Recently we have seen an issue where a few customers have been experiencing errors and long delays in adding a single-node cluster (i.e. a 1 node cluster) under management in Virtual Machine Manager. The error that is displayed in the console is Warning (13926) that all of the nodes could not be contacted.
This issue stems from the fact that VMM has an overcommitted property for each cluster. By default, a single-node cluster will always be overcommitted since any failure in that single node will cause the entire cluster and its Virtual Machines to go down. Such a failure does not go well with the concept of high availability.
There really are two workarounds for this issue:
1. Set the node reserve failure to 0 in the cluster properties. Unfortunately this can only be modified once the cluster has been brought under management by VMM.
2. Add a second temporary node to the cluster simply for the purposes of adding it to VMM. Then the second node can be removed.
Eventually the single node cluster will be added to the VMM console. However, this process can take a very long time. To expedite this process, it may be necessary to cycle the vmmservice.
Hope this helps,
Mike Briggs | Senior Support Escalation Engineer
In Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, you remove a virtual hard disk (VHD) from a virtual machine. You expect that the .vhd file is detached from the virtual machine. However, the .vhd file is actually deleted on the Hyper-V server.
Fortunately there's a hotfix available that addresses this issue. You can read all the details and download the hotfix here:
KB976246 - When you remove a virtual hard disk from a virtual machine in System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, the .vhd file on the Hyper-V server is deleted without warning
J.C. Hornbeck | Manageability Knowledge Engineer
This article describes the Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 issues that are fixed in the hotfix rollup package that is dated November 10, 2009.
The "Refresh host cluster" job can take more than 10 minutes to finish.
For all the details see:
KB976244 - Description of the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 hotfix rollup package: November 10, 2009
I know this isn’t VMM specific but I thought it was something you’d appreciate hearing about nonetheless. The Solution Accelerator team is pleased to announce the immediate availability of the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 5.0 Community Technical Preview (CTP). Designed to simplify and streamline the IT infrastructure planning process across multiple scenarios through network-wide automated discovery and assessments, this tool provides a quick and complete inventory of the current IT environment of any organization, hardware and device compatibility assessment, and actionable reporting of recommended hardware upgrades for migration.
The MAP Toolkit 5.0 CTP includes these new features:
· Heterogeneous Server Environment Inventory for Technologies including Windows Server, Linux, UNIX and VMware.
· Ability to determine usage of deployed System Center Configuration Manager, a member of the Core Client Access License Suite.
· Readiness assessment for migration or upgrade to Microsoft Office 2010.
Over 800,000 Microsoft customers and partners including Costco Wholesale Corporation, Continental Airlines, and Pella Corporation have already downloaded and used this toolkit to help plan for their server and PC deployments.
Additional MAP Toolkit Features include:
• Windows 7 Hardware and Device Compatibility Assessment. • Windows Server 2008 R2 Hardware and Device Compatibility Assessment. • Virtualization Candidates Assessment for Hyper-V Server Consolidation. • Inventory of VMware Server Hosts and Guests. • Enhanced Usability and Improved Inventory Performance. • SQL Server Instance Discovery. • Desktop Security Assessment for Anti-virus and Anti-malware Programs Installation. • Forefront Client Security/NAP Readiness Assessment.
To give you a quick sample, here are a couple MAP 5.0 Inventory and Assessment Wizard screenshots:
Here’s what the System Center Configuration Manager Server Report looks like:
Next Steps
· Register for the MAP Toolkit 5.0 CTP and download. (Live ID required)
· Want to influence the future of MAP? Complete the survey and receive a free 4GB Solution Accelerator branded Memory Stick.* (Live ID required)
· Download other Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 Solution Accelerators for your IT planning, deployment, and management needs.
Enjoy!
We published two new knowledge base articles for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 last week. The first discusses some steps that will help you troubleshoot a status of "Not Responding" that may appear in the Administrator Console. The second is regarding an issue where the Virtual Machine Manager Service may crash when you add a virtual machine host that has more than 16 logical processors. The article titles and links are below:
KB976640 - How to troubleshoot the "Not Responding" host status in VMM 2008
KB976639 - The Virtual Machine Manager Service crashes when you add a virtual machine host that has more than 16 logical processors in VMM 2008 R2
Virtualizing business critical applications delivers significant benefits, including cost savings, enhanced business continuity, and an agile and efficient management solution. In this webcast, we focus on virtualizing Microsoft Exchange Server using Microsoft solutions, we discuss the benefits of using Microsoft virtualization technologies instead of technologies from key competitors such as VMware, and we provide technical guidance and best practices for virtualizing Exchange Server in various production scenarios. We also discuss results from lab deployment tests.
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?EventID=1032428203&EventCategory=4&culture=en-US&CountryCode=US