Outlook E-mail Security Update— Frequently Asked Questions” at http://office.microsoft.com/assistance/2000/Out2ksecFAQ.aspxor “Attachment File Types Restricted by Outlook 2003” at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402971033.aspx
For more information about setting the Level1Remove registry key see “Administrator-Controlled Settings vs. User-Controlled Settings” at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402961033.aspx
For more information about configuring Outlook security settings, see “Customizing Security Settings by Using the Outlook Security Template” at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011402931033.aspx
For more information about using ISA Server 2004 with Exchange Server 2003, see http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/isa/2004/plan/exchage2003.mspx
For more information about installing an SSL certificate on your server, read the Knowledge Base article 298805 at http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;298805
For more information about additional security-related features, read “How to manage Outlook Web Access features in Exchange Server 2003” at http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=830827
To download the Outlook Web Access administration tool, go to http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=4bbe7065-a04e-43ca-8220-859212411e10&displaylang=en
OWA Publishing through ISA Server 2004:http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/isa/2004/plan/owapublishing.mspx
Exchange Server 2003 SP2 is coming!http://www.microsoft.com/exchange/downloads/2003/sp2/overview.mspx
Exchange Book:Answered: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0735619905/103-8014442-7447030?v=glance
“Great Job man”
Ray Ozzie is now Microsoft’s CTO!
And equally good new: Microsoft Acquired his company, Groove Networks. Watch for some great stuff to be coming out of that deal!
UPDATE: Here’s the Microsoft PressPass announcement.
I am in love with IE7. Even in its beta form. It truly rocks.
Sean Alexander found and posted a fun commercial / teaser on IE 7 on his blog.
Here are the "Best Of" the questions and answers from today's TechNet Webcast: "Planning for and Deploying Office SharePoint Server 2007 (Part 1 of 2)".
Thanks to all who attended!
PS - Here is my resource page for this webcast
PPS - Here is the link to register for Part 2
--
“Will this cover a server farm install or a single installation?”
We actually did a build of a new installation of Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007 on a single server, but it was as the first server in a server farm installation.
“We'd like to deploy an internal SharePoint server along with a external unlimited access server accessible by our customers and partners. 1.) What are some considerations we need to take into account? 2.) Can we seamlessly publish content to the external server concurrently using ISA 2006 link translation?”
1. Judging from your second question, I think you already have a handle on some of the main considerations – those being security and external vs. internal access and namespaces. Also, depending on how you plan on setting up the external access, you‘ll want to be sure you have the proper licensing model that will support it.
2. Absolutely. ISA can do the link translation for you. But there is also that same capability built-in to Office SharePoint Server 2007. Make sure you attend (or view) part 2 of this webcast, where I demonstrate how to configure that support.
“When will MOSS 2007 become available? Also, can the blogs and wikis be easily tied to user's AD groups?”
Check out the “How to Buy” page. Also, you can download a trial of MOSS 2007.
And as for your second question – I’m not sure what kind of a tie you’re looking for. But users in MOSS 2007 are associated with their AD account, and security group memberships are used to secure or allow access to resources in MOSS.
“Is there any restrictions for installing MOSS 2007 on an IIS server that has Frontpage Server Extensions enabled?”
I don’t think so, but I’ve sent the question to some very knowledgeable people. I’ll put an update here when I get it.
“Will scenario 2 work if the goal is to start small, but to be able to expand environment easily as this service takes off?”
(Scenario 2 is the small farm scenario)
Yes. The biggest benefit to starting out with a small one-server farm as opposed to the “basic” (one server, and we’ll put SQL Express in for you) install is that you have the ability to scale. Each of those scenarios can be built one after the other as needed, to scale up and/or out.
“Can you use Virtual Server 2005 and Virtual PC 2007 in conjunction to create scenario 2 & 3 for testing?”
Absolutely. It’s what I intend to do for my own server farm. In fact, my personal user-base is so small that I’ll probably get away with running it as virtual servers all on one box, next to my virtual DC and two virtual Exchange 2007 servers.
“Can you combine a search server role with Excel services?”
Yes. Those roles can run from the same machine.
Now… if I misunderstood your question, and if what you’re really asking is, “Can I search an Excel Spreadsheet that is being served up by Excel Services?”, then the answer is the same. Yes. A file that is available through those services is also saved to a document library, and can also be crawled, indexed, and made available to those who have rights to get to it.
“Is there a way to restore individual documents, if they get deleted, or does the entire DB need to be restored?”
Ah.. I’m sorry I missed this question when you asked it, because I forgot to show you the beauty of the new Recycle Bin. (I’ll be discussing it in greater detail in Part 2.) At its simplest, the recycle bin in WSS and MOSS acts just like the bin you have on your desktop. You can recover items you delete yourself. And where it differs is that it also adds an additional layer of protection – kind of a recycle bin of deleted docs – so that even if it leaves your own recycle bin, it may be safe for a certain time period before it’s permanently deleted.
Yeah.. we’ve done a lot to address that problem of restoring what was accidentally or incorrectly deleted.
“Sharepoint URL's are notoriously long and cumbersome. What is the recommendation for aliasing sites? Is there a way to do it through sharepoint or does each site need to have it's own IP and then use DNS for the aliasing?”
I’m not sure the solution is any better in WSS v3 or MOSS 2007. You have to target web applications in some unique way – either by name or by port used. SharePoint does the configuration for you – basically setting up the name and port information that is used by IIS.
“I noticed Clustered SQL Servers in the diagrams, Is Database mirroring supported? Is the auto failover function supported?”
DB Mirroring is indeed supported, but only automatic failover for the content databases. Other databases (Config DB, Search DB, SSP content or SSP Search) are not going to failover automatically. However, you can manually fail them over by using the STSADM “renameserver” command to point the services to the formerly-secondary-now-primary mirror server.
“Kevin, could you please tell us what the recommended audiences for each deployment topologies (small,medium, large farm..) are ? I mean what is the maximum of users ?”
As I said in the webcast, this is one of those “it depends” questions. I don’t have any firm figures on how many users can be supported by which scenario.
“Do you have to complete all the tasks on the Central Administration front page before adding content sites?”
No, you don’t. As I showed in the demo, when my creation of the SSP went too long (for demo purposes), I was able to create the main web site even before the SSP was done.
“Any online learning or Virtual lab for MOSS and or WSS 3.0?”
The best place to go for learning is www.microsoft.com/learning. There is indeed an online “clinic” entitled “Getting Started with Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007”, which is found here: http://www.microsoft.com/learning/elearning/course/3370.mspx
You can also try SharePoint Server 2007 in a virtual lab.
“What did you do about all the update the Windows Server 2003 R2 need to install when freshly deployed ? Did you installed them all ? And also the .NET 3.0 downloadable package ? Any recommendation?”
