Jonathan's Virtual Blog : SCVMM

Are All of My Servers Really Up to Date?

Jonathan — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:47:00 GMT

With a single command you can pull a list of all installed updates. Use this to compare patch levels on all systems so you can easily target those not meeting the bar.

We start with simple commands, then build on these to create robust queries with optional CSV and HTML formatting. I think of these commands, which I use on a daily basis, as basics for my Toolkit. If you don’t have a Toolkit I suggest you create one now. Place your often used tools in a folder such as ‘C:\Toolkit’ so that they are always at hand. Grab the first five items under ‘Top 10 Downloads’ from Sysinternals.com to round out your basics.

TIP: Go one step further and sign up for a Live Mesh account with your Windows Live ID. With this you can keep your Toolkit directory, and other directories, synched up across all machines you designate. The folders will be available privately online as well. Further, remote control is built-in for all Mesh enabled systems. Sweet! Clearly remote capabilities are geared more towards workstations than servers, but I use it for both.

And yeah, it’s free. Get started here.

Basic Commands

Warm up by opening an elevated command prompt on your SCVMM server (or any server for that matter). If your command window does not show ‘Administrator:’ as below, you are not running an elevated console.

> Single command to pull updates.
wmic qfe

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=963660 VMM2008R2-03 Update                        KB963660
                       NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM 2/26/2009
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=967062 VMM2008R2-03 Update                        KB967062
                       NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM 2/26/2009

You should see a torrent of information scroll through the command window. This is a list of all QFEs (Hotfixes and Updates) installed, along with a good bit of extraneous info.

> Now let's work on formatting. This is my everyday method.
wmic qfe list brief

Update KB963660 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM 2/26/2009
Update KB967062 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM 2/26/2009

Now some of the noise is removed and it is easier to read the list of updates.

TIP: Is KBXXXXXX installed on this system?!? I can only remember the last three digits of the update anyway… Easy to check. Just pipe your output to ‘find.’

wmic qfe list brief | find /i "660"

Update KB963660 NT AUTHORITY\SYSTEM 2/26/2009

Apparently it is installed. Nice.

> This is good, but we can do better.
wmic qfe get csname,hotfixid,description

VMM2008R2-03 Update KB963660
VMM2008R2-03 Update KB967062

Now we're getting somewhere. We've selected the header for only those columns we are interested in and have returned a clean list of updates along with the system name.

This much you can keep in your head. You might want to create a batch file for items in the next section.

Advanced Queries

Now that you've waded into the deep end let's perform some real work. These are the commands to place in a batch file for your Toolkit. The steps below assume you have already created a ‘C:\Temp’ directory on your system. CSName is not required for the next two commands; it is implied.

> Create a CSV file from the output.
wmic /output:c:\temp\qfe.csv QFE GET HotFixID,Description /format:csv

The resulting CSV file lists these items, ready to be opened in Excel: Node,Description,HotFixID

> CSV files are not as interesting as HTML, so let's shift output formats.
wmic /output:c:\temp\qfe.html QFE GET HotFixID,Description /format:htable

Now you have a clean multicolored table with results, complete with column headers.

Remote Systems

The only thing left to do is perform this same work on remote machines. First a single machine, then a list of systems. Replace <remotesystem> with your remote system name. Note that we add CSName to pull the remote name.

> List remote system updates.
wmic /node:"<remotesystem>" /output:c:\temp\qfe_remote.html QFE GET CSName,HotFixID,Description /format:htable

If this did not work for you keep in mind that you must be an administrator on the remote machine, and Remote Management must be enabled.

> Finally, let's feed a list of server names and create a single HTML file. Create a file named 'serverlist.txt' with one system per line.
wmic /node:@serverlist.txt /output:c:\temp\qfe_serverlist.html QFE GET CSName,HotFixId,Description /format:htable

That's it. You should have a table similar to this.

Enjoy your new tools. Thanks for reading!

For further reference:

MSDN - WMI Command Line Tools
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa394531.aspx

Hotfix Rollup Released for SCVMM - KB961983

Jonathan — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 19:12:00 GMT

Released April 14, 2009, a number of Hotfixes have been rolled up into a single download. I strongly recommend this update for all SCVMM Servers. This update may require a reboot. This update replaces ‘KB959596 - Description of the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 update to address physical to virtual (P2V) issues.' You should still install updates from KB962941. Best of luck!

Description of the hotfix rollup package for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008: April 14th, 2009
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/961983

This update will be provided automatically by 'Microsoft Update,' or it can be manually downloaded here. If installing manually, open an elevated command prompt and execute (without the quotes): “msiexec /update vmmServer64Update.msp BOOTSTRAPPED=1”

Issues Addressed
VMware virtual machine migration
Hyper-V VMs showing “unsupported cluster configuration”
Differencing disk issues
Agent status on Cluster nodes
Replication software causing “unsupported cluster configuration"
Error 2951 with VMware Virtual Center

Summary

Install updates from KB962941 and KB961983
KB959596 is no longer necessary if KB961983 is installed.

Recommended hotfixes for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/962941

SCVMM Tracing Made Easy!

Jonathan — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:44:00 GMT

So you’ve run into a problem with VMM. Maybe your Hosts have lost connectivity with the SCVMM Server. Or, P2V fails for a certain machine every time. If you’ve searched many TechNet blogs or forums for answers you have probably come to one conclusion: you’re going to have to run a trace to collect the required information.

How do I capture a trace? Armed with DbgView (available from Sysinternals.com) and a number of registry modifications, followed by service restarts on each involved machine, you’re ready to begin. Problem is, configuring a server for tracing is time consuming, tedious, and prone to human error. I’ve worked to alleviate your pain.

Easy? Seriously?

