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Hyper-V How To: Make Hyper-V Install on Core Easier with HVCONFIG

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 is out. Read about Hyper-V Server here: http://www.microsoft.com/servers/hyper-v-server/default.mspx.

One of the differences between Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 core, and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 is that Hyper-V Server comes with a set of scripts that make setup easier from the command line. These scripts are collectively called HVCONFIG and makes the setup experience look like this:

as opposed to this:

which some people find easier for that first POC/I-want-to-kick-the-tires install. Most enterprises will use automated installs, but still, for getting to know this FREE (as in beer) new virtualization product, HVCONFIG is helpful.

There is no supported way to take the scripts from the free download of Microsoft Hyper-V Server, and use it on a server core installation of Windows Server 2008 to install and configure Hyper-V, but I have heard it works just fine. Of course, if your purpose is to test/proof-of-concept - why wouldn't you use the Microsoft Hyper-V Sever instead of server core? I did mention it is FREE-as-in-beer, right? And there is no activation step in setup - not required - because Microsoft Hyper-V Server is FREE:-)

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 Configuration Guide will provide you with all the information you need to setup and configure Hyper-V Server 2008. It covers setup up local administrator passwords, the new Hyper-V configuration tool (HVCONFIG) and remote management: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=E1E111C9-FA69-4B4D-8963-1DD87804C04F

To learn more about the FREE Microsoft Hyper-V Server take a look at the Edge video: First Look: Hyper-V Server.

Because it is Friday

How my neighborhood (Beacon Hill) sees itself:

Get Free E-mail For Your Student

The Microsoft Live@edu program provides institutions of higher education and K-12 with a set of free hosted and co-branded collaboration and communication services for students, alumni, and applicants. You can get free e-mail for your student, all her teachers, and all the other students (and parents), check out http://my.liveatedu.com. With this free offering you also get collaboration tools including calendars,
mobile alerts, document sharing, blogs, instant messaging, video chat, mobile access, and address books.

1. 5GB Hotmail – email for life

2. 10GB Microsoft Exchange Inbox - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_661klW5vm8

3. 5GB SkyDrive

4. Office Live Workspace

To get a look see:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKZwnr43ZDo

http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=f496cf5a-7029-43e3-a036-a06aea4d7ce9
http://video.msn.com/video.aspx?vid=c15699d1-f787-4ab7-bac7-53ba965c803d

To get started contact your Microsoft account manager, e-mail ed-desk@microsoft.com,or go to http://get.live.com/edu.

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Hyper-V How To: Check Free Disk Space

VHD proliferation or other disk-bloat make it necessary for you to move something? Need to check free disk space on the remote server before you move? Here's a couple of ways to do it.

The WMI Command-line (WMIC) tool provides a simple command-line interface to WMI. This allows you to use WMI to manage computers running Microsoft Windows. You can use WMIC from any computer running Windows XP Professional or an operating system in the Windows Server 2003 family to remotely manage any computer with WMI installed. WMIC does not have to be available on the remotely managed computer for WMIC to manage it. You can use it to get device data like this:

WMIC /Node:<SERVERNAME> LogicalDisk Where DriveType="3" Get DeviceID,FreeSpace,Size /format:list > %SystemDrive%\DiskInfo.txt

There is a Vista gadget available at: http://prestonhunt.com/story/107 

You can download a free VBscript from the Script Center:

VB: List Free Disk Space Information for a Set of Computers

VB: List Available Disk Space

VB: Log Disk Information to an Excel Spreadsheet

VB: Show Disk Usage for All Hard Disks

VB: Write Disk Space Information to a Text File

You can ask someone on the scripting forum.

Or you can use Srvinfo.exe: Remote Server Information - available in the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools, will give you something like this:

C:\>srvinfo \\servername

The command line

(for /f %1 in (names.txt) do srvinfo \\ %1) >> serverinfo.txt

does a srvinfo.exe on all the server names in a file called names.txt then dumps the output to another text file called serverinfo.txt

Word 2007 Redaction Tool

Writers rejoice,  Word 2007 version of the Word 2003 Redaction Add In has been posted. Read all about it

http://blogs.msdn.com/microsoft_office_word/archive/2008/09/22/a-word-2007-redaction-tool.aspx

Hyper-V How To: Harden Your VM Security

You should follow the best practice recommendations in the Windows Server 2008 Security Guide,for hardening your W2K8 VMs. The GPO Accelerator can make this easier. The GPOAccelerator creates all the Group Policy objects (GPOs) that you need to deploy recommended security settings for your environment to save you hours of work that you would otherwise need to configure these settings.

BTW, the guide was published before Hyper-V RTM. When the Security Guide is updated, a new worksheet in the Attack Surface Reference Workbook will be added that lists the attack surfaces for Hyper-V. Until then, you can find the same information in the Hyper-V Attack Surface Reference Workbook, available for download today at http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/2/9/829bee7b-821b-4c4c-8297-13762aa5c3e4/Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Attack Surface Reference.xlsx. Copy=-paste into your Attack Surface Reference Workbook from the Security Guide and you are good to go.

