Virtualization Nation,
Intel has recently released their new “Sandy Bridge” processors which is the second generation of the Core i3/i5/i7 processors. Most of these new processors hitting the market with the first wave of product released are designed for notebooks and a few for desktops with server processors on the way. An easy way to identify the new Sandy Bridge processors is that the processor models are 4 digits. For example, you’ll see processors such as the i7-2600k or i5-2500k and so on. There are a number of good articles on these new processors (like this) so take a look if you’re interested in what’s new.
I’m raising this topic because I want you to be aware of an issue with both Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and the new Sandy Bridge processors and provide the solutions.
Issue: When you attempt to start a VM running on a system with a Sandy Bridge processor, the virtual machine will not start. If you go to the Event Viewer you will see an error that states: “<VM Name> could not initialize” error.
Cause: Fundamentally, this is a chicken and egg problem. :-)
Here’s the scoop. The new Sandy Bridge processors include a new extension to the x86 instruction set known as Advanced Vector Extensions (AVX). AVX is designed to improve performance for applications that are floating point intensive such as scientific simulations, analytics and 3D modeling. Since Windows Server 2008 R2 was released a few years prior to the release of AVX equipped processors, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 don’t understand this new functionality and Hyper-V correctly prevents starting the virtual machine. This behavior is by design as we wouldn’t want to start a virtual machine with unknown and untested processor capabilities. The good news is that solutions are available.
Solution: There are two solutions. The recommended solution is option 1.
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FAQ
Q: Do the AVX instructions improve performance?
A: The AVX instructions can improve performance if applications and workloads have been designed to use these instructions.
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Q: Does the Hyper-V Processor Compatibility feature have any bearing on this matter?
A: No. The Hyper-V Processor Compatibility feature is orthogonal to this matter. The fundamental issue is that Windows Server 2008 R2 and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 were released years before processors with AVX instructions were available and didn’t includes support for the AVX instructions in the parent operating system.
The Hyper-V Processor Compatibility feature normalizes the processor feature set and only exposes guest visible processor features that are available on all Hyper-V enabled processors of the same processor architecture, i.e. AMD or Intel. This allows the VM to be migrated to any hardware platform of the same processor architecture. For more info on Hyper-V Processor Compatibility here are some links (here and here).
Cheers,
Jeff Woolsey
Windows Server & Cloud
With Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Hyper-V and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1, we focused Hyper-V development on enhancing Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) scenarios, which resulted in the introduction of Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX. In addition, we increased the maximum number of running virtual processors (VP) per logical processor (LP) from 8:1 to 12:1 when running Windows 7 as the guest operating system for VDI deployments. In making this change and discussing the VP:LP ratio with you, I’ve noticed that there’s some confusion as to what this metric really means and how it compares to other virtualization vendors. Let’s discuss.
I’ve noticed differences in how Microsoft--versus other virtualization vendors--expresses the maximum number of virtual processors that can run on a physical processor. It seems we’ve inadvertently created some confusion as to the maximum number of supported virtual processors on a server running Hyper-V. Here’s the crux of the problem:
· Other virtualization vendors provide a maximum for virtual processors per core.
· Microsoft provides a maximum for virtual processors per logical processor, where a logical processor equals a core, or thread.
What ends up happening is that customers ask about the ratios and here’s what happens:
1. Vendor A responds 16:1 (with the qualifier that your mileage will vary…).
2. Microsoft responds 12:1 for Win7 for VDI and 8:1 for Non-VDI and all other guest OSs.
The issue is we’re comparing apples and oranges. When we talk about physical processors, that includes symmetric multi-threading where there are two threads (i.e., logical processors) per core. Remember, Microsoft provides a maximum of virtual processors per logical processor where a logical processor equals a core or thread. To do apples-to-apples comparison, when you ask about the maximum virtual processors per core for Hyper-V, the answer really is:
· Up to 24:1 for Win 7 for VDI and 16:1 for non-VDI (all other guest operating systems)
…and up to a maximum of 384 running virtual machines and/or 512 virtual processors per server (whichever comes first). To make things easy to understand, I’ve provided the formulas and tables below.
