Dennis Chung's Blog

We've been waiting for a while...
Its now officially SUPPORTED !!!

Exchange 2007 on Hyper-V !! Yippee...

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc794548.aspx

/Dennis

http://www.codeplex.com/PSHyperv

We all know PowerShell is the next big thing for scripting and managing major parts of Windows.
Little did you know that PowerShell can be used extensively to manage Hyper-V. Alright, you may know, but did you know someone is writing a management library for it?? Check out http://www.codeplex.com/PSHyperv for more details and to download it.

Its been updated to have VHD management capabilities.

PowerShell management Library for Hyper-V

A project to provide a PowerShell management library for Hyper-V
It does pretty much what it says. Note that a lot of the information available from Hyper-V is only available if Powershell is running with Elevated privilege
At present there are 66 functions in the library, some of these are worker functions which are not expected to be called directly, the others are listed below

Finding a VM

Get-VM, Choose-VM , Get-VMHost

Connecting to a VM

New-VMConnectSession

Discovering and manipulating Machine states

Get-VMState , Set-VMState , Convert-VmState,
Ping-VM , Shutdown-VM , Start-VM, Stop-VM, Suspend-VM
Get-VMKVP, Get-VMJPEG

Backing up, exporting and snapshotting VMs

Export-VM , Get-VMSnapshot, Choose-VMSnapshot , Apply-VMSnapshot , New-VMSnapshot ,Remove-VMSnapshot, Get-VMSnapshotTree, Get-VmBackupScript

Adding and removing VMs, configuring motherboard settings.

New-VM , Remove-VM , Set-VM , Get-VMCPUCount, Set-VMCPUCount, Get-VMMemory, Set-VMMemory

Manipulating Disk controllers, drives and disk images

Get-VMDiskController
Add-VMSCSIController , Remove-VMSCSIcontroller
Get-VMDriveByController , Add-VMDRIVE , Remove-VMdrive
Get-VMDiskByDrive, Add-VMDISK , Set-VMDisk, Get-VMDisk
Get-VMFloppyDisk , Add-VMFloppyDisk
Add-VMNewHardDisk

Manipluating Network Interface Cards

Get-VMNic , List-VMNic , Choose-VMNIC, Add-VMNIC, Remove-VMNIC , Set-VMNICAddress , Set-VMNICConnection , Get-VMNicport ,
Get-VMnicSwitch, Choose-VMSwitch, New-VMSwitchPort, Get-VMByMACaddress, Choose-VMExternalEthernet,
New-VMExternalSwitch, New-VMInternalSwitch,New-VmPrivateSwitch

Working with VHD files

Get-VHDDefaultPath, Get-VHDInfo, New-VHD, Compact-VHD, Test-VHD,Convert-VHD,Merge-VHD,Mount-VHD, Unmount-VHD

/Dennis

Here's a list of Guest Operating Systems officially supported by Microsoft.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/954958/en-us

Here's a common question i would like to answer;

Q: I don't see my OS on that list, but it is still working. Didn't you say its not supported??

A: The list of OS support as guest, are extensively tested by Microsoft's CSS. As such, Microsoft has the ability to provide support for those tested list of OSes. There are many OSes that was known to work, just aren't officially support.

/Dennis

Taken from http://blogs.msdn.com/mikester/archive/2008/05/30/using-the-hyper-v-integration-components-in-winpe.aspx

Using the Hyper-V Integration Components in WinPE

The new architecture of synthetic devices with Hyper-V poses some unique challenges for system administrators. Specifically, how can a system administrator perform maintenance on a Hyper-V host from WinPE? Without the integration components, users are required to move their VHD's around to the IDE controller, which limits the amount of VHD's that can be used at any given point in time. Additionally, legacy network adapters might need to be added to the VM to provide network access.

However, by adding the integration components to a WinPE image, those are no longer concerns.

