Veeam Brien Posey Hands On Guide Understanding Hyper V in Windows Server 2012

Hands-on Guide:
Understanding
Hyper-V
in Windows Server 2012
Brien Posey
Pete Zerger, Chris Henley
Understanding Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012
Contents
Chapter 1. AnIntroduction toHyper-V 3.0 3
Chapter 2. FailoverClustering 30
Chapter 3. Migrations 84
Chapter 4. Managing Virtual Machine Failover 123
Chapter 5. PowerShell Management 144
Chapter 6. Virtual Machine Management 181
Chapter 7. P2V Conversions 222
Chapter 8. Replication 246
Chapter 9. Hyper-V Management 273
Chapter 10. Networking 293
Chapter 11. Backing up Hyper-V 317
Chapter 12. Automation andOrchestration 336
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Chapter 1
AnIntroduction
toHyper-V 3.0
This chapter is designed to get you started quickly with
Hyper-V 3.0. It starts with a discussion of the hardware
requirements for Hyper-V 3.0 and then explains abasic
Hyper-Vdeployment followed by anupgrade from
Hyper-V 2.0 to Hyper-V 3.0. The chapter concludes with
ademonstration of migrating virtual machines from
Hyper-V 2.0 to Hyper-V 3.0
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Hyper-V 3.0 flavors

Before we get started, it is worth noting that like its predecessors, Hyper-V
3.0 comes in two different flavors. Microsoft offers a standalone version
ofHyper-V, or you can operate Hyper-V as a server role on top of Windows
Server 2012. This book deals with Hyper-V exclusively as a server role.
Hardware requirements
According to Microsoft, the minimum hardware required for deploying
Windows Server 2012 includes:
A 64-bit processor operating at 1.4 GHz or higher
512 MB of RAM
32 GB of hard disk space
A DVD Drive
A monitor and video card with a minimum display resolution of 800 x 600
Keyboard and mouse (or other compatible pointing device)
Internet access
Because Hyper-V is designed to use the servers hardware to host a number

of virtual machines, the minimum system requirements are not suitable
for Hyper-V. Specifically, you will need more memory and hard disk space,
andits advisable to have aserver with multiple sockets and/or multiple CPU
cores. Theservers used in the development of this book were equipped with
thefollowing:
An 8-core, 64-bit CPU
32 GB of RAM
A 500-GB hard drive used to store the host operating system.
Four 1-TB hard drives configured as a RAID 5 array
In addition to the hardware requirements listed above, the CPU must support
hardware-level virtualization. It is worth noting that virtualization has been
disabled by default on many servers, so you may need to enable virtualization
through the system BIOS, as shown in Figure 1.1. If your servers BIOS contains
a setting for Data Execution Prevention (DEP), you will need to enable that
setting as well.
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Figure 1.1
You may need to manually enable virtualization in the servers BIOS.
Installing Windows Server 2012

andHyper-V 3.0
Setting up a clean installation of Windows Server 2012 and Hyper-V 3.0 is
relatively simple and straightforward. First, install Windows Server 2012 by
completing these steps:
1. Boot your server from the Windows Server 2012 installation media.
2. When the Windows Server 2012 splash screen launches, verify that
thelanguage, time and currency format, and keyboard orinput methods
are correct (Figure 1.2).
Figure 1.2
Verify your installation preferences.
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3. Click Next.
4. Click Install Now (Figure 1.3).
Figure 1.3
Click Install Now.

5. Choose the operating system that you want to install (Figure 1.4). Itis
worth noting that a default Windows Server 2012 does not include
the GUI. If you want to use the GUI then do not choose the Server
Core option. Although Server Core is Microsofts preferred method
fordeploying Windows Server 2012, it is easier to manage Hyper-V
through a GUI. Therefore, the instructions found throughout this book
willassume that you are using the GUI. If you are interested in Server Core
deployments, see Chapter 5 for a discussion about managing Hyper-V
through Windows PowerShell.
Figure 1.4
Choose the edition of Windows Server 2012 that you want to install.
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6. Accept the license agreement and click Next (Figure 1.5).

Figure 1.5
You must accept Microsofts license agreement.

7. When prompted for the type of installation you want to perform, choose
the option for Custom: Install Windows Only (advanced) (Figure 1.6).
Figure 1.6
Choose the option to perform a custom installation.

8. Choose the volume on which you want to install Windows and click Next
(Figure 1.7).
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Figure 1.7
Select the drive or volume on which you want to install Windows Server 2012.
9. Setup will now begin the installation process (Figure 1.8). After
theWindows installation completes , you must work through a separate
process to install Hyper-V.
Figure 1.8
The installation process will now begin.
Deploying Hyper-V 3.0

After Windows Server 2012 is up and running, the next step is toinstall
theHyper-V role. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Open the Server Manager if it is not already open.
2. Choose the Add Roles and Features command from the Manage menu
(Figure 1.9).
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Figure 1.9
Choose the Add Roles and Features command.

3. When the Add Roles and Features Wizard launches, click Next to bypass
the wizards Welcome screen.
4. Click Next.
5. Choose the Role-Based or Feature-Based Installation option (Figure 1.10).
Figure 1.10
Choose the Role Based or Feature Based Installation option.

6. Click Next.
7. On the Server Selection screen, make sure that the local server is selected
and click Next (Figure 1.11).
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Figure 1.11
Make sure that your local server is selected.

8. Select Hyper-V from the list of server roles (Figure 1.12).
Figure 1.12
Select the Hyper-V role.

9. If you are prompted to install additional features, click the Add
Featuresbutton.
10. Click Next.
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11. When the wizard displays the list of available features, click Next.
12. Click Next on the Hyper-V introductory screen.
13. Select the network adapters that you want to make available to your
virtual machines. Be sure to reserve at least one network adapter for host
management traffic (Figure 1.13).
Figure 1.13
Be sure to reserve a network adapter for host management traffic.
14. Click Next.

15. At this point you will see a screen asking if you want to allow theserver to
send and receive live migrations of virtual machines. Livemigrations are
discussed in Chapter 3, so for now just click Next to accept the defaults.
16. When prompted, click Next to accept the default stores.
17. When the Confirmation screen is displayed, click the Install button.
Post deployment tasks

After the installation process completes, you may need to perform a number of
post-deployment tasks, which might include:
Configure the hosts IP address

Rename the host
Join the host to a domain
The sections that follow will walk you through performing each of these tasks.
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Configure the hosts IP address

In most cases, Hyper-V host servers need to have at least one NIC that is
dedicated to hosting management traffic. As a best practice, you should assign
a static IP address to this NIC. You can assign an IP address to the servers
management NIC as follows:
1. Move the mouse to the lower left corner of the screen and right click.
Choose the Control Panel option from the right-click menu.
2. When the Control Panel appears, click on Network and Internet.
3. Click on Network and Sharing Center.
4. Click on the Change Adapter Settings link.
5. Right click on the icon representing your management NIC and choose
theProperties command from the shortcut menu.
6. Assuming that IPv4 is being used, select the Internet Protocol Version 4
(TCP/IPv4) option and click the Properties button (Figure 1.14).
7. Enter the IP address that you want to assign to the NIC and click OK
(Figure 1.15).
Figure 1.14
Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and click the Properties button.
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Figure 1.15
Provision your management NIC with a static IP address and click OK.
Rename the host

Windows Server 2012 automatically assigns a unique host name to each server,
but it is generally advisable to assign a more meaningful name to each Hyper-V
host. Doing so will make the host management process easier. To assign anew
name to your Hyper-V host server, follow these steps:
1. M
ove the mouse to the lower left corner of the screen and right click.
Choose the System option from the right-click menu.
2. When the System properties sheet appears, click on the Change Settings
link (Figure 1.16).
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Figure 1.16
Click the Change Settings link.
3. Verify that the Computer Name tab is selected and then click the Change
button (Figure 1.17).
Figure 1.17
Click the Change button.

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4. Enter a new name for the server and click OK (Figure 1.18).
Figure 1.18
Enter a new computer name and click OK.
5. Click OK to acknowledge the message indicating that you must restart

your computer to apply the new name.
6. Click Close.
7. When prompted, click Restart Now (Figure 1.19).
Figure 1.19
You must restart the server before your changes will take effect.
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Join the host to a domain

The process of joining a Windows Server 2012 host to a domain is very similar
to that used in joining a Windows Server 2008 R2 host to a domain. To join
adomain, follow these steps:
1. From the Metro interface, click the Desktop tile.
2. Move your mouse to the lower left corner of the screen and right-click on
the Start tile.
3. Click on the System option on the right-click menu.
4. When the System dialog box appears, click on the Change Settings link
(Figure 1.16).
5. When the System Properties sheet appears, go to the Computer Name
tab and click the Change button (Figure 1.17).
6. Select the Domain option and enter the fully qualified domain name
(Figure 1.18).
7. Click OK.
8. When prompted, enter a set of administrative credentials for the domain.
9. Click OK to clear the message indicating that the computer has been
joined to a domain.
10. Reboot the server (Figure 1.19).
Performing an in-place upgrade from

Hyper-V 2.0
If your organization is currently running Hyper-V 2.0, it is usually possible to
perform an in-place upgrade to Hyper-V 3.0. In preparation for an upgrading
astandalone Hyper-V 2.0 server, you must shut down any virtual machines that
are currently running. To complete the upgrade, follow these steps:
1. Shut down any virtual machines that are running on the server to be
upgraded. If any virtual machines are left running, the Compatibility
Report will prevent the upgrade from continuing (Figure 1.20).
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Figure 1.20
You must shut down the virtual machines prior to beginning the upgrade.
2. With Windows Server 2008 R2 still running, insert your Windows Server
2012 installation media and run the Setup program.
3. When the Windows Server 2012 splash screen appears, click Install Now
(Figure 1.21).
Figure 1.21
Click the Install Now button.
4. When prompted, click on the option to go online to install updates

(Figure1.22).
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Figure 1.22
You should go online to get the latest updates.
5. Enter your product key and click Next.

6. Select whether you want to perform a server core deployment orafull-
server deployment that includes the GUI (Figure 1.23). It is worth
noting that Windows Server 2012 is designed to perform a server
core deployment by default. However, you cannot perform an in-place
upgrade of afull Windows Server deployment (with a GUI) to a server
core deployment. If you want a server core deployment, you will have to
upgrade to the full GUI version of Windows Server 2012 and then uninstall
the GUI later. The instructions provided in this book assume that you will
be working with a full GUI-based installation. If you are interested in using
Server Core, see Chapter 5 for a discussion of how to manage Hyper-V
from PowerShell.
Figure 1.23
Choose the edition of Windows Server 2012 that you want to install.
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7. Click Next.
8. When prompted, accept the license agreement and click Next
(Figure1.24).
Figure 1.24
You must accept Microsofts license agreement.
9. Choose the option to Upgrade: Install Windows and keep files, settings,
and applications (Figure 1.25).
Figure 1.25
Choose the option to upgrade the existing operating system.
10. Take a moment to review the Compatibility Report, which informs you
of issues you need to address prior to moving forward with the upgrade
(Figure 1.26). When you are finished, clickNext.
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Figure 1.26
Take a moment to read the compatibility report.
11. At this point, Windows will be installed. The remainder of the upgrade
process is automated.
Migrating virtual machines from Hyper-V

2.0 to Hyper-V 3.0
One of the big disadvantages to performing an in-place upgrade is that it can
cause virtual machines to be down for a significant amount of time. Oneway
to reduce the amount of time during which virtual machines are unavailable
is to perform a migration rather than an upgrade. A migration involves
deploying Hyper-V 3.0 onto new hardware while your existing hardware
continues torun Hyper-V 2.0. Once the deployment is complete, you can
migrate the individual virtual machines from the Hyper-V 2.0 deployment to
theHyper-V3.0deployment.
Exporting the virtual machines

The first step in migrating virtual machines from Hyper-V 2 to Hyper-V 3 is to
export the virtual machines to either a network share or to removable media.
To complete the export process, follow these steps:
1. Open the Hyper-V Manager on the Hyper-V 2.0 Server.
2. Select the virtual machines that you want to export (Figure 1.27).
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Figure 1.27
Select the virtual machines that you wish to export.
3. Click on the Export link.

4. Specify a path to write the exported content (Figure 1.28). Be sure to
choose a location with plenty of free storage space.
Figure 1.28
Enter an export path and click the Export button.
5. Click Export.
You can monitor the progress of the export by scrolling the Hyper-V Manager
to view the virtual machine Status (Figure 1.29).
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Figure 1.29
You can monitor the export process through the Hyper-V Manager.
Importing virtual machines

Importing virtual machines into Hyper-V 3.0 is a relatively easy
andstraightforward process. You can import one or more virtual machines
asfollows:
1. Open the Hyper-V Manager.
2. Right-click on the name of the Hyper-V host and select the Import Virtual
Machine command from the right-click menu (Figure 1.30).
Figure 1.30
Right click-on your the server and select the Import Virtual Machine command from
therightclick menu.
3. When the Import Virtual Machine wizard launches, click Next to bypass
thewizards Welcome screen.
4. Click the Browse button.
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5. Navigate to the folder containing the virtual machine that you want to
import and click the Select Folder button.
6. Choose the virtual machine that you want to import (Figure 1.31).
Figure 1.31
Select the virtual machine that you want to import.
7. Click Next.
8. The next screen asks you to choose an import type (Figure 1.32). Unless
you have a compelling reason to choose one of the other options, it is
usually best to choose the option to Copy the Virtual Machine (Create
a New Unique ID). This allows the exported virtual machine to be
reimported later should the need ever arise.
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Figure 1.32
Choose the appropriate import type.
9. Click Next.
10. The following screen asks if you want to store any of the virtual machine
components in a different location. Generally, it is safe to accept
thedefaults. Click Next.
11. The wizard will now ask where you want to store the imported Virtual
Hard Disks. Select a folder on an appropriate volume and click Next.
12. Verify the summary information screen and click Finish (Figure 1.33).
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Figure 1.33
The import process begins when you click Finish.
The import process can take a considerable amount of time to complete,

depending upon the size of the virtual machine and the speed of the hardware.
When the import process finishes, you should see the newly imported virtual
machine within the Hyper-V Manager.
Before you power-up the newly imported virtual machine, you need to connect
the virtual machine to a virtual switch. To do so, right click on thevirtual
machine and choose the Settings command from the right-click menu. When
the Settings page appears, click on the Network Adapter option and then
connect the virtual machine to the appropriate virtual switch (Figure1.34).
When you have finished, click OK.
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Figure 1.34
You must connect your virtual machine to a virtual switch.
This completes the process of importing a virtual machine. Previous versions

of Hyper-V required you to re-enter the IP address configuration for each
virtual network adapter. However, Hyper-V 3.0 preserves the virtual machines
IP address configuration. The only change that you might need to make to
the virtual machine is to install an updated version of theHyper-V Integration
Services.
What about clusters?

