Powered by System Center
// Main banner ad on homepage
Hans Vredevoort
Hans Vredevoort is an IT consultant who has specialized in Windows Virtualization & System Center technology. With the advent of private and public cloud infrastructure he focuses more on the aspects of cloud architecture, migration to the cloud and integration between private cloud and public cloud. After having worked almost 22 years for Nobel as a principal consultant for Nobel, an ICT company in the Netherlands, In August 2011 Hans took on a new opportunity with Inovativ, the System Center Specialists. He will continue to focus on Hyper-V, System Center Management, Servers, Storage, Data Protection and Windows Azure. Hans has been a MVP since July 2009 and he has been writing and presenting for Hyper-V.nu and on several other occasions across the world. Hans was an author and technical editor for several books: Mastering Hyper-V Deployment (technical editor) Microsoft Private Cloud Computing (co-author) Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Installation & Configuration Guide (technical editor) 2009-2010 MVP Cluster 2010-2011 MVP Cluster 2011-2012 MVP Cluster 2012-2013 MVP Virtual Machine (Hyper-V) http://nl.linkedin.com/in/vredevoort
Homepage: http://twitter.com/hvredevoort
Posts by Hans Vredevoort
Windows Server and Hyper-V: What’s Next?
Jun 2nd
We already know that we wouldn’t have to wait four years to get significant new features in Windows Server & Hyper-V. Looking at the list of builds since the first version of Hyper-V, we can observe there were considerable intervals between the releases of Windows Server 2008 (R2) and Windows Server 2012.
We’ve seen three major releases of Hyper-V since June 2008. If development progresses well, we might even see an updated version of Hyper-V within only about 1 year from GA of Windows Server 2012. The Windows Server 2012 operating system was already packed with spectacular new functionality and scalability with major focus on the Hyper-V and Cloud OS feature set.
Builds of Windows Server including Hyper-V
- 2008 (February 4) – RTM Windows Server 2008 SP1 – February 2008 (with beta version of Hyper-V)
- 2008 (June 26) – Release of Hyper-V 1.0 which shipped as a free download
- 2008 (October 24) – Release of first Service Pack SP2
- 2009 (July 22) – RTM of Windows Server 2008 R2 including Hyper-V 2008 R2
- 2009 (August 19) – General Availability of Windows Server 2008 R2 including Hyper-V 2008 R2
- 2009 (October 22) – Release of Windows Server 2008 R2 including Hyper-V 2.0
- 2011 (February 9) – RTM of SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2
- 2011 (February 22) – General Availability of SP1 for Windows Server 2008 R2
- 2011 (September 9) – Developer Build of Windows Server 8
- 2012 (March 1) – Beta of Windows Server 8
- 2012 (August 1) – RTM of Windows Server 2012 including Hyper-V 3.0
- 2012 (September 4) – General Availability of Windows Server 2012 including Hyper-V 3.0
- 2013 (June ?) – On May 14 Microsoft’s Tami Reller, head of marketing and finance for Windows announced that Windows Blue would be officially called Windows 8.1. A public preview of the software would be available on June 26th. There was no mention of the official name for Windows Server Blue and whether a public preview would be available on the same day as Windows 8.1
When Windows Server 2012 became generally available, the System Center Suite was not able to support the new OS until its SP1 release (RTM – December 16, 2012, GA – January 2, 2013). The new OS was even so feature rich that System Center 2012 SP1 was unable to include all of the treasures in Windows Server 2012. For example features like Hyper-V Replica and Virtual Fibre Channel can still not be managed from within Virtual Machine Manager 2012 SP1.
Questions, Questions, Questions
If there is a new Server OS version just around the corner …. What will this mean for Hyper-V? How will it impact Windows Azure Services for Windows Server (WASfWS)? And what will this mean for the successor of System Center 2012 SP1? Will the management suite be able to manage all of features of the new operating system? To what extent will Private, Hosted and Public Cloud be more aligned in the CloudOS? What’s with SMB3? What’s with Software Defined Networking (SDN) and how about the storage integration direction Microsoft is taking? Will Microsoft be able to set itself apart from the competition even more than it did with Windows Server 2012?