Others who downloaded GPOAccelerator also downloaded:

1. Windows Server 2008 Security Guide
2. Windows Server 2008 Step-by-Step Guides
3. Security Compliance Management toolkit
4. Group Policy Inventory (GPInventory.exe)
5. Windows XP Security Guide

Hyper-V Increases Logical Processor Support to 24.

Install Windows Server 2008  Update for Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition (KB956710) enhance Hyper-V role's support for processors and virtual machines to now support up to 24 logical processors and 192 virtual machines. Read more at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/956710.

Note:

To start a Windows Server 2008 x86-based virtual machine on a computer that uses a 6-core processor, you also have to install hotfix 950182.
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

950182 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/950182/) A computer that is running an x86-based version of Windows Server 2008 or an x86-based version of Windows Vista may use fewer processors than expected if the number of cores on a socket is not a power of 2

Hyper-V How To: Configure VHD for Performance

Tim Litton's blog post shares recent testing of Hyper-V and how disk workloads perform when using Fixed or Dynamic VHDs.

His graph shows perf across several scenarios (with Dynamic VHD being the baseline).

Fixed VHD always performs better than a Dynamic VHD in most scenarios by roughly 10% to 15% with the exception of 4k writes, where Fixed VHD performs significantly better.

Captain Obvious: IMAPC

In case you didn’t know by now:

See what the buzz is about: http://imapc.lifewithoutwalls.com/

Hyper-V Attack Surface Reference

The Windows Server 2008 Security Guide includes a spreadsheet you can download that lists all the attack surfaces for Windows Server 2008. This guide was initially published before Hyper-V role RTM. When the Security Guide is updated, a new worksheet in the Attack Surface Reference Workbook will be added that lists the attack surfaces for Hyper-V. Until then, you can find the same information in the Hyper-V Attack Surface Reference Workbook, available for download today at http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/2/9/829bee7b-821b-4c4c-8297-13762aa5c3e4/Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Attack Surface Reference.xlsx.

GTD: Microsoft Office Outlook Connector 12.1 Beta 2

Wouldn’t it be great if you could put up your personal/family/interest group (non-work) calendar next to your work Outlook calendar to plan your time?

With Microsoft Office Outlook Connector, you can use Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 or Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 to access and manage your Microsoft Windows Live Hotmail or Microsoft Office Live Mail accounts, including e-mail messages, contacts and calendars for free!

The Beta 2 is looking good. Give it a try today and lower your overall stress.

Hyper-V How To: Migrate VMs to Hyper-V

Matthijs' blog blog post describes the VMC2HV tool you can use to only import your Virtual Server and Virtual PC VM configurations.  You can adjust almost any setting before creating the VM in Hyper-V.

If you are an enterprise user, and want to import many VMs, and manage them after, you will want SCVMM. 

Migrating to Hyper-V from Virtual Server or Virtual PC - Tips and Suggestions

Hyper-V How To: Learn About Hyper-V

Virtualization TechCenter: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/virtualization/default.aspx

Hyper-V Planning and Deployment Guide: http://download.microsoft.com/download/8/1/5/81556693-1f05-494a-8d45-cdeeb6d735e0/HyperV_Deploy.doc

Hyper-V Forum: http://forums.technet.microsoft.com/winserverhyperv/threads/

Virtualization Solution Accelerators: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/solutionaccelerators/cc197910.aspx

Windows Server 2008 Virtualization &  Consolidation: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/virtualization-consolidation.aspx

Hyper-V FAQ: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/hyperv-faq.aspx

Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Performance Tuning Guide: http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/system/sysperf/Perf_tun_srv.mspx

MSDN & TechNet Powered by Hyper-V: http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/archive/2008/05/20/msdn-and-technet-powered-by-hyper-v.aspx

MSDN & TechNet Powered by Hyper-V Wastepaper: http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/C/5/6C559B56-8556-4097-8C81-2D4E762CD48E/MSCOM_Virtualizes_MSDN_TechNet_on_Hyper-V.docx

Optimized Desktop Infrastructure (VDI and much more): http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/enterprise/default.mspx

Microsoft Virtualization Home Page: http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/default.mspx

Virtualization Case Studies: http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/case-studies.mspx

Microsoft IT Insight Workshop on Virtualization. http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb687787.aspx#virt

Microsoft Integrated Virtualization ROI Tool: https://roianalyst.alinean.com/microsoft/virtualization/

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit Solution Accelerator: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb977556.aspx

Articles:

Virtualization: An Introduction to Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc895595.aspx
The introduction of Hyper-V makes virtualization an even more compelling solution for IT environments. Get an overview of today’s virtualization market and see how Hyper-V improves the manageability, reliability, and security of virtualization by Rajiv Arunkundram