This chapter has discussed clean Hyper-V installations as well as the process
forupgrading a Hyper-V 2.0 server to Hyper-V 3.0. Although these techniques
are certainly valid, organizations that are currently running Hyper-V are often
using a clustered environment.
The process of building a Hyper-V cluster is discussed in detail in Chapter 2. This
section explains what is involved in upgrading aHyper-V 2.0 cluster to Hyper-V
3.0a process that is not entirely intuitive.
Microsofts preferred method for performing a cluster upgrade involves building
an entirely new cluster. The basic idea is to create a cluster out of servers that are
running Windows Server 2012. If you lack the budget to build a completely new
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cluster, you can start small by building thenew cluster with a minimum number
of cluster nodes and using low-end hardware if necessary. After the migration
process is complete, you can always install Windows Server 2012 onto your
existing cluster hardware, join those servers to the new cluster and then remove
the temporary, low-end servers from thecluster. Dont worry too much about
exceeding the maximum cluster size during the migration process, because
Windows Server 2012 allows up to 63cluster nodes.
As you probably know, Hyper-V 2.0 clusters depend on the use of Cluster Shared
Volumes. When you build the new Hyper-V 3.0 cluster, you must attach the
cluster nodes to the existing cluster shared volume (see Chapter 2 for details).
At this point, both the Hyper-V 2.0 cluster and the Hyper-V 3.0 cluster should be
tied into the same Cluster Shared Volume.
Once the Hyper-V 3.0 cluster is in place, verify that the Hyper-V 2.0 cluster is
still functional and that the virtual machines are still running (there is no reason
why they shouldnt be, because the cluster has not been modified). Now, open
theFailover Cluster Manager on one of your Windows Server 2012 servers
andfollow these steps:
1. Right-click on the cluster name and choose the More Actions | Migrate
Roles commands from the right-click menus (Figure 1.35).
Figure 1.35
Choose the Migrate Roles option.
2. When the Migrate a Cluster Wizard launches, click Next to bypass

3. When prompted, enter the name of the old cluster from which you plan to
migrate the virtual machines (Figure 1.36).
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Figure 1.36
Enter the name of your Hyper-V 2.0 cluster.
4. Select the virtual machines that you plan to migrate and click Next
(Figure1.37).
Figure 1.37
Choose the virtual machines that you want to migrate.
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5. Choose the Virtual Network Switch that the virtual machines should use
after they have been migrated to the new cluster and click Next.
6. The next screen provides an analysis of the migration. You can click
theView Report button to see the full Failover Cluster Pre-Migration
Report. It is worth noting that the report indicates that the cluster group
and the available storage cannot be migrated. This is perfectly normal
andacceptable.
7. Close the report and click Next.
8. Take a moment to verify the information displayed on theConfirmation
screen and click Next.
9. When the migration completes, click Finish.
Please keep in mind that Windows Server 2012 does not perform a live migration
of the virtual machines. When the migration completes, the virtual machines are
still running on the Hyper-V 2.0 cluster, so there are acouple of things that you
need to do to complete the process.
First, shut down the virtual machines on the Hyper-V 2.0 server. Second,
disconnect the Hyper-V 2.0 cluster nodes from the shared storage. If you fail to
do this, virtual machine corruption can occur. Finally, start the virtual machines
on your new cluster. Once the virtual machines are up and running, it is safe to
destroy your Hyper-V 2.0 cluster and re-provision the host servers for use in
thenew cluster.
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Chapter 2
FailoverClustering
Chapter 2 is designed to familiarize you with your options
for Hyper-V clustering. Hyper-V 3.0 allows you to build
acluster with or without shared storage, and this chapter
walks you through both methods. In addition, you will
learn how to provision storage using a new Windows
Server 2012 feature called Windows Storage Spaces.
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Perhaps the most important concept to understand with regard to server

virtualization is that of clustering. The reason for this is simple: Server
virtualization places an increased importance on server hardware. In a traditional
physical datacenter the failure of a single server is typically regarded as
aninconvenience, but is rarely catastrophic. In a virtual datacenter, however,
this may not be the case. Each physical server hosts multiple virtual machines.
Therefore, if a physical server fails then all of the virtual machines residing on that
server will also fail. Hence, the failure of a single physical host can cause amajor
outage. The only way to protect against this type of failure is through the use of
failover clustering.
Failover clustering spreads a virtualized workload across multiple physical hosts.
That way if a host server fails, the virtual machines can fail over to a different host
server within the cluster and remain online in spite of the failure.
Failover clustering is not new to Hyper-V 3.0, but Microsoft has made significant
improvements to failover clustering. Many of these improvements are related
to scalability. The table below compares a Hyper-V 2.0 cluster to a Hyper-V 3.0
cluster in terms of scalability.
Hyper-V 2.0 Hyper-V 3.0
The maximum number of
virtual machines per host
384 1024
that can be powered on at
any given time
Maximum number of
virtual machines in 1000 4000
acluster
Maximum number of
16 63
hosts per cluster
Maximum RAM per

1 TB 2 TB
hostserver
Another major improvement that Microsoft has made with regard to failover
clustering is that they have changed the storage requirements. Prior to Hyper-V
3.0, a Hyper-V cluster depended on the use of a Cluster Shared Volume.
ACluster Shared Volume is a shared storage volume that physically contains all
of thevirtual machine components. Because the storage is shared, it is physically
accessible to all of the cluster nodes. You can see an example of shared storage
architecture in Figure 2.1.
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Figure 2.1
Previous versions of Hyper-V required failover clusters to make use of shared storage.
In Hyper-V 3.0, shared storage is no longer required for failover clustering.

Afailover cluster can be built without the need for a Cluster Shared Volume.
Inthose types of clusters, the virtual machines can reside on local direct
attached storage or they can even reside on certain types of file servers.
The fact that you can create failover clusters without a Cluster Shared Volume is
good news for smaller organizations because the cost of shared storage often
puts clustered virtualization hosts financially out of reach. Even so, Microsoft
recommends that Hyper-V 3.0 failover clusters make use of failover clusters
whenever possible . This chapter will demonstrate the process of building
failover clusters both with and without shared storage.
Cluster planning
Before you begin constructing a failover cluster you will need to do some
planning. Obviously you will need to decide whether the cluster will
use shared storage, youll need to take into account a number of other
considerations,including:
Domain membership Domain membership isnt an absolute

requirement for cluster nodes, but the configuration process is a lot easier
if all of the cluster nodes are members of a common Active Directory
domain. Domain membership allows Kerberos authentication to be
used. This chapter will assume that all cluster nodes have been joined
toacommon Active Directory domain.
Node names Just as the cluster requires a cluster name, each cluster
node requires a unique computer name. Although Windows Server 2012
assigns computer names automatically, it is highly recommended that you
assign computer names that are more descriptive. Doing so makes it easier
tofigure out which node you are working on. The cluster nodes used in
theexamples in this chapter will be named Lab1, Lab2 and Lab3.
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Cluster name The configuration process requires that a unique name

be assigned to the cluster. The name you choose should be different from
any of the computer names that are used within your ActiveDirectory.
Cluster node hardware Another important consideration is the cluster

nodes themselves. The nodes do not have to use identical hardware, but
they should all use the same CPU architecture and ideally they should be
equipped with comparable amounts of memory.
Number of nodes You also need to decide how many nodes touse
in your cluster. In this chapter you will be building a Majority Node Set
Cluster. It is best to use an odd number of cluster nodes whenever possible
because a Majority Node Set Cluster requires half of the nodes plus one
to remain online during a failure in order for the cluster to retain quorum.
It is technically possible to build a failover cluster out of two cluster nodes
(plus a file share witness), but it's recommended that you always use at
least three cluster nodes. Your cluster can contain as many as 63 nodes.
Of course, most clusters use far fewer than 63 nodes, and you always have
the option of adding additional cluster nodes later until the maximum
number of nodes has been reached.
Network adapters Hyper-V is very flexible in terms of the network

adapter requirements for cluster nodes. However, it is generally
recommended that each cluster node have a minimum of three network
adapters. You should reserve one adapter should be reserved for
management traffic and another adapter for cluster traffic. The third
(andany additional adapters) are used for virtual machine traffic.
Node IP addresses As a best practice, you should assign a static IP

address to each cluster nodes management NIC. However, you will also
need to decide how you want to handle IP address assignment for the
other NICs.
Cluster IP address In addition to the IP addresses assigned tophysical

NICs you must assign a static IP address to the cluster. This IP address
is used to communicate with the cluster as a whole rather than with
anindividual cluster node.
Building a failover cluster without

sharedstorage
As previously mentioned, it is possible to build a failover cluster without using
shared storage. This part of the chapter will walk you through the process. You
will be building a Majority Node Set cluster consisting of three cluster nodes.
Keep in mind, however, that if it is within your budget, you should use shared
storage whenever possible, as Microsoft recommends.
This section assumes that you have installed Windows Server 2012
onto each cluster node, joined the cluster nodes to an Active Directory
domain, andprovisioned each node with an appropriate computer name
andthenecessary IP addresses.
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Installing the failover clustering feature

The first step in the configuration process is to install the Failover Clustering
feature onto each cluster node. You can accomplish this task by following
thesesteps:
1. Open the Server Manager
2. Choose the Add Roles and Features option from the Manage menu.
3. When the Add Roles and Features Wizard starts, click Next to bypass
thewelcome screen.
4. Choose the Role-Based or Feature-Based Installation option and click
Next.
5. Verify that the correct server is selectedand click Next (Figure 2.2).
Figure 2.2
You must install the Failover Clustering feature onto each of the cluster nodes.
6. When the wizard displays the list of server roles, click Next.
7. Select Failover Clustering from the list of features (Figure 2.3). If the wizard
prompts you to install additional features, click the Add Features button.
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Figure 2.3
Select the Failover Clustering feature.
8. Click Next.
9. Click Install.
10. When the installation process completes, click Close.
Building a Majority Node Set Cluster

Now that the Failover Clustering Service has been installed, the next step in
theprocess is to build the failover cluster. The steps listed in this section only
need to be performed on one of the cluster nodes. To create the failover cluster,
follow these steps:
1. Open the Server Manager.
2. Choose the Failover Cluster Manager option from the Tools menu.
3. When the Failover Cluster Manager opens, click on the Create Cluster link,
found in the Actions pane (Figure 2.4). Windows will launch the Create
Cluster Wizard.
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Figure 2.4
Click on the Create Cluster link.
4. Click Next to bypass the wizards Welcome screen.

5. Specify the names of the servers that you want to include in the cluster
(Figure 2.5).
Figure 2.5
You should specify all of the nodes that you want to include in the cluster.
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6. Click Next.
7. You should now see a message indicating that the cluster has not yet been
validated. Choose the option to run the validation tests andclick Next
(Figure2.6). Windows will launch the Validate aClusterWizard.
Figure 2.6
You must validate the cluster before you can create it.

9. Choose the Run All Tests (Recommended) option and click Next.
10. Click Next to begin the validation tests.
11. When the validation tests complete, take a moment to view the report
andreview any errors or warnings (Figure 2.7). ClickFinish.
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Figure 2.7
Review the validation report and check for any errors or warnings.
12. When prompted, enter a name for the cluster and assign an IP address
tothe cluster (Figure 2.8). The name and IP address that you use should be
unique and will be used to identify the cluster as a whole.
Figure 2.8
You must assign a unique name and static IP address to the cluster.
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13. Click Next.

14. Take a moment to verify the information presented on the confirmation
15. You should see a message indicating that the cluster was created
successfully. Click Finish to close the wizard.
Installing the Hyper-V role

The next step in the process is to install the Hyper-V role. This role must be
installed onto each of the cluster nodes. To complete this process, follow
thesesteps:
2. Choose the Add Roles and Features command from the Manage menu.
3. When the Add Roles and Features wizard appears, click Next to bypass
4. Make sure that the Role-Based or Feature-Based Installation option is
selected and click Next.
5. Select the server on which you want to deploy the Hyper-V role and click
Next (Figure2.9).
Figure 2.9
Choose the server on which you want to deploy the Hyper-V role.
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6. Select the Hyper-V option from the list of roles (Figure 2.10).
Figure 2.10
Select the Hyper-V role and click Next.
7. If you are prompted to add additional features, click the Add Features
button.
8. Click Next.
9. Click Next.
10. Click Next.
11. Select the network adapters that you want to connect to the virtual
switch (Figure 2.11). You can select multiple network adapters, but as
abest practice you should reserve a network adapter for management
traffic andreserve an adapter for cluster communications (such as cluster
heartbeats and live migration traffic).
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Figure 2.11
Select the network adapters that you want to connect to the Hyper-V virtual switch.
12. Click Next.

13. Select the checkbox for Allow this Server to Send and Receive Live
Migrations of Virtual Machines (Figure 2.12).
Figure 2.12
Cluster nodes must be able to live migrate virtual machines.
41
14. Select the authentication protocol to be used by live migration traffic. If

the cluster nodes reside in the same Active Directory domain, then you
should use the Kerberos protocol. Kerberos is more secure than CredSSP
and the configuration process is easier.
15. Click Next.
16. Click Next to accept the default store location.
17. Take a moment to verify the information that is displayed on
theConfirmation screen and then click Install.
18. When the installation process completes, click Close and then reboot
theserver.
19. Repeat these steps for each node in the cluster.
Making Hyper-V fault tolerant

So far you have installed the Failover Clustering feature and the Hyper-V role.
Even so, Hyper-V is not yet fault tolerant. Fault tolerance is implemented on
aper-virtual-machine basis. That being the case, its a good idea to create
some virtual machines. Then you can make your virtual machines fault tolerant
by following these steps:
2. Choose the Failover Cluster Manager from the list of tools.
3. When the Failover Cluster Manager opens, navigate through theconsole
tree to Failover Cluster Manager | <your cluster name> | Roles
(Figure2.13).
Figure 2.13
Navigate through the Failover Cluster Manager to Failover Cluster Manager | <your cluster
name> | Roles.
4. Click the Configure Role link, found in the Actions pane.

5. Windows will launch the High Availability Wizard. Click Next to bypass
the wizards Welcome screen.
6. The next screen lists a variety of server roles. Select the Virtual Machine
role from the list and click Next (Figure 2.14).
42
Figure 2.14
Select the Virtual Machine option and click Next.
7. Select the virtual machines that you wish to make fault tolerant and click
Next (Figure2.15).
Figure 2.15
Select the virtual machines that you wish to make fault tolerant and click Next.
43
8. Verify the information displayed on the confirmation screen and click Next.
9. When the process completes you should see a message confirming that
high availability was successfully configured. Click the View Report button
to examine the report. Click Finish.
After the virtual machines become fault tolerant, you should see them listed
in the Failover Cluster Managers Roles container (Figure 2.16). Likewise,
theHyper-V Manager should list the virtual machine as being clustered
(Figure2.17).
Figure 2.16
The virtual machine should now be listed in the Failover Cluster Manager.
Figure 2.17
The Hyper-V Manager should list the virtual machine as being clustered.
44
Building a failover cluster using

sharedstorage
Even though you can build a Hyper-V 3.0 cluster without the need for shared
storage, Microsofts preferred method for building a Hyper-V failover cluster
still involves the use of a Cluster Shared Volume. In this section you will learn
how to build amajority node set cluster consisting of three cluster nodes
andafourth server that hosts the Cluster Shared Volume for the cluster.
This section assumes that you have installed Windows Server 2012
onto each cluster node, joined the cluster nodes to an Active Directory
domain, andprovisioned each node with an appropriate computer name
andthenecessary IP addresses.
The method or building a failover cluster that utilizes shared storage is
similar to that used for a shared nothing cluster. Even so, this section will walk
you through the procedure in its entirety (including procedures that were
demonstrated in the previous section) because the procedures have to be
performed in a certain order.
Installing the Failover Clustering feature

The first step in the configuration process is to install the Failover Clustering
feature onto each cluster node. You can accomplish this task by following
thesesteps:
1. Open Server Manager
2. Choose the Add Roles and Features option from the Manage menu.
3. When the Add Roles and Features Wizard starts, click Next to bypass
thewelcome screen.
4. Choose the Role-Based or Feature-Based Installation option
andclickNext.
5. Verify that the correct server is selected and click Next.
6. When the wizard displays the list of server roles, click Next.
7. Select Failover Clustering from the list of features (Figure 2.18).
Ifthewizard prompts you to install additional features, click the Add
Features button.
45
Figure 2.18
Select the Failover Clustering feature and click Next.
8. Click Next.
9. Click Install.
10. When the installation process completes, click Close.
Building a Majority Node Set Cluster

Now that the Failover Clustering feature has been installed, it is time to create
the cluster. Once again, you will be creating a Majority Node Set Cluster
consisting of three cluster nodes. It is only necessary to perform the procedure
below on a single cluster node. To create the cluster, follow these steps:
3. When the Failover Cluster Manager opens, click on the Create Cluster link,
found in the Actions pane. When you do, Windows will launch the Create
Cluster Wizard.
5. Specify the names of the servers that you want to include in the cluster
(Figure 2.19).
46
Figure 2.19
Specify the names of the servers that will make up the cluster.
6. Click Next.
7. You should now see a message indicating that the cluster has not yet
been validated. Choose the option to run the validation tests andclick
Next (Figure2.20). This will cause Windows to launch the Validate
aClusterWizard.
Figure 2.20
The cluster must be validated.
47

9. Choose the Run All Tests (Recommended) option andclickNext
(Figure2.21).
Figure 2.21
You must run all of the validation tests.
10. Click Next to begin the validation tests.