For those of you not familiar with WinPE, here's a brief overview:

Windows Preinstallation Environment (Windows PE) is a minimal operating system designed to prepare a computer for Windows installation. It can be used to start a computer with no operating system (a bare-metal system), to partition and to format hard drives, and to copy disk images or to initiate Windows Setup from a network share. Windows PE is available as a stand-alone product to customers with the proper licensing agreement. It is an integrated component of many Windows Setup and recovery technologies, including Setup for Windows Vista and Windows Deployment Services (WDS).

Windows PE 2.1 is the latest release based on the Microsoft® Windows Vista® operating system.

Now, on to the steps:

1.     Download and install the Windows Automated Installation Kit (AIK). This allows you to create a custom WinPE image. The AIK can be downloaded here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=94bb6e34-d890-4932-81a5-5b50c657de08&DisplayLang=en

2.     We need to extract two files from the c:\windows\system32\vmguest.iso file, which is part of Hyper-V RC1 (available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=7EDAA89F-9F64-488D-93C0-858D2D8799DF). There are a couple of tools that allow the mounting of an ISO image:

a. WinImage (http://www.winimage.com/)

b. WinISO (http://www.winiso.com/)

c. UltraISO (http://www.ezbsystems.com/ultraiso/)

You can also mount the ISO image in a VM and extract the files as well.

We’re looking for two files. Copy the file that is appropriate for your architecture:

·         32 Bit: \support\x86\Windows6.0-KB951633-x86.msu

·         64 Bit: \support\amd64\Windows6.0-KB951633-x64.msu

3.     Create a directory on the same system you installed the AIK, and store the file(s) above there.

4.     Open up the Windows PE User’s Guide. This was installed as part of the Windows AIK, and can be found (by default) by browsing to Start -> All Programs -> Windows OPK -> Documentation -> Windows PE User’s Guide.

5.     Follow steps 1-4 under Customizing WinPE -> Windows PE Walkthroughs -> Walkthrough: Create a Custom WinPE Image.

6.     After step 4 (Optional: Add Additional Customizations), run the following script from your Windows PE Tools Command Prompt. Create a new batch file with the script below. Make sure that the MSUSOURCE is set to the directory where the files you copied in step 2 and 3 are, and that PESOURCE is set to the directory you created in Step 5.

%echo off

set MSUSOURCE=D:\synth\rc1\amd64

set PESOURCE=D:\winpe_x64_synthetic

mkdir %temp%\IC

c:\windows\system32\expand.exe -F:* %MSUSOURCE%\Windows6.0-KB951633-x64.msu %temp%\ic

mkdir %temp%\IC\binaries

c:\windows\system32\expand.exe -F:* %temp%\ic\Windows6.0-KB951633-x64.CAB %temp%\ic\binaries

"C:\Program Files\Windows OPK\Tools\PETools\peimg.exe" /inf=%temp%\IC\binaries\amd64_wnetvsc.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18010_none_b331f76187e159c6\wnetvsc.inf %PESOURCE%\mount\Windows

"C:\Program Files\Windows OPK\Tools\PETools\peimg.exe" /inf=%temp%\IC\binaries\amd64_ws3cap.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18010_none_f2dbb8abfcb9f757\ws3cap.inf %PESOURCE%\mount\Windows

"C:\Program Files\Windows OPK\Tools\PETools\peimg.exe" /inf=%temp%\IC\binaries\amd64_wstorflt.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18010_none_1ca7ba32d0b2bd99\wstorflt.inf %PESOURCE%\mount\Windows

"C:\Program Files\Windows OPK\Tools\PETools\peimg.exe" /inf=%temp%\IC\binaries\amd64_wstorvsc.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18010_none_835d97e82051b059\wstorvsc.inf %PESOURCE%\mount\Windows

"C:\Program Files\Windows OPK\Tools\PETools\peimg.exe" /inf=%temp%\IC\binaries\amd64_wvmbus.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18010_none_95947137626ceb80\wvmbus.inf %PESOURCE%\mount\Windows

"C:\Program Files\Windows OPK\Tools\PETools\peimg.exe" /inf=%temp%\IC\binaries\amd64_wvmbushid.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18010_none_4cc9f65464cd2f85\wvmbushid.inf %PESOURCE%\mount\Windows

