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Archive for February, 2011
Hyper-V Architectural poster
Feb 28th
The Hyper-V Architectural poster is updated to SP1 and now available for download:
Available here: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/en/details.aspx?FamilyID=93c814d0-fe4b-4d5b-b280-1b9807ec9933
Dynamic Memory and Over Commit
Feb 28th
With the release of SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2 we now have Dynamic Memory available to make more efficient use of memory. That’s nothing new (I hope).
Sometime Dynamic Memory is referred to as “the Microsoft answer to (VMWare’s) over commit”, but this is not exactly true.
According to the Merriam Webster dictionary (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overcommit) overcommit is:
Main Entry: over·com·mit
: to commit excessively: as
a : to obligate (as oneself) beyond the ability for fulfillment
b : to allocate (resources) in excess of the capacity for replenishment
What if Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 fails?
Feb 28th
More often than not Service Pack upgrades go without any problems but if you are unlucky things can get really bad.
My fellow Cluster MVP, Robert Smit (also from the Netherlands) came across a failed SP1 upgrade ending with 0x800705b4 and 0×80070643. The end of the game is that your server is lost and you have to forcibly test your recovery plan.
If your server is part of a cluster and you have not used up too many resources and fully consumed your cluster reserve you may be able to remove the troublesome node from the cluster.
The primary lesson is: “don’t upgrade all your servers simultaneously”
Just upgrade one and see how that one goes. If the SP1 upgrade was successful, upgrade the next.
For the full story read Roberts blog at:
http://robertsmit.wordpress.com/2011/02/24/installing-windows-2008r2-service-pack-1-ends-with-0x800705b4-or-0×80070643/
February – Monthly overview new released KB articles
Feb 27th
Every day Microsoft is releasing knowledge base articles and hotfixes to explain, fix and improve the possible bugs present in their products. This post gives you an
overview of all released knowledge base articles and hotfixes for the month: FEBRUARY 2011.
The knowledge base articles and hotfixes in this post are related to Microsoft Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008. Updates can be for RTM or R2 versions, with or without SP1.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 RTM/R2/SP1
Core, Server Manager and WinRM
Feb 25th
The other day I ran in to an annoying WinRM problem on a node installed with Windows Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. I wanted to open Server Manager and connect to the specific node.
Although WinRM was enabled via sconfig, I couldn’t connect to it use the Server Manger from a full installation to do some basic troubleshooting.
Remote Management is enabled according to sconfig. But is it completely!
Check #1. The standard command “winrm qc” to configure WinRM gave the following result
So everything should work. NOT!
Check #2. When doing a “winrm id –r:<servername>” I got the result below.
WSManFault
Message = The WinRM client cannot complete the operation within the time specified. Check if the machine name is valid and is reachable over the network and
firewall exception for Windows Remote Management service is enabled.
Error number: -2144108250 0×80338126
The WinRM client cannot complete the operation within the time specified. Check
if the machine name is valid and is reachable over the network and firewall exception for Windows Remote Management service is enabled.
That’s not a good sign.
Check #3. When doing a “winrm e winrm/config/listener” I got the result below.
That’s funny….it is listening on port 80…..why?
Check #4.When checking the firewall I saw that not all the rules needed where enabled.
But according to sconfig everything should be up and running. This is backed by the fact that “winrm qc” is stating that everything is configured and is up and running as it should be.
O wait, the firewall has port 5985 open, and WinRM has a listener configured on port 80. Not gonna happen I think!
Solution:
The way to resolve this has many parts and is very simple . Just delete all listeners and let them be recreated by running the quick configure command.
- Quickly delete the WS-Man listener: winrm invoke Restore winrm/Config @{}
- Quick configure WinRM and answer Y: winrm qc
- Check is no listeners are present anymore: winrm e winrm/config/listener
A simple test to find out if WinRM is working as it should is “winrm id –r:<servername>”
And now the Server Manager is also connecting to the remote server.
All done! The Server Manager is now able to connect remotely using WinRM. Possible that SCVMM related issues will disappear to!
GO! And start fixing those WinRM issues!
Microsoft server software and supported virtualization environments
Feb 25th
Have you ever wondered if your Microsoft producted is supported when virtualized? Microsoft recently released a KB article with a list of products and support statements.
This article discusses the support policy for running Microsoft server software in the following supported virtualization environments:
- Windows Server 2008 and later with Hyper-V
- Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 and later
- Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP)
For more information, visit the following Microsoft website: http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/svvp/
Microsoft supports Microsoft server software that is running in the supported virtualization environments that are listed in the “More Information” section. This support is subject to…….read more.
Max amount of memory supported with Win2k8 and Win2k8 R2
Feb 22nd
Sometimes there is a little bit of confusion as to the maximum amount of memory supported with Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Jeff Woolsey makes a quick announcement to make sure we’re all on the same page as to the correct maximum memory limits for Windows Server 2008/2008 R2 with and without Hyper-V. BTW, The maximum memory hasn’t changed for SP1.
===============================================
Windows Server 2008 Maximum Memory Limits
===============================================
Windows Server 2008 x86
- Windows Server 2008 STD Edition supports a maximum of 4 GB of memory
- Windows Server 2008 EE/DCE support a maximum of 64GB of memory
Windows Server 2008 x64 with or without Hyper-V Role Enabled
- Windows Server 2008 STD Edition supports a maximum of 32 GB of memory
- Windows Server 2008 EE/DCE support a maximum of 1 TB of memory
Taskmanager information is fooling you
Feb 21st
We had an interesting discussion last week about the task manager information and performance monitor. As you can see in the image Task Manager reports a processor utilization of almost 0%, while Performance Monitor other figures. This is while I was upgrading two virtual machines to Service Pack 1 at the same time.
As you can read in Peter Noorderijk’s blog “the importance of Integration Components” the Host or Parent partition is also a Virtual Machine. Task Manager is reporting the processor utilization inside the VM, which is of course a relative counter.
For the actual processor utilization you have to monitor the “Hyper-V Hypervisor Logical Processor” which will indicate the real processor utilization.
Hyper-v.nu on Service Pack 1
Feb 21st
During the weekend of February 19th we have been upgrading the server of Hyper-V.nu to Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. Hyper-V.nu is running on a Virtual Machine (Windows Server 2008 R2 Web Edition), the host (HP DL380-G6) is running Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition, of course with Service Pack 1 as well.
Dynamic Memory is enabled as well, so the upcoming time we can do some interesting monitoring to see the results. From other tests with for example Exchange Server 2010 it looks very promising since it can fully utilize the hardware resources.
TechNetLive 2011 wildcard session
Feb 17th
I proposed a presentation for TechNetLive 2011. This presentation will be in Dutch and held at World Forum, The Hague, Netherlands (26-20 april 2011). All you have to do is vote for this session or else somebody else will take the stage. I’d be honored!
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