11. When the validation tests complete, take a moment to view the report
andreview any errors or warnings (Figure 2.22). ClickFinish.
48
Figure 2.22
Review the validation report for any errors or warnings.
12. When prompted, enter a name for the cluster and assign an IP address
tothe cluster (Figure 2.23). The name and IP address that you use should
be unique and will be used to identify the cluster as a whole.
Figure 2.23
Specify the name and IP address to be used by the cluster.
49
13. Click Next.

14. Take a moment to verify the information presented on the confirmation
15. You should now see a message indicating that the cluster was created
successfully (Figure 2.24). Click Finish to close the wizard.
Figure 2.24
Verify that the cluster has been created successfully.
Shared storage
In the past if you wanted to use failover clustering with Hyper-V, you had to
make use of shared storage in the form of a Cluster Shared Volume. Although
Hyper-V 3.0 does not require a Cluster Shared Volume for clustering, shared
storage is still the preferred method for building a failover cluster.
As has always been the case, you can create a Cluster Shared Volume on
virtually any iSCSI or Fibre Channel accessible storage device. This can include
a SAN, a physical NAS appliance or even a server that is configured to act as
a shared storage device. The actual method you use to provision the shared
storage varies depending on the physical hardware you are using.
For the sake of demonstration, this example will use a Windows Server to
host the shared storage and will connect to this server using iSCSI. This server
contains four physical hard disks. The first hard disk is a 250-GB disk that
contains the Windows Server 2012 operating system files. The remaining
three hard disks are each 500 GB in size and will be configured to act as
aRAID 5 array. Keep in mind that this configuration is only being used for
demonstration purposes. Real-world organizations typically use larger arrays
and those arrays are often configured as RAID 6 or as RAID 10, because
50
such RAID configurations are resistant to the failures of multiple drives.

For this demonstration, however, RAID 5 will work within the limitations of
thelabhardware.
There are two ways to create the necessary storage array. The legacy method,
which will be discussed first, is the one you will have to use this method if
your shared storage resides on an older version of Windows Server. The other
method is the preferred method of storage provisioning in Windows Server
2012, which will be discussed second.
Legacy storage provisioning

The first technique describes how to create a storage array using the Windows
Disk Management Console. You will have to use if you are hosting the storage
on an older version of Windows Server. This method works for Windows
Server 2012 as well, but Microsoft prefers that you use a newer method called
StorageSpaces.
To use the Disk Management Console to create a RAID 5 array, follow
thesesteps:
o to the servers Run prompt and enter the DISKMGMT.MSC command.
1. G
This will cause Windows to open the Disk Management Console
(Figure2.25). Notice in the figure that Disk 1, Disk 2 and Disk 3 are of
equal size; all are online and contain no partitions. If you need to bring
adisk online, right-click on the disk andchoose the Online command from
theright-click menu.
Figure 2.25
The Disk Management Console lists all of the servers physical disks.
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2. Right-click on one of the empty disks and choose the New RAID 5 volume
command from the right-click menu (Figure 2.26). Windows will launch
theNew RAID 5 Volume Wizard.
Figure 2.26
Choose the New RAID-5 Volume command.

4. Select the disk that you wish to add to the volume and click Add
(Figure2.27). Repeat this step for any additional disks that you wish to add
to the new RAID 5 volume.
Figure 2.27
Add the physical disks to the RAID 5 volume.
52
5. Click Next.
6. Select the drive letter that you wish to assign to the volume that you are
creating (Figure 2.28).
Figure 2.28
Assign a drive letter to the volume that you are creating.
7. Click Next.
8. On the following screen choose the file system that you wish to use on the
new volume and decide whether to perform a quick format (Figure 2.29).
Figure 2.29
Choose a file system and format the new volume.
53
9. Click Next.
10. Click Finish.
11. A warning message tells you that the operation will convert the basic disks
to dynamic disks (Figure 2.30). Click Yes tocontinue.
Figure 2.30
The disks used in the array will be converted to dynamic disks.
12. After a brief delay Windows will format and synchronize the new volume.
Depending on the size of the disks that you are using, the synchronization
process can take a considerable amount of time to complete.
13. When the synchronization process completes, the new volume should be
displayed as Healthy (Figure 2.31).
Figure 2.31
The new volume should eventually be listed as healthy.
54
Using Windows Storage Spaces

As previously mentioned, using the Disk Management Console to provision
astorage array will work in Windows Server 2012, but that method is primarily
suited for volumes that are stored on legacy versions of Windows Server. If
astorage volume is stored on Windows Server 2012, Microsoft recommends
using a new feature called Windows Storage Spaces. The main benefits to using
Windows Storage Spaces instead of the Disk Management Console include:
Volumes created using Windows Storage Spaces can be thin provisioned.

You can add additional physical disk space as needed.
You can choose the type of redundancy that is most beneficial.
Storage resources can be provisioned much more quickly than they can
through the Disk Management Console.
Creating a storage pool

The first step in the process of configuring Windows Storage Spaces is to create
a storage pool. A storage pool is a collection of physical disks that act as a pool
of storage resources. You can create a storage pool by completing these steps:
2. Click on the File and Storage Services option, found in the console tree.
3. Click on Disks to verify that all of the servers disks are displayed within
theconsole (Figure 2.32).
Figure 2.32
Click on the Disks container.
4. Click on Storage Pools (Figure 2.33).
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Figure 2.33
The Primordial pool is created by default, but you will have to manually create all other
storage pools.
5. Choose the New Storage Pool option from the Task list.
6. When the New Storage Pool Wizard begins, click Next to bypass
7. Enter a name and an optional description of the storage pool that you
arecreating.
8. Click Next.
9. Choose the disks that you wish to include within the storage pool
(Figure2.34).
Figure 2.34
Choose the disks that you wish to include in the storage pool.
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10. Use the Allocation drop-down for each disk to control whether the disk
should be allocated as a data store, a hot spare, or a manual allocation
(Figure 2.35).
Figure 2.35
Specify the allocation for each disk in the storage pool.
11. Click Next.

12. Click Create.
13. When the storage pool has been created, click Close (Figure 2.36).
Figure 2.36
Verify that the storage pool has been created successfully.
57
You should now see the storage pool listed in the console along with
thephysical disks that make up the storage pool (Figure 2.37).
Figure 2.37
The completed storage pool should look like this.
Creating a virtual disk

After the storage pool is created, the next step is to create a virtual disk within
the storage pool. This virtual disk will act as a repository for the virtual machine
components that will be stored within the Cluster Shared Volume. To create
thevirtual disk, follow these steps:
3. Click on the To Create a Virtual Disk, Start the New Virtual Disk
Wizardlink.
4. When the New Virtual Disk Wizard starts, click Next to bypass
theWelcome screen.
5. Select your storage pool from the list and click Next (Figure 2.38).
58
Figure 2.38
Select your storage pool and click Next.
6. Enter a name and an optional description for the virtual disk.

7. Click Next.
8. Choose whether you want to configure a simple virtual disk or have
thevirtual disk be mirrored or use parity (Figure 2.39).
Figure 2.39
Choose the method Windows will use to protect your virtual disk.
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9. Click Next.
10. Choose whether you want to thinly provision the Virtual Hard Disk or
create a disk of a fixed size (Figure 2.40). Fixed size provisioning delivers
better performance, but thin provisioning is more flexible andmakes more
efficient use of storage space.
Figure 2.40
Choose the provisioning type.
11. Enter the size of the Virtual Hard Disk that you want to create (Figure 2.41).
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Figure 2.41
Specify the size of your Virtual Hard Disk.
12. Click Next.

theconfirmation screen and click Create.
14. After you have created the virtual disk, click Close.
15. Windows will automatically launch the New Volume wizards. Click Next to
bypass the wizards Welcome screen.
16. When prompted, select your storage pool and the virtual disk that you
have created.
17. Click Next.
18. Specify the size of the volume and click Next.
19. Assign a drive letter to the volume and click Next.
20. Choose the file system that you want to use on the volume and click Next.
21. Verify the information displayed on the confirmation screen
andclickCreate.
22. When the volume has been created, click Close (Figure 2.42).
61
Figure 2.42
Verify that the virtual disk has been created successfully.
Building an iSCSI target

As previously mentioned, Cluster Shared Volumes are normally accessed either
through iSCSI or through Fibre Channel. For the sake of demonstration, this
section will show you how to create an iSCSI target for the recently created
storage volume.
Microsoft supported configuring Windows Server 2008 R2 as an iSCSI target,
but doing so required you to download an additional component. In Windows
Server 2012, the iSCSI target software is built into the operating system,
sothere is nothing extra to download.
Starting the iSCSI Initiator

Before you begin configuring the iSCSI target, it is helpful to start the iSCSI
Initiator on each of the cluster nodes. The reason for doing this now is that
each of the cluster nodes will be assigned an iSCSI Qualified Name (IQN). You
will need to provide each nodes IQN when you configure the iSCSI target. To
start each nodes iSCSI Initiator, complete these steps:
2. Choose the iSCSI Initiator command from the Tools menu
3. You should see a message indicating that the Microsoft iSCSI Service is not
running. Click Yes to start the service.
4. When the iSCSI Initiator launches, go to the properties sheets
Configuration tab and note the Initiator Name (Figure 2.43).
5. Repeat these steps for each cluster node.
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Figure 2.43
Note the IQN for each cluster node.
Installing the iSCSI target software

Although Windows Server 2012 includes the iSCSI target software, it is not
installed by default. To deploy the iSCSI target software onto the server that
will host your Cluster Shared Volume, follow these steps:
4. On the Select Installation Type screen, choose theRoleBased
orFeatureBased Installation option (Figure 2.44).
63
Figure 2.44
Choose the Role-Based or Feature-Based Installation option.
5. Click Next.
6. Verify that the server that will host the Cluster Shared Volume is selected
(Figure 2.45).
Figure 2.45
Make sure that the server that will host the iSCSI target is selected.
64
7. Click Next.
8. On the Select Server Roles screen, verify that the File and Storage
Services role is installed. This role should be installed by default.
9. Expand the File and Storage Services container.
10. Expand the File and iSCSI Services container (Figure 2.46).
11. Select the iSCSI Target Server option and the iSCSI Target Storage
Provider option. If you are prompted to add additional features to support
those services, click the Add Features button.
Figure 2.46
Select the iSCSI Target Software and the iSCSI Target Storage Provider components.
12. Click Next.

13. Click Next on the Select Features screen (it is not necessary to deploy
anyadditional features at this time).
14. When you reach the confirmation screen, click Install (Figure 2.47).
65
Figure 2.47
Click Install to install the iSCSI Target software.
15. When the installation completes, click Close.
Configuring the iSCSI target

Now that you have installed the iSCSI target software, you need to configure it.
This means creating an iSCSI virtual disk (within the virtual disk that was already
created in Windows Storage Spaces). You will also need to provide the iSCSI
target with an authentication method as well as the IQNs of the cluster nodes.
To configure the iSCSI target software, follow these steps:
3. Click on iSCSI.
4. Click the To Create an iSCSI Virtual Disk, Start the New iSCSI Virtual Disk
Wizard link (Figure 2.48).
Figure 2.48
Click the To Create an iSCSI Virtual Disk, Start the New iSCSI Virtual Disk Wizard link.
66
5. When the New iSCSI Virtual Disk Wizard begins, select your storage pool
and the volume that you just created (Figure 2.49).
Figure 2.49
Select the volume that you just created.
6. Click Next.
7. Specify a name and an optional description for the iSCSI virtual disk
andclick Next.
8. Specify a size for the iSCSI virtual disk and click Next.
9. Choose the New iSCSI Target option and click Next.
10. Enter a name and an optional description for the iSCSI target and click
Next.
11. Add the names of the iSCSI initiators that will access the target. Populate
the dialog box with the IQN names from the iSCSI initiators on all of your
cluster nodes (Figure 2.50).
67
Figure 2.50
You must provide the IQNs of your iSCSI initiators.
12. Once all of the cluster nodes have been added to the list, click Next.
13. Although not technically required, authentication is important for iSCSI
connectivity. Otherwise someone could easily spoof an IQN and gain
access to your iSCSI target. The wizard gives you a choice of enabling
CHAP or reverse CHAP authentication. As a best practice, you should
enable CHAP and provide a strong name and password (Figure 2.51).
Please note that your password must be at least 12 characters in length.
68
Figure 2.51
It is a good idea to use CHAP authentication for your iSCSI target.
14. Click Next.