"C:\Program Files\Windows OPK\Tools\PETools\peimg.exe" /inf=%temp%\IC\binaries\amd64_wvmbusvideo.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18010_none_af4c3664979a87cd\wvmbusvideo.inf %PESOURCE%\mount\Windows

"C:\Program Files\Windows OPK\Tools\PETools\peimg.exe" /inf=%temp%\IC\binaries\amd64_wvmic.inf_31bf3856ad364e35_6.0.6001.18010_none_5df58a6c04d20690\wvmic.inf %PESOURCE%\mount\Windows

Once the batch file completes, refer back to the Windows PE Users Guide, and finish following the steps from Step 5 onward.

After you create the ISO, attach it to a VM and power it on. You should have full access to all synthetic devices.

Thanks to Mike Sterling for doing this article.

/Dennis

http://www.codeplex.com/PSHyperv

PowerShell management Library for Hyper-V

A project to provide a PowerShell management library for Hyper-V
It does pretty much what it says. Note that a lot of the information available from Hyper-V is only available if Powershell is running with Elevated privilege
At present there are 66 functions in the library, some of these are worker functions which are not expected to be called directly, the others are listed below

Finding a VM

Get-VM, Choose-VM

Connecting to a VM

New-VMConnectSession

Discovering and manipulating Machine states

List-VMState , Set-VMState , Convert-VmState,
Ping-VM , Shutdown-VM , Start-VM, Stop-VM, Suspend-VM
Get-VMKVP

Backing up, exporting and snapshotting VMs

Backup-vm , Export-VM , Get-VMSnapshot, Choose-VMSnapshot , Apply-VMSnapshot , New-VMSnapshot ,Remove-VMSnapshot, Get-VMSnapshotTree

Adding and removing VMs, configuring motherboard settings.

New-VM , Remove-VM , Set-VM , Get-VMCPUCount, Set-VMCPUCount, Get-VMMemory, Set-VMMemory

Manipulating Disk controllers, drives and disk images

Get-VMDiskController
Add-VMSCSIController , Remove-VMSCSIcontroller
Get-VMDrive , Add-VMDRIVE , Remove-VMdrive
Get-VMDisk, Add-VMDISK , Set-VMDisk, List-VMDisk
Get-VMFloppyDisk , Add-VMFloppyDisk
Add-VMNewHardDisk

Manipluating Network Interface Cards

Get-VMNic , List-VMNic , Choose-VMNIC, Add-VMNIC, Remove-VMNIC , Set-VMNICAddress , Set-VMNICConnection , Get-VMNicport ,
Get-VMnicSwitch, Choose-VMSwitch, New-VMSwitchPort, Get-VMByMACaddress

Working with VHD files

Get-VHDDefaultPath, Get-VHDInfo, New-VHD, Compact-VHD, Mount-VHD, Unmount-VHD

/Dennis

I was recently in a debate with an IT Pro about Hyper-V and VMWare. I can't name him as i have not asked for his permission to be named here. He's been using VMWare for quite a while and he was seriously pissed when Microsoft released Hyper-V. I take it in a good way.

We were trying to argue who will be cheaper and he brought up a formula on how he calculates if Hyper-V or VMWare is cheaper. In a similar fashion, i stumbled on a blog entry by a MSFTie which discusses this with all the algebras.

He is James O'Niel. Here's his blog. http://blogs.technet.com/jamesone/archive/2008/03/15/vmware-running-hot-enough-to-cook-the-figures.aspx

Please read his blog and you'll find it very interesting to know that Hyper-V is indeed cheaper, even though Hyper-V doesn't allow us to overcommit the memory for a VM.

/Dennis

If you are running Hyper-V RC and you don't know where to get the RTM, fred not.

The bits is being distributed over Windows Update as of this morning.
On your Hyper-V Server, just turn on Windows Update and the update will change your RC bits to RTM bits.

You'll just need to do a reboot after which. ;-)

http://blogs.msdn.com/taylorb/archive/2008/07/08/hyper-v-rtm-on-windows-update.aspx

/Dennis

Source: http://www.microsoft-watch.com/content/server/microsoftcom_goes_virtual.html

I love this set of figures.. Don't you just love numbers?