Window 7 as Guest OS for VDI
In the case of a VDI scenario with Windows 7 as the guest with a 12:1 (VP:LP) ratio, here’s the formula and the table:
(Number of processors) * (Number of cores) * (Number of threads per core) * 12
Table 1 Virtual Processor to Logical Processor Ratio & Totals (12:1 VP:LP ratio for Windows 7 guests)
Physical Processors
Cores per processor
Threads per core
Max Virtual Processors Supported
2
96
4
192
6
288
8
384
512 (576)1
512 (768)1
1Remember that Hyper-V R2 supports up to a maximum of up to 512 virtual processors per server so while the math exceeds 512, they hit the maximum of 512 running virtual processors per server.
All Other Guest OSs
For all other guest operating systems, the maximum supported ratio is 8:1. Here’s the formula and table.
(Number of processors) * (Number of cores) * (Number of threads per core) * 8
Table 2: Virtual Processor to Logical Processor Ratio & Totals (8:1 VP:LP ratio)
64
128
256
512
You can see that even with an 8:1 VP to LP ratio (or 16:1 VP: Core, if you prefer), Hyper-V supports very dense VM configurations. Even on a server with two physical processors, Hyper-V supports a staggering number of virtual machines (up to 256). The limiting factor won’t be Hyper-V. It will be how much memory you’ve populated the server with and how well the storage subsystem performs.
Q: You state that a logical processor can be a core or a thread? How can it be both?
A: A logical processor can be a core or thread depending on the physical processor.
· If a core provides a single thread (a 1:1 relationship), then a logical processor = core.
· If a core provides two threads per core (a 2:1 relationship), then each thread is a logical processor.
Q: This whole topic is very confusing. Why does Microsoft provide a ratio of virtual processors to logical processors? Why doesn’t Microsoft just provide a ratio of virtual processors to cores? Wouldn’t that be simpler?
A: While Microsoft could use a ratio of virtual processors per core, Microsoft uses the ratio of virtual processors to logical processors because it is more precise and more accurate. Using a ratio of virtual processors per core ignores whether the underlying physical processor is single threaded or multi-threaded. The end result is that capacity planning can be off by a factor of two. We choose to provide the most precise information so you can effectively plan Hyper-V deployments with confidence.
Q: Where are the Hyper-V maximums publicly documented?
A: The Hyper-V maximums are documented on TechNet http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ee405267%28WS.10%29.aspx. TechNet is the best place to start for Microsoft technical documentation.
Q: Why do these ratios exist? Why is there a ratio at all?
A: The Hyper-V maximums are provided to give you clear guidance as to what has been tested at scale and under load by the Hyper-V team. This allows you to effectively plan Hyper-V deployments with confidence.
Q: Do these ratios apply to other virtualization platforms?
A: Microsoft does not test any virtualization platforms except its own.
Q: Why is Windows 7 supported with a ratio of 12:1 VP:LP ratio while other operating systems are supported at a ratio of 8:1?
A: Windows 7 is supported with a 12:1 VP: LP ratio because the Hyper-V team specifically tested this configuration under load for VDI deployments based on customer input. Customers told us that increasing the VP:LP ratio was important for Windows 7 VDI scenarios to help improve density and drive down the cost per virtual machine. For other operating systems, which are overwhelmingly used for server consolidation scenarios, the feedback was that the current ratio was more than sufficient.
Q: Is the 12:1 VP:LP ratio a hard block? What happens if I attempt to start a 13th virtual machine? Will it be blocked?
A: The VP:LP ratio is a supportability metric and not a technical block. There’s no hard block. If you attempt to start more than 12 virtual machines and resources are available, Hyper-V will start them. However, this hasn’t been thoroughly tested and isn’t supported. If you call for support, expect the support team to ask you to reduce the running number of virtual machines to meet the supportability statement.
Q: Do these ratios affect licensing in any way?
A: No. Microsoft doesn’t license any products per core or charge higher premiums for processors with more cores. One of the great benefits of virtualization is being able to maximize your hardware investments. We don’t believe you should be penalized with a Core Tax. That’s about as puerile as charging you for the amount of memory you allocate to a virtual machine.