My recommendation is to always have all updates in place before you install a new piece of software such as WSS v3 or Office SharePoint Server 2007. And yes, the .Net Framework 3.0 is downloadable. You can find it here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=10CC340B-F857-4A14-83F5-25634C3BF043&displaylang=en
“Are the exchange public folders going away and being replaced by MOSS 2007?”
No, Exchange Public Folders are not going away in the foreseeable future. However, we’re still hoping that people will see that, even in the free Windows SharePoint Services v3.0, the benefits of content management on a SharePoint site far outweigh what you have in Exchange Public Folders.
“If a document library document has a footer enabled with the path and filename, what will the path be when saved in a document library?”
The path will be the web address of the document – so something like http://www.litwareinc.com/documents/mydocument.doc.
Is there a SharePoint architecture diagram showing how the various components are related and explaining the purpose of each?”
I couldn’t find one, but I’ll ask around.
“What is needed to get business data catalogs to work?”
At the heart of it you’ll be building/configuring an .xml file that is the definition of what the data looks like, how it’s accessed, and how it should be rendered for SharePoint to use it.
Here is a good starting point, with additional links to further information, on how to plan for using Business Data Catalogs: http://technet2.microsoft.com/Office/en-us/library/604431c9-de72-43b9-a3a9-3b0c3bf3444e1033.mspx?mfr=true
“If you have 1 web server and 1 database server, it the deployment still considered a ‘farm’?”
Yes. Although you don’t yet have any load-balanced web servers or database clustering, SharePoint still considers this a “farm”. (Like an Active Directory “Forest” is still a forest if it has only one “tree”, so too a SharePoint “farm” is still a farm even if it only has one.. um.. tractor web server.)
“What is the difference between SharePoint2007 with regard to earlier versions?”
Here’s an Excel spreadsheet that spells out what is new or different compared to SharePoint Portal Server 2003: http://office.microsoft.com/search/redir.aspx?AssetID=XT102011901033&CTT=5&Origin=HA101978031033
“Is there a migration path from Sharepoint Team Services to MOSS 2007?”
Check out the Migration Resources Here.
“Regarding web accessibility, has the MOSS 07 CMS improved for accessible content and CSS? Just curious since this was an issue in the past and if you could provide a webcast or online resource on the topic.”
“Does the Experience Improvement program transfer hostnames, ip addresses, domain names, other company-confidential information?”
No. There is no company confidential or identifiable information transferred by default. Check the disclaimer/description on the form where you sign up to see the details.
“Can we change the site template once define? For instance, I create a site using the team template and now I want to set it as a meeting site--is it possible??”
I don’t think so. You can modify the site design and layout after you create it, but I don’t think you can switch templates once it is initially built.
“What are your recommendation in terms of which roles are installed on the MOSS server when deploying in the context of domain network (Active Directory) ? Do you add the Active Directory role ?
You could put MOSS on the same server that is also a Domain Controller (AD Role), but it’s not recommended. As long as your server is a member of a domain, you can use the accounts and groups in the directory to set permissions on services and resources. The MOSS server just needs to be able to access a domain controller and global catalog server.
“How would you replicate site content to another MOSS server somewhere else?”
You can actually set up content rules and paths, with jobs to replicate content. I’ll be talking about that in part 2 of the webcast.
“Is it possible to allow authentication to two different subsites using two authentication providers? For instance, we want to use another active directory domain controller with isolated accounts on the same SharePoint server?”
I believe there are restrictions in terms of what SSO (Single-Sign-On) or pluggable authentication providers can do for you here. (another topic I’ll discuss in part 2) However, if you’re talking about two AD domains or forests with a trust relationship established, I wouldn’t think this should be a problem.
“Kevin, what will be giving away during launch events?”
Check out my blog post all about it.
As a followup to the SMS question I answered, I thought anyone using SMS might find this download useful. Here’s the text from the overview:
Resource Page for
Wednesday, March 30, 20051:00–2:00 P.M. Pacific Time, United States and Canada (UTC-8)
Tune in for an overview of the Domain Name System (DNS) and the associated terminology. We’ll also cover topics
Here are some resources relating to the webcast topic presented. I hope you find them useful.
“Deploying DNS”
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/all/deployguide/en-us/dnsbd_dns_overview.asp
“How DNS Works”http://www.microsoft.com/Resources/Documentation/windowsserv/2003/all/techref/en-us/w2k3tr_dns_how.asp
“How DNS Query Works”http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/sag_DNS_und_HowDnsWorks.asp
“DNS Domain Names”http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/sag_DNS_und_DomainNames.asp
“DNS Requirements for Installing Active Directory”http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/sag_dns_und_dcpromo_requirements.asp
“Understanding Zones and Zone Transfers”http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/sag_DNS_und_ZoneTransfers.asp
“Active Directory Integration”
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/sag_DNS_und_ActiveDirIntegration.asp
“DNS Overview – Server Features”
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/sag_DNS_ovr_ServerFeatures.asp
MSDN – Platform SDK – Active Directory Partitions
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/ad/ad/application_directory_partitions.asp
“Delegating Zones”
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/sag_DNS_imp_DelegatingZones.asp
“Dynamic Updates”
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/sag_DNS_und_DynamicUpdates.asp
“Understanding Aging and Scavenging”http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/enterprise/proddocs/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/windowsserv/2003/enterprise/proddocs/en-us/sag_DNS_und_AgingScavenging.asp
“Using Server Debug Logging Options”
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/Default.asp?url=/resources/documentation/WindowsServ/2003/standard/proddocs/en-us/sag_DNS_imp_UsingLoggingOptions.asp
Microsoft TechNethttp://www.microsoft.com/technet
Official Series Resource Pagehttp://www.microsoft.com/technet/tnt4–04
Free Windows Server 2003 Virtual Labs:http://www.microsoft.com/technet/traincert/virtuallab/windowsserver2003.mspx
Windows Server 2003 Evaluation kit:http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/evaluation/trial/evalkit.mspx
Windows Server 2003 Training and Events:http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2003/techinfo/training/default.mspx
New and improved Microsoft Events page:
http://www.microsoft.com/events
TechNet Webcast: Windows Server 2003 Administration Series (Part 9 of 12): Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) (Level 200)Wednesday, April 6, 20051:00–2:00 P.M. Pacific Time, United States and Canada (UTC-7)
I was browsing the TechNet web site for solutions to a couple of great WSUS questions I received in e-mail, when a search result caught my eye:
“End to End Update Management – How Windows Vista Reduces the Pain of Update Management”
Here’s the paper’s “executive summary”:
“This white paper describes how the Microsoft Windows operating system Windows Vista improves the update management experience for both information technology (IT) professionals and end users. The Microsoft four-phase update cycle highlights the changes in the end-to-end update experience of IT professionals. The paper also addresses the changes to the end-user experience resulting from the new Microsoft Update (MU), Microsoft Windows Update Agent (WUA), the new version of Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS), and the reduction in reboots required when updating the Windows Vista client.”