Microsoft.com "handles 15,000 requests per second, 1.2 billion page views per month, and 280M worldwide unique users per month as well as supporting ~5000 content contributors from within the company," Rob blogged. "This site has close to 300GB of content consisting of some seven million individual files on each server.

Today, Rob Emanuel, a Microsoft technology architect, blogged about Microsoft using Hyper-V technology for Microsoft.com. He earlier blogged—and much more briefly—about using Hyper-V Release Candidate 0 for the MSDN and TechNet sites.

Presumably, Rob's post supports today's Hyper-V release to manufacturing. I didn't see the blog post until this morning (it wasn't there at midnight Pacific time), even though it has a time stamp of 4:38 p.m. PDT yesterday. I assume that Rob simply forgot to update. Too many pesky blogging systems label time when a post is created, forcing the blogger to manually update time and date later on.

I love it when Microsoft employee bloggers describe how the company's dog food is caviar—and that's meant as a compliment, by the way. Microsoft is quick to use its own technology, but it's not as fast telling other people about it. That's changing, and Rob's post is indicative of the trend. The best Microsoft case study is Microsoft.

Rob has put together a nice, concise primer, including Microsoft.com site stats and deployed hardware. Companies like Microsoft don't easily disclose this kind of information. There are competitive and even security considerations, which make the post's existence that much more impressive.

As of today, Microsoft has "25 percent of production traffic" running on Hyper-V, Rob blogged. "Based on these results we are ready to fully host www.microsoft.com web servers on Hyper-V and we're targeting end of June for 50 percent of the load. As soon as we complete deployment of our new hardware infrastructure in diverse data centers, we'll complete the full virtualization."

I don't want to excerpt too much from the post, but these statistics are worth calling out: Microsoft.com "handles 15,000 requests per second, 1.2 billion page views per month, and 280M worldwide unique users per month as well as supporting ~5000 content contributors from within the company," Rob blogged. "This site has close to 300GB of content consisting of some seven million individual files on each server."

Microsoft transparency is best when the company opens up the soul of its own IT operations. No case study is better than Microsoft.

Posted by Joe Wilcox on June 26, 2008 1:36 PM

/Dennis

Going Green in IT

We can all do our part for Earth by going Green. But what exactly does going green in IT means? Watch this space as i start working on efforts on going Green in IT. But this section this morning, I came across a very important step-by-step guide which i wanted to share with you.

Now, we can all go green by reducing the amount of power needed for a server room / data center. Using energy efficient servers and server consolidation are some of the steps that can help save us power and go Green. With the release of Windows Server 2008, and the upcoming Hyper-v release, we can go Green in a big way.

By consolidating machines that are not highly utilizing its processing power with virtualization. Hyper-V allows us to consolidate numerous machines into one physical server. In Singapore' s Microsoft Innovation Centre, i was able to consolidate about 6 servers into 1 physical machine using Hyper-V. Having done this, i have on power required to power these reduced number of servers.

The problem on consolidation

Now comes the real problem. Since all my virtual machines are on 1 server now. If this server encounters hardware problem, all my virtual machines will go down. This step-by-step guide will show how you could quickly setup a cluster node and have High Availability for your virtual machines.

Yes. Its HA for virtual machines. No, your virtual machines are not clusters, its the Hyper-V host.
Have fun, try it out... Here's the guide.

/Dennis

Hi Virtual PC 2007 users,

Virtual PC 2007 SP1 is now available for download from the following location:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=28c97d22-6eb8-4a09-a7f7-f6c7a1f000b5&displaylang=en

After installing VPC 2007 SP1,

the Product Version: 6.0.192.0
Additions version for this build: 13.820

What is available in this release?

This release provides support for the following additional Host and Guest OS’es

Virtual PC 2007 SP1

For more information, see the Release Notes at:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9f3d3eb5-5e03-4712-999c-e96f91bdf128&displaylang=en

The Virtual PC website will be updated shortly with this release information at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/winfamily/virtualpc/default.mspx

/Dennis