It is great to see InfoWorld acknowledge the significant progress we’ve made with Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Hyper-V (“Virtualization shoot-out: Citrix, Microsoft, Red Hat, and VMware”). We’re excited that the reviewer recognizes what our customers and respected industry analysts have been telling us for a while now: Hyper-V is ready to “give VMware a run for its money.”
This recognition comes on the heels of the Enterprise Strategy Group’s (ESG) report on Hyper-V R2 SP1 running key Microsoft workloads. ESG tested and verified industry-leading results that showed that single servers virtualized with Hyper-V R2 SP1 scaled to meet the IO performance requirements of 20,000 Exchange 2010 mailboxes, over 460,000 concurrent SharePoint 2010 users, and 80,000 simulated OLTP SQL Server users. InfoWorld’s results and ESG’s testing leave no doubt that Hyper-V is an enterprise-class hypervisor.
There are areas, of course, where I might quibble with the reviewer’s assessment. One such area is management. We believe that Microsoft has a key differentiation point in the management capabilities built into our System Center suite.
Just this week, IDC noted that the virtualization battleground will be won with management tools: “Looking ahead, the most successful vendors in the virtualization market will be those that can automate the management of an ever-escalating installed base of virtual machines as well as provide a platform for long-term innovation.” (They also state that the year over year growth of Hyper-V is almost three times that of VMware.)
This battleground is where Microsoft stands out, with System Center’s unique ability to provide deep insight into the applications running within the virtual machines (VMs), to manage heterogeneous virtualized environments, and to serve as a strong on-ramp to private cloud computing. Unlike the solutions of all other virtualization vendors, Microsoft’s management solution can manage not only the virtualization infrastructure but the actual applications and services that run inside the virtual machines. This is key to leveraging the capabilities of virtualization and the private cloud – it’s the apps that really matter at the end of the day.
Of course, a management solution has to see all your assets to manage them. As InfoWorld and many others are starting acknowledge, the days of a monolithic virtualization solution are over. That is why, three years ago, Microsoft added VMware management to System Center. This allowed for one management infrastructure to manage all of the assets in IT, from physical to virtual, Microsoft to VMware, Windows to Linux. And with System Center 2012, we’ll extend that capability by enhancing our support for VMware and adding support for Citrix XenServer.
Virtualization is a major on-ramp to private cloud computing. As companies begin the shift to private cloud, they recognize that applications are the key services that the cloud delivers. Our customers—you—are telling us that the private cloud needs a new level of automation and management, beyond what traditional virtualization management offers. Last month at the Microsoft Management Summit, Brad Anderson talked about the advancements we’re building into System Center 2012 that will deliver against those needs.
And lastly, there is the issue of price. For the base virtualization layer, VMware’s solution is over three times the cost of the Microsoft solution. That’s a significant cost given the parity in performance and features that Hyper-V provides. Butwhen you factor in management and the private cloud, the delta becomes even more pronounced. VMware’s new Cloud and management offerings are all priced on a per-VM basis, unlike Microsoft’s, which is priced on a per-server basis. This means that the cost of VMware solution will increase as you grow your private cloud – something you should take into account now.
I strongly encourage you to look into all that Microsoft has to offer in Virtualization and Private Cloud – and I’ll continue to discuss this theme in future posts.
David Greschler
The good news just keeps coming and we’re pleased to keep the momentum rolling with the latest release of our rock stable, feature rich, standalone Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1! For those who need a refresher on Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, it includes key features based on customer feedback such as:
For more info on Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, read: http://blogs.technet.com/b/virtualization/archive/2009/07/30/microsoft-hyper-v-server-2008-r2-rtm-more.aspx. Service Pack 1 for Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 includes all the rollup fixes released since Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and adds two new features that greatly enhance VDI scenarios:
After installing the update, both Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX will be available to Hyper-V Server. These new features can be managed in a number of ways:
Dynamic memory is an enhancement to Hyper-V R2 which pools all the memory available on a physical host and dynamically distributes it to virtual machines running on that host as necessary. That means based on changes in workload, virtual machines will be able to receive new memory allocations without a service interruption through Dynamic Memory Balancing. In short, Dynamic Memory is exactly what it’s named. If you’d like to know more, I've included numerous links on Dynamic Memory below.