My take on the paper:
It lays out quite nicely the goals of improving the update experience, for end-users and IT Pros alike. Easy assessment and detection tools. Smaller updates. Quicker transfers. Fewer reboots. Overall – less disruption. The article is worth the read if only to understand that Microsoft is trying to make the process better, and has the tools for you to do it.
“Wow.. I can hardly wait to get my hands on this stuff, Kevin. Do I have to wait for Windows Vista to improve our Update Process?”
Emphatically – NO!
Okay… I have to say I’m a bit dissappointed at the way this article mixes how much better it will be when Windows Vista ships.. and “blah blah blah in the Windows Vista timeframe blah blah”, with the technologies and tools that are already available.
Many of the technologies and improvements that the article describes are available NOW! Microsoft Update is HERE! And WSUS (Windows Server Update Services) gives you the flexibility and power as the article describes, TODAY! Please don’t wait for Windows Vista. Read the article and investigate these great resources if you haven’t done so already.
“There’s got to be something new in there, though, right?”
Yes, there are a couple of great tidbits. For example – Windows Vista is a single binary (hardware and language independent), which means you have fewer images to patch, so less time patching and testing prior to rolling patches out. New technology supporting fewer reboots is hinted at. The Windows Update Agent (WUA) is going to be a standalone application, for a “more consistent and reliable end-user experience”. BITS (Background Intelligent Transfer Service) is improved to resume downloads based on state that now carries over even after a reboot or disconnect, and Windows Vista will include a download manager that can help you manage current download jobs.
My favorite new feature is going to be WIM (Windows IMages), which is a disk image format that can be patched directly. Yep.. you heard me… you’ll be able to have images of installed Operating Systems that you can patch directly into… so your distributable images will be kept up-to-date without having to build a machine, patch it, and re-capture the image. That’s HUGE! (And it’s just a small taste of what WIM will be able to do.)
So… read the article with the understanding that a lot of what it talks about is already here, and that things are definitely going to get even better!
And the disclaimer at the end of the article applies to my posting as well:“Note: Features discussed on this site are subject to change. Some may not be included in the final product due to marketing, technical, or other reasons.”
Well.. it’s been said that “Blondes have more fun”. And we all know that Developers are having more fun than IT Pros this week, so it must follow that blonde developers are probably having more fun than anybody.
Yes.. I must confess… this is NOT my natural hair color… AND I used to be a Software Engineer! But then I started playing with TCP/IP, the Internet, NT Domains, and I was hooked. Group Policies were in my blood. IT was in my future. (And so was “Just for Men”)
Here’s a discussion I had with a coworker back in 1989…
Younger, less grey me: “Wow! Come look at this! I just made an FTP connection to a file server in f***ing Finland!”
Him: “Huh? FTP?”
Me: “File Transfer Protocol. It’s an Internet standard.”
Him: “Huh? Internet?”
Me: “Yeah.. it’s this groovy** inter-connection of networks.”
Him: “Oh. That’ll never catch on. So.. what’s so cool?”
Me: “I just told you! I’m not just looking at some directory on the server downstairs.. I’m looking at a directory of files IN FINLAND!”
Him: (leaning over to look at the file listing. Finally, a light-bulb goes on over his head)…”Wow! …Porn!”
Me: “No! That’s not the point! I’m connecting to a server that’s way over… Hey! Where are you going?!”
Him: “Porn! FTP! File Transfered Poooorn!…” [rushing off to his workstation to start his own FTP-enabled porn collection]
** Okay.. maybe “Groovy” was already out of style in ‘89. But so was the tie I was wearing.
And so the Internet flourished. Because of porn. But I digress…
I spent several years as a developer even after those first FTP porn downloads. And I loved it! I went to a few cool conferences.. Borland’s, C|Net Web Builders, TechEds.. and it was at TechEd’s 94 and 95 that I saw more and more how Microsoft was making it easier to get porn..er.. to connect computers and manage directories of users. And in the small company I was developing for, we needed someone to manage the network, email, set up Internet connectivity, file servers, etc. And I stepped into the role partly out of necessity, but mostly because I really thought this stuff was groovy..er.. cool. Eventually I gave up development for full-time IT work.
Sound familiar? I know many IT Pros who have similar stories. Some not even involving porn.
Now.. flash-forward to this week. HUGE news coming out of the PDC. Developers are going nuts with fun stuff.. Windows Vista demos.. Office 12 demos… Max, Sparkle, LINQ, WPF, WCF, WWF… whoo-hoo! PDC is where it’s at!
“But Kevin.. you went to TechEd, didn’t you?”
<yawn> Yeah… I did. And it was fun. But… that fun pales in comparison to the all-out geek-O-rama that is this year’s PDC.
Granted – there are some really kick-butt products and technologies coming out yet this year and next year. Things that make a young IT Pro’s heart jump for joy. But when developers have so much fun… wow. It makes me think maybe I should start working through the new Visual Studio demos, watch a few MSDN webcasts.. maybe attend a few MSDN Events…
Yep. I think I’ll go back to being a developer.
…And I’ll color my hair blonde.
Here are some resources relating to webcast I delivered on June 3, 2009, entitled "TechNet Webcast: Windows 7 Feature Overview (Level 200)”
This is part 1 of a many-part series on Windows 7.
I have also recorded the demos as screencast videos. Watch my blog for when those go live on TechNet Edge. UPDATE: They're live! Check out THIS BLOG POST for the list of and links to the demo screencasts!
I hope you find these resources useful!
DirectAccess http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/network/dd420463.aspx
TechNet Edge Interview: BranchCache in Windows 7 http://edge.technet.com/Media/Branch-Cache-in-Windows-7/
Windows 7 for the Enterprise http://www.microsoft.com/windows/enterprise/products/search-information.aspx
Windows PowerShell 2.0 CTP http://www.microsoft.com/technet/scriptcenter/topics/winpsh/newin2.mspx
Windows 7 Walkthrough: AppLocker (Video Download) http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=7a919629-4d8b-43c5-8115-78bc30a187c2&DisplayLang=en
Windows 7: Troubleshooting and Support http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd349347.aspx
Windows 7 Energy Efficiency (“Engineering Windows 7” Blog) http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/01/06/windows-7-energy-efficiency.aspx
Microsoft TechNet Springboard http://www.microsoft.com/springboard
Microsoft TechNet http://www.microsoft.com/technet
Live TechNet Events http://www.technetevents.com/
Microsoft Events page: http://www.microsoft.com/events
Save 15% on a TechNet Plus Subscription (including beta access like Windows 7, non-timeout evaluation software, 2 support calls, and more!)