15. Verify the information shown in the confirmation screen, andclick Create
(Figure 2.52).
Figure 2.52
Take a moment to identify the iSCSI target configuration information.
16. When the process completes, click Close.
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Attaching the cluster nodes to the iSCSI storage

Now that you have created the iSCSI target and authorized the individual
cluster nodes to use the target, it is time to attach the cluster nodes to the
iSCSI target. You can do so by performing the following procedure on each
cluster node:
2. Choose the iSCSI Initiator from the Tools menu.
3. When the iSCSI Initiator opens, go to the Targets tab.
4. Enter the IP address of the server that is hosting the iSCSI target in
theTarget field.
5. Click the Quick Connect button.
6. You should see your iSCSI target listed as inactive (Figure 2.53). Select
theiSCSI target and click Done.
Figure 2.53
Your iSCSI target should be listed as inactive.
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7. You should now be returned to the main initiator screen with the Targets
tab selected (Figure 2.54).
Figure 2.54
Your target should be listed on the Targets tab.
8. Select the target, which should be listed as inactive, and click

theConnectbutton.
9. Verify that the target name is correct and that the Add this Connection to
the List of Favorite Targets option is selected (Figure 2.55).
71
Figure 2.55
You must add the target to the list of favorite targets and enable multi-path.
10. Select the Enable Multi-Path check box. This is a critical step because
you wont be able to create a Cluster Shared Volume unless this option
isselected.
11. Click the Advanced button.
12. When the Advanced Settings dialog box launches, select theEnable
CHAP Log On check box (Figure 2.56).
Figure 2.56
You must choose the Enable CHAP Log On option and enter your CHAP credentials.
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13. Enter the name that you specified earlier. You should enter the CHAP
password into the Target Secret field.
14. Click OK.
15. Click OK.
16. When you are returned to the Targets tab, the iSCSI Target should be
listed as Connected.
17. Click OK to close the iSCSI Initiator Properties sheet.
18. Repeat this procedure on the remaining cluster nodes so that each cluster
node has iSCSI connectivity to the target.
Making storage available to the cluster

Now that you have connected each cluster node to the iSCSI target, you must
prepare the iSCSI storage for use by the cluster. This means creating thevolume
and configuring the cluster to recognize the shared storage. To do so, follow
these steps:
1. Enter the DISKMGMT.MSC command to open the Disk Management
Console.
2. When the Disk Management Console opens, locate the iSCSI volume.
3. Right-click on the disk associated with the iSCSI target and choose
theOnline command from the right-click menu (Figure 2.57).
Figure 2.57
You must bring the Cluster Shared Volume online.
4. Right-click on the disk associated with the iSCSI target and choose
theInitialize Disk command from the right-click menu.
5. When prompted, select the type of partition that you wish to use with
thedisk (Figure 2.58) and click OK.
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Figure 2.58
Select the type of partition that you wish to use for your Cluster Shared Volume and click OK.
6. Right-click on the unallocated space and create a volume. Do not assign

adrive letter to the volume.
7. Close the Disk Management Console.
10. When the Failover Cluster Manager opens, navigate through the console
tree to Failover Cluster Manager | <your cluster name> | Storage | Disks
(Figure 2.59).
Figure 2.59
name> | Storage | Disks.
11. Click the Add Disk link, found in the Actions pane.
12. The Failover Cluster Manager should automatically recognize your iSCSI
Target as a disk that can be added to the cluster (Figure 2.60). Verify that
the disk is selected and click OK.
74
Figure 2.60
Select the Custer Shared Volume and click OK.
13. The Failover Cluster Manager should list the disk as being available to
thecluster and show the disk status as Online (Figure 2.61). It is worth
noting that it can occasionally take a minute or two for the disk status to
be updated.
Figure 2.61
The Cluster Shared Volume should be listed within the Failover Cluster Manager.
14. With the cluster disk selected, click Add to Cluster Shared Volumes.
Installing the Hyper-V role

The next step in the process is to install the Hyper-V role. You must install this
role into each of the cluster nodes. You can complete this process by following
these steps:
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3. When the Add Roles and Features wizard launches, click Next to bypass
4. Make sure that the Role-Based or Feature-Based Installation option is
5. Select the server on which you want to deploy the Hyper-V role and click
Next.
6. Select the Hyper-V option from the list of roles.
7. If you are prompted to add additional features, click the Add Features
button.
8. Click Next.
9. Click Next.
10. Click Next.
11. Select the network adapters that you want to connect to the virtual switch
(Figure 2.62). You can select multiple network adapters, but as a best
practice you should reserve a network adapter for management traffic
andyou should reserve an adapter for cluster communications (such as
cluster heartbeats and live migration traffic).
Figure 2.62
Select the network adapters to be used by Hyper-V.
12. Click Next.

13. Select the checkbox for Allow this Server to Send and Receive Live
Migrations of Virtual Machines (Figure 2.63).
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Figure 2.63
Your cluster nodes must be able to live migrate virtual machines.
14. Select the authentication protocol to be used by live migration traffic.

If the cluster nodes reside in the same Active Directory domain as one
another then you should use the Kerberos protocol. Kerberos is more
secure than CredSSP and the configuration process is easier.
15. Click Next.
16. Click Next to accept the default store location.
theConfirmation screen and then click Install.
18. When the installation process completes, click Close and then reboot
theserver.
19. Repeat these steps for each node in the cluster.
Making Hyper-V fault tolerant

Now that you have installed the Hyper-V role, the next step in the process is
to make Hyper-V and your virtual machines fault tolerant. The simple act of
creating a virtual machine does not make the virtual machine fault tolerant.
You must create thevirtual machine in the correct location and you will have to
designate the virtual machine as being fault tolerant.
When you create a new virtual machine, the New Virtual Machine Wizard asks
if you want to store the virtual machine in a different location (see Chapter 6
for details). If you want the virtual machine to be fault tolerant, you must store
the virtual machine on the Cluster Shared Volume.
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As you may recall, you created a volume on the iSCSI target, but did not
assign adrive letter to it. You can access the Cluster Shared Volume at C:\
ClusterStorage\<your volume name>. Anything that you save to this path will
reside on the Cluster Shared Volume (the iSCSI target) rather than on the local
C: drive.
Simply storing the virtual machines on the Cluster Shared Volume is not
enough (Figure 2.64). As you can see in the figure, three virtual machines have
been created, and each of these virtual machines resides on the Cluster Shared
Volume. If you look at the lower middle pane in the next figure, however, you
will notice that the Hyper-V Manager indicates that the virtual machine is not
clustered (Figure 2.65).
Figure 2.64
Virtual machines must be stored on the Cluster Shared Volume.
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Figure 2.65
Even with the virtual machines residing on the Cluster Shared Volume, the virtual machines
are not considered to be fault tolerant.
To make the virtual machine fault tolerant you must designate it as such
through the Failover Cluster Manager. To do so, follow these steps:
2. Choose the Failover Cluster Manager from the list of tools.
3. When the Failover Cluster Manager opens, navigate through the
console tree to Failover Cluster Manager | <your cluster name> | Roles
(Figure2.66).
Figure 2.66
name> | Roles.
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4. Click the Configure Role link, found in the Actions pane.

5. Windows will now launch the High Availability Wizard. Click Next to
bypass the wizards Welcome screen.
6. The next screen lists a variety of server roles. Select the Virtual Machine
role from the list and click Next (Figure 2.67).
Figure 2.67
Select the Virtual Machines option.
7. Select the virtual machines that you wish to make fault tolerant and click
Next (Figure2.68).
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Figure 2.68
Select the virtual machines that you wish to make fault tolerant.
8. Verify the information displayed on the confirmation screen and click

Next.
9. When the process completes you should see a message confirming that
high availability was successfully configured (Figure 2.69). Click the View
Report button to examine the report. Click Finish.
Figure 2.69
Click the View Report button to see a report of the operation.
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After the virtual machines become fault tolerant, you should see them listed
in the Failover Cluster Managers Roles container (Figure 2.70). Likewise,
theHyper-V Manager should list the virtual machine as being clustered
(Figure2.71).
Figure 2.70
The Failover Cluster Manager now displays the virtual machines.
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Figure 2.71
The Hyper-V Manager lists the virtual machines as being clustered.
Using SMB storage

This chapter has focused primarily on the use of local, direct attached storage
and on connecting to a Cluster Shared Volume through iSCSI. However, those
are not your only options. Hyper-V is also able to store virtual machines on
anSMB file share in both clustered and non-clustered environments.
The use of SMB storage is generally only practical for smaller organizations
because bandwidth limitations impact the number of virtual machines that can
reside on a file share. The use of SMB file share storage for virtual machines is
most useful when a file server has been configured to be highly available.
Finally, storing virtual machines on SMB file shares is only an option if
theservers involved are using SMB version 2.2 or higher. Earlier versions of
SMB are not supported.
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Chapter 3
Migrations
In the previous chapter, you spent a lot of time building
failover clusters and making virtual machines fault tolerant.
However, building the cluster is really just thebeginning.
It is equally important to know how to verify that
your failover cluster is working properly. As aHyper-V
administrator, you will also need to know how to move
virtual machines around both within and outside of
thecluster. This chapter discusses all of these tasks.
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Testing failover clustering

One of the nice things about building a failover cluster is that you have
theassurance that if any of your cluster nodes were to fail, the virtual machines
that had been running on the failed node will automatically fail over to a node
that is still functioning. Of course this raises the question of how you can test
virtual machine failover. Simply shutting down a cluster node is an inadequate
test because a graceful shutdown is not as abrupt as an unexpected node
failure. At the same time, however, you dont want to be yanking the power
cord out of a cluster node to see what would happen in theevent of
arealfailure.
The ability to test virtual machine failover was something that was sorely
lacking from Hyper-V 2.0. Thankfully, Microsoft has included a testing feature
in Hyper-V 3.0.
Live migrating a VM within the cluster

Although a failover cluster is designed to automatically move a virtual machine
to a functioning cluster node in the event of a failure, you may occasionally
want to move a virtual machine to another cluster node even if no failure has
occurred. For example, if you are planning to take a cluster node down for
maintenance then you would probably want to move the virtual machines to
another node before doing so. Likewise, if you determine that a single cluster
node is handling a disproportionate amount of the clusters total workload, you
might decide to move some of the virtual machines to another node.
Performing a live migration within a cluster is simple. To do so, complete
thesesteps:
tree to Failover Cluster Manager | <your Cluster> | Roles.
4. Right-click on the virtual machine that you want to live migrate and select
the Move | Live Migration | Select Node commands from the right-click
menus (Figure 3.1). As an alternative, you can allow Hyper-V to select
thedestination cluster node by choosing the Best Possible Node option.
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Figure 3.1
You can select the destination node manually, or you can let Hyper-V pick the best
nodeautomatically.
5. Choose the cluster node to which you want to live migrate the virtual
machine (Figure 3.2).
Figure 3.2
Select the cluster node to which you want to live migrate the virtual machine.
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6. Click OK.
7. You can monitor the live migration process through the Failover Cluster
Manager (Figure 3.3).
Figure 3.3
The Failover Cluster Manager displays the progress of the live migration.
8. When the live migration completes, the Failover Cluster Manager should
report the virtual machine as running on the cluster node that you have
selected (as shown in the Owner Node column) (Figure 3.4).
Figure 3.4
The Owner Node column confirms that the virtual machine has been moved to a different
cluster node.
Configuring a server to send and receive

live migrations
Hyper-V doesnt limit you to performing virtual machine migrations within
theconfines of a cluster. You can also perform live migrations between
standalone Hyper-V hosts or even between Hyper-V clusters, but the hosts
involved must be configured to allow live migrations.
If you followed the instructions from the previous chapter, your cluster should
be capable of live migrating virtual machines within a cluster. However, if you
have a standalone Hyper-V host that was not initially configured to allow live
migrations, that host will need to be reconfigured prior to using it in any live
migration scenario. To configure aHyper-V Host to allow live migrations, follow
these steps:
2. Right-click on your host server and choose the Hyper-V Settings
command from the right-click menu (Figure 3.5).
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Figure 3.5
Right-click on the listing for the host server and select the Hyper-V Settings command from
the right-click menu.
3. When the Hyper-V Settings dialog box launches, select the Live
Migrations option (Figure 3.6).
Figure 3.6
Select the Live Migrations tab.
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4. Select the Enable Incoming and Outgoing Live Migrations check box
(Figure 3.7).
Figure 3.7
You must manually enable incoming and outgoing live migrations.
5. Specify the authentication protocol to use. Kerberos is the preferred

authentication protocol because it is more secure andtheconfiguration
process is easier, but it only works within a common Active
Directoryforest.
6. Specify the maximum number of simultaneous live migrations to allow.
7. Specify the IP addresses for the NICs with which the server is authorized
to live migrate virtual machines. You can select the Use Any Available
Network for Live Migration option, but this is less secure than the Use
These IP Addresses for Live Migration option.
8. Click OK to complete the process.
Dealing with CPU mismatch

If you plan to live migrate virtual machines between Hyper-V hosts, it is best
to use identical hardware on all of your cluster nodes if possible. Of course
acquiring identical hardware is not always possible. The next best thing
is to use servers with identical CPUs. If you attempt to live migrate virtual
machines between servers with dissimilar CPUs you will receive an error
message indicating that the virtual machine is using processor-specific features
andcannot be migrated (Figure3.8).
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Figure 3.8
You will receive an error message if the CPUs on the source and destination hosts are
toodissimilar.
The solution to this problem is to enable CPU compatibility. You can accomplish
this by following these steps:
2. Shut down the virtual machine.
3. Right-click on the virtual machine and choose the Settings command from
4. Expand the Processor container in the resulting dialog box.
5. Select the Compatibility container.
6. Select the checkbox for Migrate to a Physical Computer with a Different
Processor Version (Figure 3.9).
7. Click OK.
8. Restart the virtual machine.
9. Attempt the live migration.
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Figure 3.9
You can overcome some live migration issues by enabling the processor compatibility feature.
It is worth noting that enabling the CPU compatibility feature does not allow
you to move virtual machines between hosts with different CPU architectures
(e.g., moving from a host with an Intel processor to a host with an AMD
processor). Furthermore, enabling CPU compatibility might impact thevirtual
machines performance because the feature works by disabling the virtual
machines access to some of the more advanced CPU features such as
Misaligned SSE or POPCNT.
Live migrations beyond the cluster

One of the really interesting things that Microsoft has done in Hyper-V 3.0 is
to make it possible to live migrate virtual machines from one host to another
regardless of whether or not the host servers are clustered. In Hyper-V 3.0 you
can perform the following types of migrations:
Cluster node cluster node
Cluster node standalone host
Standalone host cluster node
Standalone host standalone host
For the most part, Microsoft offers these types of migrations as aconvenience
feature. For example, suppose that you have a non-clustered Hyper-V
server that is running your production virtual machines. Now suppose
that you purchase some new servers and build a Hyper-V cluster. In that
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type of situation it is possible to use live migration to move running virtual

machines from the standalone server onto a cluster node. After doing so,
you can configure the Failover Cluster Manager to make the virtual machines
faulttolerant.
Although it is easy to think of live migrations as a clustering feature, Hyper-V
makes it possible to live migrate virtual machines even if the host servers that
are involved in the migration process are not clustered.
Live migrating a VM to a server outside of the cluster

The first technique involves moving a clustered virtual machine to a non
clustered Hyper-V host. This procedure requires you to remove the virtual
machines fault tolerance as a part of the migration process.
Before you begin the migration process, choose thetype of move that you
want to perform. Hyper-V gives you three different optionsincluding:
Move the Virtual Machines Data to a Single Location This option places
all of the virtual machine components into a single location.
Move the Virtual Machines Data by Selecting Where to Move Each Item
This option gives you the most flexibility because it allows you to control
where each virtual machine component will be placed. This is usually
theoption that you will use when performing cluster-to-standalone
hostmigrations.
Move Only the Virtual Machine This option moves the virtual machine
itself to a new host, but leaves the Virtual Hard Disk in its original location
on the Cluster Shared Volume.
The steps below describe the procedure for moving a clustered virtual machine
to a Hyper-V host that exists outside of the cluster. This procedure assumes
that all of the host servers exist within a common domain and that you will be
specifying where to move the various virtual machine components. To perform
the virtual machine migration, follow these steps:
2. Select the Failover Cluster Manager option from the Tools menu.
tree to Failover Cluster Manager | <your cluster> | Roles.
4. Select the virtual machine that you want to migrate away from the cluster.
5. Right-click on the virtual machine and select the Remove command from
the right-click menu (Figure 3.10).
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Figure 3.10
Right-click on the virtual machine and select the Remove command from
therightclickmenu.
6. When you see the prompt asking if you want to remove the virtual
machine, click Yes (Figure 3.11).
Figure 3.11
Confirm that you want to remove the virtual machine from the cluster.
7. Close the Failover Cluster Manager.

9. Verify that the virtual machine is still running, and that it is not clustered
(Figure 3.12).
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Figure 3.12
Make sure that the VM is still running and that it is no longer clustered.
10. Right-click on the virtual machine and choose the Move command from
11. When the Move Wizard starts, click Next to bypass the wizards
Welcomescreen.
12. Choose the Move the Virtual Machine option and click Next (Figure 3.13).
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Figure 3.13
Choose the option to move the virtual machine.
13. When prompted, enter the name of the destination host (Figure 3.14).
Figure 3.14
Specify the name of the destination host.
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14. Click Next.