True. You need two files on each server you wish to run the trace on. The process is automated, requires very little input, and works. I’ll skip how it works other than to say it performs the work in Cheng’s article for you. Manual steps are below. If you would like to download a zip file with everything ready click here.

Instructions

1 – Download and save DbgView.exe from Sysinternals.

http://live.sysinternals.com/dbgview.exe

2 – Copy the text at bottom to NOTEPAD and save. (Saving to Word or otherwise will include unwanted characters). Name the saved file ‘sctrace.cmd’ making sure the actual extension is .CMD not .TXT.

3 – Place BOTH files in the same directory. (‘C:\Temp’ is good)

4 – From an ELEVATED command prompt change to the directory where the files are saved and type sctrace.cmd

Tips for Successful Tracing

Follow the instructions in the command prompt. Remember that the goal is to capture the issue while is is reproduced. If the problem is between a Host and the SCVMM Server, run this same script on both machines at the SAME TIME. We need both ends of the conversation to figure out what is going on. The script will provide an opportunity to get things kicked off on all servers then start all the traces at once.

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to accommodate various environments, while at the same time keeping the length of the script to a minimum. This script may not work if you have a locked down system. This script is provided as is. That said, I would love to hear what you think of it. Corrections appreciated as well. Check back for version updates.

:: START SCRIPT COPY HERE

:: sctrace.cmd
:: v1.6

@echo off

if (%1)==(/?) goto :HELP
if (%1)==(-?) goto :HELP
if (%1)==(odsoff) goto :ODSOFF

:: Test Running Elevated
if not exist %windir%\SCVMM_TRACE\test (
mkdir %windir%\SCVMM_TRACE\test
)
If Not %ERRORLEVEL% EQU 0 (
echo Error: You must run this from an elevated command prompt
Goto End
)

:: Check for DbgView
if not exist dbgview.exe (
cls
echo DbgView is required to capture a trace.
echo Please download from http://live.sysinternals.com/dbgview.exe
echo and place in same directory as script.
echo.
echo.
Goto End
)

:: BIG NOTICE
cls
echo v1.6
echo.
echo YOU MUST FOLLOW 3 STEPS TO CAPTURE A TRACE
echo.
echo FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS ON THIS SCREEN AT ALL TIMES
echo.
echo READ CAREFULLY
echo.
pause

:: Verify DbgView Settings
cls
echo.
echo STEP 1 of 3 - CONFIGURE DEBUGVIEW - STEP 1 of 3
echo.
echo - DebugView will open. Select the CAPTURE menu.
echo.
echo - Verify 'Capture Win32' and 'Capture Global Win32' are checked.
echo.
echo - Exit DebugView and return to this window.
echo.
echo.
CHOICE /C C /N /M "Press [C] to configure DbgView now."
IF errorlevel 1 dbgview.exe

:: Cleanup
rmdir %windir%\SCVMM_TRACE\test
Start taskkill /IM debugview.exe
Start taskkill /IM dbgview.exe

:Begin
:: Verify Environment
if not exist %windir%\SCVMM_TRACE\logs (
mkdir %windir%\SCVMM_TRACE\logs
)

:: Capture Exact Time to Prevent Overwrites
set hh=%time:~0,2%
if "%time:~0,1%"==" " set hh=0%hh:~1,1%
set yymmdd_hhmmss=%date:~12,2%%date:~4,2%%date:~7,2%_%hh%%time:~3,2%%time:~6,2%

:: Format and Remove Spaces
set Filepath=%windir%\SCVMM_TRACE\logs
set Filename=%Filepath%\%COMPUTERNAME%_%yymmdd_hhmmss%.log
set Filename=%filename: =%

::Enable Tracing
Reg Add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\Carmine" /v ODS /t REG_DWORD /d 00000001 /f
Reg Add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\Carmine" /v ODSFLAGS /t REG_DWORD /d 255 /f

:: Restart Services
cls
net stop vmmagent
net stop vmmservice

net start vmmagent
net start vmmservice

:: IISRESET will NOT occur unless /IIS switch is used
if (%1)==(iis) iisreset

:: Choose Systems
cls
echo.
echo STEP 2 of 3 - STAGE OTHER SERVERS - STEP 2 of 3
echo.
echo MAKE A DECISION... ONE SERVER OR MANY?
echo.
echo Start this trace on other involved systems now if needed.
echo When all systems are sitting at STEP 2 of 3 proceed below.
echo.
CHOICE /C C /N /M "Press [C] to continue when all systems ready."
IF errorlevel 1 Start Dbgview.exe /t /f /l %Filename%

:: All Systems GO!
:STOPDBGVIEW
cls
echo.
echo STEP 3 of 3 - TRACING NOW - STEP 3 of 3
echo.
echo Trace is capturing all activity on this system now.
echo Make sure all systems involved show STEP 3 of 3 then...
echo REPRODUCE YOUR ISSUE NOW.
echo.
echo Press [F] to Finish on all systems AFTER reproducing issue
echo.
CHOICE /C F /N
IF errorlevel 1 (
Start taskkill /IM debugview.exe
Start taskkill /IM dbgview.exe
cls
echo Writing out log file... Please wait
timeout /t 5
)

:: Disable Tracing
Reg Add "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\Carmine" /v ODS /t REG_DWORD /d 00000000 /f

:: Open Explorer Showing Trace File
start %Filepath%
cls
echo DONE!
echo.
echo Provide the latest file in %FilePath% to support
echo.
echo.

Goto End

:HELP
cls
@echo Trace Options
@echo.
@echo From an elevated command prompt type Trace.cmd
@echo Options: /?, -?    This Help Menu
@echo          /odsoff   Disable tracing
@echo          /iis      Perform iisreset
@echo.
@echo.
Goto End

:ODSOFF
Reg Add HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Tracing\Microsoft\Carmine /v ODS /t REG_DWORD /d 00000000 /f

:END

:: STOP SCRIPT COPY HERE

jonjor

VMM 2008 Error Codes Published on TechNet!

