Jonathan's Virtual Blog : Troubleshooting

Updated System Center Virtual Machine Manager Configuration Analyzer (VMMCA)

Jonathan — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 23:11:00 GMT

Description

The VMMCA is a diagnostic tool you can use to evaluate important configuration settings for computers that either are serving or might serve VMM roles or other VMM functions. The VMMCA scans the hardware and software configurations of the computers you specify, evaluates them against a set of predefined rules, and then provides you with error messages and warnings for any configurations that are not optimal for the VMM role or other VMM function that you have specified for the computer.

Requirements

You must install and run the VMMCA on the computer that either currently is or will become your VMM 2008 server. To review the system requirements for the VMM 2008 server, go to http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=133516.

Prerequisite: Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer (MBCA)

Note: The system requirements for the MBCA indicate that only Windows Server 2003 is supported. However, the VMMCA and the MBCA have been tested and are supported on Windows Server 2008 64-bit.

Where to get it

1) Download pre-req: Microsoft Baseline Configuration Analyzer (MBCA)
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=97952

2) Download VMMCA
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=02d83950-c03d-454e-803b-96d1c1d5be24&displaylang=en

Common Usage Scenarios

The list of scenarios are not comprehensive, but will provide you with some common usage scenarios to provide you with an understanding of when to use VMMCA 2008.

Scenario 1 – I have a Windows Host that is in a not responding state. Use VMMCA 2008 to check the host for commonly known issues.

Scenario 2 – A Windows host shows a status of “Needs Attention”. Use VMMCA 2008 to check the this host for commonly known issues.

Scenario 3 – I am using SCVMM 2008 to manage a VMware environment, but I am unable to create new virtual machines on the VMware environment. Use VMMCA 2008 to evaluate the Virtual Center environment for commonly known issues.

Scenario 4 – I am using the integration between SCVMM 2008 and Operations Manager, but I am unable to see a particular VM or Host in the integrated mapping view. Use VMMCA 2008 to check the host or virtual machine for an operations manager agent.

Scenario 5 – I am using SCVMM 2008 to do P2V conversions and the job is failing. Use VMMCA 2008 to check the P2V source for commonly known issues.

Scenario 6 - I tried to create a Virtual Machine and it failed during customization and installation of virtual guest services. Use VMMCA 2008 on the Windows Host to find commonly known issues.

…

Updated SCVMM 2008 and 2008 R2 MPS Reports

Jonathan — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 22:39:00 GMT

Overview

The SCVMM 2008 and 2008 R2 Microsoft Product Support Reports helps Support Professionals, IT Pros and System Administrators gathering critical system and logging information used in troubleshooting support issues. Built upon the success of earlier versions of SCVMM MPS Reports, this new release adds compatibility for SCVMM 2008 R2 and Windows 2008 R2 OS platform.

Where to get it

SCVMM 2008 and 2008 R2 MPS Reports are available at the Download Center URL link here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4e3dc013-c299-4b80-9735-64a8b9fa60c7

Data Collected

The Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) version of the MPS Reporting Tool gathers the following diagnostic data for the VMM server, the virtual machine hosts and library servers that the VMM server manages, and physical to virtual conversion (P2V) source computers:

Virtual Machine Manager traces
Virtual Machine Manager database
Windows event logs and virtual server event logs
IP address
Virtual Machine Manager setup logs
SQL Server setup logs
Registry information
Open ports information
System Information (msinfo)

Basic Instructions

INSTALLING THE MPS REPORTING TOOL
=================================
>>>To install the MPS Reporting Tool

Download the file MPSRPT_SCVMM.exe.
Copy the file to the computer on which you want to diagnose problems.
Open an elevated Command Prompt window with administrative privileges, and then run MPSRPT_SCVMM.exe., or right-click MPSRPT_SCVMM.exe, and then click "Run as Administrator".
Accept the End-User License Agreement (EULA).

By default, the MPS Reporting Tool is installed in the %SystemRoot%\MPSReports\VirtualMachineManager folder.

…

SCVMM 2008 R2 Communication Issues

Jonathan — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 19:54:00 GMT

I’ve seen a number of customers run into networking and general communication issues following a move to Windows 2008 R2. And to manage Windows 2008 R2 you must be running SCVMM 2008 R2. Both require checking for updates.

Windows 2008 R2 – Make sure the network card drivers are up to date… all of them. If the server vendor does not have drivers updated for Windows 2008 (or R2), check the site of the actual NIC manufacturer as most built-in NICs are simply rebranded. This will solve a majority of your networking issues off the bat. Make sure you update the drivers on the VMM Server as well as the Hosts.