15. Choose the option to Move the Virtual Machines Data by selecting
Where to Move the Items (Figure 3.15).
Figure 3.15
Choose the option to move the virtual machine by selecting where to move each item.
16. Click Next.

17. Choose the option for moving the virtual machines components. It is
usually acceptable to choose the option to Move the Virtual Machines
Data Automatically (Figure 3.16). This option places the virtual machine
components in the same locations on the destination host as the locations
in which they resided on the source host.
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Figure 3.16
It is usually acceptable to move the virtual machines data automatically.
18. Click Next.

19. Verify the information presented on the Summary screen.
20. Click Finish.
Live migrating an external VM into the cluster

If you have been using Hyper-V for a while, but are new to clustering, you
might encounter a situation in which you need to bring some production
virtual machines into a newly built cluster. Although you can use the Export/
Import method, it is usually easier to live migrate the virtual machines
from thestandalone Hyper-V server into the cluster. This process involves
completing two main tasks: 1) migrate the virtual machine and 2) make
thevirtual machine fault tolerant once it is running on acluster node.
The procedure listed below assumes that the standalone Hyper-V host andall
of thecluster nodes belong to the same Active Directory domain and that
live migrations are enabled on all hosts. The procedure also assumes that
thecluster makes use of a Cluster Shared Volume. However, the procedure can
be easily adapted for environments without shared storage or for organizations
in which hosts reside in multiple domains. To perform the live migration,
complete the following steps:
1. Open the Hyper-V Manager on the standalone server that contains
thevirtual machine that is to be migrated to the cluster.
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3. When the Move Wizard opens, click Next to bypass the Welcome screen.
4. On the following screen, select the Move the Virtual Machine option and
click Next (Figure 3.17).
Figure 3.17
Select the Move the Virtual Machine option.
5. When prompted, enter the name of one of the cluster nodes (Figure 3.18).
Figure 3.18
Enter the name of the destination host.

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6. Click Next.
7. Choose the Move the Virtual Machines Data to a Single Location option
(Figure 3.19).
Figure 3.19
Move the virtual machine to a single location.
8. Click Next.
9. Switch to the specified cluster node, open Windows Explorer and navigate
to C:\ClusterStorage\<volume name> (Figure 3.20).
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Figure 3.20
Open Windows Explorer and navigate to your Cluster Shared Volume.
10. Create a folder matching the name of the virtual machine that is
tobemigrated.
11. Switch back to the standalone host server where the virtual machine
currently resides.
12. Enter C:\ClusterStorage\<volume name>\<virtual machine name> as
thedestination location folder (Figure 3.21).
Figure 3.21
Enter the path in which the virtual machine will be stored.
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13. Verify that the destination folder has sufficient free disk space. Theamount
of disk space required is listed in the Source Location portion of
thewizards current screen.
14. Click Next.
15. If the cluster node does not contain a virtual switch with a name matching
the virtual switch that is currently in use, you will be asked to specify
avirtual switch (Figure 3.22). Make your selection andclickNext.
Figure 3.22
Specify the virtual switch that the virtual machine will use after the migration.
16. Verify the summary information and click Finish.

17. When the migration process completes, go to the destination cluster node
and verify that the virtual machine is running.
18. Switch to the destination cluster node and verify that the virtual machine is
present and running (Figure 3.23).
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Figure 3.23
Verify that the virtual machine is running in its new location.

21. Navigate through the Failover Cluster Manager to Failover Cluster
Manager | <your cluster> | Roles.
22. Click on the Configure Roles link, found in the Actions pane.
23. When the High Availability Wizard launches, click Next to bypass
theWelcome screen.
24. Select the Virtual Machine option and click Next (Figure 3.24).
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Figure 3.24
Select the Virtual Machine option from the list of high availability roles.
25. Select the recently migrated virtual machine from the list of virtual
machines and click Next (Figure 3.25).
Figure 3.25
Select the virtual machine that you want to make highly available.
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26. Verify that the correct virtual machine is listed on the summary screen
andclick Next.
27. Verify that the virtual machine was made highly available (Figure 3.26).
28. Click Finish.
Figure 3.26
You can use the report to verify the success of the operation.
Cluster-to-cluster live migrations

Just as you can live migrate virtual machines into and out of a cluster, you can
use a similar technique to live migrate a virtual machine between clusters.
When you do this, there will be a period of time during which the virtual
machine is not fault tolerant, but the virtual machine will remain online
throughout the migration process.
The technique described in this section assumes that all of the cluster nodes
exist within a common domain. It is also assumed that both clusters use shared
storage, although you can easily adapt the technique to a cluster that doesnot
use shared storage. To perform a cluster-to-cluster live migration, follow
thesesteps:
tree to Failover Cluster Manager | <your cluster> | Roles.
4. Select the virtual machine that you want to migrate to another cluster
(Figure 3.27).
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Figure 3.27
Select the virtual machine that you want to move to another cluster.
5. Right-click on the virtual machine and select the Remove command from
6. When you see the prompt asking if you want to remove the virtual
machine, click Yes (Figure 3.28).
Figure 3.28
Click Yes to remove the virtual machine from the cluster.
7. Close the Failover Cluster Manager.

9. Verify that the virtual machine is still running, and that it is not clustered
(Figure 3.29).
Figure 3.29
Make sure that the VM is still running and that it has been removed from the cluster.
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11. When the Move Wizard launches, click Next to bypass the wizards
Welcomescreen.
12. Choose the option to Move the Virtual Machine (Figure 3.30)
andclickNext.
Figure 3.30
Choose the Move the Virtual Machine option.
13. When prompted, enter the name of the destination host.

14. Click Next.
15. Choose the option to Move the Virtual Machines Data to a Single
Location (Figure 3.31).
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Figure 3.31
Choose the option to move the virtual machine to a single location.
16. Click Next.

17. Switch to a node on the destination folder.
18. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to C:\ClusterStorage\
<volumename>
19. Create a folder bearing the name of the virtual machine that is to
bemigrated.
20. Switch back to the cluster node where the virtual machine is
currentlyrunning.
21. Enter the path where the virtual machine will reside. The path should be
C:\ClusterStorage\<volume name>\<virtual machine name> (Figure 3.32).
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Figure 3.32
Enter the path where the virtual machine should be stored on the destination cluster.
22. Verify that the destination folder has sufficient free disk space. Theamount
of disk space required is listed in the Source Location portion of
thewizards current screen.
23. Click Next.
24. If the cluster node does not contain a virtual switch with a name matching
the virtual switch that is currently in use, you will be asked to specify
avirtual switch. Make your selection and click Next.
25. Verify the summary information and click Finish.
26. When the migration process completes, go to the destination cluster node
and verify that the virtual machine is running.
27. Switch to the destination cluster node and verify that the virtual machine is
present and running.
30. Navigate through the Failover Cluster Manager to Failover Cluster
31. Click on the Configure Roles link, found in the Actions pane.
theWelcome screen.
33. Select the Virtual Machine option and click Next (Figure 3.33).
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Figure 3.33
Select the Virtual Machine option from the list of roles that can be configured for
highavailability.
34. Select the recently migrated virtual machine from the list of virtual
machines and click Next.
35. Verify that the correct virtual machine is listed on the summary screen
andclick Next.
36. Verify that the virtual machine was made highly available.
37. Click Finish.
38. The virtual machine should now be displayed as a clustered resource
within the Failover Cluster Manager (Figure 3.34).
Figure 3.34
The virtual machine should be displayed within the Failover Cluster Manager.
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Storage live migrations

Just as it is sometimes necessary to live migrate a virtual machine from one
Hyper-V host to another, it is also sometimes necessary to perform a storage
live migration. A storage live migration moves the virtual machine components
(Virtual Hard Disks, snapshots, etc.) from one storage location to another
without requiring the virtual machine itself to be moved to another host. This
is helpful when the volume containing virtual machine components is running
low on space or when the volume needs to be taken offline for maintenance.
As is the case with live migrations, storage live migrations can be performed
against a running virtual machine without causing a service interruption.
Storage migration within a cluster

The technique you use to perform a storage live migration varies depending
upon whether or not the virtual machine is fault tolerant. This section starts by
examining a technique for clustered environments. In this example, avirtual
machine is running on a Cluster Shared Volume and you will move the virtual
machine to an SMB volume. To perform this type of storage live migration,
complete the following steps:
3. Navigate through the Failover Cluster Manager console to Failover Cluster
4. Right-click on the virtual machine on which you wish to perform a storage
migration and choose the Move | Virtual Machine Storage commands
from the right-click menus (Figure 3.35).
Figure 3.35
Right-click on a virtual machine and choose the Move | Virtual Machine Storage commands
from the right-click menu.
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5. The Cluster Storage section is displayed in the lower left portion of

the Move Virtual Machine Storage window. If you have not previously
performed a storage live migration at the cluster level, this window
typically displays an error message stating that the network path was not
found. Right-click on this error and choose the Add Share command from
Figure 3.36
Right-click in the Cluster Storage section and choose the Add Share option.
6. When the Add a Network Share dialog box launches, enter the UNC share
name (\\servername\sharename) for the destination storage and click OK
(Figure3.37).
Figure 3.37
Enter the path to the network share in UNC format.
7. Confirm that the Move Virtual Machine Storage dialog box lists
thespecified network share in the Shares section (Figure 3.38).
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Figure 3.38
Verify that the UNC path is displayed in the Shares section.
8. Drag the virtual machine from the top section of the dialog box to
thelisting for the share that you have specified. The dialog box should
update to display the items that will be moved (Figure 3.39).
Figure 3.39
You should see the virtual machine components that are about to be migrated.
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9. Click the Start button.

10. The Failover Cluster Manager should confirm that the storage migration
has begun (Figure 3.40). Although the virtual machine displayed in this
screen capture is powered off, the move could just as easily have been
performed while the virtual machine was running.
Figure 3.40
The Failover Cluster Manager should confirm that virtual machine migration has begun.
Storage migrations outside of a cluster

When it comes to performing storage migrations for non-clustered virtual
machines, you have three options: moving the entire virtual machine to asingle
location, moving the virtual machines data to different locations ormoving
only the Virtual Hard Disks. The sections below provide walkthroughs for all
three types of storage migrations.
Moving all of the virtual machines data to a single location

The first option is to move all of the virtual machine data to a single location.
This is the easiest of the storage live migration options andis likely to be
theoption that you will use most often. To complete this type of storage live
migration, follow these steps:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine for which you wish to perform a storage
migration, and select the Move command from the right-click menu
(Figure3.41).
Figure 3.41
Right-click on a VM and choose the Move command from the right-click menu.
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3. When the Move wizard launches, click Next to bypass the wizards
Welcomescreen.
4. Choose the option to move the virtual machines storage, andclick Next
(Figure 3.42).
Figure 3.42
Choose the option to move the virtual machines storage.
5. Choose the option to Move All of the Virtual Machines Data to a Single
Location (Figure 3.43).
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Figure 3.43
Choose the option to move all of the virtual machines data to a single location.
6. Click Next.
7. Specify the folder to which you want to move the virtual machine
(Figure3.44). Pay attention to the Current Location section within
thewizards current screen. This section tells you how much physical disk
space the virtual machine is currently consuming. You must verify that
there is sufficient disk space in the new location.
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Figure 3.44
Specify the path to which you want to move the virtual machine.
8. Click Next.
9. Verify the information shown on the Summary screen.
10. Click Finish.
Moving the virtual machines data to different locations

The second option for performing storage live migrations involves moving
virtual machine data to different locations. This option is useful for storage
migrations that require a bit more granular control. For instance, you can
use this option to place Virtual Hard Disk files in one storage location and
snapshot files in another. To perform this type of storage live migration, follow
thesesteps:
migration and select the New command from the right-click menu.
Welcomescreen.
4. Choose the option to move the virtual machines storage, and click Next.
5. Choose the option to Move the Virtual Machines Data to a Different
Locations (Figure 3.45).
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Figure 3.45
Choose the option to move the virtual machines data to different locations.
6. Click Next.
7. Choose the virtual machine components that you want to move
(Figure3.46) and click Next.
Figure 3.46
Select the virtual machine components that you want to move.
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8. If you have chosen to move the Virtual Hard Disk, you will be prompted to
enter a new location for it (Figure 3.47). Enter the path to theVirtual Hard
Disks new location and click Next.
Figure 3.47
If prompted, enter a path in which to store the Virtual Hard Disk.
9. If you have chosen to move the virtual machines configuration, you will be
prompted to enter a path to the new location (Figure 3.48). Enter apath to
use for the virtual machines configuration and click Next.
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Figure 3.48
Enter a path in which to store the virtual machines configuration.
10. If you have chosen to move the virtual machine snapshots, you will
be prompted to specify a path to the new location. Enter a path
andclickNext.
11. If you have chosen to move the Smart Paging files, you will be prompted
to enter a new location for them (Figure 3.49). Enter a path for the smart
paging files and click Next.
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Figure 3.49
Enter the path in which to store the smart paging file.
12. Verify the information on the summary screen andclickFinish.
Moving only the Virtual Hard Drives

The third option for performing a storage migration is to move only the Virtual
Hard Disk files. This option is useful if you want to free up some storage
space by moving the virtual hard disk files, but want to keep the other virtual
machine components in their current location. You can complete this type of
storage live migration by following these steps:
migration, and select the New command from the right-click menu.
Welcomescreen.
4. Choose the option to move the virtual machines storage, and click Next.
5. Choose the option to Move Only the Virtual Machines Virtual Hard Disks
(Figure 3.50).
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Figure 3.50
Choose the option to move only the virtual machines Virtual Hard Disks.
6. Click Next.
7. Select the Virtual Hard Disks that you want to move (Figure 3.51)
andclickNext.
Figure 3.51
Select the Virtual Hard Disks that you wish to move.
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8. Specify the location to which you wish to move the Virtual Hard Disks
andclick Next (Figure 3.52).
9. Verify the information on the summary screen andclickFinish.
Figure 3.52
Enter the path where the virtual hard disk should be stored.
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Chapter 4
Managing Virtual
Machine Failover
The previous chapters show you how to build clustered
Hyper-V deployments and how to migrate virtual
machines within those environments. However, facilitating
live migrations is only part of a Hyper-V clusters job.
Acluster also has to keep virtual machines running, even
if the server on which a virtual machine is hosted were
tofail.
This chapter discusses various aspects of failover planning.
In this chapter you will learn about failover testing,
antiaffinity rules and virtual machine prioritization.
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Virtual machine failover

One of the big problems with server virtualization is that the virtualization
host (the Hyper-V server) can become a single point of failure that can impact
multiple virtual workloads.
In a physical datacenter, the failure of a single server is usually aninconvenience,
but it is rarely considered catastrophic. This isnt necessarily the case in
avirtual datacenter.
In a virtual datacenter, a physical server running Hyper-V hosts has multiple
virtualized workloads. If this one, single physical server were to fail, all of the
virtual machines that are running on that server will fail as well unless, of
course, the server is operating as a node within a failover cluster. Clustering is
what keeps virtual machines running, even if the physical hardware fails.
Failover testing
As you have no doubt seen in the previous chapters, there is a lot of work
that goes into building a Hyper-V cluster. However, none of the hard work
andexpense means very much if your cluster fails to keep your virtual
machines running when a hardware failure occurs. Of course you probably
dont want to wait for a disaster to happen in order to find out if your cluster
isworking or not. Its better to test the cluster ahead of time.
Failover cluster testing can be tricky in a production environment because
you dont want to jeopardize your production virtual machines in the testing
process. And its never a good idea to test your clustering solution by walking
through the datacenter and randomly yanking power cords out of clustered
hosts. Even though this type of testing makes for an amusing story, it is hardly
a recommended method.
Microsoft gives you a few different methods of testing failover within your
cluster. However, all of these tests tend to focus on the cluster at a high level.
Microsoft does not provide a method for testing the failover of an individual
virtual machine.
Validation testing
The first type of testing that you can perform is a cluster validation test. If this
sounds familiar, it is probably because you performed a validation test when
you were preparing to build the failover cluster.
Even though you may think of a validation test as a tool to use in preparation
for building a cluster, you can perform these types of tests against a cluster
that has already been established. The reason why this might be helpful
is because cluster configurations tend to change over time and validation
testing will help you spot any configuration problems that might exist within
yourcluster.
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You can perform validation testing either through the Failover Cluster Manager
or through PowerShell. To perform validation testing using the Failover Cluster
Manager, follow these steps:
2. Select the Failover Cluster Manager command from the Tools menu.
3. When the Failover Cluster Manager opens, select the listing for your
cluster within the console tree.
4. Click on the Validate Cluster link, found in the Actions pane (Figure 4.1) .
Figure 4.1
Click on the Validate Cluster link.
5. When the Validate a Cluster Wizard begins, click Next to bypass

6. Choose the option to run only the tests that you select (Figure 4.2).
Figure 4.2
Choose the option to run only the tests that you select.
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7. Click Next.
8. On the following screen, select the tests that you want to run (Figure 4.3).
You can select entire categories of tests (such as Inventory, Network, or
System Configuration), or you can expand a category and select individual
tests within that category.
Figure 4.3
Select the tests that you want to run.
9. Click Next.
10. The following screen displays your cluster disk (assuming that your cluster
uses a Cluster Shared Volume) and indicates that you can select the cluster
disk if you want to include it in the validation testing (Figure 4.4). However,
you should only run the tests against your cluster disk if the Cluster
Shared Volume has been stopped. Otherwise, the testing can cause virtual
machines to fail.
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Figure 4.4
Do not select the cluster disk if your Cluster Shared Volume is in use!
11. Click Next.