Jonathan — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 02:06:00 GMT

What the heck is an error 2606? Why am I getting a 1612 prompt when I try to connect to the VMM Server from the Admin Console? Now you can look these errors up and review the Recommended Action.

The error codes are divided between 'User Interface Error Messages' and 'Command-Line Interface Error Messages'. User interface messages are understandable enough... You perform a P2V and the job errors out with an error message in the Admin Console. Command-Line, or CLI messages are those that appear in a PowerShell console when running scripts or performing interactive work.

VMM 2008 Error Codes

User Interface Messages: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd548298.aspx

Command-Line Messages: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd548296.aspx

Enjoy!

Recommended hotfixes for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008

Jonathan — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:59:00 GMT

Here it is. We have a new KB that details updates and hotfixes required for SCVMM, Hyper-V and Clustering. Read the article here.

I've commented on the hotfixes inline below, providing a Support Engineer's perspective.

________________________________________________

Required hotfixes for Hyper-V servers

Install these. No question.

956589 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956589/ ) Description of the Hyper-V update for issues that may occur when you manage the Hyper-V role on the 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2008 by using SCVMM
956774 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956774/ ) A Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS) client cannot handle files that have paths that contain the volume GUID in Windows Server 2008 or in Windows Vista
950050 (http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;950050/ ) Description of the update for the release version of the Hyper-V technology for Windows Server 2008

Note If these hotfixes are missing from a Hyper-V server, the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Admin Console lists the server status as Needs Attention. Hotfix 956774 should be installed on the Hyper-V servers and on System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Server.

Back to the top

Recommended hotfixes for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 Server

I would change this from 'Recommended' to 'Required' based on experience.

958124 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958124/ ) A wmiprvse.exe process may leak memory when a WMI notification query is used heavily on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista-based computer
954563 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954563/ ) Memory corruption may occur with the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista Service Pack 1
955805 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955805/ ) Certain applications become very slow on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista S955805-based computer when a certificate with SIA extension is installed
959596 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959596/ ) Description of the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 update to address physical to virtual (P2V) issues

Back to the top

Recommended hotfixes for the Hyper-V servers

Install ALL hotfixes on ALL Hyper-V servers, whether SCVMM is involved or not. This is more than a recommendation based on cases I have worked.

957967 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957967/ ) Stop error message on a Windows Server 2008-based computer that has the Hyper-V role installed: "STOP 0x0000001A"
958124 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/958124/ ) A wmiprvse.exe process may leak memory when a WMI notification query is used heavily on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista-based computer
954563 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954563/ ) Memory corruption may occur with the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) service on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 or Windows Vista Service Pack 1
955805 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/955805/ ) Certain applications become very slow on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista S955805-based computer when a certificate with SIA extension is installed

Back to the top

Recommended hotfixes for Hyper-V failover clusters

957311 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/957311/ ) Recommended hotfixes for Windows Server 2008-based server clusters

SCVMM traces on Windows Core

Jonathan — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 17:55:00 GMT

Collecting traces while reproducing an issue is one of the best methods we have of determining the source of an issue. Microsoft engineers might ask for this information when you open an incident, or you may want to perform tracing on your own for review. Cheng wrote the original article that walks you through the process step-by-step. With the growing number of Windows Core installations a colleague of mine (MikeB) found that new instructions were needed to perform this same process. Bookmark his post. It's one for the toolbox.

How to capture a Dbgview trace from Windows Core

What’s wrong with my permissions?!?

Jonathan — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 17:48:00 GMT

SCVMM depends on a number of permissions being available to operate correctly. Some are user and computer account related, others are group policies. Both are outlined below. Keep in mind that although you may have set up permissions correctly at some point during the install, things may have changed. It is not uncommon for an organization to create GPOs that strip computer objects from groups on local machines. It is also not uncommon that the SCVMM installation process is unable to add objects to the required groups on install due to unforeseen permission issues. Take the time to double check the settings below on all of your SCVMM systems and you may find that strange issues you are experiencing are resolved.

Group Memberships

Local security groups on the SCVMM Server

· Group ‘Administrators’ should have the SCVMM Server 'Computer Object' as a member, and the Domain Account that is specified during operations in the SCVMM Admin Console

· Group ‘Virtual Machine Manager Servers’ the SCVMM Server 'Computer Object' as a member

Note: If you need to add a machine accounts, make sure you go to ’Object types’ and check ‘Computers’. Then add it as <domain>\<machinename>$

Local security groups on an SCVMM Host

· Group ‘Administrators’ should have the SCVMM Server 'Computer Object' as a member

· Group ‘Virtual Machine Manager Servers’ should have the SCVMM Server 'Computer Object' as a member

Local security groups on the Source P2V machine

· Group ‘Administrators’ should have the same User Account as the credentials specified in the SCVMM Admin Console during the P2V process

Group Policy Rights

There is not a complied list of rights that are required due to the complexity of rights specified in group policies and the ability to lock down individual registry keys and file system directories. Instead, I have provided a method for comparing current machine group policy rights to those that are applied by default during Windows installation. If you find that there are a number of items more restrictive on your server than in the default policy, consider moving this machine to an OU of its own and blocking inheritance of group policies. This may correct the issue. If rights have been stamped onto the machine, it may be necessary to re-apply the default group policy settings created during Windows installation. Even if this is not an acceptable resolution, at least you will know with confidence that it is restricted rights that are breaking SCVMM. You can then start adding the rights that you find important back until you find that you have broken SCVMM again. You’ll have to live without enabling this restriction once found. If you have a development environment it is strongly suggested that you perform testing there instead of in production.

Steps to Analyze and Configure (Apply) Security Templates

This first section will collect data for review. No changes will be made to the server. Make sure you are logged into the domain, not locally. This may take a few minutes to run.