In other words, there are plenty of questions that remain to be answered. There’s a very good chance that some or maybe all of these questions will be answered during the live streamed TechEd North America 2013 keynote in New Orleans by Brad Anderson.
Keep an eye on this blog because we will soon announce a joint event by the System Center User Group (SCUG.nl) and Hyper-V.nu which will focus on the expected new exciting releases.
Validating Hyper-V 2012 and Failover Clustering Hotfixes and Cumulative Updates
May 29th
Some time ago I blogged about a great TechNet Wiki listing available hotfixes and updates for Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V and Failover Clustering:
As many of you know, keeping your Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V clusters up-to-date has become a whole lot easier with Cluster Aware Updating, which assists not only in a managed installation of relevant Windows Updates such as the monthly cumulative updates, but also for any relevant hotfixes or even BIOS/device driver updates. Fellow Hyper-V MVP Didier van Hoye aka @WorkingHardInIT has published a number of interesting blogs on this topic.
It can still be a laborious task to verify which updates and hotfixes have already been installed on your servers and which are missing. Once again my Twitter feed proved very helpful. Someone had noticed a great blog by Cristian Edwards, dealing exactly with this problem.
Using two XML files with entries for each hotfix class (Hyper-V or Cluster), you can simply check your servers by issuing this PowerShell script:
.\HyperV2012UpdatesCheck.ps1 server1, server2, serverX
Of course you are still responsible for selecting only those hotfixes that apply to your configuration. Windows Server 2012 cumulative updates should always be installed.
You can download the PowerShell script from Christian Edwards’ blog.
Making Virtual Machine Manager 2012 SP1 Networking Work
Mar 29th
Microsoft released a very nice poster on VMM 2012 SP1 networking. If you have been thinking “what on earth has happened to networking since the previous release of VMM”, and I can’t blame you if you put it in more stronger wording, then this poster is for you.
After experimenting a lot with VMM 2012 SP1 networking, I am slowly getting more proficient in this area but I can assure you there is a lot of ground to cover.
Posters like this help you get all the pieces together.
I am currently rebuilding our lab using the Logical Switch using uplink port profiles, native port profiles, virtual network adapters and port classifications. It is cool stuff and in the end makes a lot of sense. It’s just the learning curve that is fairly steep.
The other hard thing is that if you have already deployed your Hyper-V clusters using PowerShell for building your NIC Teams and Hyper-V Extensible Switches, it is not possible to just apply a Logical Switch on top of your existing configuration. The only way is to wipe your network configuration or your entire server. A bare metal deployment via VMM 2012 SP1 is probably the best method, including the various VMM integrations you might be able to download from your server hardware vendor. HP has released a nice integration which adds all latest device drivers into the VMM Library.
Chance to win Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Installation and Configuration Guide
Mar 27th
One of the authors of Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Installation and Configuration Guide, Patrick Lownds, is offering the readers of Hyper-V.nu an 
exclusive chance to win a signed copy of the book.
All you need to do is start the download of an evaluation copy of Windows Server 2012 by clicking on this link Windows Server 2012 ISO, make a screenshot showing at least 1% of the download of the ISO and send it to:
patrick_lownds@hotmail.com and please also mention Hyper-V.nu
When Patrick has enough responses, your name will be put into a draw and a winner will be selected at random.
Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Installation and Configuration Book
Mar 21st
If you are in some way dealing with Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2 and probably now exploring Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, you are by no means able to avoid the blogs, whitepapers, books and tweets written by Aidan Finn. In 2010 Aidan asked me to be a technical editor for his Mastering Hyper-V Deployment which I gladly accepted. It was a great step-by-step for implementing Hyper-V R2 and several of the important System Center components. The book was co-authored by Patrick Lownds, Hyper-V MVP and datacenter expert working for HP in London.
