Doing IT Virtual

Dell Precision M6400 Quad-Core Mobile Workstation – A Hyper-V Platform

janiquec — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:22:02 GMT

I’ve been waiting for a nice high-end quad-core laptop that can be used as a serious test machine for my Hyper-V work. Well, Dell came through with such a sweet discount that I did not have to wait any longer to order one of their new Precision M6400 with the Intel QX9300 2.53 GHz, 1067 MHz, with 12 MB of L2 cache. I should receive it by mid-December, and will be waiting anxiously for it. I chose it above the M4400 for it’s ability to expand to 16 GB of RAM, which I plan to configure as soon as the...(read more)

Using Hyper-V Snapshots Video

janiquec — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:52:45 GMT

If you are interested in Hyper-V snapshots, check out the short video that I created for VirtualizationAdmin.com . In it I quickly run through how to create a snapshot, review the directory structure and files that are created, and show how to use the revert feature. Check it out at http://virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/videos/microsoft-hyper-v-articles/general/using-hyper-v-snapshots.html ....(read more)

Hyper-V Videos on Technet

janiquec — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:52:19 GMT

If you have not found them yet, there is a series of five videos on the technet site that you might like to watch. These videos represent a set of interviews with several Windows Virtualization program managers that cover a range of topics including the Hyper-V architecture, high-availability, storage, snapshots, and so on. Here is a list of the video titles and URLs: Hyper-V Part 1 - Architecture - Interview with PMs Hyper-V Part 2 - VM Snapshots - Interviews with PMs Hyper-V Part 3 - TAP and VSS...(read more)

MS Press Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Resource Kit

vs-admin — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 16:09:00 GMT

Quick update on the book - we encountered some delays, but about 1/3 of the book is now complete. The release date has been moved to April 2009. Here is the link: http://www.microsoft.com/MSPress/books/11842.aspx . If there are any scenarios or information that you can't find, shoot me an email or post a comment with details. We have lots of content, but always looking for areas that are causing day-to-day problems or unanswered questions....(read more)

Short Hyper-V Live Migration Video

janiquec — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 22:27:00 GMT

If you are interested in having a look at Live Migration coming in Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, take a look: More short videos are available at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/virtualization/default.mspx ....(read more)

Server Virtualization Assessment using MAP 3.1 – Part I Posted at virtualizationadmin.com

janiquec — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:27:19 GMT

VirtualizationAdmin.com has posted Part I of my three part article that covers performing a server virtualization assessment with MAP 3.1. If you are interested in assessing your traditional infrastructure with the goal of developing a basic server virtualization plan, you should read this article. In Part II and III to be posted in the near future, you will learn how MAP 3.1 (available for download from the Microsoft site) can assist you in your endeavors. I will post other entries when these are...(read more)

Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist - Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, Configuration

janiquec — Sun, 31 Aug 2008 08:02:55 GMT

For those who took the Microsoft Beta Exam 71-652, check your MCP transcript or email to learn whether or not you passed the test. I received this email yesterday, and the result was posted today on the MCP site: Thank you for taking beta exam 71-652: TS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuring . We are writing to let you know that your results are being processed and are not yet available from Prometric or Microsoft. The exam was released in its live form on August 25, 2008. Although, in general...(read more)

Hyper-V Integration Services Article Posted at virtualizationadmin.com

janiquec — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:07:45 GMT

VirtualizationAdmin.com has posted my article on Integration Services. If you want to understand why you should install Integration Services in your guest OS, read this article. In it, I also review the installation process and the supported guest operating systems....(read more)

Hyper-V Snapshot Article Posted at VirtualizationAdmin.com

janiquec — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:27:00 GMT

I have recently written an article for the VirtualizationAdmin.com site that reviews the basics of Hyper-V snapshots, the files associated with a snapshots, and how to use the snapshot Revert functionality. Check out the article and send any feedback/questions to me. I will be writing a follow-up article on using the snapshot Apply and Delete functionality in Hyper-V in the next few months....(read more)

Articles on VirtualizationAdmin.COM

janiquec — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:00:00 GMT

I will be writing content for the TechGenix VirtualizationAdmin.com site. Chapter 7 of our Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit is currently posted on the site at http://www.virtualizationadmin.com/articles-tutorials/general-virtualization-articles/microsoft-virtual-server-2005-r2-resource-kit-chapter7-practices-configuration-performance-tuning-.html . I have a video and article on Hyper-V snapshots that will be posted soon and will provide an update to the link....(read more)

AMD-V Virtualization Architecture Highlights

janiquec — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:16:46 GMT

AMD-Virtualization (AMD-V) provides a Secure Virtual Machine (SVM) processor architecture that allows software vendors to implement secure virtualization solutions and reduce software code complexity. Here are AMD-V SVM architecture highlights commonly mentioned with reference to virtualization software: Host Mode - allows a hypervisor, or more generically a Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM), to execute with the highest level of privilege. This execution mode is sometimes referred to as Ring -1 mode...(read more)

Intel VT Virtualization Architecture Highlights

janiquec — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:15:00 GMT

Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) provides a processor architecture that supports virtualization software applications through a set of extensions referred to as Virtual Machine Extensions (VMX). Here are Intel VT VMX highlights commonly mentioned with reference to virtualization software: VMX Root operating mode - allows a hypervisor or VMM to execute in fully privileged mode. VMX Non-Root operating mode - allows a guest operating system to execute in Ring 0 and the application stack in...(read more)

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Resource Kit Book

janiquec — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 09:30:00 GMT

This blog has been quiet recently because of the holidays and pre-planning for the development of another Microsoft virtualization technology book. I am teaming up with Robert Larson of Microsoft Consulting Services, my co-author on the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit book, and Microsoft Press to publish the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Resource Kit book. The book plan calls for publication in the 3rd quarter of CY 2008. If you would like to give some feedback on book topics...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Virtual Machine Saved State Failures

janiquec — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:24:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Virtual Machine in Saved State Fails to Restart After a Change in Hardware-Assisted Virtualization State If you enable hardware-assisted virtualization in your computer BIOS and try to start a virtual machine that was previously in a saved state, the virtual machine will not start up. When hardware-assisted virtualization is enabled, Virtual Server internal data structures differ. Therefore, saved...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Stop 0x7B Error Booting from a Virtual SCSI Disk

janiquec — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 01:17:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Stop 0x7B Error Booting from a Virtual SCSI Disk If you reconfigure a virtual machine VHD that contains a bootable guest operating system from a virtual IDE controller to a virtual SCSI controller, you will experience a blue screen when trying to start the guest operating system. Basically, if you simply just change the virtual machine configuration by switching the VHD from IDE to SCSI-attached, the...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Service Principal Name Registration Failures

janiquec — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 12:05:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Service Principal Name Registration Failures A service principal name (SPN) allows Kerberos authentication to be used for services running on servers distributed across an Active Directory domain. An SPN is stored in a multivalued attribute, called servicePrincipalName , of an Active Directory computer account. At minimum, the information encapsulated in a registered SPN is the service name and the...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Problems Connecting a Virtual Network to a Physical Network Adapter

janiquec — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:21:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Problems Connecting a Virtual Network to a Physical Network Adapter After completing an installation of Virtual Server 2005 R2, you might find that your physical network adapter is not available within Virtual Server to connect to a virtual network. If the Virtual Machine Network Services driver is not installed or bound to the network adapter on the physical host, it will not appear as an available...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Always Prompted for Credentials

janiquec — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:13:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Always Prompted for Credentials Another common problem is that you are prompted to enter your credentials every time you access the Administration Website using the FQDN of the Virtual Server host, even after it has been added as a trusted site. This is another issue that is related to the baseline configuration of Internet Explorer. By default, user credentials are automatically submitted for authentication...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Blank Screen Display

janiquec — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 08:11:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Blank Screen Display One of the common issues encountered when you launch the Administration Website using the fully qualified domain name (FQDN) of the Virtual Server host (for example, http://hostname.domain.com:1024 ) and enter your credentials at the prompt is that only a blank screen is displayed. The FQDN is the format used in the Virtual Server Administration Website Uniform Resource Locator...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Guest Operating System Installation Runs Slow

janiquec — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:26:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Guest Operating System Installation Is Slow When you install Windows Server 2003, Windows 2000 Server, or Windows XP Professional as a guest operating system in a virtual machine, the installation process can take several hours to complete if the virtual hard disk is attached to a virtual SCSI adapter and the default Adaptec driver (aic78xx.sys) is installed in the guest operating system. Resolution...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Access Is Denied Using Virtual Server Manager

janiquec — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:15:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Access Is Denied Using Virtual Server Manager When you use Virtual Server Manager from a centralized Administration Website to attempt to manage a remote Virtual Server that is a member of a different Active Directory domain, forest, or workgroup, you might receive an “Access was denied” error message when using the Switch Virtual Server option to connect to the remote Virtual Server. During...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Missing or Incompatible IIS Configuration

janiquec — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 04:14:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Missing or Incompatible IIS Configuration One of the most common issues that occurs during installation of Virtual Server 2005 R2 involves the configuration of Internet Information Services (IIS) to support the Virtual Server Administration Website on the host operating system. Resolution There are two basic ways to address this issue. If you do not intend to manage any Virtual Server hosts from the...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Broken Differencing Disk After Parent VHD Is Moved or Renamed

janiquec — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:18:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Broken Differencing Disk After Parent VHD Is Moved or Renamed A differencing disk uses file path and name information stored in its dynamic disk header to locate and open its parent VHD. If the parent VHD is renamed or moved, the file path and name reference stored in the differencing disk header becomes invalid. This causes any virtual machine that uses a VHD in the differencing disk chain to fail...(read more)

Using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) With Virtual Server 2005 R2

janiquec — Tue, 27 Nov 2007 17:14:00 GMT

If you plan to use the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) to connect to a remote Virtual Server host, you must use the /console switch. Otherwise, when you launch the Administration Website site on the remote machine, you might be presented with “The Parameter is incorrect.” Use one of the following methods to launch an RDP connection to a remote Virtual Server host console session: · Create a shortcut on your desktop and modify the shortcut target entry to reflect %systemroot%\system32...(read more)

Virtual Server 2005 R2 Common Issues and Tips - Virtual Machine Registration Fails After Previous Removal

janiquec — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:25:00 GMT

This post is content adapted from Chapter 11 of the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 Resource Kit . Virtual Machine Registration Fails After Previous Removal If you remove a virtual machine through the Virtual Server Administration Website, and you later attempt to create or add a virtual machine of the same name, an error is generated stating that the virtual machine configuration file (.vmc) already exists. When you use the “remove” option, none of the virtual machine files is deleted...(read more)