1 - Start> Run> mmc.exe

2 - File> Add/Remove Snap-in...

3 - Add...> Security Configuration and Analysis> Add...> Close> OK

4 - Right click 'Security Configuration and Analysis' and select 'Open Database'.

A - Create a new temporary database named 'test.sdb' and click 'Open' (do not re-use one of your temporary databases. Make test1.sdb and so on)

Windows 2003

B - When prompted for 'Import Template' select 'C:\Windows\Security\Templates\setup security.inf' and click 'Open'

C - If you were not prompted for 'Import Template', right click 'Security Configuration and Analysis' and select C:\Windows\Security\Templates\setup security.inf'

- If this is a Domain Controller, use ‘securedc.inf’ instead

Windows 2008

B - When prompted for 'Import Template' select 'C:\Windows\inf\setup security.inf' and click 'Open'

C - If you were not prompted for 'Import Template', right click 'Security Configuration and Analysis' and select C:\Windows\inf\deftsv.inf'

- If this is a Domain Controller, use ‘deftdc.inf’ instead

5 - Right click 'Security Configuration and Analysis' and select 'Analyze computer now'

6 - Browse to a location to save the Error Log so you can find it later, give it a descriptive name if you like, and click 'OK'

7 – This log file will show the differences between the default security template applied during Windows setup, and what is currently in place. Note that there will be two sources of rights settings: local and domain. It may be necessary to review domain policies that are making security changes that are incompatible with SCVMM.

For further reading and information

Analyze and configure security

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc759251.aspx

Configure local computer security

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc737638.aspx

Your Guide to Group Policy Troubleshooting

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/2007.02.troubleshooting.aspx

WinRM (Windows Remote Management) Troubleshooting

Jonathan — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 01:44:00 GMT

What is WinRM?

New in Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2008 (and Server 2008 Core) are WinRM & WinRS. Windows Remote Management (known as WinRM) is a handy new remote management service. WinRM is the “server” component of this remote management application and WinRS (Windows Remote Shell) is the “client” for WinRM, which runs on the remote computer attempting to remotely manage the WinRM server. However, I should note that BOTH computers must have WinRM installed and enabled on them for WinRS to work and retrieve information from the remote system.

While WinRM listens on port 80 by default, it doesn't mean traffic is unencrypted. Traffic by default is only accepted by WinRM when it is encrypted using the Negotiate or Kerberos SSP. WinRM uses HTTP (TCP 80) or HTTPS (TCP 443). WinRM also includes helper code that lets the WinRM listener to share port 80 with IIS or any other application that may need to use that port.

WinRM with SCVMM uses Kerberos for authentication, and does not support fall-back to NTLM. There will be an error instead. If no credentials are specified, then the logged-on credentials are used to authenticate against the remote machine. This allows for a single sign-on experience.

What is WinRS?

Remote Shell, (WinRS) is used to execute a program on a remote host. Similar in operation to the former Sysinternals tool PSExec, WinRS leverages Windows Remote Management to let you launch processes on remote machines. For example, if you want to perform a directory listing on the system drive on a remote machine, you can remotely launch ‘dir’ using this syntax:

winrs -r:machinename dir

Another handy use of WinRS can be when installing software on remote systems. If you want to quietly install an application using an MSI file onto a remote machine, use the following syntax. This syntax assumes the MSI file has already been deposited into the C:\ folder.

winrs -r:machinename msiexec.exe /i c:\install.msi /quiet

When specifying the remote machine, the following are valid:

· Localhost

· NetBIOS name

· Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN)

· IP address

How to install WinRM

The WinRM is not dependent on any other service except WinHttp. If the IIS Admin Service is installed on the same computer, you may see messages that indicate WinRM cannot be loaded before Interent Information Services (IIS). However, WinRM does not actually depend on IIS: these messages occur because the load order ensures that the IIS service starts before the HTTP service. WinRM does require that WinHTTP.dll be registered.

(Stated simply: WinRM service should be set to Automatic (Delayed Start) on Windows Vista and Server 2008)

· The WinRM service starts automatically on Windows Server 2008.

· On Windows Vista, the service must be started manually.

· UPDATE! Windows 2003 requires an update for WinRM

936059 An update is available for the Windows Remote Management feature in Windows Server 2003 and in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;936059

How to configure WinRM

To set the default configuration type:

winrm quickconfig (or the abbreviated version, winrm qc)

‘winrm qc’ performs the following operations:

1. Starts the WinRM service and sets the service startup type to auto-start.

2. Configures a listener for the ports that send and receive WS-Management protocol messages using either HTTP or HTTPS on any IP address.

3. Defines ICF exceptions for the WinRM service and opens the ports for HTTP and HTTPS.

(Note: Winrm quickconfig also configures Winrs default settings)

If ‘winrm qc’ throws an error:

If the firewall is disabled the quick config command will fail. The firewall can either be started in Services long enough to run ‘winrm qc’ or the commands below can be run:

sc config "WinRM" start= auto

net start WinRM

winrm create winrm/config/listener?Address=*+Transport=HTTP

netsh firewall add portopening TCP 80 "Windows Remote Management"

Group Policy configuration:

WinRM can be configured by group policies.

1. Type gpedit at a command prompt. The Group Policy Object Editor window opens.

2. Look for the Windows Remote Management and Windows Remote Shell Group Policy Objects (GPO) under Administrative Templates and Windows Components.

Troubleshoot WinRM

Common Issues:

1. If the ISA2004 firewall client is installed on the computer, it can cause a Web Services for Management (WS-Management) client to stop responding. To avoid this issue, install ISA2004 Firewall SP1.

2. Antivirus software can prevent proper WinRM communication. Disable antivirus software and reboot the machine if the Antivirus software is known to scan processes and protocols, or if there is any doubt about the software.