Configuring RemoteFX with Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1
Although using Dynamic Memory does not need any additional server side configuration beyond installing the R2 SP1 update, enabling RemoteFX does require some additional configuration on the host. The exact steps for enabling the RemoteFX are detailed below:
1) Verify the host machine meets the minimum hardware requirements for RemoteFX.
2) Verify the host has the latest 3D graphics card drivers installed before enabling RemoteFX.
3) Enable the RemoteFX feature using the following command line:
Dism.exe /online /enable-feature /featurename:VmHostAgent
4) From a remote machine running the full version of Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 or a client OS running the latest version of RSAT, connect to the Hyper-V Server machines, create a Windows 7 R2 SP1 virtual machine and under “Add Hardware”, select “RemoteFX 3D Video Adapter”. Select “Add”.
If the “RemoteFX 3D Video Adapter” option is greyed out, it is usually because RemoteFX is not enabled or the 3D video card drivers have not been installed on the host yet. Before attaching the RemoteFX adapter, make sure to set user access permissions, note the computer name and enable Remote Desktop within the VM first. When the RemoteFX 3D video adapter is attached to the VM, you will no longer be able to connect to the VM local console via the Hyper-V Manager Remote Connection. You will only be able to connect to the VM via a Remote Desktop connection. Remove the RemoteFX adapter if you ever need to use the Hyper-V Manager Remote Connection.
How much does Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 cost? Where can I get it?
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 is free and we hope you enjoy it! Here’s the download link: Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1.
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Here are the links to a six part series titled Dynamic Memory Coming to Hyper-V and an article detailing 40% greater virtual machine density with DM.
Part 1: Dynamic Memory announcement. This blog announces the new Hyper-V Dynamic Memory in Hyper-V R2 SP1. It also discussed the explicit requirements that we received from our customers. http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2010/03/18/dynamic-memory-coming-to-hyper-v.aspx
Part 2: Capacity Planning from a Memory Standpoint. This blog discusses the difficulties behind the deceptively simple question, “how much memory does this workload require?” Examines what issues our customers face with regard to memory capacity planning and why. http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2010/03/25/dynamic-memory-coming-to-hyper-v-part-2.aspx
Part 3: Page Sharing. A deep dive into the importance of the TLB, large memory pages, how page sharing works, SuperFetch and more. If you’re looking for the reasons why we haven’t invested in Page Sharing this is the blog. http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2010/04/07/dynamic-memory-coming-to-hyper-v-part-3.aspx
Part 4: Page Sharing Follow-Up. Questions answered about Page Sharing and ASLR and other factors to its efficacy. http://blogs.technet.com/b/virtualization/archive/2010/04/21/dynamic-memory-coming-to-hyper-v-part-4.aspx
Part 5: Second Level Paging. What it is, why you really want to avoid this in a virtualized environment and the performance impact it can have. http://blogs.technet.com/b/virtualization/archive/2010/05/20/dynamic-memory-coming-to-hyper-v-part-5.aspx
Part 6: Hyper-V Dynamic Memory. What it is, what each of the per virtual machine settings do in depth and how this all ties together with our customer requirements. http://blogs.technet.com/b/virtualization/archive/2010/07/12/dynamic-memory-coming-to-hyper-v-part-6.aspx
Hyper-V Dynamic Memory Density. An in depth test of Hyper-V Dynamic Memory easily achieving 40% greater density. http://blogs.technet.com/b/virtualization/archive/2010/11/08/hyper-v-dynamic-memory-test-for-vdi-density.aspx
In speaking with folks interested in deploying virtualization, I tend to hear two things most:
1. they realize the benefits of adopting virtualization (especially the cost savings!), and the bridge virtualization can give them to private clouds in the future . . . 2. . . . but there are roadblocks preventing them from realizing those benefits.
The roadblocks mentioned vary, but a few themes do stick out. We hear your concerns that with some vendors, scaling-up virtualization instances scales up your cost, and that’s a hard pill to swallow when you’re looking to get more out of every IT dollar. We also hear your concerns that large-scale virtualization could lead to VM sprawl and cumbersome manual IT process overhead.