12. Take a moment and look through the confirmation screen to make sure
that you have selected the proper tests.
13. Click Next to begin the tests.
14. When the tests complete, click the View Report button to view
thevalidation report (Figure 4.5).
15. Click Finish.
Figure 4.5
Click the View Report button to view the validation report.

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Validation testing through PowerShell

Just as you can perform validation testing using the Failover Cluster Manager,
you can also validate clusters using PowerShell. PowerShell testing is very
flexible and you are free to pick and choose the tests that you want to run.
Validation testing with PowerShell is based on the Test-Cluster cmdlet. You can
perform comprehensive validation testing against all of your cluster nodes by
simply entering the Test-Cluster cmdlet (Figure 4.6). Keep in mind, however,
that you must not test Cluster Shared Volumes that are actively being used.
Figure 4.6
The Test-Cluster cmdlet can be used for comprehensive cluster validation testing.
When you first enter the Test-Cluster cmdlet, PowerShell may appear to
lock up. After several seconds you should see the tests begin, as shown in
Figure4.6.
When the validation testing completes, you will see a message that refers to
a validation report (Figure 4.7). The validation report file is located in the C:\
Windows\Cluster\Reports folder. You can open the validation reports using
Internet Explorer, as shown in Figure 4.8.
Figure 4.7
The tests output is written to a validation report.
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Figure 4.8
Validation reports are displayed in Internet Explorer.
Keep in mind that the validation report shown in the figure above was based
on a comprehensive set of cluster tests. It is possible to exercise a high degree
of granular control over the testing process. Using PowerShell, you can run
specific validation tests, exclude certain validation tests and direct the testing
process to specific cluster nodes.
The trick to using PowerShell to control the validation tests is to retrieve a list
of the test names. Once you have a list of the test names (as referenced by
PowerShell) you can begin to include or exclude specific tests. To get a list of all
of the test names, enter the following command (Figure 4.9):
Test-Cluster List
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Figure 4.9
You can retrieve a list of all of the validation tests.
Once you have a list of test names, it is easy to include or exclude individual
tests. For example, suppose that you want to perform all of the validation tests
except for those related to storage. You can do so by entering the following
command:
Test-Cluster Ignore Storage
Similarly, if you only want to run the system drivers test, you can enter
acommand like this one (Figure 4.10):
Test-Cluster Include List System Drivers
Figure 4.10
You can tell PowerShell to run specific tests.
You can also use PowerShell to specify the cluster nodes to include in
thevalidation tests. For example, suppose that you want to run the validation
tests against nodes named Lab1, Lab2, and Lab3 (Figure 4.11). To do so, you
can use the following command:
Test-Cluster Node Lab1,Lab2,Lab3
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Figure 4.11
You can run validation tests against individual cluster nodes.
Cluster resource testing

The second type of cluster testing you can perform is called cluster resource
testing. Cluster resource testing lets you see how your cluster would behave
if aspecific resource failed. Unfortunately, this type of testing is somewhat
limited and there isnt much documentation available from Microsoft
pertaining to it.
There are three important things that you need to know about cluster resource
testing prior to trying it:
1. Cluster resource testing simulates the failure of a cluster resource, so if you
do not perform the tests carefully you could cause an outage.
2. You can only test components that Microsoft defines as cluster resources.
You will find out how to get a list of these components below.
3. Often the name that Windows assigns to a cluster resource is different
from the name that you give to the resource. You can use cluster resource
testing to find out what would happen if a virtual machine fails, but you
wont be able to reference the virtual machine by its usual name.
With that said, cluster resource testing is based on the use of the Test-
ClusterResourceFailure cmdlet. The syntax for this cmdlet is simple. You only
have to specify the name of the resource that you want to test. The trick is
to figure out which resources are available for testing and the names that
Windows uses for those resources.
The easiest way to deal with this challenge is to enter the Get-ClusterResource
cmdlet. When you do this, PowerShell displays a list of the cluster resources
(Figure 4.12).
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Figure 4.12
Use the Get-ClusterResource cmdlet to create a list of cluster resources.
Notice in the figure above that the last item on the list is Virtual Machine VM3.
This virtual machines name is VM3, but for the purpose of cluster resource
testing, the virtual machine must be referred to as Virtual Machine VM3. If
you want to see what would happen if the virtual machine fails, you can enter
thefollowing command (Figure 4.13):
Test-ClusterResourceFailure Virtual Machine VM3
Figure 4.13
You can use PowerShell to simulate the failure of a virtual machine.
If you look at the Failover Cluster Manager, you can see that the virtual
machine can actually go down as a result of the test (Figure 4.14). Running
thetest once against a virtual machine causes the virtual machine to go down
for a moment and then come back up. However, running the test twice usually
takes thevirtual machine completely offline until you right-click on the virtual
machine and choose the Start option from the right-click menu.
Figure 4.14
Virtual machine failure testing takes the virtual machine offline.
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For the most part, cluster resource failure testing is limited to the items on
thelist of cluster resources (Figure 4.12). The big exception, however, is that you
can also test cluster disks. Suppose for example that you want to test thefailure
of a disk named Cluster Disk 1 (Figure 4.12). You can do so by entering the
following command:
Test-ClusterResourceFailure Name Cluster Disk 1
Figure 4.15
You can use the Test-ClusterResourceFailure cmdlet to test cluster disk failures.
Failover testing
The third type of testing you can do with regard to your cluster is failover
testing. Failover testing simulates the failure of an active cluster node and tests
the clusters ability to failover to another node in the cluster.
Unfortunately, Microsoft does not provide a mechanism for testing the failover
of an individual virtual machine. Instead, failover testing occurs at the cluster
level. To perform a failover test, follow these steps:
2. Choose the Failover Cluster Manager command from the Tools menu.
3. When the Failover Cluster Manager appears, navigate through the console
tree to Failover Cluster Manager | <your cluster> (Figure 4.16) .
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Figure 4.16
Select your cluster within the Failover Cluster Manager.
4. Click on the More Actions link, found in the Actions pane and then click
on the Simulate Failure link (Figure 4.17).
Figure 4.17
Click on the Simulate Failure option.
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5. Windows will display a warning message telling you that simulating

afailure could cause clustered roles (in this case virtual machines) to be
moved to another cluster node, and that service could potentially be
interrupted. Click Yes to move forward with the test.
6. You can watch the failover happen in the Cluster Core Resources pane,
which is located in the lower, middle portion of the Failover Cluster
Manager (Figure 4.18).
Figure 4.18
You can watch the failover occur in the Cluster Core Resources pane.
Anti-affinity rules
In multi-tenant environments, it is sometimes necessary to configure certain
virtual machines so that they never reside on the same host server. For
example, if your organization were hosting virtual machines for both Coke
andPepsi, you would not want the two companies virtual machines to reside
on a common host server.
It is relatively easy to keep virtual machines separate from one another when
you initially create the virtual machines. However, virtual machines are anything
but static and the chances of a virtual machine remaining on the same Hyper-V
host for an indefinite period of time are slim.
If you have virtual machines that need to be kept separate, you can reduce
thechances of those virtual machines ever ending up on a common host by
using anti-affinity rules. Anti-affinity rules prevent virtual machines that must
remain separate from failing over to a common host.
Unfortunately, anti-affinity rules are not exactly easy to work with. These
rules can only be established through PowerShell, and the process is not
veryintuitive.
The key to understanding how the process works is to understand that
forevery clustered virtual machine, there is a corresponding cluster group.
Each cluster group uses the same name as the virtual machine for which
it was created. Anti-affinity rules are applied to cluster groups, not to
virtualmachines.
Like other types of objects in PowerShell, cluster groups have a number of
different properties (Figure 4.19). To see a list of the cluster group properties,
enter the following command:
Get-ClusterGroup <group name> | Select-Object *
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Figure 4.19
Cluster groups are made up of a number of properties.
As you look at the properties in the screen capture above, you will notice that
the third property from the bottom of the list is named AntiAffinityClassNames.
Creating an anti-affinity rule involves assigning a value to this property.
Normally you could modify this type of value by using a command like this:
Get-ClusterGroup <virtual machine name> | Set-ClusterGroup
AntiAffinityClassNames <value>
However, there is just one problem with the command shown abovethere
is no Set-ClusterGroup cmdlet. The fact that such a command does not exist
is asafety precautionif a Set-ClusterGroup cmdlet did exist, you could
potentially destroy a virtual machine if you used the cmdlet incorrectly.
Since you cant use Get-ClusterGroup and Set-ClusterGroup, you have to use
a completely different approach to modifying the AntiAffinityClassNames
property.
Unfortunately, Windows PowerShell does not contain the code for managing
the AntiAffinityClassNames property. However, you can download a PowerShell
module that makes it possible to directly manipulate this property. In case
you are not familiar with the concept of a PowerShell module, it is basically
acollection of PowerShell cmdlets that can be bolted on to the core cmdlet set.
You can download the PowerShell Module for Configuring AntiAffinityClassNames
in Failover Clustering at: http://gallery.technet.microsoft.com/PowerShell-
module-for-16242485. This module is designed for use with Windows Server
2008 R2, but it works with Windows Server 2012 as well.
The download consists of a ZIP file. You will need to download the ZIP file
andextract its contents to the servers hard disk. The path that you use is up to
you, but you will have to enter the full path into PowerShell, so it is beneficial
to use a relatively simple path. For demonstration purposes this example places
the extracted files into a folder named C:\Modules.
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Once you have extracted the zip files contents, youll need to import
themodule into PowerShell. Note that importing a module is not a permanent
operation. The module only remains imported for as long as PowerShell is
open. If you need to use the module again at a later time, you will have to
import it again.
Before you can import the module, you will have to configure your servers
execution policy to allow PowerShell scripts to be run. The easiest way to do
this is to enter the following command:
Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted
This command allows PowerShell to run any PowerShell script, regardless
of where it came from (Figure 4.20). Obviously, there are some security
implications associated with allowing unrestricted access to scripts, as
explained in the text shown below (Figure 4.20). If you are concerned about
security, you can set the execution policy back to Restricted when you finish
working with the AntiAffinityClassNames by using the Set-ExecutionPolicy
Restricted cmdlet.
Figure 4.20
You must configure the execution policy to allow PowerShell scripts to be run.
With that said, you can use the following command to import the module
(assuming that the module resides in C:\modules):
Import-Module C:\Modules\AntiAffinityClassNames
When you execute the command listed above, you will see several prompts
asking if you want to allow the script to run (Figure 4.21). You must run each of
these scripts in order to successfully import the module.
Figure 4.21
You must import the AntiAffinityClassNames module before you can use it.
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As previously mentioned, a PowerShell module adds cmdlets to the built-in

cmdlet set. If you would like to see a list of the new cmdlets that were added,
enter the following command (Figure 4.22):
Get-Command Module AntiAffinityClassNames
Figure 4.22
The AntiAffinityClassNames module adds three new cmdlets to PowerShell.
Now that all of the necessary components are in place, you can begin working
with anti-affinity rules. The basic idea behind these rules is that certain servers
should never reside on the same hosts. You can specify these servers by
adding a value to the AntiAffinityClassNames parameter. Servers with the same
AntiAffinityClassNames parameter will not normally fail over to a common
host.
A more concrete example of how this works is a situation in which
anorganization has multiple virtualized domain controllers. You would never
want to be in a situation in which all of your domain controllers failed over
to the same host. That being the case, you could add the phrase Domain
Controller to each domain controllers AntiAffinityClassNames parameter
to indicate that each server that uses this tag is a domain controller and that
each domain controller should reside on a separate host. To be perfectly
clear, theDomain Controllers value is just an exampleyou can call your
antiaffinity values anything that you want.
Setting up anti-affinity rules in this manner does not guarantee that the virtual
machines will never be hosted on the same server. If the cluster is ever put
into a situation where there arent enough remaining cluster nodes to facilitate
therequirements of the anti-affinity rules, Windows will place the virtual
machines wherever it can. The assumption is that it is more important to keep
the virtual machines running than it is to keep them separated.
Now you can configure anti-affinity rules by using the Set-AntiAffinityClassNames
cmdlet. This cmdlet requires you to specify the name of the cluster, the cluster
group to which the rule should apply (the cluster group name is the same as
the virtual machine name), and the value that you want to assign. Suppose, for
example, that your cluster is named HyperVCluster and that you want to assign
an AntiAffinityClassNames value of Domain Controller to a virtual machine
named VM3. To do so, use the following command:
Set-AntiAffinityClassNames Cluster HyperVCluster ClusterGroup VM3
Value Domain Controller
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It is worth noting that the Set-AntiAffinityClassNames cmdlet sometimes

has trouble recognizing a cluster name. You may receive an error telling you
to check the spelling of the cluster name. If that happens, enter the Get-
AntiAffinityClassNames cmdlet (Figure 4.23). By doing so, you might find that
the cluster name is listed as localhost rather than by its designated name.
Figure 4.23
The cluster name is sometimes listed as localhost.
When you successfully assign a value to the AntiAffinityClassNames property,

PowerShell does not acknowledge the success of the operation. The easiest
way to confirm that the operation was successful is to enter the Get-
AntiAffinityClassNames cmdlet (Figure 4.24).
Figure 4.24
Use the Get-AntiAffinityClassNames cmdlet to verify the success of the operation.
Virtual machine prioritization