Oh my… the gauntlet has been thrown down!
I love it. Chris Avis (friend and fellow IT Pro Champion on the TechNet team) has a “Karaoke Challenge” that he’s promoting to his audiences. You can read his excellent post about it if you wish, but in a nutshell, he is challenging any and all of his live event attendees to a sing-off. The evening after an event, he and the challenger will go to any local club that’s hosting Karaoke. And if the audience likes the challenger’s song better than Chris’, Chris will provide the challenger with a full retail copy of Windows Server 2003 Standard Edition.
This gives me an idea… I’m going to do this, too!
Yes, that’s right. You heard me. I can sing. Better than you.
Kevin’s Karaoke Challenge
I challenge any and/or all of my live event attendees to a sing-off! You email me before the event, and let me know that we’ll be going out for some Karaoke. If the audience likes your singing/song/style better, you’re gonna get a copy of Windows Server 2003 Standard Ed. Retail copy – “no timeout crap”).
2008 UPDATE: That particular software package doesn't make sense these days. How 'bout I just surprise you? (Yes, it will be real software that would otherwise need to be purchased. I'll make it worth your while.)
(Heck.. I might even give a prize to anyone brave enough to take me on.)
So Chris – Are we going to get to challenge each other at the team meeting in October? And what can you afford to lose?
Today we’re launching a new opportunity for web developers in small companies (10 or fewer employees) who would like a free “leg-up” from Microsoft.
“Visibility, support and software for professional Web Developers and Designers - at no upfront cost!” is what the heading on the site reads.
Here is a good summary straight out of the official Program Guide:
WebsiteSpark is a new global program, designed by Microsoft to help small professional Web development and design service companies succeed, by providing new business opportunities through connections with global partners and customers, support and training, and software tools – at no upfront cost. WebsiteSpark provides professional Web development and design companies with an innovative vehicle to get access to: Business Opportunities: Opportunities to expand their customer base and drive new business, by showcasing their capabilities and connecting with partners via the WebsiteSpark Marketplace and other Microsoft marketing and business networking vehicles. Support and training: Professional support from Microsoft and connections with WebsiteSpark Network Partners, Hosting Partners, and other Web developers and designers with complementary technologies or business models—an entire ecosystem that can provide a wide range of technical and business resources for every Web professional need. Software and solutions: Fast, easy, and immediate access to current full-featured Microsoft development tools and Web server production licenses at no upfront cost, to build, design and bring to market differentiated, innovative, and rich Internet sites.
WebsiteSpark is a new global program, designed by Microsoft to help small professional Web development and design service companies succeed, by providing new business opportunities through connections with global partners and customers, support and training, and software tools – at no upfront cost. WebsiteSpark provides professional Web development and design companies with an innovative vehicle to get access to:
“Hey Kevin.. that’s a developer opportunity, isn’t it? I thought this was an IT Pro-focused blog.”
Yes, it is. And yes, it is. But I know that small company developers are also the IT guys and gals. Maybe they read this blog. And it’s just such a great opportunity for free stuff to support the birth and growth of a small business that it’s news that’s definitely worth spreading.
Go to the Microsoft WebsiteSpark site for all the details.
Happy TechEd Tuesday! <yawn>
Man… I’m getting too old to stay up too late and get up too early… but here I am. I have another 5 hours of Hands-on-Lab proctoring to do today. (Come see me in the Server Infrastructure area and say ‘hi’!) Maybe this afternoon I’ll be able to squeeze in a nap before the evening activities.
Yesterday started early. At 6:45 I was cursing my decision for an 6:45 wake-up call… but I spent a little too much time configuring my new and now fully charged watch. (Geeks and their toys, y’know.) I got down to get in line for the shuttle at 7:40am, and the folks standing there have been in line for 30 minutes already. We wait another 15 when a shuttle finally arrives. I’m not going to make that mistake again. I must get down there early if you want to make it to the convention center by 8:00am.
Hands-on-Labs weren’t too busy yet. I LOVE the setup this year. For one thing, it’s nice to be able to see how many there are in one room, compared to the multi-room setup of last year. Also, the circular ‘all PCs face the center’ arrangement of each area is very efficient for people requiring assistance. Soon, however, Chris Henley and I decided to volunteer to help fix one of the labs. HOL163 was having problems, so we decided to see if we could fix it.
…several hours later we were closer, at least. Much of our time was spent documenting the things that needed to be changed right up front so that the virtual machines would come up with the right pre-lesson configuration. Eventually Chris had to leave to go prepare for a webcast, and I was told that they needed any new images up soon for the evening’s upload. So I proceeded to build and save the new pre-lesson configuration… and we’ll just have to try out the lab again tomorrow. The network there was too slow to copy the files from one machine to another.. so eventually I had to just carry a workstation into another room so they could copy the files down.
Following that, I took a brief tour of the Exhibit Hall, and then went to work my 1.5 hour shift on the Microsoft Across America “Mobile Experience” truck.
Then it was back to my hotel for a quick shower (“The Blog!” shirt under my blue Microsoft shirt was a bad idea) and quickly back to the Exhibit Hall for the hall reception. There I was drafted to help out for awhile at the TechNet booth, asking questions and handing out prizes at our “Wheel of TechNet” game.
Following the reception, I met up with Chris Haaker and several other bloggers and blog-readers for our Geek Dinner at Bahama Breeze. Good food and conversation, and very nice to meet people you’ve only previously corresponded with via e-mail or blog comments.
Then it was off to the TechEd Jam Session!
Entertaining as usual! (which means, sometimes long pauses between songs, and “Hmm… I think maybe the drummer really can’t hear the tempo that that guitar player is laying down”…) A lot of fun!
So now this morning again at 6:00am I was again cursing myself for thinking I would prefer a 6:00am wake-up call… <yawn> My editing of the video shot yesterday will have to wait a bit. I probably won’t have time to post one today. (Well.. okay… maybe later, a short one.) See you at the labs!
Below are the best of the questions and answers that occurred during our TechNet Webcast entitled, "24 Hours of Windows Server 2008 (Part 02 of 24): Server Virtualization with Hyper-V Features and Architecture"
John Weston, Keith Combs, and newest team-member (and very GROOVEy guy) Yung Chou, were kind enough to help out with the questions and answers during the webcast. Much of what you see below is either specifically their answers, or based on the answers they gave during the session. I've expanded some of them, and added answers to questions we didn't get to answer or were answered verbally on the webcast. But basically this was possible as a result of their efforts, and I wanted to give them credit here.
Thanks, my friends!