SCVMM 2008 R2 – Did you upgrade from SCVMM 2008 to SCVMM 2008 R2? If so, you should check each Host in the SCVMM Admin Console to determine if the agents have been updated. If not, update them now by right clicking on them and selecting ‘Update Agent.’

If you have performed the actions detailed above and are still experiencing communication issues with Hosts you can uninstall the ‘Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager Agent’ manually on the Hosts from ‘Control Panel> Programs and Features.’ After this, go back to the SCVMM Admin Console, remove the Host by right clicking on it and selecting ‘Remove Host.’ Once removed, add it back with the Admin Console by selecting ‘Add Host’ under Actions on the right side of the console. This will clear up any agent update issues.

This covers two of the most common issues seen lately. If still experiencing issues check some of the other posts on this site that address other possible reasons. Good luck, and enjoy the new product!

Free Evaluation Download!

System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 – Evaluation http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=292de23c-845c-4d08-8d65-b4b8cbc8397b&displaylang=en

…

‘Unsupported Cluster Configuration’ - Virtual Networks

Jonathan — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:23:00 GMT

There are a number of reasons a Virtual Machine (VM) can fall into a status of ‘Unsupported Cluster Configuration.’ A brief list, pulled from TechNet, shows that storage, networking, and other factors can cause this status. (Source: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc967323.aspx)

The virtual machine is on a LUN that contains more than one virtual machine.
The virtual machine is using non-clustered storage.
One or more virtual network adapters on the virtual machine are not connected to a highly available virtual network.
An ISO image is attached to highly available virtual machines.
A VMware HAVM is connected to a port group that does not exist on all nodes of the host cluster.

This article deals with the third bullet, which effectively means, ‘settings are not identical on all virtual network (VN) adapters.’ Here are the TechNet instructions. Next we’ll discuss checking these automatically.

For a virtual network to be considered common by VMM and available to highly available virtual machines on a host cluster, each virtual network in the host cluster must meet the following requirements:

The virtual network name must be identical on each host in the cluster. Virtual network names are case-sensitive, so the cases of all characters must match.

The host network adapters to which the virtual network is attached on each host in the cluster must have the same location.

The virtual network must have the same tag on each host in the cluster.

After you update the virtual network configurations on all nodes, refresh the cluster to ensure that each virtual network is detected as common. Then check the Networks tab in the host cluster properties to verify that the networks have been added to it.

So, check the Network Name, Location and Tag for inconsistencies. Once you have done this for all VNs on each Host in the Host Cluster, corrected any inconsistencies and refreshed the Host Cluster, the VMs will change back to a healthy status. Verifying all of this can take some time, and is prone to human error as these settings are case sensitive and take into account spaces. Instead, why not run a PowerShell script that will report all settings for you? (Scroll to the bottom to download the script).

Here are the three settings that must be consistent on all nodes.

Here’s the PowerShell script we’re going to use.

The script is saved as ‘VMNicInfo.ps1’ in the VMM Library. This way, it can be run from within the Admin console. I’ve created a folder named ‘Scripts’ to place it in. Refresh the library to see it.

Now we run the script by right clicking on it and answering a few prompts. Enter ‘r’ to run the script if prompted. Next, enter the name of your Host Cluster and press Enter. (This script must be run from an Admin console running on the VMM Server. To run it from the Admin console on a different system change ‘localhost’ to the name of your VMM Server and surround it with quotes.)

You see in the image above that the Name and Location are the same. There is no entry for Tag on either VN, so they match as well. In the example below we add a value to Tag on one of the systems.

Now we run the script again and see that the output reflects this change. (If this does not work for you make sure you have refreshed the Host Cluster, in the red box). You will also notice that the VMs running on the Host Cluster change to a state of ‘Unsupported Cluster Configuration.’

Change the Tag back to its previous value (nothing in my case) and perform another refresh to see your VMs change back to a healthy state.

That’s it. I hope this clears up any questions or misconceptions you may have had. Below is the script. Be sure to copy this to Notepad as it will remove all formatting characters. Or, download the script here, then run from a VMM PowerShell prompt.

#####################################################################

function DisplayNicInfo($VMHostName)

{

$yy= get-VirtualNetwork -VMHost $VMHostName;

$yy | ForEach-object {write-host " Name " $_.Name;

write-host " Locations " $_.Locations;

write-host " Tag " $_.Tag;

}

#####################################################################

$clusname = read-host "Host Cluster name to check"

Write-Host ""

$VMMServer = get-vmmserver -computername localhost

$Cluster = get-vmhostcluster -name $clusname

$VMHosts = get-vmhost -vmhostcluster $Cluster

$VMHosts | ForEach-object {Write-Host "VMHost: " $_.Name;

DisplayNicInfo($_.Name);

Write-Host ""}

Big thanks to Austin, who reworked the script into a thing of beauty. Go Perf! (http://blogs.technet.com/askperf)

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!