Failover clusters are great because if a cluster node fails, the virtual machines
can fail over to another node in the cluster where they continue to run.
Sometimes, however, the failover process fails because of insufficient
systemresources.
Most Hyper-V failover clusters do not use empty cluster nodes that are sitting
idle, waiting for a failure to happen. More often, each cluster node hosts a
number of virtual machines. If a failure occurs, the Failover Cluster Service will
attempt to move the virtual machines from the failed node to another cluster
node where those virtual machines can continue to run. However, if the node
was already hosting some virtual machines prior to the failure, then that server
may not have enough memory or CPU resources to host its own workload plus
all of the virtual machines from the failed cluster node.
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Unfortunately, there is no magic trick that you can use to make the cluster
node handle all of those virtual machines from the failed cluster node. Servers
only have so much memory and when all of that memory has been allocated,
theserver will be unable to host any additional virtual machines.
Because Windows cant expand a cluster nodes capacity so that it can handle
more virtual machines, Windows instead lets you prioritize virtual machines.
In any organization there are some virtual machines that are more important
than others. For example, your mail server is probably more important than
aredundant domain controller.
By prioritizing your virtual machines, you can make sure that the most
important virtual machines continue to function in a failover situation.
Windows will start the highest priority virtual machines first and lower priority
virtual machines in sequence until the server runs out of memory or other
resources.
Setting a virtual machines priority is easy. To do so, follow these steps:
3. When the Failover Cluster Manager starts, select the Roles container.
4. Right-click on the virtual machine that you want to prioritize and choose
the Change Startup Priority command from the right-click menu
(Figure4.25).
5. Specify the virtual machines priority.
Figure 4.25
Specify the virtual machines startup priority.
As you look at the figure above, you will notice that the Failover Cluster
Manager has a Priority column that displays each virtual machines priority.
Every virtual machine has a default priority of Medium, but you can raise
orlower that priority based on the virtual machines importance.
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Setting the preferred owners

Some organizations might prefer to have virtual machines running on certain
hosts. For example, if you have a large database application, you would
probably want that application to run on the host that has the fastest CPU.
Hyper-V allows you to set priorities on which physical hosts your virtual
machines run. To specify a preferred host, follow these steps:
3. When the Failover Cluster Manager opens, select the Roles container.
4. Right-click on a clustered virtual machine for which you want to specify
apreferred host server and select the Properties command from
therightclick menu.
5. When the Core Properties dialog box appears, select the checkbox for
thevirtual machines preferred host server (Figure 4.26).
Figure 4.26
Hyper-V allows you to specify a preferred host server for any clustered virtual machine.
Although Microsoft makes it easy to specify a preferred host, there are two
things that you should know about host server prioritization. First, you can
specify multiple preferred servers by selecting the checkboxes for each
preferred cluster node. Use the Up and Down buttons shown in the figure
above to arrange the list of cluster nodes based on your preferred priority.
Second, host prioritization is not guaranteed. If a virtual machines preferred
host is offline or lacks the capacity to host a virtual machine, the virtual
machine will be hosted on a cluster node other than the preferred node.
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Failover rules
The Failover Cluster Service allows you to set some ground rules for theway
that virtual machines failover to other cluster nodes. These rules are all
controlled through a dialog box within the Failover Cluster Manager. To access
this dialog box, follow these steps:
3. When the Failover Cluster Manager opens, select the Roles container.
4. Right-click on a clustered virtual machine.
5. Select the Properties command from the right-click menu.
6. When the virtual machines properties sheet appears, select the Failover
tab (Figure 4.27).
Figure 4.27
Failover is controlled through the settings found on the Failover tab.
Note that the Failover tab is divided into two sections. The first section allows
you to define the maximum number of failovers that can occur within a given
period of time. The idea is that if a virtual machine fails over repeatedly, there
is probably a serious problem with that virtual machine or with the cluster
and it might be better to simply take the virtual machine offline and put it
into a failed state rather than allow it to keep failing over. By default, failures
are capped at two failures within a six-hour period, but you can adjust these
settings based on your needs.
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The lower portion of the dialog box lets you control whether or not
thevirtual machine will be allowed to fail back to the server on which it was
originally hosted. By default, automatic failback is disabled. However, you
can enable automatic failback and configure it to happen immediately or on
ascheduledbasis.
In most cases it is best to leave automatic failback disabled. If a failover
occurred, a problem exists that caused the failover, and you dont want
your virtual machines automatically failing back to a cluster node that has
anunresolved problem.
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Chapter 5
PowerShell
Management
In Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2, Microsoft allowed
many aspects of the Windows operating system to be
managed through PowerShell. Because PowerShell was
relatively new, however, there were certain operating
system components (including Hyper-V) that could not
be managed through PowerShell. Microsoft eventually
released a PowerShell module for Hyper-V, but this
module had to be downloaded separately. Thankfully,
theWindows Server 2012 version of Hyper-V includes
native PowerShell management capabilities. It is the goal
of this chapter to familiarize you with the various ways
inwhich Hyper-V can be managed through PowerShell.
144
Syntax simplification
Before discussing PowerShell management for Hyper-V, there is some
good news. While developing Windows Server 2012, Microsoft realized that
nondevelopers often struggled with PowerShell. In spite of what themarketing
folks might say, the syntax for various PowerShell commands was often
complex and completely non-intuitive. Thankfully, Microsoft decided to simplify
the PowerShell syntaxespecially as it relates to the Where-Object and
ForEach-Object cmdlets.
To show you an example of the way that the syntax has been simplified,
imagine that you want to see a list of all of the processes that are running on
the local Hyper-V host server. Prior to Windows Server 2012, you would have
had to use this command:
Get-Process | ForEach {$_.Name}
The Windows Server 2012 version of PowerShell is backward compatible

with the previous version, so you can still use this style of command (this is
important if you want to continue using older scripts). However, Windows
Server 2012 also allows you to enter commands in a simplified manner. For
example, the command shown above can be simplified as:
Get-Process | ForEach Name
This same simplification also applies to operations in which you use operators
to filter the result set. For example, prior to Windows Server 2012, to see a list
of all of the processes using more than 500 handles, you would have had to use
the following command:
Get-Process | where {$_.Handles gt 500}
In Windows Server 2012, this command can be simplified as:

Get-Process | Where Handles gt 500
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Attaching to a Hyper-V server

The first skill you must master with regard to managing Hyper-V from
PowerShell is that of attaching to a remote server. If you plan to manage
Hyper-V through PowerShell by using the local server console, then you wont
have to worry about establishing a remote PowerShell connection. You can
simply open a PowerShell window and enter the various cmdlets without
having to do anything special. However, if you need to manage a remote host,
you will first need to establish a session with that host.
There are a few different ways to use a PowerShell session to control a remote
Hyper-V host. One method involves using the Enter-PSSession cmdlet. Touse
this method, enter the Enter-PSSession cmdlet and append the name of
theserver that you want to attach to. Any commands that you run from this
point on will execute on the remote server, but the results will be displayed
in the local console. You can end the session by entering the Exit-PSSession
cmdlet. For example, to establish a session with a server named Lab2,
execute the Get-VM cmdlet, and then terminate the session, you would use
thesecommands:
Enter-PSSession Lab2
Get-VM
ExitPSSession
Notice in the screen capture (Figure 5.1) that the PowerShell prompt changes
to reflect the name of the server that you are attached to.
Figure 5.1
You can use the Enter-PSSession cmdlet to establish a remote PowerShell session.
Another method is to use the Invoke-Command cmdlet to execute a single

command on a remote host (Figure 5.2). The trick is to specify the computer
name. You can even specify multiple computer names if you separate them
by commas. The actual command that you send to the remote machines must
appear in braces. For example, to send the Get-VM command to computers
named Lab1, Lab2 and Lab3, you would enter the following command:
Invoke-command ComputerName Lab1, Lab2, Lab3 {Get-VM}
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Figure 5.2
You can use the Invoke-Command cmdlet to remotely execute a PowerShell command.
Keep in mind that these are the simplest methods of establishing a remote
PowerShell session. Things can become more complex if you need to enter
analternative set of permissions or if you need to modify the execution
policy to allow scripts to be run. For example, the block of PowerShell listed
below is used to manage an Office 365 environment through PowerShell.
Although Office 365 is beyond the scope of this book, this example illustrates
the point that there are more complex methods of establishing remote
PowerShellconnectivity.
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
Import-Module MSOnline
$Cred = Get-Credential
$MySession = New-PSSession -ConfigurationName Microsoft.Exchange
-ConnectionUri https://ps.outlook.com/powershell -Credential $Cred
-Authentication Basic -AllowRedirection
Import-PSSession $MySession
Querying virtual machines

One of the most basic (but useful) things that you can do with PowerShell
involves performing various queries against virtual machines. The simplest of
these queries involves using the Get-VM cmdlet. Entering this cmdlet returns
alist of all of the virtual machines that are present on the host (Figure 5.3).
Along with the name of each virtual machine, you can also see the virtual
machines state (whether or not it is running) along with its CPU usage,
memory assigned, up time and status.
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Figure 5.3
The Get-VM cmdlet returns a list of the virtual machines that are present on the host.
Notice in Figure 5.3 that the Get-VM cmdlet returns virtual machine information
from the local server. Had we established a PowerShell session with a remote
server, virtual machine information from the remote server would have been
returned instead. If you need to perform a Get-VM query against a remote
server, however, it may not always be necessary to establish a session with the
server. Remote sessions are most useful when you need to redirect PowerShell
so that all operations are performed against the remote host instead of
the local host. If you simply need to retrieve a bit of information from the
remote host, you can often do so by using a standard PowerShell cmdlet and
appending the name of the remote server.
To see how this works, imagine that you want to see a list of the virtual
machines residing on a host named Prod1 (Figure 5.4). You can accomplish this
by entering the following command:
Get-VM ComputerName Prod1
Figure 5.4
You can get a list of the virtual machines that reside on a specific host.
Of course, the list of virtual machines that are running on a specific host could
potentially be really long. Often you might be more interested in viewing
the state of a specific virtual machine rather than seeing a list of every virtual
machine that exists on a host server. In this case, you can append a virtual
machine name directly to the end of the Get-VM cmdlet (Figure 5.5). For
example, to view the current state of a VM named Lab-DC you can enter
thiscommand:
Get-VM Lab-DC
Figure 5.5
You can retrieve information for a specific virtual machine.
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Just as you can use the Get-VM cmdlet to retrieve basic information about
virtual machines, you can use the Get-VMHost cmdlet to access information
about host servers (Figure 5.6). Entering the Get-VMHost cmdlet by itself
returns the name of your host server along with its logical processor count,
memory capacity and whether or not the virtual machine is configured to allow
virtual machine migrations.
Figure 5.6
The Get-VMHost cmdlet retrieves information about a host server.
It is also possible to use the Get-VMHost cmdlet to retrieve information about

multiple host servers at the same time. Simply append the names of thehost
servers that you want to query. Host server names should be separated
by commas (Figure 5.7). For example, the command might look something
likethis:
Get-VMHost Lab1,Lab2,Lab3,Prod1,Prod2
Figure 5.7
You can query multiple host servers through a single command.
Filtering the output

In the previous section, you saw that it is possible to use the Get-VM
(Figure5.8) and the Get-Host cmdlets to retrieve basic information about
virtual machines and host servers. Often, however, you might need to access
more detailed information than what these cmdlets provide by default.
Fortunately, there are a number of ways to accomplish this.
Figure 5.8
You can use the Get-VM cmdlet to retrieve virtual machine information.
149
One of the nice things about PowerShell is that it allows you to use attributes
and operators to filter a cmdlets output. Some of the commonly used
operators include:
Equal To -EQ
Or -OR
And -AND
Like -Like
Greater Than -GT
Less Than -LT
You can combine these operators with object attributes to retrieve very
granular information about your host servers and virtual machines.
One of the most basic examples of output filtering involves filtering virtual
machines by name. For example, entering the Get-VM cmdlet on the host Lab1
returns listings for a number of virtual machines. On this server the name of
each virtual machine reflects the virtual machines purpose. For example, virtual
machines starting with LAB15 are lab machines related to Microsofts wave 15
product release (Office 15, SharePoint 15, Exchange 15, etc.).
With this in mind, it might occasionally be necessary to get a list of the virtual
machines that are related to wave 15 testing. In this situation, the Like operator
could prove to be very handy. You can use the Like operator to list values that
are similar to a target value. For instance, you can list all of the virtual machines
that have names starting with Lab15 (Figure 5.9) by using the following cmdlet:
Get-VM | Where Name Like Lab15*
Figure 5.9
You can use filtering to narrow down the list of virtual machines.
Being able to filter virtual machines by name is nice, but this is not the only
type of filtering you can do. It is also possible to filter on things like a virtual
machines state. For instance, if you want to see which virtual machines are
currently powered off (Figure 5.10), you can use the following command:
Get-VM | Where State EQ Off
Figure 5.10
You can filter based on a virtual machines state.
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Obviously its handy to be able to see a list of the virtual machines that are
powered off, but remember that the command shown above only looks
atthecurrent host server. What if you wanted to see a list of the running virtual
machines across multiple hosts? To accomplish this, you would simply add
theComputerName switch and the names of the hosts that should be
included in the query (Figure 5.11). The command might look something
likethis:
Get-VM ComputerName Lab1,Lab2,Lab3,Prod1,Prod2 | Where State EQ
Running
Figure 5.11
A filtered output can contain data from multiple Hyper-V host servers.
What about clusters?

