Taylor Brown's Blog : News

Hyper-V VMMS Certificate Expiration Problem and Resolution

taylorb — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:30:45 GMT

In the coming days/weeks some of you may see some new errors from Hyper-V. The first is an error when you try and use VMConnect or SCVMM to connect to a running virtual machine – the error is “Cannot connect to the virtual machine because the authentication certificate is expired or invalid. Would you like to try connecting again?”. The second is an error when trying to start or resume saved virtual machine – the error is “'VMName' failed to initialize. Could not initialize machine remoting system. Error: ‘Unspecified error’ (0x80004005). Could not find a usable certificate. Error: ‘Unspecified error’ (0x80004005).”

This issue is fully described in KB967902 as well as a link to the HotFix. Bryon Surace also posted this on the Windows Server Blog.

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Red Hat Support Coming To Hyper-V

taylorb — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 22:43:34 GMT

Last night Mike Neil posted to the Virtualization Team Blog regarding a new agreement between Microsoft and Red Hat to bring Red Hat guest support to Hyper-V. Take a look at Mike’s full blog post Microsoft and Red Hat Cooperative Technical Support and/or the Red Hat press release Red Hat Moves to Expand Server Virtualization Interoperability. Happy day to all..

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta Released

taylorb — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 01:53:00 GMT

The Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta has been posted on the download center along with an overview document and a setup and configuration guide. Please note that all features, support, configuration etc… is subject to change as this is a beta

Download Links

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta Download
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta Overview
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta Setup and Configuration Guide

New Features In R2

Failover Clustering: The initial release of Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 did not include support for failover clustering. However, with Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta, host clustering technology is included to enable support for unplanned downtime.

Live migration: Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 includes support for live migration. Live migration enables customers to move running applications between servers without service interruptions.

Processor and memory support: Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta now supports up to 8-socket physical systems and provides support for up to 32-cores. In addition, Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta supports up to 1TB of RAM on a physical system.

Updated Hyper-V Configuration Utility: The Hyper-V Configuration utility is designed to simplify the most common initial configuration tasks. It helps you configure the initial configuration settings without having to type long command-line strings. New configuration options have been added for R2 Beta including:
-Remote Management Configuration
-Failover Clustering Configuration
-Additional options for Updates

Virtualization Platform Comparison

The following is an overview comparison of the feature and support set for:
-Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008
-Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta
-Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta (Enterprise and Datacenter Editions)

Capabilities	Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008	Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2	Windows Server 2008 R2 EE, DC
Processor Architecture x64 only	Yes	Yes	Yes
Hypervisor-based	Yes	Yes	Yes
Product Type	Standalone product	Standalone product	Operating System
Number of Sockets (Licensing)	Up to 4	Up to 8	Up to 8 = EE \| Up to 64 = DC
Number of cores supported by the hypervisor	24 (with QFE)	32	32
Memory	Up to 32 GB	Up to 1 TB	Up to 1TB
VM Migration	None	Quick and live migration	Quick and live migration (EE & DC)
Administrative UI	Command line, text based configuration utility and remote GUI management	Command line, text based configuration utility and remote GUI management	Command line, remote management, and local GUI (Hyper-V Manager MMC)
Management	Existing management tools
Virtualization Rights for Windows Server guests	0	0	EE = 4 VM DC Edition = unlimited VM per proc
Number of running VM Guests	Up to 192, or as many as physical resources allow	Up to 256, or as many as physical resources allow	Up to 256, or as many as physical resources allow
Storage	Direct Attach Storage (DAS): SATA, eSATA, PATA, SAS, SCSI, Firewire, Storage Area Networks (SANs): iSCSI, Fiber Channel, SAS
Planned Guest OS support	Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 SP2, Windows 2000 Server, Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10, Windows 7, Windows Vista SP1 & Windows XP SP3/SP2

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta… Ohh and Windows 7 too…

taylorb — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 22:58:08 GMT

Unless you’ve been under a rock all day you know that Windows 7 Beta was announced and released last night – along with Windows 7 Beta we also announced and released Server 2008 R2 (formally known as Windows 7 Server). If you have an MSDN subscription you can download the new hotness right now – just go to the subscriber downloads section. Apparently the build will be available to everyone as early as tomorrow – however I haven’t heard for sure yet…

New Hyper-V features include (not limited to): Live Migration, Improved Power Management (Core Parking/Timer Coalescing), Hot-Add/Remove of SCSI Disks, Native VHD Integration (Diskmgr/Diskpart can create/mount VHDs), Jumbo Frame Support, Performance Improvements, Deducted Guest External Networks, 32 Core Support and there are more that I am forgetting I am sure… I should say this is beta – these features are subject to change. Over the next month of so I as well as many others around the team will be posting information about new features and how they are used so look forward to that… For now I am just happy that you all get to play with Windows 7 (which btw ROCKs – I love it) and Server 2008 R2 w/Hyper-V…

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

VHD Servicing Tool 2.0

taylorb — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:00:00 GMT

About a month ago I posted about the VHD Servicing tool (Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool). Version 2.0 of that tool was made available on December 5th – among other things this version adds support for Hyper-V (a definite plus).

Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 2.0

Brief Description

This Solution Accelerator provides automated tools and guidance that IT professionals can use to update offline virtual machines efficiently and without exposing them to security risks.