Test WinRM communication on the local and remote machines

This section addresses how to test whether WinRM is working on the local system, and whether it can communicate with the remote system. Test remote communication in both directions between machines.

Local communication:

Locate listeners and addresses: (No output means WinRM is not installed)

winrm e winrm/config/listener

Localhost Ping:

(Successfully completing this step pretty much insure complete access to WSMan on the local system)

Winrm id

Further:

Check state of configuration settings:

winrm get winrm/config

Check the state of WinRM service:

winrm get wmicimv2/Win32_Service?Name=WinRM

Remote communication:

Locate listeners and addresses:

winrm e winrm/config/listener

Remote Ping:

(Successfully completing this step pretty much insure complete access to WSMan on the remote system)

Winrm id –r:machinename

Further:

Check state of configuration settings:

winrm get winrm/config -r:machinename

Check the state of WinRM service:

winrm get wmicimv2/Win32_Service?Name=WinRM -r:machinename

Sample Commands

Here are some sample commands to play with. If you cannot get the ‘Test WS-Man...' step to work, none of the steps following will work either (you're probably not using the right credentials to access the remote machine). One more caveat, the remote commands work best on domain joined machines. For workgroup machines, the WinRM service needs additional configuration.

Description	Command
Run from an Elevated* Command prompt*
Quickly configure the WS-Man service	winrm QuickConfig
Quickly delete the WS-Man listener	winrm invoke Restore winrm/Config @{}
Run from an standard* Command prompt*
Display your machine's basic hardware info	winrm enumerate wmicimv2/Win32_ComputerSystem
Display your operating system properties	winrm get wmicimv2/Win32_OperatingSystem
Output your OS info in XML	winrm get wmicimv2/Win32_OperatingSystem -format:pretty
Test WS-Man access to a remote machine**	winrm id -remote:<some machine>
Grab a remote machine's WS-Man config	winrm get winrm/Config -r:<some machine>
Grab a remote machine's CPU load	winrm g wmicimv2/Win32_Processor?DeviceID=CPU0 -fragment:LoadPercentage -r:<some computer>
Grab a remote machine's free memory	winrm g wmicimv2/Win32_OperatingSystem -fragment:FreePhysicalMemory -r:<some computer>
Stop a service on a remote machine	winrm invoke stopservice wmicimv2/Win32_Service?name=w32time -r:<some computer>
Start a service on a remote machine	winrm invoke startservice wmicimv2/Win32_Service?name=w32time -r:<some computer>
Reboot a remote machine	winrm invoke reboot wmicimv2/Win32_OperatingSystem -r:<some computer>
Run a command on a remote machine (this uses winrS, not winrM)	winrs -r:<some computer> ipconfig /all
Run from PowerShell
Use PowerShell to grab the WS-Man Win32_OperatingSystem XML output	[xml]$osInfo = winrm get wmicimv2/Win32_OperatingSystem /format:pretty
Display the OS version property	$osInfo.Win32_OperatingSystem.Version
Display the last boot time	$osInfo.Win32_OperatingSystem.LastBootupTime.DateTime
Put free memory metric into an XML variable	[xml]$freemem = cmd /c "winrm get wmicimv2/Win32_OperatingSystem -fragment:FreePhysicalMemory -f:pretty -r:<some computer>"
Display the free memory value	$freemem.XMLFragment.FreePhysicalMemory

**Note: This step verifies that you have good connectivity to the remote machine, WS-Man is running and properly configured on the remote machine, AND you have the correct permissions to fully leverage WS-Man on the remote machine. If this step fails, it's probably a permissions issue.

Advanced Concepts

URI Aliases

URI aliases can simplify the Winrm command line. The following URI aliases are supported:

wmi = http://schemas.microsoft.com/wsman/2005/06/wmi

wsman = wsman:microsoft.com/wsman/2005/06/

cimv2.9 = http://schemas.dmtf.org/wsman/2005/06/cimv2.9

cimv2 = http://schemas.microsoft.com/wsman/2005/06/wmi/root/cimv2

For example, the following command:

winrm get http://schemas.microsoft.com/wsman/2005/06/wmi/root/cimv2/Win32_Service?Name=WSMan

Gets replaced with:

winrm get wmi/root/cimv2/Win32_Service?Name=WinRM

Performing an Invoke Operation

‘Invoke’ initiates commands

winrm invoke StartService wmicimv2/Win32_Service?Name=WinRM -r:machinename @{}

This will likely return ‘ReturnValue = 10’ on a remote system where WinRM is running

WS-Man (WinRM) Architecture

The following diagram shows a high-level overview of the WS-Man (WinRM) architecture. In the diagram the 'Client' is querying the 'Server' for WS-Man information. Note that HTTP.sys and WinHTTP support the HTTP(s) transport for WS-Man, not IIS. In addition, IIS (or another web publishing service) can co-exist with WS-Man and share port 80.

Remember:

WinHTTP = Client

HTTP.SYS = Server

The Windows Remote Management architecture consists of components on the client and server computers. The following illustration shows the components on both computers, how the components interact with other components, and the protocol that is used to communicate between the computers.

Requesting Client

The following WinRM components reside on the computer that is running the script that requests data.

· WinRM application

This is the script or Winrm command-line tool that uses the WinRM scripting API to make calls to request data or to execute methods. For more information, see the WinRM Scripting API [ http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384469(VS.85).aspx ] .

· WsmAuto.dll

The OLE automation layer that provides scripting support.

· WsmCL.dll

C API layer within the operating system.

· HTTP API

WinRM requires support for HTTP and HTTPS transport.

Responding Server

The following WinRM components reside on the responding computer.

· HTTP API

WinRM requires support for HTTP and HTTPS transport.

· WsmAuto.dll

The OLE automation layer that provides scripting support.

· WsmCL.dll

C API layer within the operating system.

· WsmSvc.dll

WinRM listener [ http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384465(VS.85).aspx ] service.

· WsmProv.dll

Provider subsystem.

· WsmRes.dll

Resource file.

· WsmWmiPl.dll

WMI plug-in [ http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384465(VS.85).aspx ] . This allows you to obtain WMI data through WinRM.

· Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) driver and WMI IPMI provider

These components supply any hardware data that is requested using the IPMI classes. For more information, see Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) Classes [ http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa390891(VS.85).aspx ] . BMC hardware must have been detected by the SMBIOS or the device created manually by loading the driver. For more information, see Installation and Configuration for Windows Remote Management [ http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384372(VS.85).aspx ] .

References

Installation and Configuration for Windows Remote Management

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384372(VS.85).aspx

Windows Remote Management Command-Line Tool (Winrm.cmd)

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc781778.aspx

How can Windows Server 2008 WinRM & WinRS help you

http://windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/How-Windows-Server-2008-WinRM-WinRS.html

The things that are better left unspoken Remotely managing your Server Core using WinRM and WinRS

http://blogs.dirteam.com/blogs/sanderberkouwer/archive/2008/02/23/remotely-managing-your-server-core-using-winrm-and-winrs.aspx

Redmond Print First Look WinRM & WinRS

http://redmondmag.com/columns/article.asp?EditorialsID=2262

Otto Helweg - Management Matters A Few Good Vista WS-Man (WinRM) Commands

http://blogs.technet.com/otto/archive/2007/02/09/sample-vista-ws-man-winrm-commands.aspx

Windows Remote Management Architecture

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa384464(VS.85).aspx

How to Capture a WinRM Trace

Jonathan — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 02:04:00 GMT

When working with Microsoft Support you may be asked to capture traces to assist with issue resolution. Below are two methods for capturing WinRM traces. Following a reboot these will need to be set up again. The GUI setup is simple. The logman method allows a template with pre-populated settings to be imported. Choose the method that suits you.

Method 1 using GUI

1. Open Perfmon and navigate to Event Trace Sessions. In your case you will run this from a non-core box and connect to the core box first.

2. Right click Event Trace Sessions and choose New Data Collector Set.

3. Name it WinRM, select “Create manually” and click Next

4. Click “Add” when prompted “Which event trace providers would you like to enable?”

5. Select “Windows Remote Management Trace”.

6. Select the Keywords(Any) Property and choose edit.

7. Add the desired values. I selected all of them and clicked OK.

8. Select Level and then Edit.

9. Select the Manual option, change the value to 0x05, and click OK.

10. Click Next.

11. Change the Root Directory to the destination location for the trace log.

12. Click Finish (Repeat process for both client and server)

13. Start the trace by selecting WinRM and choosing Start (on client and server)

14. Reproduce the issue.

15. Stop the trace by selecting WinRM and choosing stop for both systems.

16. You will have a winrm.etl file in the location that was set in step 11.

Method 2 using LOGMAN

1. Rename the attached WinRMETL.txt file to WinRMETL.xml

2. Create a folder called “winrm” on the root of the C drive of the node that is having the Winrm problem, node 2 for example.

3. Copy the xml file to that folder and change into that folder

4. Enter “logman /import –n mytrace –xml c:\winrm\WinRMETL.xml” and press enter.

5. Enter “logman” and press enter and should see the “mytrace” as a Data Collector Set”

6. Repeat this for the client from where you will run the Winrm command.

7. On both systems Enter “logman start mytrace” to start the tracing.

8. On the client system enter the “winrm id -r:<targetname>

9. Stop trace by entering “logman stop mytrace” on both systems.

10. There will be a file created called winRM2.etl in the C:\winrm directory.

Drivers Required for Offline P2V - How to Download, Extract and Stage

Jonathan — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 08:48:00 GMT

Drivers Required for Offline P2V - How to Extract and Where to Place

There are two types of P2V with SCVMM 2008: offline and online. Online is the way to go most of the time, if you are using Windows 2003 or higher. In a few instances you will need to perform an offline conversion instead. If the Source machine (the machine to be converted) is Windows 2000 SP4, you have no choice… Offline is the only option. Another time to use offline conversion is when the source machine is a domain controller. Here’s a doc to explain the ramifications (USN rollback situations):

Deployment Considerations for Virtualized Domain Controllers

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd348449.aspx

The offline conversion process entails booting the source machine into WinPE and copying the contents of the hard drive via BITS to the destination Host. WinPE as included in SCVMM is based on Vista SP1 (Windows 2008). This means that while there is a good chance the network and mass storage drivers required are included in WinPE, the list is not inexhaustible and there will be times when the correct driver needs to be provided. The rest of this article explains how to do this.

This article describes how to provide the correct network drivers for WinPE during the offline phase of P2V. The same principles apply when WinPE instead needs the correct mass storage drivers to access the disk.

Indications of a driver issue
When booted into the WinPE phase of an Offline P2V, WinPE has no network connectivity. 'ipconfig /all' at the command prompt returns an error or no information. Alternately, there may simply be a failure to access the disk as correct SCSI card drivers are required.

Errors from the 'scvmm_winpe_setupapi.log' file
(See Related Links at end of this post for instructions on creating this trace file)
Log excerpt
>>> [DIF_SELECTBESTCOMPATDRV - PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_105E&SUBSYS_105E8086&REV_78\3&61AAA01&0&48]
>>> Section start 2008/10/31 14:24:35.352

cmd: winpeshl.exe
dvi: No class installer for 'Ethernet Controller'
dvi: No CoInstallers found
dvi: Default installer: Enter 14:24:35.363
dvi: {Select Best Driver}
! dvi: Selecting driver failed(0xe0000228)
dvi: {Select Best Driver - exit(0xe0000228)}
! dvi: Default installer: failed!
! dvi: Error 0xe0000228: There are no compatible drivers for this device.