About a year later, Aidan approached me again asking if I would be willing to contribute to another book called Microsoft Private Cloud Computing and I did not think about refusing (or should I have). It was my first experience as an author and I wrote up the Fabric chapters of VMM 2012. Aidan laid a nice foundation with his lucid Cloud introduction chapters, Patrick focused on the service management functionality and the VMM Library while Cloud and Datacenter MVP, Damian Flynn wrote a couple of brilliant chapters on private cloud management and integration with App Controller, Service Manager and Orchestrator. It was a fine job we completed in early 2012, the book was published just before the beta of SP1 was announced. We simply didn’t have the opportunity to wait until SP1 was out and digest and explain all the new features that arrived with Windows Server 2012. Fortunately Damian has joined Nigel Cain (who is a Senior Program Manager for Windows Server and System Center) to write a blog series on Technet in eight installments between Jan 2013 until July 2013, just to explain the new Virtual networking technology in VMM 2012 SP1
Another year came and here was Aidan again, asking me to join him on his new venture: the Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Installation and Configuration Guide. Although I really liked the subject and wanted to go into great depth to learn all this cool stuff, I was simply too busy doing all those great Hyper-V and System Center projects for Inovativ. Our family was also heavily burdened by the unfortunate adventures of one of my sons, which more or less influenced me most of 2012.
Writing a book was out of the question.
Convincing as Aidan can be, he said he had his author team complete, again with Damian Flynn and Patrick Lownds plus Michel Luescher, “a virtualization junkie working as a consultant at Microsoft” as he calls himself. The only omission was a technical editor fit for the job. And that’s why he asked me.
I am more than honored to be mentioned quite extensively in the Acknowledgements of the Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V book by each and every author. I really felt like being part of the author team but in the role of both learning, correcting but most of all improving. I remember advising Aidan to split one chapter into two because it was approaching 100 pages, more than twice as much as they had anticipated.
Having been the first reader (and I read the chapters multiple times), I can truly say this is a superb book that anyone interested in the technical secrets of Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V should buy. I can guarantee you will not one day regret having bought this book. There were moments I wanted to cry out how good these chapters were, thrilled by the sheer excellence of the product and the very talented explanatory writing in the 600 pages of this Must-have-Hyper-V-version-3 book.
The book can be pre-ordered now and will be published on March 25th. The European release will be April 5th. See the Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Book Release FAQ.
I will not wait till my free copy arrives (Sybex, hope you are reading this) as I have already pre-ordered it myself, but wouldn’t mind a few extra copies to give away.
Last tickets for Hyper-V.nu event up for grabs
Mar 20th
As you can see from the screenshot, only a few tickets are left for the Hyper-V.nu event on April 16th, 2013. The event will be presented in Dutch which is unfortunate for several of our followers in the neighboring countries who wanted to attend. I hope to convince my fellow speakers to present in English again so the last 15 tickets could have been easily sold by now. The event is free by the way.
If you already know you cannot make it, please return your tickets!
Thanks!
Hans
|
|
Dell Compellent and Offloaded Data Transfer (ODX)
Mar 20th
I just finished a remote support session for a customer in New York. My task was to check a Windows Server 2012 cluster using PowerEdge M620 blades with 4x10GbE connected to a Dell Compellent (6.3.1 firmware).
I just had a small window of opportunity to create a fixed sized VHDX (25GB and 250GB).
new-vhd -path C:\ClusterStorage\volume1\25GB.vhdx -size 25GB –fixed
new-vhd -path C:\ClusterStorage\volume2\250GB.vhdx -size 250GB –fixed
Both completed in under 3 seconds. Wow!!!
ODX in its purest form.