PS - here are the RESOURCES I pulled together for this webcast
“I have been testing Hyper-V and recently had this issue. I have a VHD of SBS2003 I setup Server 2008 and Hyper-V and then tried to run this existing VHD. But the VHD would not except the Network Adapter. How do I setup the driver inside an existing VHD with out the driver files. This btw worked just find on a XP VHD. Thanks”
You will most likely need to use the "Legacy" network adaptor.
“Are there any tools to convert from VMWare Server to Hyper V? Or will there be at release?”
The answer is yes if you are running the next generation of System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM); but that isn't yet ready for public beta testing. (Announcements coming soon.) Same as V2V now with SCVMM managing Virtual Server 2005, where you can migration VMWare to Virtual Server 2005 machines, you’ll have the same ability to go straight to Hyper-V-based guest/child machines.
“Is it possible to work with external USB devices inside virtual machine?”
Today the answer is no unless the device can be shared across a RDP session to the VM. It's high on the list of feature requests for some of the upcoming versions of the virtualization products.
“Will Virtual Machine Manager be able to manage VS within a cluster, unlike with Server 2003?”
Hyper-V is a cluster-aware feature within Windows Server 2008, offering native support for VM high availability.
“But, will Virtual Machine Manager be able to manage Hyper-V virtual servers within the cluster?”
When the next generation of SCVMM ships; yes.
“What is the current planned release of the Hyper-V?”
Within 180 days from the release of Windows Server 2008 (which was released early February). So the clock is ticking!
“How will the Release version of Hyper-V be available (Microsoft Update, Download, etc)?”
Microsoft / Windows Update
“I do not see Hyper - V feature in my windows 2008 machine. I do not see it in roles either . Where do i look for it . Also I do not have my NIC Card enabled. Seems like the drivers are not enabled by default. Could this be related to Hyper-V problem?”
What machine and CPU are you using? Does it have hardware assisted virtualization turned on?
“I am using a VmWare . Win2008 is installed in a vmware . The host machine has 4 Gb ram. 1 Gb is dedicated to windows 2008 Vmware . The host machine is a Dell Optiplex GX 270”
The Hyper-V role cannot be installed inside a virtual machine. It must be on a physical machine.
“Will there be another beta ‘refresh’ or release before it is made public?”
I am not aware of the plans if there will be an RC (release candidate) or other betas or not. I don't think we have announced anything on that one.
“What client can connect to External option?”
What do you mean by client? Connections to the VM's can occur with the secure client or via RDP. In the case of RDP, it's just like a physical machine.
“You said - Make sure you install integration components, is that exact name, what is the url?”
Sorry I didn’t make this more clear. In the Virtual Machine Connection window, under the “Action” menu, there is a “Insert Integration Services Setup Disk” option. That will “insert” a “DVD” (actually an .iso in the virtualized disc tray), which will auto-run. Installing this is very much like installing Virtual Machine Additions works in Virtual Server 2005 and Virtual PC 2007.
NOTE: It’s not the same thing, though. In fact, if you’re moving a machine to Hyper-V from Virtual Server or Virtual PC, it’s a good idea to remove the Virtual Machine additions first. Then once your machine is running under Hyper-V, you add the Integration Services.
“Hyper-V is limited to Windows Server 2008 Core and 64 bits?”
Not exactly. Yes, it needs to be 64 bit. But Hyper-V is available on most versions of Server (Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter), whether being installed as full or core installations. So it’s not just Core.
CLICK HERE for a good chart showing which roles are available in which versions of Windows Server 2008.
Remember – “Core” isn’t a SKU or version of Windows Server 2008. Installing a core machine is an option when you’re installing the version that you purchased (Standard, Enterprise, etc.) You don’t just by something called “Windows Server 2008 Core Edition”. That doesn’t exist.
“Can Hyper-V be installed on a Server Core installation? If so, are you then required to use VMM or can you manage it other ways?”
Yes, Windows Server 2008 Core will be strong installation choice (platform) for Hyper-V. SCVMM is not required. As I showed in the session, the Hyper-V manager allows you to connect to other machines. Using the new WS-Mgmt based remote management, it works just like any other MMC works.. allowing you to securely connect to other servers – and those other servers may be just running as core servers.
“Can the VM's be stored on a NFS storage? And is there high availability possible through the use of clustering?”
I do not know if a NFS store will be supported. SAN support is obviously a must, but I am unsure on NFS. Clustering will be a key supported scenario.
“Do you still have to pay full licensing costs for guests that are running 2008 server on a server running Hyper V?”
Windows Server 2008 license on Standard and Enterprise allow for 4 copies of that OS to run on that machine under Hyper-v with just the one license you purchased. Windows Server 2008 Datacenter edition has a different license (unlimited virtual machines, baby!). So basically, no you don't for up to the first 4 copies.
Here's the original retail pricing and SKU announcement.
“Does Legacy support connections to Windows CE-4 and DOS / Win16 machines”
I don't believe we've released the full list of supported guest operating systems for Hyper-V, but I seriously doubt those operating systems will be supported.
“Can you have physical Domain Controllers and DC's that are VM's with out running into time issues?”
Absolutely. Active Directory is going to be a key supported scenario.
“What is the minimal and recommended physical memory for each Virtual Machine?”
Whatever is required by the OS running on it.
“Will Exchange 2007 be supported by Microsoft to run in Hyper-V?”
CORRECTION to my original answer here: I replied incorrectly that Exchange 2007 was supported in Virtual Server- which of course is stupid, because Exchange 2007 is 64-bit, and Virtual Server 2005 only does 32-bit guests.
No announcements have yet been made about Exchange 2007 support in Hyper-V.
“Can you use a dynamic vhd and install an O/S on it?”
Absolutely
“Hyper-V can run over 8 CORE? Meaning over 8 virtual servers?”
I think you misunderstood what I meant by 8 cores. I’m talking about processors and processor cores. If you are running a multi-proc/multi-core parent/host Server, you can have your virtual machines recognize as many as 8 of them (or less if you choose). So you have some great flexibility and great power/performance available to the virtual machines now.
“Ok so a dynamic expanding disk can be used to install the O/S on?”
Yes indeed.
“What is the maximum amount of RAM available to a Guest?”
64 Gig (provided you have that to spare in your host/parent)
“Comment - You cannot run Hyper-V in a VMware environment - the Enable-Hardware-Virtualization setting doesn't come thru their simulated BIOS.”
Right. Thanks. Yes, you can't host or "parent" virtualization within a virtual machine - no matter what virtualization technology you're using.
“Will Hyper-V manager included in the windows 2008 enterprise? Or we have to purchase it separately?”
The Hyper-V manager is installable as a feature, included under the features called Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT). You can the specific tools you need; ADUC, DNS, DHCP, and yes, Hyper-V manager, even without installing that particular role, so that you can manage other servers.