<<< Section end 2008/10/31 14:24:35.363
<<< [Exit status: FAILURE(0xe0000228)]

Locate the correct drivers for your network card
NOTE: Most manufacturers now provide a single installation application to install drivers in Windows for you. This single .EXE or .MSI file CANNOT be used without first extracting the file contents.

- The drivers must designed for VISTA or WINDOWS 2008. The version of WinPE used by
SCVMM is based on Vista/Windows 2008

- There must be .SYS, .INF, and .CAT files for the offline driver install
- It is recommended that drivers are downloaded from the NIC manufacturer's site.
(NOTE: If using SCVMM 2007, locate drivers designed for Windows 2003 instead)

Identify the Network Card (NIC)
The SCVMM Admin Console will detect the type of network card on the source machine, and this description may be good enough to locate the correct NIC driver online

If you need further details on the NIC
- Open Device Manager in the Source machine to determine the type of NIC used.
- The VEN identifies the NIC exactly and is useful in locating compatible drivers.

This can be easily found in Windows or in the WinPE trace log.
     - In Windows: The '%windir%\setupapi.log' file lists all installed hardware
     - In WinPE use the 'scvmm_winpe_setupapi.log'
     - Using the example above we see the VEN:

PCI\VEN_8086&DEV_105E&SUBSYS_105E8086&REV_78\3&61AAA01&0&48

Download the Correct NIC Driver
Search the vendor's site for the correct card. If you are unable to locate it, search the web for the VEN number.
Example keywords for this NIC: VEN 8086 DEV 105E

This is the vendor's site and lists of adapters that have matching VEN numbers
http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/CS-012904.htm

Locate the correct driver on the vendor site. We will use this site for this example:
http://www.intel.com/support/network/sb/CS-006120.htm

- Select the correct NIC and you will be taken to a page listing drivers for different Windows builds.

- Choose the drivers for Vista 32bit.

- 'PROVISTA32.EXE' is the link you will select in this example

- On this page you see the actual download 'PROVISTA32_V13_4.exe' and a link to the 'ReadMe'

- Download and save the driver to a temp directory close to the root of C: such as ‘C:\temp’

- Open the online ‘Readme’ to determine how to properly extract the drivers from 'PROVISTA32_V13_4.exe'

Extract the contents of the Executable
Create a directory to extract the files to. Do NOT extract the files to the same directory in which the executable (PROVISTA32_V13_4.exe) resides

Example Steps

- Make a directory named 'c:\temp\Intelextracted'

- In this instance the readme shows that you type 'PROVISTA32_V13_4.exe /e /f c:\temp\Intelextracted’

- This extracts the files and saves them to 'c:\temp\Intelextracted'

- Open the c:\temp\Intelextracted directory and locate the correct drivers

- Sometimes you will find the files in a Platform directory that has a folder for the correct operating system. In this example you would open the PRO1000 folder as the card is a PRO1000. This folder contains a Win32 folder with many .inf, .cat and .sys files.

- Rename the Win32 directory to PRO1000 and place the directory in 'C:\Program
Files\Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008\Patch Import'

Perform P2V again with the correct drivers
Start the P2V process again, and this time when hardware has been detected and the network card description is show, click the 'Browse' button at the bottom and select the 'C:\Program Files\Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008\Patch Import\PRO1000' folder, then click Next

If you selected the correct drivers WinPE will now be able to initialize the NIC and gain network access during the offline process.

Related Links
Trace file creation during WinPE phase of P2V process

P2V: Converting Physical Computers to Virtual Machines in VMM
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc764232.aspx

Converting Physical Computers to Virtual Machines in VMM (P2V Conversions)
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb963740.aspx

Update for P2V with SCVMM 2008

Jonathan — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 17:48:00 GMT

Description of the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 update to address physical to virtual (P2V) issues

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/959596

INTRODUCTION

This article describes the Microsoft Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 issues that are fixed in the System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 update.

MORE INFORMATION

List of issues that are fixed

•

You use System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 to perform an offline physical to virtual (P2V) conversion. The computer that is running System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 is located on a different subnet from the source computer. However, both computers are configured to use an IP address range, such as 10.x.x.x. The offline P2V conversion fails with the following error message:

Error (3133) Virtual Machine Manager could not connect to source computer servername.domainname.com after it restarted into Windows PE (temporary computer name is p2v-ldjj). Automatic restart to the original operating system is scheduled to occur within 15 minutes. Recommended Action If servername.domainname.com does not restart in 15 minutes, manually restart it back into the original operating system using the boot menu

•

You convert a physical computer to a virtual machine by using VMWare VirtualCenter. One of the disks on the physical computer is larger than 256 gigabytes (GB). You add the VMWare VirtualCenter server to System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008. When you try to create a virtual machine, the operation fails with the following error message:

VMM Cannot find VirtualHardDisk object. Ensure the library object is valid, then try the operation again. ID: 801

Why SCVMM 2008? Resources for compelling business decisions

Jonathan — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 03:21:00 GMT

A few quick resources you will want to download and keep for reference, and share with your business.

IT Pros, read both articles. The ‘Data Sheet’ is a slick (two page brochure with eye candy), the ‘Reviewer’s Guide’ is a relatively in depth guide to SCVMM 2008 features and capabilities. It does not explain HOW to perform operations in SCVMM, instead it covers WHY you should get involved with this product in the first place.

Management, read the ‘Data Sheet’ to gain a basic understanding of this product. This will facilitate conversations with your IT team. If you will also be involved in the planning or testing phase of this product, read the ‘Reviewer’s Guide’. The guide does not go into the gritty details of implementation, instead it covers each feature of SCVMM thoroughly and how it can be applied to your environment.