So let me reiterate my advice to new SAN array buyers. The first question you should ask your SAN vendor. Does it support ODX? If the answer is negative or if they promise ODX in their next release, just tell them to take a hike and move on to a capable SAN vendor.
|
|
Wiki for Windows Server 2012 Cluster Hotfixes
Mar 6th
[Update June 2013]
An official location for the Windows Server 2012 Cluster Updates can be found here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2784261
For Windows Server 2012 clusters it was still very difficult to find a complete list of hotfixes. In the past there were blogs and other locations for Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and clusters, but not always authorized by Microsoft. This could cause a trust issue for customers who don’t want to rely on some blog.
As MVP’s we have also expressed a wish to see an official list which is maintained by Microsoft. It is great to see our request is honored so quickly and you can now find the Windows Server 2012 Cluster hotfixes
Here is a message from John Marlin, Senior Support Escalation Engineer Microsoft Enterprise Platforms Support:
In a previous blog, it was discussed on where you can get a list of the Failover Clustering and Hyper-V hotfixes for Windows Server 2008 R2.
Looking for Windows Server 2008 R2 Cluster and Hyper-V Hotfixes?
http://blogs.technet.com/b/askcore/archive/2013/02/15/looking-for-windows-server-2008-r2-cluster-and-hyper-v-hotfixes.aspxIn this blog, we give the links to newly released hotfixes for Failover Clustering and Hyper-V so you know what hotfixes are out there. There are two Wiki pages that will make life easier for you when looking for hotfixes for Windows Server 2012 Clustering and Hyper-V.
Hyper-V: Update List for Windows Server 2012
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/15576.hyper-v-update-list-for-windows-server-2012.aspxList of Failover Cluster Hotfixes for Windows Server 2012
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/15577.list-of-failover-cluster-hotfixes-for-windows-server-2012.aspxThese Wiki pages are updated on a regular basis. You can setup an RSS Subscription to the Wiki page so you can the updated Wiki page in your favorite RSS app or Outlook.
Hyper-V Virtual Switch Extension Cisco Nexus 1000V
Mar 2nd
This week is an important day for Microsoft’s new Hyper-V Extensible Switch in Windows Server 2012. We already know this switch is capable of many new features including capturing, filtering and forwarding extensions from several vendors.
Damian Flynn (fellow author on Microsoft Private Cloud Computing and co-author of Windows Server 2012 Installation and Configuration Guide (appearing very soon!), informed me that major networking player Cisco is about to make a big announcement and that Damian will be co-presenting the announcement with Cisco.
On Wednesday March 6th at 6pm CET, Cisco will unveil its greatly anticipated Distributed Switch solution for Windows Server 2012 and Hyper-V; the Nexus 1000V.
What is the Nexus 1000V?
Cisco Nexus 1000V Series Switches provide a comprehensive and extensible architectural platform for virtual machine (VM) and cloud networking. The switches are designed to accelerate server virtualization and multitenant cloud deployments in a secure and operationally transparent manner. Integrated into the Windows Server 2012 Extensible Switch, and fully compatible with System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 SP1,
Please blog, tweet, and pass on the message, to learn about the Nexus 1000v, and how to join the beta program; grabbing the all-important Beta Code!
For more information, and registration details please follow and share Damian’s link:
http://www.damianflynn.com/2013/03/01/cisco-nexus-1000v-public-beta-program/
|
|
SMB 3.0 and ODX both appear in EMC VNX mainstream release
Feb 27th
Today I received news that EMC has released its latest version of the VNX Operating System which covers NAS and Block functionality (VNX OE 32/8) and Maintenance Release 1 (MR1). If you are an EMC customer, this important release is now available for download:
For Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V customers this is especially very good news because VNX now supports SMB 3.0 and ODX (Offloaded Data Transfer), apart from some VAAI performance enhancements which are of course more interesting for the other guys. ODX is very similar to Block XCOPY in vSphere.
EMC is probably the first vendor offering SMB 3.0 support in its storage array. Several vendors are still working on adding SMB 3.0 and ODX support so this is important news for acceptance of Microsoft storage technology and Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V. NetApp SMB 3.0 support is targeted at ONTAP 8.2.
The software can be downloaded from PowerLink or http://support.emc.com.
|
|
Twitter
RSS