Overview

The Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool 2.0 helps organizations maintain virtual machines that are stored offline in a Microsoft® System Center Virtual Machine Manager library. While stored, virtual machines do not receive operating system updates. The tool provides a way to keep offline virtual machines up-to-date so that bringing a virtual machine online does not introduce vulnerabilities into the organization’s IT infrastructure.
The Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool combines the Windows Workflow programming model with the Windows PowerShell™ interface to bring groups of virtual machines online just long enough for them to receive updates from either System Center Configuration Manager 2007 or Windows Server Update Services. As soon as the virtual machines are up-to-date, the tool returns them to the offline state in the Virtual Machine Manager library.
This Solution Accelerator includes the following components:

Brief Overview. Available online only on Microsoft TechNet. Summary for business and technical managers that briefly explains how this Solution Accelerator can fit into an organization’s IT infrastructure management strategy.
OfflineVMServicing_x64 and OfflineVMServicing_x86. Setup files for the tool, for 64 bit and 32 bit versions on Microsoft® System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2007 or 2008.
Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool Getting Started Guide. Provides information about how the tool works, explains prerequisites for the tool, and describes how to install and configure the tool.
Offline_VM_Servicing_Tool_2.0_Release_Notes.rtf. Notes provide information about this release, describe known issues in the tool, and include feedback instructions.
Offline_Virtual_Machine_Servicing_Tool_Help. Help file for the tool. Provides instructions for using the tool.

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta Reviewers Guide Posted

taylorb — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 08:08:36 GMT

The Windows Server 2008 R2 (Beta) Reviewers Guide has been posted, 74 pages of riveting marketing stuff about Windows Server 2008 R2 – they actually do a pretty good job talking about a new clustering feature specifically for Hyper-V named Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV). CSV allows multiple cluster nodes to utilize the same LUN at the same time allowing multiple virtual machines to co-exist on the same physical LUN while the virtual machines are running on different nodes. CSV is only going to be supported for Hyper-V environments and will be highly recommended to enable Live Migration…

There are many more features in Server 2008 R2 specific to virtualization – I will continue to provide details around those features as well as links to resources.

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 RTM’ed Today!

taylorb — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 19:00:00 GMT

A big pat on the back for our friends in the System Center Virtual Machine Manager team – they have released SCVMM 2008. This release supports Hyper-V, Virtual Server and VMware! You can download the evaluation of SCVMM at http://www.microsoft.com/systemcenter/virtualmachinemanager/en/us/default.aspx. And you can read more about the RTM at System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 RTMs and what I’m hearing from customers and partners.

Happy day to all and Happy Virtualizing!

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Microsoft Hyper-V Server Available Now – For FREE!

taylorb — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 03:11:39 GMT

You can now download Microsoft Hyper-V Server for free from Microsoft Download center. It’s pretty cool take a look (after all it’s free).

Download Links:

English | Chinese Traditional (ZH-TW) | All Other Languages

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Hyper-V Update For System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) Managed Servers

taylorb — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:00:00 GMT

If you are using System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) to manage your Hyper-V hosts you should download and install KB956589 on your Hyper-V hosts. This update resolves several issues to improve reliability when using SCVMM to manage you Hyper-V hosts.

Link To The Update: Hyper-V Update for Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition (KB956589)

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Hyper-V QFE Released For VSS Enabled Backup Issue

taylorb — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 02:07:15 GMT

If you use Windows Server Backup or any other VSS aware backup utility you should make sure and pick up KB956697 – Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V VSS writer is not used during a backup job because of corrupted or invalid virtual machine configuration files. next time we should go for a shorter title…

The basic issue is that if you have a single invalid or corrupted configuration file none of the virtual machines will be backed up properly on that server. I have also seen this get triggered by anti-virus or other utilities so the long and short is if you backup your servers you should make sure you have this update.

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Free Hyper-V + Live Migration + SCVMM

taylorb — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 21:26:00 GMT

Yesterday was the official launch for Hyper-V. I was able to attend a good chunk of the day and there was a lot of excitement around Hyper-V and more about the direction and the future of Virtualization.

If you missed the event a lot of the content including the key note session from Bob Muglia showing off Live Migration (part of the code name Server 2008 R2 release) can be seen at Get Virtual Now. I will say that I have tested and used Live Migration and it really does work as well as the demo showed, so it’s not just a flash demo it real and it’s coming.

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Happy Virtualization Launch Day!

taylorb — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:00:00 GMT

Today is the launch for Microsoft Virtualization including Hyper-V. I will be attending parts of the launch event (unfortunately I have a few other commitments in Redmond so I can’t stay for the whole event). I will post any major news at it occurs though out the day. See http://www.getvirtualnow.com for more information on the launch!

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

New Virtualization Feed

taylorb — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:15:49 GMT

The Microsoft marketing team has setup a Virtualization blog RSS aggregator at http://www.virtualizationfeed.com… They are syndicating the first part of every post related to Virtualization, Hyper-V, SCVMM etc… from ‘the most knowledgeable bloggers on the topic of virualization’ (obviously they where confused when they added me…) Anyway check it out and then you can link back to this article and then from here back to there and pretty soon it will be Friday!

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Hyper-V Planning and Deployment Guide (Version 1)

taylorb — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 20:23:28 GMT

I am happy to announce that the Hyper-V Planning and Deployment Guide went live at the end of last week. This is the first version of this document, I am told that additional sections will be added as they are completed and reviewed.

Hyper-V Planning and Deployment Guide

Abstract
This guide describes the considerations you should take into account when planning to deploy the Hyper-V™ technology, and provides installation and configuration details that will help you deploy Hyper-V.

About this guide
The Hyper-V Planning and Deployment Guide is intended to help you understand the considerations you should take into account when planning to deploy Hyper-V™, and to provide installation and configuration details that will help you deploy Hyper-V.

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb

Hyper-V RTM On Windows Update!

taylorb — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 21:44:59 GMT

On June 26th Hyper-V RTM (KB950050) was released to the Microsoft Download Center. As of this morning the same content is now on Windows Update as a recommended update to all Windows Server 2008 machines – yeah!

Taylor Brown
Hyper-V Integration Test Lead
http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb