User Experience Virtualization UE-V

User Experience Virtualization Overview

Microsoft Evaluation VHD Administrator Password

Recently decided to use the evaluation VHD of 2008 R2 I downloaded from Microsoft .. but what was the password.

Goggled the file name …

“windows server 2008 r2 enterprise evaluation (full edition)”

… and found the password was Pass@word1.

It was then I remembered the problems I had with that password in the past.

The VM was created using the US local & keyboard settings if you are using a UK keyboard you have to type

Pass”word1

Manage Hyper-V 2012 on Core from Windows 8

Unlike Window 7 and Hyper-V on 2008 R2 there is no need to download additional tools to administer Hyper-V from Windows 8 as they are a feature of Windows 8.

This is the Client Side Configuration there are plenty of postings relating to server side configuration. Both machines are in same workgroup.

Install Hyper-V Management Tools on Windows 8

Search for Control Panel

Select Control Panel then Programs

Under Programs and Features Heading select Turn Windows Feature On or Off

Tick Hyper-V Management Tools and both sub options

Start Component Services

Search "DCOMCNFG"

right click and "Run as administrator"

Select Console Root, Component Services, Computers, My Computer
Right click My Computer and select properties

Select "COM Security"
Select "Edit Limits" for Access Permissions

Allow remote access by setting the checkmark for the "ANONYMOUS LOGON"

TechNet: Test Lab Guides

Test Lab Guides (TLGs) allow you to get valuable hands-on experience with new products and technologies using a pre-defined and tested methodology that results in a working configuration. When you use a TLG to create a test lab, instructions define what servers to create, how to configure the operating systems and system services, and how to install and configure any additional products or technologies.

A challenge in creating useful TLGs is to enable their reusability and extensibility. Because creating a test lab can represent a significant investment of time and resources, your ability to reuse and extend the work required to create test labs is important.

TechNet: Test Lab Guides

Migrating Hyper-V 2008 R2 Core to 2012 Core

I may be wrong … but on first evaluation it appears you cannot transfer Virtual Machines with Snapshots.

It would also appear that an in-place upgrade from Hyper-V 2008 running on core to Hyper-V 2012 running on 2012 core is not on.

Looks like my upgrade to Hyper-V 2012 will have to be put on hold.

Here is a Microsoft TechNet Blog explaining how to migrate from Hyper-V 2008 to Hyper-V 2012 on the core.

Step-by-Step: Migrating to FREE Microsoft Hyper-V 2012 Servers AND Clusters from 2008 R2 and VMware

Hyper-V Remote Desktop Slow Large Send Offload

Large Send Offload Slows Remote Desktop

I have issues with Hyper-V connectivity that appear to be resolved by disabling Large Send Offload IPv4 on the Virtual Machines.

The two problems this appears to resolve are Windows Updates not working and Remote Desktop being painfully slow.

The workaround until I found this setting was to change the VM to the legacy NIC

Windows Updates would not work on VMs although the machine quite happily browsed the web made the initial connection to windows updates and downloaded the latest window update client.  Do not know if this is the case with WSUS.

The second issue I have just resolved is that Remote Desktop runs painfully slow although remote connections from the Hyper-V Manager are unaffected.

How does basic networking work in Hyper-V?

Do you have a test server running Hyper-V?

Need to understand the basics of running Hyper-V with a single NIC?

Need to understand the basics of running Hyper-V with Dual NICs?

This blog entry from a member of the Hyper-V team should be a starting point.

How does basic networking work in Hyper-V?

Boot Virtual Machines from USB Flash Drive

Portable-VirtualBox is a free and open source software tool that lets you run any operating system from a USB stick.

This is one of those tool that I just want to test but don’t have the time. It allows you to store and run virtual machines from a USB Flash Drive.

Portable-VirtualBox Download

Remote Desktop Useful Key Combinations

If you Microsoft Remote Desktop you may want to use those familiar useful key combinations … here are the substitutes to use on the remote desktop.

Send Ctrl+Alt+Del keystrokes

CTRL+ALT+END: Opens the Microsoft Windows Security dialog box

“If you want to change password on a remote system this is the simple one we all forget.”

Cycling between programs

ALT+PAGE UP: From left to right replaces CTRL+PAGE UP

ALT+PAGE DOWN: From right to left replaces CTRL+PAGE DOWN

ALT+INSERT: Most recently used order replaces ALT+TAB

Display menus

ALT+HOME: Display the Start Menu replaces CTRL+ESC

ALT+DELETE: Display the Windows menu

Toggle Window Size

CTRL+ALT+BREAK: Switch the client computer between a window and a full screen. (could not do this)

CTRL+ALT+PAUSE: Switch the Remote Desktop between a window and a full screen.

Screen Shots

CTRL+ALT+Minus(-): Place a snapshot of the active window area in the remote client clipboard replacing ALT+PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.

CTRL+ALT+Plus(+): Place a snapshot of the client window area in the remote client clipboard replacing PRINT SCREEN on a local computer.

Oracle VM VirtualBox

Oracle VM VirtualBox

VirtualBox is a general-purpose full virtualizer for x86 hardware, targeted at server, desktop and embedded use.

Citrix: What is XenDesktop?

Desktop virtualisation, a short video from Citrix TV giving an overview of XenDesktop benefits.

Citrix: What is XenDesktop?

Single image gives single instance management only having to update patches on one desktop rather than thousands.

User’s desktop available to them globally on a variety of devices.

Convert VMware virtual machines to Hyper-V®.

Convert VMware-based virtual machines and disks to Hyper-V®-based virtual machines and disks.

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter (MVMC) Solution Accelerator

Virtualisation: The Green Argument

Random thought: “Just as we saw an exodus of call centers to India are we about to see a similar exodus of data centers to Iceland”

I have always know that computers consume a lot of power but only recently found out that 50% of the running cost of a server in a data centre can be power consumption. We where installing a number of servers in a data-centre and they were more interested in the power draw than the space taken in the cabinet.

Published savings put power draw at around 50% less in a virtualised environment. This Microsoft study also noted that the quantity of processors and memory tended to be the same in a virtual Microsoft Exchange as a non-virtualised environment; less physical servers but more processors and memory per box.

Even the most basic of server hardware now supports Hardware Virtualisation and a low end 2.4GHz Quad Core processer can handle Small Business Server 2008 Premium virtualised on Hyper-V.

With a significant proportion of the Power Requirement taken up with cooling you can see why Iceland is cashing in on the Data-Centre market. A saving of 40%-60% on the amount of energy required to cool a server in Iceland over that or the UK. I was also told recently that London has just about reached its data centre capacity.

We considered housing these servers in Amsterdam but we needed regular access. If you do not need to touch your servers then housing them abroad is fast becoming a feasible solution even for SMEs.

Installing Small Business Server Premium 2008 on single server

Objective
Having built a virtualised SBS Premium 2008 box for a client on a single physicial server I now want to compare a similiar built but without virtualisation.
Now to the real reasons
My test equipment does not support hardware virtualisation ... DELL Poweredge 2800, 2850 and 1850 ... some HP G4 stuff. This is powerfull 64bit kit packed with Xeon Processors & Ultra 320 SCSI drives.
The Virtualised SBS Premium Server
Due to the low number of users/data volume I went for a low spec box

1. Dell 860 2.4 Quad Core with 8GB RAM & 750GB Mirrored SATA Drives
2. Windows 2008 R2 Core running Hyper-V R2
3. Virtual Machine #1 Small Business Server 2008
4. Virtual Machine #2 Windows 2008 Standard with SQL 2008 Standard Edition for small business
5. 2 * USB passthrough drives for backup

 

The non-Virtualised SBS Premium Server
I already have SBS running on a DELL Poweredge 2800

1. DELL Poweredge 2800 2 * 2.8 XEON 4GB Ram
2. 2 * 72.8 GB mirrored ... system partition
3. 2 * 72.8 GB mirrored ... exchange, WSUS and other SBS core apps
4. 4 * 300 GB  raid 5     ... general dumping ground

I would like to install SQL 2008 on the same box as Small Business Server, while using a DELL PowerEdge 2850 to test Terminal Services.

This is a combination that would suit smaller clients with re-usable kit, high demands and small budgets.

Considerations:

• SQL Server Account
• Moving SharePoint Services

Using SQL Server in Windows Small Business Server 2008 Premium Edition

Installing SQL Server on a domain controller
The SQL Server 2008 Standard Edition for Small Business setup does not block installation on a computer that is a domain controller, but the following limitations apply:

1. You cannot run SQL Server services on a domain controller that is running under a local service account or a network service account.
2. After SQL Server is installed on a computer, you cannot change the computer from a domain member to a domain controller. You must uninstall SQL Server before you change the computer to a domain controller.
3. After SQL Server is installed on a computer, you cannot change the computer from a domain controller to a domain member. You must uninstall SQL Server before you change the computer to a domain member.
4. SQL Server is not supported on a Read-only domain controller.

Moving the Windows SharePoint Services content database
You can move the content database of Windows SharePoint Services to the instance of SQL Server that is included in Windows SBS 2008 Premium. Before you move the database, consider the following:

1. Other than the content database, do not move databases that are associated with Windows SharePoint Services 3.0, such as the configure database or the search database.
2. After moving the content database to SQL Server, do not use the task titled “Move Windows SharePoint Services Data,” which is located on the Server Storage tab of the Windows SBS 2008 console. For more information, see Move data using the Detach and Attach features.
3. To complete the SharePoint Services content database move, you must log on to Windows SBS 2008 by using an account in the Domain Admin Security Group. Also, at a minimum, you must be assigned the following roles in SQL Server:
   

   db_owner Fixed role needed to detach the Windows internal database.
   

   dbcreater  Fixed server role needed to attach the new SQL Server instance to the Windows internal database.
   

   
   

 Important: process of moving Sharepoint Services ... see link above

Further considerations
SBS Diva :: More tips for SQL 2008

Do not display last user logon on TS, Remote Desktop and VMs

The Terminal Services client doesn't refer to the Do not display last user name in logon screen policy.

Windows Server 2008, Windows 2008 Small Business Server
Administration Tools, Terminal Services, Terminal Services Configuration

connections panel, right-click the RDP-Tcp connection and select Properties.
Select the Logon Settings tab,
Select Always use the following logon information,
Ensure the User name and Domain fields are clear
Select Always prompt for password check box
Sekect OK.

Now when you login through remote desktop, PC 2007 or Hyper-V Manager the User name will be clear.

If you have enabled the logon message and title this should also appear now.

Hyper-V Manager Vista SP2 - two possible downloads one wrong

I could not get Hyper-V manager to install on Vista even though I have done it before. A couple of frustrating days later I found this post from someone equaly frustrated. Many Thanks
Frustrated with installing the hyper-v manager to remotely manage hyper-v server 2008

Summary of original post:
There are TWO possible downloads on Microsoft Download Center, both named as "KB952627".  There is a KB952627 download which is dated 6/26/2008, AND ANOTHER which is dated 7/17/2009.

Unfortunately, if you search for "hyper-v manager vista", only the older download appears.
Even more, the KB article links to this older version.

The correct download:
I have found the correct link dated 7/17/2009 and installed Hyper-V Manager
Microsoft Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows Vista

Hyper-V IDE vs SCSI virtual controller

I have seen a lot of talk about using the SCSI virtual controller for improved performance on VMs yet in the Hyper-V help file it states that if the virtual disk contains the OS system partition it must use the IDE controller.

Hyper-V converting virtual hard disk type

Hyper-V provided access to three types of disks fixed size, dynamically expanding and passthrough

Caution:
Cannot convert disks with sanpshots attached
This is not a conversion it is a copy therefore ensure you have enough disk space

Question:
I have seen it quoted that with the RC version of Windows 2008/Hyper-V the fixed disk was about 3 times faster than the dynamic. In later releases there was no real performance gap.

Is it worth converting dynamic to fixed if so what are the advantages?

Hyper-V Virtual Network Manager

Virtual Network Manager enables the creation and management of virtual networks within Hyper-V

External	Communication between virtual machines and the physical network.
Internal	Communication between virtual machines and the virtual server
Private	Communication between virtual machines only.
Enable virtual LAN identification	Specifies an identification number that can be used to isolate network traffic from the operating system that runs on the parent partition. A virtual LAN configuration must be supported by the physical network adapter. For information about configuring virtual LAN identification, see the Hyper-V deployment content at the Windows Server 2008 TechCenter (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=108560).

Hyper-V Snapshots

Hyper-V virtual machine snapshot is a point in time image of virtual machine. Snapshots can be taken at any time with any guest operating system even during installation.

Using snapshots can impose limitations if you want to reconfigure a virtual machine. You will find that you cannot edit certain settings if snapshots exist for the virtual machine. Snapshots will have to be deleted before you can regain access to these settings.

Delete Snapshot ...
Deletes selected snapshot

Delete Snapshot Subtree ...
Deletes all snapshots for the virtual machine