Incidentally, these same RSAT tools will be available soon for Windows Vista SP1 as well. Now.. I’m thinking that it may even be that you can manage hyper-v machines from a Windows Vista SP1 desktop.
“Can you hear the sound on a vm?”
Yes.
But really.. If a virtual machine beeps in the server room, and there’s no one there to hear it… ?
“Does Hyper-V provide comparable features of VMware such as HA, DRS ?”
We will ship Hyper-V so that it has at or near feature parity with the VMWare products. Since it is still in development and testing, the final feature set isn't... set.
“Can you control a NIC so that it is not advertised? IE I want to setup a network that no one else can connect to.”
Isolating network can be easily done. You saw that I had three choices: External, Internal, and Private.
1. External: Connect to the physical NIC on the host. Advertise away.
2. Internal: Connect to a “virtual” switch, so that only other VMs using that switch (and also the parent/host) can see me.
3. Private: Connect to a “virtual” switch, but in this case even the host/parent can see me. Other VMs using that switch can, however.
“Is there a document that lists the hardware requirements for running Hyper-V?”
Right now that is in the RELEASE NOTES. See http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/4/8/e48d5cff-53d2-4eed-85bf-4af50e25b78c/relnotes.htm
“So I could prevent one NIC from being a choice?”
Yes, you simply do not add or disconnect that particular NIC to the VM.
“Where can I find details on the SCVMM extensibility interfaces?”
http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2008/02/21/hyper-v-extensibility-and-apis.aspx is a great place to start
“Can the COM ports be used to access a USB device? If not, what will their main purpose be?”
I have never used one but I assume it would be for some sort of serial device, or devices that map drives to a COM port.
“Is it possible to install hyper V on windows 2008 cluster?”
http://forums.microsoft.com/TechNet/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=2610236&SiteID=17 has good discussion on the topic
“Just want to say ‘Really Great Webcast!!’”
Thanks very much! I hope you put that on the evaluation! <smile>
“Can you bring w2k8 into your domain as a domain controller without converting all of existing servers to w2k8?”
Not really the topic of this webcast… but yes.
“How are you organizing your files on the host. Configuration and VHD in same folder or some other schem?”
This depends on the storage systems and disks you have. For instance, you may have the .VHD's on a SAN LUN.
“Kevin explains things good.”
Thanks! Yes, he's ok so we'll keep him.
“When SCVMM for Hyper-v will be able to download?”
It's still a ways off before public release but I would imagine you'll hear something definitive coming out of the Microsoft Management Summit 2008”
“When would you use Hyper-V manager as opposed to System Center VMM?”
If you have purchased SCVMM, then you really wouldn’t need to use Hyper-V manager. I suppose there may be times where you don’t have the SCVMM tools handy, but everything that you can do with Hyper-V manager will be doable in the new SCVMM.
“I understand Systems Center also has Operations Component are they are separate product from Systems Center Virtual Manager? What other product under Systems Center?”
Monitoring and Reporting is via System Center Operations Manager and the VM management pack. For all the details on the System Center suite, go to http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter
“If the hyper-V host hosted 4 VMs is dead, is there a HA for this?”
Clustering Hyper-V hosts would obviously bring those VM's up on the other cluster node. And of course the new SCVMM (when it ships) will allow movement (“quick migration”) of the VM's as well.
“Virtual Server does not have USB access, what about Hyper-V - can we access USB?”
In the first release of Hyper-V, I’m afraid not.
“When I transfer VM to another server the hardware configuration should be identitical?”
Do you mean the host or the guest? If you mean the host, it doesn’t matter. As long as the destination “parent partition” is capable, you can transfer the machine just fine.
If you mean the “child partition” (guest) machine – you export the machine, then import it onto the destination. And the configuration goes along with it.
You CAN just move the .vhd file (delete the machine from one host/parent first, in case there is snapshot data that hasn’t merged with the .vhd files), and then create a new machine and point to the original .vhd. That’s no different than, say, taking a .vhd formerly running under Virtual Server 2005 or Virtual PC 2007 and creating a new machine from that. But you’ll have to redefine the machine and it’s configuration first.
“Is System Center Operations Manager one product and you have to purchase VM management pack?”
System Center Operations Manager is indeed a product. You need the product license as well as the management licenses for the machines you’re monitoring. But Management Packs are free (if they’re from Microsoft).
“In a cluster W2k8 with hyper V can we move ONE virtual machine from a node to another node?”
Yes. Check out this awesome post by Robert Larson about creating a cluster and configuring Hyper-V. Lot’s of great screenshots. http://blogs.technet.com/roblarson/archive/2007/12/17/building-a-host-cluster-with-hyper-v-beta-1.aspx
You will export the machine and the configuration is carried over.
“Can we install Virtual Server on Server 2008?”
Yes, you can install Virtual Server 2005 on Windows Server 2008, but it is not going to be a supported configuration. It doesn't work very well. The services for both Virtual Server 2005 and Hyper-V cannot be running at the same time.
“System Center Operations Manager one product and you have to purchase VM management pack?”
Management packs are generally free although we have partners that develop mgmt packs that are for a fee. Microsoft mgmt packs are free downloads.
“Can the Hyper-V environment support mulitple physical NIC adapters?”
Yes. You would create additional “networks” associated with those NICs, and then associate virtual network adapters you put in your VMs with those NICs. So in that way you can even have a virtual machine using more than one NIC (virtual OR actual physical) as well.
“What about Licensing for Standard? Do you get any VMs for that?”
Yes.. In the webcast I said FOUR for Enterprise, and I wasn’t sure about Standard. It turns out that you get FOUR for Standard as well! Yay!
IMPORTANT CORRECTION: My source for that information was incorrect. With Standard, you get ONE virtual instance license.
“When Hyper-V comes out will it replace the VM Manager or only if you have 64 bit?”
Hyper-V is definitely 64-bit only but I don't know if System Center Virtual Machine Manager will be. It does not "replace" anything as they'll run side-by-side.
“Can the Hyper-V environment support multiple physical NIC adapters?”
Yes
"Can you use system center essentials with the managaement packs to manage vm's similar to the full product of system center”
System Center Essentials will have monitoring of the Hyper-V service on the host/parent. Yes. And any monitoring and managing of the services running on the virtual machines themselves will work exactly as if they were physical servers.
“As a follow-up to my prior question, which COM ports are the VMs ‘mapped’ to? The hardware COM ports on the host?”
"Will you need a license per physical processor? Fantastic Presentation A++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ to Kevin and the support team”
Wow.. I rarely got A’s in school (“You don’t apply yourself!”) so that’s the first A+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ I’ve ever received. THANKS!