Virtualization: Manage Your Virtual Environments with VMM 2008: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc836456.aspx
System Center Virtual Machine Manager provides a consolidated interface for managing your virtual infrastructure. The latest version adds support for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, as well as for VMware virtual machines. Explore the new features and get an overview of using VMM to centralize your management tasks by Edwin Yuen

Virtualization: Getting Started with Microsoft Application Virtualization: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc904189.aspx
Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) allows you to deliver virtualized desktops to client systems throughout your organization. This simplifies system management and liberates employees from their desktops. Take a close look at how App-V works and discover how you can deploy it in your organization by Anthony Kinney

Virtualization: Achieving High Availability for Hyper-V : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc837977.aspx
Consolidating servers onto fewer physical machines has many advantages, but it is extremely important that you plan for your systems to be highly available. Here’s a guide to using Windows Server 2008 Failover Clustering to bring high availability to your Hyper-V virtual machines by Steven Ekren

Virtualization: Backup and Disaster Recovery for Server Virtualization : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc895627.aspx
Virtualization brings significant changes to disaster recovery. Here’s an introduction to how the Microsoft virtualization platform factors into your disaster recovery plan, as well as a deeper look into backup and restore options and considerations for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V by Adam Fazio

Virtualization: Essential Tools for Planning Your Virtual Infrastructure : http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/magazine/cc895647.aspx
Is your infrastructure ready for virtualization? The Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit, a network-wide infrastructure assessment tool, can help you better understand your IT infrastructure and determine whether your systems are ready for upgrade or migration to a variety of technologies, including virtualization by Jay Sauls and Baldwin Ng

Blogs:
http://blogs.technet.com/virtualization/default.aspx

http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/

http://blogs.technet.com/jhoward/

http://blogs.technet.com/roblarson/

http://blogs.technet.com/virtualworld/

http://blogs.technet.com/windowsserver/

http://blogs.technet.com/mapblog/

http://blogs.technet.com/stbnewsbytes/

Feeds:

Virtualization feed: http://virtualizationfeed.com/
Every mention of Hyper-V on TechNet blogs: http://blogs.technet.com/search/Searchrss.aspx?q=Hyper-V&o=Relevance#
RSS feed of Virtualization Support Issues: http://services.community.microsoft.com/feeds/feed/VirtualizationSupportFeed#
A feed of everything that gets posted on community content in the Hyper-V library: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/community-edits.rss?topic=cc753637|en-us|10

Webcasts and videos:

Virtual Machine Manager 2008: http://edge.technet.com/Media/Virtualization-Launch/
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 :http://edge.technet.com/Media/First-Look-Hyper-V-Server/

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Live Migration : http://edge.technet.com/Media/Demo-Hyper-V-Server-and-Live-Migration/

http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032368894&CountryCode=US
http://msevents.microsoft.com/CUI/WebCastEventDetails.aspx?culture=en-US&EventID=1032372420&CountryCode=US

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Interview-with-Windows-Server-2008-Virtualization-program-managers/

http://edge.technet.com/Media/How-MSIT-does-server-Virtualization-and-Hyper-V-Part-2/

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Hyper-V-Part-3-TAP-and-VSS-Snapshots-Interview-with-PMs/

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Hyper-V-how-it-works-Interview-with-PMs-Part-4/

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Hyper-V-Part-5-High-Availability-Interview-with-PMs/

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Windows-Server-2008-Virtualization-PM-Bryon-Surace-in-the-Fish-Bowl/

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Jeff-Woolsey-on-Hyper-V-RC/

http://edge.technet.com/Media/SQL-2008-Virtualization-and-Consolidation-with-Charley-Hanania/

http://edge.technet.com/Media/Using-Powershell-to-managed-Hyper-V/

Podcasts:

Virtualization Security Best Practices: http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/c/b/5cb1943c-751d-4fd4-a897-38926e90a86f/BrandonBakerHyperVSecurity2Podcast.wma

How Microsoft IT Uses Virtualization:

http://download.microsoft.com/download/0/c/5/0c5d7ca4-35d2-45ae-ac47-f83b6d774fa0/DavidLefPodcast.wma

http://edge.technet.com/Media/TechNet-Radio-Hyper-V/

GetVirtualNow Announcements: http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/8/0/38001862-0367-4986-b94b-032af340e7b1/MikeNeilPodcastGetVirtualNow.wma

Hyper-V How To: Get Linux ICs

Mike Sterling's blog post: http://blogs.msdn.com/mikester/archive/2008/09/10/linux-integration-components-now-posted.aspx announces that the integration services for Linux (IC) are now available for download from the Connect site. Look for the Linux Integration Components for Hyper-V program. (https://connect.microsoft.com).

New IPD for App-V

The Infrastructure Planning and Design guides has a new entry: Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) version 4.5. Download the entire IPD series or download the individual guide.

If you like IPD you may also like:

1. Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit Solution Accelerator
2. Active Directory All Chapters Download
3. Windows Command Reference
4. DNS Step-by-Step Guide
5. Hyper-V Planning and Deployment Guide