We are committed to helping you with these and other concerns. Today, Microsoft and Dell are announcing a strategic partnership that will deliver joint management and virtualization solutions to help you get more out of your investment by integrating Dell’s hardware, storage and virtualization management technologies with Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and System Center technologies. Customers will benefit from this “better together approach” with solutions that span physical and virtual infrastructure as well as application and workload layers.
These jointly engineered solutions will make virtualization more cost effective and accessible, integrate management across the stack, and set you on the path to private cloud – but you don’t have to wait to get started. Dell’s Business Ready Configuration, based on Microsoft’s Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track reference architecture, is available today and can help you start realizing the benefits of virtualization and begin your journey to private cloud.
You can find out more about today’s solutions, our new partnership and our plans for the future by visiting http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/dell or on their blog here.
Ed Anderson
Hello Everyone –
Our sincere thanks to everyone who attended the Microsoft Management Summit last month in Las Vegas. Believe me when I say that this year’s sold-out event was one of the largest ever in terms of product announcements and news.
In addition to the multitude of announcements we made at MMS, we demonstrated that Hyper-V is the best platform to virtualize key business critical workloads – SQL Server, SharePoint and Exchange Server.
Case in point - Enterprise Strategy Group, a third party analyst firm conducted detailed performance analysis virtualizing these key workloads on Hyper-V and posted their findings here, showing Hyper-V can be used to virtualize Tier-1 data center applications with confidence.
A few of the key findings were:
In addition, you will find detailed collateral that includes technical guidance and best practices from the Microsoft and server partners for virtualizing SQL Server, SharePoint and Exchange on Hyper-V here.
More than ever, this is relevant now as companies are looking to move more of their traditional workloads to private clouds. By using the guidance above, and along with our private cloud offerings including Hyper-V Cloud Fast Track, companies can accelerate their implementation of private cloud.
Stay tuned as we continue to provide additional guidance and training to help you on your private cloud journey.
Thanks!Arun JayendranGroup Product Manager, Virtualization and Private Cloud Team
One common refrain we hear from you is that you appreciate the fact we’re driving down the costs of virtualization and adding more and more capabilities in the box such as Live Migration (LM) and High Availability (HA). We’re happy to do it and we’re just getting started. :) To use both LM and HA, these require shared storage. This shared storage can be in the forms of SAS, iSCSI or Fiber Channel SAN. For many environments this isn't an issue, but there are some specific scenarios where customers need LM and HA and the cost of a dedicated SAN is a blocker. For example,
Wouldn't it be great to have another option? We think so too. Today, as a big THANK YOU to our Windows Server 2008 R2 customers we are taking another step in lowering the barriers and making it even easier to take advantage of Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V High Availability and Live Migration.
>> We are making the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target available AS A FREE DOWNLOAD. <<
What does this mean? It means you can install the Microsoft iSCSI software target on a Windows Server 2008 R2 system and use it as shared storage for Live Migration. Interested? Here are a few key pointers.
The full announcement about the release of the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target from Jose Barreto
The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target Download
Configuring the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target with Hyper-V blog from Jose
============================================================================ FAQ============================================================================Q: The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target is now free. Is it supported in a production environment?
A: Yes. The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target is supported in a production environment. The Hyper-V team regularly tests with the MS iSCSI Software Target and it works great with Hyper-V.============================================================================Q: On what operating systems is the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target supported?
A: The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target is supported for Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter Editions.============================================================================Q: Can the free Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 use the free Microsoft iSCSI Software Target?
A: Yes and No. Yes, Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 can act as a client to access virtual machines via iSCSI. The way to do that is to type iscsicpl.exe at the command prompt to bring up the Microsoft iSCSI Initiator (client) and configure it to access an iSCSI Target (server). However, you can't install the Microsoft iSCSI Software Target on a Microsoft Hyper-V Server. The Microsoft iSCSI Software Target requires Windows Server 2008 R2.
Jeff WoolseyGroup Program Manager, VirtualizationWindows Server & Cloud