UPDATE: You can give me a D-minus, though, for my original answer to your per-processor question. Datacenter and Itanium versions of Windows Server 2008 are licensed per-processor (not core). All other versions are licensed per-Server, no matter how many processors you have in them.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2008 R2 is a powerful virtualization management tool. It does a great job of organizing and managing your virtualization hosts, clusters, virtual machines, and libraries of resources (virtual hard disks, saved machines, machine templates, profiles for hardware and operating systems, etc.) And it does this for the management of virtualization from either Microsoft or VMware. But there are some really important aspects of virtualization – particularly when we start considering the delivery of IT-as-a-Service, that SCVMM 2008 R2 doesn’t manage.
Here are just a few examples of what I’m really looking forward to in SCVMM 2012, and what I think you’ll be excited about, too.
First – I think you’re going to appreciate being able to manage many more resources as important aspects of your virtualization platform. Defining and then using things such as load balancers and storage devices in how you model virtualized services (not just servers) is a great benefit. Defining logical networks, IP pools, MAC address pools, VIP pools for load balancers; these all become easy then to add to virtual machines and machine templates that are used when building your “service templates”
Which brings me to another new feature that I am very excited about: Service Templates. You will now not only be defining templates for machines and the operating systems that run on them, but you’ll have the ability to create the definition of a service that is potentially made up of multiple machines, network objects (logical networks, load balancers, storage devices), and the relationships that they have. For example – say you are defining a 3-tiered application, with a web front-end, middle application/logic tier, and a database cluster on the back end. And perhaps you need to support high availability and performance that scales through load balancing your machines at the front end or middle tier. And you may even want to define a range of machine instances for those tiers; maybe saying that I need to start with 2 web frontend servers, but I may be scaling up to as many as ten at some later time. You can define all of this as a Service Template. And once you’re ready then to deploy, SCVMM does intelligent placement of the new VMs based on their needs for resources (as defined in their templates) as well as the needs of the service as a whole. Pretty amazing.. and that’s just scratching the surface. You’ll also be able to update the machines in a service by updating the template and then replacing the old with the new template, and finally updating the machines in an automated way.
And finally (though not really finally, because there are so many more new and exciting features that I don’t have time to describe them all here) is the Fabric Management. The “fabric” (a term used to define the parts that make up a “cloud”, which is also a level of abstraction supported in SCVMM 2012) can be defined and configured. Even beyond my first point of managing resources such as storage and networks, SCVMM 2012 extends capabilities for automating the creation of new virtualization hosts – even from bare metal. It talks to the hardware controller on the motherboard and is able to boot and then deploy Hyper-V Server to new physical servers; ultimately adding them into your infrastructure as new virtualization hosts. You can also perform automated updates of your virtualization hosts using WSUS.
“What do you mean, ‘automated’?”
Here’s an example: Let’s say you have a cluster of virtualization hosts running several highly available (HA) virtual machines; meaning that they have the ability to migrate between hosts using Live Migration (or even vMotion.. we don’t play favorites here). But now it’s time to install updates to your hosts. SCVMM automates the process for you by performing the updates in a way that moves around your VMs for you.. installing updates, restarting hosts, and eventually re-balancing (yes.. VMware DRS-style load re-balancing) your VM workloads between and among the hosts. And doing this all with absolutely zero-downtime of your virtual machines and the services they are providing.
If you were at MMS this year, you probably saw this slide several times. It’s one that we’re using in our talks on SCVMM 2012 to introduce the main improvements in SCVMM 2012.
And from the Beta download page, here is the overview and quick list of new features:
Overview System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 delivers industry leading fabric managment, virtual machine management and services deployment in private cloud environments. Virtual Machine Manager 2012 offers key new features that include hypervisor creation and management, network management, storage management, private cloud creation, self-service usage and service creation. It features deep investments in server application virtualization, service design and service modeling all of which can be used to efficiently offer an on-premises private cloud.
Overview
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 delivers industry leading fabric managment, virtual machine management and services deployment in private cloud environments. Virtual Machine Manager 2012 offers key new features that include hypervisor creation and management, network management, storage management, private cloud creation, self-service usage and service creation. It features deep investments in server application virtualization, service design and service modeling all of which can be used to efficiently offer an on-premises private cloud.
Feature Summary Fabric Management Hyper-V and Cluster Lifecycle Management – Deploy Hyper-V to bare metal server, create Hyper-V clusters, orchestrate patching of a Hyper-V Cluster Third Party Virtualization Platforms - Add and Manage Citrix XenServer and VMware ESX Hosts and Clusters Network Management – Manage IP Address Pools, MAC Address Pools and Load Balancers Storage Management – Classify storage, Manage Storage Pools and LUNs Resource Optimization Dynamic Optimization – proactively balance the load of VMs across a cluster Power Optimization – schedule power savings to use the right number of hosts to run your workloads – power the rest off until they are needed PRO – integrate with System Center Operations Manager to respond to application-level performance monitors Cloud Management Abstract server, network and storage resources into private clouds Delegate access to private clouds with control of capacity, capabilities and user quotas Enable self-service usage for application administrator to author, deploy, manage and decommission applications in the private cloud Service Lifecycle Management Define service templates to create sets of connected virtual machines, OS images and application packages Compose operating system images and applications during service deployment Scale out the number of virtual machines in a service Service performance and health monitoring integrated with System Center Operations Manager Decouple OS image and application updates through image-based servicing Leverage powerful application virtualization technologies such as Server App-V
Feature Summary
So as you can see, there is a lot to be excited about coming in SCVMM 2012. Helping you deliver IT-as-a-Service is really what it’s all about. Your “private cloud” just got a whole lot more cloudy. And that’s a good thing.
Here are some more resources for you:
Are you as excited about SCVMM 2012 as I am? Have you tried the beta yet? What do you think? Add your comments and lets discuss it!
In Part 28 (tomorrow) I’m going to introduce you to the current state of self-service for your private clouds.
This falls under the “too cool not to share” category. It’s a blogcast created by Kristian Andaker (at the urging of my friend and UK IT Pro Evangelist counterpart Eileen) that demonstrates very nicely how to create a custom theme for your Outlook Web Access users.
Check out the blogcast here.
Yes.. I know. This is typically an IT Pro blog.. but as a former Software Engineer and all-around geeky guy, it makes me happy to see this really cool resource come into existence.
Microsoft is unveiling a new resource for ANYONE who is interested in learning the beginnings/basics/starting-points for developing software. The Beginner Developer Learning Center is a free online site containing easy-to-use tutorials and lessons for beginners. Here are the details from an e-mail I received about it:
If you or someone you love would love to learn how to build their own applications, check it out!
Now that The 2007 Microsoft Office System has released to manufacturing (RTM), I'm sure many people are fretting over the new user interface. Specifically,
"Hey.. I used to know how to do XYZ. How do I do XYZ in Word/Excel/PowerPoint 2007?"
