Was just building a UAG test server in our lab and came across an error, which was easily resolved and worth posting for others. From the splash screen I clicked install only to receive a “system.exception” error. Even if I ran the .msi file directly, I would get a failure. A search returned one...

The most popular question I receive is how to best perform backup/restore of virtual machines running in Hyper-V without taking them offline. The best enterprise approach is Data Protection Manager and you may have already seen some of the extensions to this functionality in 2010. But what if you have...

Great news from our friends on the other side of the globe. http://www.itwire.com/it-industry-news/strategy/38018-massive-hyper-v-deployment-at-nsw-education

I just want to make sure I have all my bases covered and have invited everyone I can.    If you work in Education and have interest in VDI, this will be worth attending.  I’ll be scheduling a follow-up webcast specifically for Education, within the next few months. Desktop Virtualization...

“What’s the easiest way to back up a Hyper-V VM on a stranded server at a remote site with low connectivity?”  I get this question a fair amount.  John’s blog post below shares an example script you could drop in place to schedule a VSS snap of Hyper-V VMs.  This is just one of MANY possible...

Remote Desktop Protocol 7, the version which shipped with Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2, is available to install on Windows XP (x86) as well as Windows Vista (x86/x64).  This will bring the RDP7 functionality to those platforms including new functional enhancements including multiple monitors...

I came across a cool script today . The intent is to limit the output from ipconfig to only enabled, TCP-bound NICs. Of course this isn't really ipconfig, it is a wmi call for net info but the result is the same. I dig the frame output but decided to see how slim I could get it in pure PS form. Note...

Something I discovered today in working on a project – it is possible to find out what the VM is named in Hyper-V from within the guest OS.  This is only possible if the IC’s are installed.  It is a registry key and can be queried in a script. Example: $Name = Get-ItemProperty -path "HKLM...

I’m publishing some of the scripts I have written for VMM.  These are each based on specific customer asks or conversations that lead me to go sleepless in trying to solve the problems myself.  I am very interested in your feedback, especially if you would like to offer a change to improve...

Just a reminder, TechNet Webcast scheduled for today on Best Practices for Virtualizing Exchange.  Delivered by PMs, level 300, so this is not just a broad overview.  Worth checking out.  If you are on central time, this runs over your lunch hour. http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization...

As this has been a frequently requested link, I’m posting here. Step by Step Guide to Building a Hyper-V Cluster http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732181(WS.10).aspx Information on upgrading a Hyper-V RTM cluster to R2. http://blogs.msdn.com/clustering/archive/2009/10/08/9905089.aspx

I’m publishing some of the scripts I have written for VMM. These are each based on specific customer asks or conversations that lead me to go sleepless in trying to solve the problems myself. I am very interested in your feedback, especially if you would like to offer a change to improve efficiency...

I’m publishing some of the scripts I have written for VMM. These are each based on specific customer asks or conversations that lead me to go sleepless in trying to solve the problems myself. I am very interested in your feedback, especially if you would like to offer a change to improve efficiency or...

We have recently gone through the process of wiping out our lab and rebuilding from scratch on Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise. During this process, I recorded the steps I used to configure MPIO with the iSCSI initiator in R2. Just to make life more complex, our servers only have 2 NICs, so I am balancing...

A peer sent this link to me today.  I felt it important to share as a few people have asked me if it would be possible.  There is an update available. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/968074

Working on another project and I needed a way to wake up an offline server from within my PS script.  I found this genius blog post and converted it to a script. Genius blog post - The PowerShell Guy : PowerShell Wake-on-lan script I saved the below text as send-wol.ps1 for re-usability.  This...

That’s the subtitle of a case study that recently went online (so I’m not plagiarizing).  A colleague sent this over to me and I had the privilege of talking with these folks a couple of weeks ago.  Interesting details of this deployment (scroll down now to see why).  Reading the article...

Just wanted to share this script I wrote.  The idea is I want to do something (anything) to a host and feel it might cause a service interruption so I would prefer to move all VMs off the node.  Rather than doing it manually in the cluster or in VMM, or forcing VMs off in a reboot, this script...

This resolves the Hyper-V status warning message in VMM. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=fd44b4e3-2dcc-4299-b345-bc09a9a37b60&displaylang=en This resolves an issue when using BITS to transfer to/from volumes mounted by GUID. http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx...

Access directly to the console of a virtual machine in three easy steps. 1. Create shortcut to VM Connect Open %programfiles%\Hyper-V and do a right-click drag and drop to your desktop from vmconnect.exe to “Create Shortcut Here”. 2. (optional) rename the shortcut to something you like and put it somewhere...

I try to hit on this point in every Hyper-V presentation.  Snapshots are GREAT for maintenance and roll-back, but they are very, VERY different than what you might be currently using as “snap-mirrors” on your SAN environment.  The similarities in syntax have lead to some understandable misunderstanding...

Each year we host around 100 IT Pros from universities all around the country (and the world) in Redmond for a three day conference. This is organized by a committee from the Windows HIED listsrv hosted by Stanford University and has a focus on NOT being a sales event, rather a chance for administrators...

This is a great blog Janssen.  Keep them coming!!! http://janssenjones.typepad.com/janssenjonescom/ The top three posts (as of today) are all related to managing Hyper-V with PowerShell.  Especially interesting is the code he has written to provision his SAN on the fly! I guess I should start...

Indiana University University Improves Service Availability, Reduces IT Workload with Virtualization Indiana University is one of the largest state university systems in the United States, with nine campuses, 100,000 students, 7,000 faculty members, and 11,000 staff members. The university’s Auxiliary...

Got this question twice this week so I’d say it is blog worthy.  How to configure a Hyper-V server to be remotely managed (manage stand alone server or across domains).  You might also consider reviewing the ACLs he describes if you are troubleshooting some anomaly in a trusted domain environment...