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

Resolve Communication Issues in SCVMM - Part 1

Jonathan — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 22:51:00 GMT

Disable Task Offloading and Update WMI

Communications issues with SCVMM can take on the form of access denied, timeouts, and often as intermittent connectivity issues. The steps in this post are the same ones I use to resolve a good number of customer issues.

Feedback on this article is welcome. If you have technical questions please post them appropriately in the forums:

http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/category/virtualmachinemanager/

Two types of issues are addressed here

1) Many new settings available to NIC drivers that do not always function as well as would be expected.

2) SCVMM relies heavily on WMI. The updates listed in this article resolve issues with WMI that will allow SCVMM to function properly.

This MDSN article lists all values available.

Using Registry Values to Enable and Disable Task Offloading
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa938424.aspx

WMI

Install three WMI updates on all Windows 2008 server running Hyper-V (and therefore are SCVMM Hosts)

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

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;958124

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

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;954563

955805 Certain applications become very slow on a Windows Server 2008-based or Windows Vista SP1-based computer when a certificate with SIA extension is installed

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;955805

Network Settings

NOTE

- If working with a core server you may want to connect via remote registry and make these changes.
- All values should be set to '0' EXCEPT for the last one which is related to IPSEC, and thus Kerberos. Leave this one alone ---> 'HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\Ipsec\EnabledOffload'

1 - Locate all physical NICs in the registry under:
'HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}'

2 - There will be folders with four digits, starting with '0000'. Locate the ones that show the physical NIC names on the right. Look for the 'DriverDesc' value on the right; this should have the name of a NIC such as 'HP NC360T PCIe Gigabit Server Adapter.' For each of these, make the changes below.

3 - Disable All Vendor specific Offloading
Set values for any entries below that include the word 'Offload' to '0' (Disabled)
*FlowControl

No description available

*IPChecksumOffloadIPv4
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of IPv4
checksums.
*TCPChecksumOffloadIPv4
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of TCP Checksum
over IPv4 packets.
*TCPChecksumOffloadIPv6
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of TCP checksum
over IPv6 packets.
*UDPChecksumOffloadIPv4
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of UDP Checksum
over IPv4 packets.
*UDPChecksumOffloadIPv6
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of UDP Checksum
over IPv6 packets.
*LsoV1IPv4
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the segmentation of large TCP
packets over IPv4 for large send offload version 1 (LSOv1).
*LsoV2IPv4
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the segmentation of large TCP
packets over IPv4 for large send offload version 2 (LSOv2).
*LsoV2IPv6
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the segmentation of large TCP
packets over IPv6 for large send offload version 2 (LSOv2).
*IPsecOffloadV1IPv4
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of IPsec headers
over IPv4.
*IPsecOffloadV2
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled IPsec offload version 2
(IPsecOV2). IPsecOV2 provides support for additional crypto-algorithms, IPv6, and
co-existence with large send offload version 2 (LSOv2).
*IPsecOffloadV2IPv4
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled IPsecOV2 for IPv4 only.
*RSS
     Receive side scaling
*TCPUDPChecksumOffloadIPv4
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of TCP or UDP
checksum over IPv4.
*TCPUDPChecksumOffloadIPv6
     Describes whether the device enabled or disabled the calculation of TCP or UDP
checksum over IPv6.

4 - Disable Offloading in Windows.
Use the following registry values to enable or disable task offloading for the TCP/IP protocol:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\TCPIP\Parameters\DisableTaskOffload

Setting this DWORD value to ‘1’ disables all of the task offloads from the TCP/IP transport. Setting this value to zero enables all of the task offloads.

Related Links
Network Issues with Windows Server 2008 RDP and VS/Hyper-V on Dell Servers
http://www.petri.co.il/network-issues-with-windows-server-2008-rdp-on-dell-servers.htm

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

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

Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions - eBook download (did I mention FREE?)

Jonathan — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 22:54:00 GMT

I found this link on ‘Keith Combs' Blahg.’ Written by Mitch Tulloch with the Microsoft Virtualization team, this is THE reference for all things virtual: Hyper-V, SCVMM, App-V, Med-V, and USMT. Download and read today!

http://blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/archive/2008/12/19/thanks-for-attending-the-usa-virtualization-tour-ebook-download.aspx

Direct download link:

https://www.getvirtualnow.com/usevents/education/download/693371eBook.pdf

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