Well.. file this blog post away for your use later, or save these links, because these cool Command Reference Guides will help you answer those questions directly.
For example, you know how to start Mail Merge in Word 2003. So you go to the guide and just go through the motions of Mail Merge
and then the Word 2007 screen comes up and shows you where that very same functionality is found.
How could it get any easier? (Seriously.. if you have ideas, please add them as comments here.)
As promised, here are the “Best of Q&A” from the webcast I delivered on June 11, 2009, entitled "TechNet Webcast: Windows Server 2008 R2 Technical Overview (Part 2 of 2)”
A BIG THANK YOU to Dan Stolts for assisting in answering questions during the webcast! This blog post is primarily a result of his efforts.
“Is the Windows Management Service the service that manages the WMI protocols?”
No, WMI has it's own services structure. isolating these functions is important from both a performance (do not run it unless you need it), ease of use (disable, restart, easily), and security (no security foot print if not needed because the services are not installed/ disabled).
“Ok, then, in a nutshell, what does Windows Management Service do? When did it first become a part of windows server NT, 2000, 2003, or 2008?”
I may have misunderstood your first question. The term "Windows Management Service" is probably what threw me off. Windows Remote Management (WS-Management): Windows Remote Management (WinRM) service implements the WS-Management protocol for remote management. WS-Management is a standard web services protocol used for remote software and hardware management. (used to communicate with WMI) The WinRM service listens on the network for WS-Management requests and processes them. The WinRM Service needs to be configured with a listener using winrm.cmd command line tool or through Group Policy in order for it to listen over the network. The WinRM service provides access to WMI data and enables event collection. Windows Management Instrumentation: Provides a common interface and object model to access management information about operating system, devices, applications and services. If this service is stopped, most Windows-based software will not function properly. If this service is disabled, any services that explicitly depend on it will fail to start. This is the WMI Featureset.
“Can direct access client be run on other operating systems such as Windows XP or Vista?”
No, there is not a client for Windows XP or Windows Vista. To my knowledge there are no plans to make these as add-in clients. DirectAccess requires Windows 7 client and 2008 R2 server. (In the webcast, I explain more specifically why that is.)
“Is there a new version of the RDP client for Windows 7? If so, will it be backported to run on XP and Vista as well?”
Yes, there is a new RDP client in Windows 7 that supports enhanced multimedia, multi-monitor, and other new features. I don’t know what the plan is to make it available as an upgraded client for Windows Vista or Windows XP.
“When you are connected to a remote system via DA you can see their screen as they logged on but are you running your session with your administrative rights?”
When I connected in the demo using Remote Desktop, I was logging in with the same account that was already logged-in on the desktop. So it locked the desktop at the client side, and allowed me to continue that same session from the LAN-side. As far as it relates to DirectAccess, there, really is nothing special here (and that’s the big news, really). It’s just a remote desktop connection like any other – except that I was able to launch it from inside the LAN, and connect to that client that is somewhere online and on the Internet. And to be able to do it BY NAME is also pretty cool. (Remember the IPv6 addresses we saw in DNS for that client?)
“How will the direct access feature integrate with SCCM 2007?”
As long as your SCCM Management Servers are able to see the clients, I don’t know of any issues. It’s not so much a special integration as it is those machines appearing to be available. As long as you have your networking configured properly (the required IPv6 and IPSec parts), I don’t see why SCCM would have any issues; while gaining the benefit of having access to those clients more often.
“Did I understand right? DirectAccess requires IPv6?”
Yes. You heard right.
“Can you comment on this - with so many features in Win 7 require 2K8 R2, what would be the incentive for enterprise to upgrade sooner rather than later. My view, it just increases the overall complexity and scope.”
Well, of course every business and every person is going to have to make the decision for themselves based on the new features in either product (Server or Client), and then the additional features gain when you have both. There are great reasons to move to Windows 7. There are great reasons to move to Windows Server 2008 R2. And the added functionality you get with both is icing on the cake; but you will have to decide for yourselves whether things like DirectAccess and BranchCache are of great-enough value to your organization to justify rolling out both. (You probably can guess what my opinion is.. but it’s not coming out of MY budget.)
O.M.G.T.A.F!
(Oh my gosh these are FUNNY!)
UPDATE: Shoot.. looks like this last one was just too too popular. Or perhaps just a little too over-the-top. ("gut-wrenchingly" funny!) It was pulled. Too bad.
Sometimes you see something that just floors you, and floods you with ideas about what the possibilities such a device could (will?) create.
What if you had some computing power behind what you’re looking at, or interacting with every day? Take the shopping aisle at the store, for example.
Resource Page for:
Wednesday, February 23, 20051:00–2:00 P.M. Pacific Time, United States and Canada (UTC-8)
Webcast Series Part 2
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032267234&Culture=en-US
User profiles overview
http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/userprofile_overview.mspx
Description of HKEY_CURRENT_USER Registry Subkeys
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310595
Change and Configuration Management Deployment Guide –
Chapter 6 – Managing User and Data Settings
http://www.microsoft.com/windows2000/techinfo/reskit/deploy/CCM/chapt-6.asp
..and here is the link to use to register for or view Series Webcast Part 4:
TechNet Webcast: Windows Server 2003 Administration Series (Part 4 of 12): Group Management (Level 100) Wednesday, March 2, 20051:00–2:00 P.M. Pacific Time, United States and Canada (UTC-8)
Wednesday, March 2, 20051:00–2:00 P.M. Pacific Time, United States and Canada (UTC-8)
I had to link to this…
I ran into Michael Kleef (IT Pro Evangelist in Australia) last Wednesday at the TechEd 2006 IT Influencer Party. He told me about this great picture he took of some American police officers eating donuts.. and was tickled by how it so very well fit the stereotype that is portrayed throughout the world.
Here is his post and his picture. Love it!
“But.. what’s this ‘theory’ that you have, Kevin?”
Earlier on that same day I had had a conversation with another friend of mine on the fact that there are so many Dunkin’ Donuts shops in Boston. They seem to be as commonplace as Starbuck’s in Seattle. (The phrase “you can’t swing a dead cat without hitting…etc” comes to mind.) In my home town, we have Dunkin’ Donuts, but they are few and far between.
And then it occurred to me that there must be a law-enforcement connection or correlation. So I theorize…
The number of donut shops is directly proportional to the crime rate in any given city.
More crime => more Police Officers-per-capita => larger donut consumption potential => more donut shops.
And so it follows that cities with more donut shops have higher crime rates.
I don’t have any hard numbers to suggest that Boston has a higher crime rate than Minneapolis. I’m just guessing. I’ll let someone else fill in that blank. I won’t little things like facts get in the way of my theory.
I wonder if I were to go to the Dunkin’ Donuts site and find out where all of their stores are located, if that would be a good indication of where NOT to move to…