Need more incentive? Here is a short list of features to get you started.

· P2V – Physical to Virtual conversion

· V2V – Virtual to Virtual conversion

· PRO – Performance and Resource Optimization

· Intelligent Placement Ratings

· Self-Service Portal – Delegated Web Site

· Centralized Library

· SAN Transfers for VM migration in seconds

· Remote Management

· Windows 2008 Failover Cluster Integration

· Full control of Hyper-V and SCVMM via PowerShell

After reading the information, if you find that you still have questions feel free to contact by email.

Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager Reviewer’s Guide

SCVMM 2008 Data Sheet

Further reading on PowerShell integration:

Managing Virtualization with SCVMM and Powershell

Technorati Tags: microsoft,scvmm,hyper-v review,virtual,virtualization,windows

Contributing Engineer: VMSetupConfigurationError (257)

Jonathan — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:11:00 GMT

Here's another find by Mike Briggs. Thanks for the contribution Mike! mbriggs@microsoft.com

Issue

The following error message may be displayed during installation of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008.

Error Messages

*** Carmine error was: VMSetupConfigurationError (257); WindowsAPI

ID: 257. Details: No mapping between account names and security IDs was done

>>> Excerpt from ServerSetup.log <<<

The ServerSetup.log can be obtained from the following directory:

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMMLogs

[12/9/2008 11:27:42 AM] * Exception : => An error has occurred while trying to configure Virtual Machine Manager.Uninstall Virtual Machine Manager from Add or Remove Programs and then run Setup again.Microsoft.VirtualManager.Setup.Exceptions.BackEndErrorException: An error has occurred while trying to configure Virtual Machine Manager.

Uninstall Virtual Machine Manager from Add or Remove Programs and then run Setup again.

*** Carmine error was: VMSetupConfigurationError (257); WindowsAPI

ID: 257. Details: No mapping between account names and security IDs was done

Resolution

Test the installation after each step.

Re-register the SQL SPN (setspn -r %computername%)

Uninstall SQL instance and VMM

Remove from domain and rejoin.

Technorati Tags: microsoft,scvmm,hyper-v,virtual,virtualization,windows

Contributing Engineer: Installation Error - ComputerNameInvalid (403)

Jonathan — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Mike has been knocking issues out of the park. Here's a tip that might help during SCVMM install. He's seen this a few times... Thanks Mike!

Issue

Unable to complete VMM2008 installation

Error message

“Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 has stopped working"

Things to check

1. Is the account used to install VMM2008 a member of local admins group? http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc764327.aspx

2. Is the server in a disjointed name space? http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc764231.aspx

3. Is the functional level of the domain is either W2K3 or W2K8? This is a hard requirement. http://blogs.technet.com/chengw/archive/2008/06/04/managing-hosts-in-windows-2000-ad-forest-by-using-vmm-2008.aspx

>>> ServerSetup.log <<<

[12/8/2008 10:07:26 AM] * Exception : => ‘my-computer-name’ is not a valid network computer name.Only fully qualified domain names and NETBIOS computer names are valid. An IP address is valid only for hosts on a perimeter network, ESX hosts, and hosts joined to the domain by using an IPv6 address. Check the computer name, and try the operation again. Microsoft.VirtualManager.Utils.CarmineException: ‘my-computer-name’ is not a valid network computer name.

Only fully qualified domain names and NETBIOS computer names are valid. An IP address is valid only for hosts on a perimeter network, ESX hosts, and hosts joined to the domain by using an IPv6 address. Check the computer name, and try the operation again.

*** Carmine error was: ComputerNameInvalid (403)

Resolution

The computer name of the server intended to become the VMM2008 server was "MY-COMPUTER-NAME”. We renamed to "MYCOMPUTERNAME" and also removed the corresponding entry in the local HOSTS file. This allowed the installation to complete as expected.

Technorati Tags: microsoft,scvmm,hyper-v,virtual,virtualization,windows

How to Troubleshoot Host Status - Quick Table

Jonathan — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 03:18:00 GMT

From the Microsoft TechNet SCVMM TechCenter

Article URL: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb740860.aspx

(Don't forget the VMMCA tool. This should always be top in your troubleshooting list. More info here.)

The table below works as a quick reference for why you may be experiencing connectivity issues. This will at least get you off and running in the right troubleshooting direction!

You can use Host Properties dialog box to check the overall status of a host, the status of the agent that is installed on the host, and the status of the virtualization software that is installed on the host. These are important indicators of the operational state of a host. Should a host status indicate a need for attention, see the Troubleshooting Guide for System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM)

(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83589 [ http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=83589 ] ).

Note

The host status values do not change in the VMM Administrator Console until the VMM server performs a refresh.

The following table describes the host status types and values.

Status Type

Status Value and Definition

Overall host status

· OK—no issues exist with any host status.

· Needs Attention—a problem exists with one or more host statuses.

Agent connection status

· Responding—the VMM server is able to communicate with the agent.

· Not Responding—the VMM server is unable to communicate with the agent.

· Access Denied—the agent is no longer associated with the VMM server.

Agent version status

· Current—the version of the agent is up to date.

· Needs update—the version of the agent must be upgraded to match the version of VMM server.

· Unsupported—the version of the agent is not supported for any VMM functions.

Virtual Server service status

· Running—the Virtual Server service is started.

· Stopped—the Virtual Server service is stopped.

Virtual Server version status

· Current—the version of Virtual Server is up to date.

· Needs update—the version of Virtual Server needs to be upgraded.

· Unsupported—the version of Virtual Server is not supported for any VMM functions.

To view the status values of a host

1. In Hosts view, navigate to the host group that contains the host, and then, in the results pane, double-click the host.

2. In the Host Properties dialog box, click the Status tab.

Technorati Tags: microsoft,scvmm,hyper-v,virtual,virtualization,windows