So far the topic of filtering has assumed that the virtual machines are running
on standalone hosts. However, virtual machine queries can also be very useful
in clustered environments. Suppose, for example, that you want to see a list of
all of your clustered virtual machines (Figure 5.12). You can do so by entering
the following command:
Get-ClusterGroup | Where GroupType EQ VirtualMachine | Get-VM
Figure 5.12
You can use PowerShell for cluster management.
This technique becomes most useful when you apply multiple filters together.
If you look at the previous screen capture you will notice that one clustered
virtual machine is running and another is not. If this were a production
environment with lots of virtual machines, it might be useful to compile a list of
the clustered virtual machines that were not running (Figure 5.13). You could do
this by entering the following command:
Get-ClusterGroup | Where GroupType EQ VirtualMachine | Get-VM | Where
State EQ Off
Figure 5.13
You can create a list of clustered virtual machines that are not currently running.
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In a clustered environment it isnt just important to keep virtual machines

running, it is also important to keep track of resource utilization. You can use
asimilar technique to the one that was just demonstrated to keep track of
virtual machine memory usage within the cluster. For example, to create a list
of all of the clustered virtual machines that are using more than a gigabyte of
memory (Figure 5.14), you can use this command:
Get-ClusterGroup | Where GroupType EQ VirtualMachine | Get-VM | Where
MemoryAssigned GT 1073741825
Figure 5.14
You can use PowerShell to determine which VMs are consuming excessive system resources.
It is worth noting that even though PowerShell displays the memory in

megabytes in this case, you must enter the MemoryAssigned value in bytes.
Getting more information

So far, this chapter has discussed various filtering techniques, but often you
may need more detailed information than what the various commands provide
by default. The good news is that the Get-VM and the Get-VMHost cmdlets
only display a small subset of the information that is actually available andit
is easy to customize the commands so that just the information you need
isdisplayed.
In PowerShell, VM and VMHost both represent objects. Objects contain
acollection of attributes. Therefore, the key to customizing the command
output is controlling which attributes are displayed. To see the attributes
that are available for the Get-VM cmdlet (Figure 5.15), enter the following
command:
Get-VM Lab-DC | FL *
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Figure 5.15
A wealth of information is available for each virtual machine.
This command displays all of the available attributes in list format. Pay
attention to the attribute names because you can use these names to
customize theoutput or to apply filters. Similarly you can view all of the
attributes that are available within the Get-VMHost cmdlet (Figure 5.16) by
entering thiscommand:
Get-VMHost | FL *
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Figure 5.16
You can use the Get-VMHost cmdlet to retrieve host server information.
As you can see, there is a lot of information available both for virtual machines
and for host servers. But what can you do with all of this information?
Forstarters, you can control the output of the Get-VM or the Get-VMHost
cmdlets (Figure 5.17). For example, suppose that you want to see each virtual
machines name, the name of the host on which the virtual machine currently
resides andwhether or not the virtual machine is clustered. You can accomplish
this by entering the following command:
Get-VM | FT VMName, ComputerName, IsClustered
Figure 5.17
You can control the output of the Get-VM or the Get-VMHost cmdlets.
Of course, you output the values of any of the available attributes and you can
also use the various attributes with operators such as Like, -And, -GT, etc.
toachieve a filtered output.
It is worth noting that Microsoft provides a number of cmdlets that you can
use as shortcuts to retrieve very specific information about virtual machines.
Forexample, you can use the Get-VMMemory cmdlet to retrieve a virtual
machines memory configuration. Likewise, you can use the Get-VMProcessor
cmdlet to view a virtual machines virtual CPU configuration.
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Reporting
In the previous section you learned how to modify the Get-VM
andtheGetVMHost cmdlets to achieve the desired output, but you can
actually take things a step further and use PowerShell as a reporting engine.
You can use PowerShell to create CSV, Text and even HTML files.
Lists and tables

Before moving on to the creation of these file types, there is one more aspect
of the output formatting to discuss. In the previous sections, the codes FL9
(Format-List) and FT (Format-Table) were used. Formatting a commands
output as a list (Figure 5.18) displays the information vertically. This is the most
appropriate format for viewing large amounts of information on screen. Tables
(Figure 5.19) display information horizontally. This table format is best for
looking at multiple results, such as a listing of virtual machines.
Figure 5.18
Lists display information vertically.
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Figure 5.19
Tables display data horizontally.
It is fine to use FT and FL to view a commands output on screen, but if you

plan to write the output to a CSV or HTML file, this will not work. Instead,
you will have to replace FT or FL with the Select-Object cmdlet (Figure 5.20),
followed by the attributes that you want to display. For example, you might use
a command like this one:
Get-VM | Select-Object VMName, State, ComputerName, IsClustered,
UpTime, Status
Figure 5.20
Often, it is necessary to use the Select-Object cmdlet to specify what data to include
inareport.
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CSV files
CSV files are almost always created in table format. CSV files are useful
foroutputting large amounts of information in a format that can be read
by Microsoft Excel or imported into a database. You can create a CSV file by
appending the Export-CSV cmdlet to whatever command you are using. It
is worth noting, however, that you must manually specify the attributes to
include in the output. For example, to create a CSV file containing a listing of
your virtual machines, their state, the host, whether or not the virtual machine
is clustered, and the virtual machines uptime and status (Figure 5.21), you can
enter this command:
UpTime, Status | Export-CSV C:\Data\VMs.csv
Figure 5.21
You can choose which fields to export to a CSV file.
Once created, you can open the CSV in Microsoft Excel (Figure 5.22).
Figure 5.22
You can open CSV files in Microsoft Excel.
Text files
The process of creating a text file is similar to that of creating a CSV file,
butPowerShell is a bit more forgiving when it comes to creating text files.
Youdont have to use the Select-Object cmdlet and can instead use FT or FL.
Rather than using the Export-CSV cmdlet, you will use the Out-File cmdlet.
Other than that, the commands are identical. For example, to write a list of
virtual machines to a text file (Figure 5.23), you can use this command:
Get-VM | FT VMName, State, ComputerName, IsClustered, UpTime, Status |
Out-File C:\Data\VMs.txt
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Figure 5.23
You can write PowerShell data to a text file.
Notice in Figure 5.23 that you can view the contents of the newly created
text file by entering the Type command, followed by the path and filename
of thetext file. Of course, you can also open the file in Notepad or any other
texteditor.
HTML reports
The process of creating an HTML report is similar to that of creating a text
fileboth use the Out-File cmdlet. However, to create an HTML report,
youneed to add the ConvertTo-HTML cmdlet. For example, to write a list of
your virtual machines to an HTML file, use this command:
UpTime, Status | ConvertTo-HTML | Out-File C:\Data\VMs.htm
Just for fun, you can modify this command so that it creates the report
andautomatically opens it in Internet Explorer (Figure 5.24). To do this,
append the Invoke-Expression cmdlet to the end of the command as shown
inthefollowing example:
UpTime, Status | ConvertTo-HTML | Out-File CL\Data\VMs.htm | Invoke-
Expression C:\Data\VMs.htm
Figure 5.24
You can write PowerShell data to an HTML report.
As you can see, the process of writing data to an HTML report works pretty
well, but the report is very plain (Figure 5.25) and not very visually appealing.
To make your reports more visually interesting, you can create a style section
and incorporate it into the report.
158
Figure 5.25
By default, HTML reports are very bland.
The block of code below (Figure 5.26) creates a PowerShell variable named
$a and then adds an HTML style section to that variable. The actual report is
created as discussed earlier, but with a couple of differences. When it comes
time to issue the ConvertTo-HTML command, you insert the Head switch
and the $a variable. You also insert the Body tag and a header. The end result
is a much more attractive HTML report (Figure 5.27). This is how the code
iswritten:
$a = "<style>"
$a = $a + "BODY{background-color:peachpuff;}"
$a = $a + "TABLE{border-width: 1px;border-style: solid;border-color:
black;border-collapse: collapse;}"
$a = $a + "TH{border-width: 1px;padding: 0px;border-style: solid;border-
color: black;background-color:thistle}"
$a = $a + "TD{border-width: 1px;padding: 0px;border-style: solid;border-
color: black;background-color:PaleGoldenrod}"
$a = $a + "</style>"
UpTime, Status | ConvertTo-HTML -head $a -body "<H2>Virtual Machines</
H2>" | Out-File C:\Data\VMs.htm
Figure 5.26
You can add HTML style elements to an HTML report.
159
Figure 5.27
HTML reports can be displayed in color.
With a little bit of imagination you can create scripts that produce color-coded
reports. For example, you can list virtual machines that are offline in red and list
online virtual machines in green.
Changing a virtual machines state

So far we have discussed PowerShell solely with regard to retrieving
information about a virtual machine or a host server. Although PowerShell
can be a powerful reporting tool, it can also be used to interact with
virtual machines. For example, you can use PowerShell to start or stop
avirtualmachine.
There are two cmdlets you can use to change a virtual machines state.
Theseinclude:
Stop-VM
Start-VM
When you enter the Stop-VM cmdlet, PowerShell will attempt to gracefully shut
down the specified virtual machine. If the virtual machine cannot be brought
down gracefully, you will see a warning message (Figure 5.28) telling you that
the virtual machine cannot be shut down. The message gives you the option
of turning off the virtual machine (without a graceful shutdown) or suspending
the virtual machine.
Figure 5.28
You will see a warning message if a virtual machine cannot be shut down gracefully.
The Start-VM cmdlet starts the virtual machine. The only required parameter is
the name of the virtual machine that you want to start (Figure 5.29).
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Figure 5.29
You can use the Start-VM cmdlet to start a virtual machine.
Creating a virtual machine

You can also use PowerShell to create virtual machines. This involves using
theNew-VM cmdlet. At a minimum, you need to specify the name for the new
virtual machine, the virtual machine path and the name of the host on which
the virtual machine will reside. For example, to create a virtual machine named
PowerShellVM in the C:\VMs folder on a host named Lab1 (Figure 5.30), you
would enter the following command:
New-VM Name PowerShellVM Path C:\VMs ComputerName Lab1
Figure 5.30
You can create virtual machines through PowerShell.
When you enter this command, you will see confirmation that the new virtual
machine was created. The new virtual machine should also be displayed in
theHyper-V Manager (Figure 5.31).
Figure 5.31
The new virtual machine should appear in the Hyper-V Manager.
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Keep in mind that you will almost always have to make modifications to a newly
created virtual machine before using it. When you create a virtual machine
using the method discussed above, it is allocated minimal hardware that is
almost never suitable for real world use. The hardware allocation includes:
512 MB of memory
DVD drive
No virtual hard disk
No network connection
One virtual processor
Fortunately, you can use PowerShell cmdlets to modify a new or an existing
virtual machine.
Modifying a virtual machine

As you saw in the previous section, you may need to modify a virtual machine
after creating it through PowerShell. Likewise, you may occasionally need
tomodify an existing virtual machines configuration. For instance, you might
need to add more memory or additional CPU cores to a virtual machine.
This section discusses some techniques for modifying virtual machine
hardwareallocation.
Memory
The resource that you will likely have to adjust more often than any other is
memory. You can adjust memory by using the Set-VMMemory cmdlet.
Start the process by entering the Get-VMMemory cmdlet, followed by
thename of the virtual machine (Figure 5.32). This causes PowerShell to display
the virtual machines current memory configuration.
Figure 5.32
You can use the Get-VMMemory cmdlet to see a virtual machines memory assignment.
The easiest way to reallocate a virtual machines memory is to assign a static

amount of memory to the virtual machine by entering the following command:
Set-VMMemory <virtual machine name> Startup <memory amount>
For example, to add 2 GB of memory to the virtual machine named
PowerShellVM (Figure 5.33), use the following command:
Set-VMMemory PowerShellVM Startup 2.0GB
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Figure 5.33
You can use the Set-VMMemory cmdlet to allocate memory to a virtual machine.
This command sets the startup memory to 2 GB. You can verify the operations
success by using the Get-VMMemory cmdlet.
If you want to configure a virtual machine to use dynamic memory, things
become a bit more complicated. You still use the Set-VMMemory cmdlet,
butyou have to include a specification to enable dynamic memory. You will
also have to provide values for the minimum, startup and maximum memory.
You can optionally set a priority and a buffer value for the virtual machine as
well by using the following command:
Set-VMMemory <virtual machine name> -DynamicMemoryEnabled $True
MinimumBytes <minimum memory> -StartupBytes <startup memory>
-MaximumBytes <maximum memory> -Priority <priority> -Buffer
<buffervalue>
For example, suppose you want to configure the virtual machine PowerShellVM
to use a 1 GB of startup memory and you want to set the minimum memory
to 512 MB and the maximum memory to 2 GB. Lets also assume that you want
to set the priority to 80 and the buffer to 25 (Figure 5.34). You can do this with
thefollowing command:
Set-VMMemory PowerShellVM DynamicMemoryEnabled $True
MinimumBytes 512MB -StartupBytes 1GB MaximumBytes 2GB Priority 80
Buffer 25
Figure 5.34
You can also use the Set-VMMemory for configuring dynamic memory.
Now that you know how to allocate memory to a virtual machine, here are
a couple of shortcuts that you can use. Keep in mind that you can use these
shortcuts with any type of hardware allocation. The following example uses
only memory allocation.
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Allocating memory to multiple virtual machines

The first shortcut allows you to allocate memory to multiple virtual machines
simultaneously. The easiest way to accomplish this is to specify multiple virtual
machine names within the Set-VMMemory cmdlet. For example, to allocate
2GB of memory to virtual machines named NewVM1, NewVM2 and NewVM3
on a server named Lab1 (Figure 5.35), you can use the following command:
Set-VMMemory NewVM1,NewVM2,NewVM3 Startup 2.0GB
Figure 5.35
You can assign memory to multiple virtual machines.
When the operation has completed, you can verify its success by specifying all
three virtual machine names within the Get-VMMemory cmdlet. For example,
inthis situation you would enter:
Get-VMMemory NewVM1,NewVM2,NewVM3
Keep in mind that this is not the only way to allocate memory to multiple
virtual machines. You can also specify the virtual machines to which you want
to allocate memory using filtering. For example, you can create a filter based
on the virtual machines name or on the amount of memory that is currently
allocated to the virtual machine.
Pipelining hardware allocations

The other shortcut that is worth knowing is that you can actually allocate
memory to a virtual machine while the virtual machine is being created. Thisis
done by pipelining the New-VM and the Set-VMMemory cmdlets together.
Suppose, for example, that you want to create a virtual machine named
NewVM4 and allocate 4 GB of RAM to it (Figure 5.36). You can accomplish this
by using the following command:
New-VM Name NewVM4 Path C:\VMs ComputerName Lab1 | Set-
VMMemory Startup 4GB
Figure 5.36
You can assign startup memory as a virtual machine is being created.
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Virtual network adapters

Just as you may need to modify a virtual machines memory allocation,
youmay also need to provision a virtual machine with a virtual NIC. Its best
to start by viewing a virtual machines current virtual network adapter usage.
To do this, enter the Get-VMNetworkAdapter cmdlet, followed by the virtual
machine name (Figure 5.37).
Figure 5.37
You can use the Get-VMNetworkAdapter cmdlet to access virtual network adapter
information for a virtual machine.
In many cases, you may find that although a network adapter has been
assigned to a virtual machine, you must connect that network adapter
toavirtual switch. Fortunately, this is relatively easy to do. While it is possible
to use a single command to attach a virtual network adapter to a virtual
switch, its better to use variables because the virtual network adapter name
andthevirtual switch name may be long. Using variables reduces the chances
of making a mistake by mistyping one of the names.
Therefore, the first step in the process is to retrieve the name of the virtual
machines virtual network adapter and assign this name to a variable named
$VMNic using the following command:
$VMNic = Get-VMNetworkAdapter VMName <virtual machine name>
The next step is to retrieve the name of the virtual switch by using
Get-VMSwitch | Select-Object Name
If you have multiple virtual switches, you can narrow down the results by
specifying the virtual switchs connectivity. For example, if you only want to use
an external virtual switch, you can use the following cmdlet:
Get-VMSwitch SwitchType External | Select-Object Name
Now you just need to connect the virtual network adapter to the virtual switch.
You should be able to do this by using the Connect-VMNetworkAdapter
cmdlet; however, PowerShell apparently doesnt allow you to add the virtual
switch name to a variable and use the variable to connect the virtual switch
toa virtual network adapter. Instead, you have to enter the virtual switch name
in long form. The command looks something like this:
Connect-VMNetworkAdapter VMNetworkAdapter $VMNic SwitchName
<virtual switch name>
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As a more concrete example, for the virtual switch on a test server named
Intel(R) Gigabit CT Desktop Adapter #2 Virtual Switch (Figure 5.38), you would
use the following command:
Intel(R) Gigabit CT Desktop Adapter #2 Virtual Switch
Figure 5.38
You must connect a virtual network adapter to a virtual switch.
Once you have connected the virtual network adapter to the virtual switch,
itis a good idea to verify the connection (Figure 5.39). You can do by entering
Get-VMNetworkAdapter VMName <your virtual machine name> | Select-
Object VMName, Name, SwitchName
Figure 5.39
You can use the Get-VMNetworkAdapter cmdlet to verify the connection.
CPU cores
When you create a new virtual machine through PowerShell, Windows
automatically assigns a single virtual processor to the virtual machine. In some
cases, however, a single virtual processor might not be sufficient. Fortunately,
PowerShell makes it possible to add virtual processors to a virtual machine.
Before you attempt to modify a virtual machines virtual processor allocation,
it is a good idea to verify the number of virtual processors currently
assigned to the virtual machine (Figure 5.40). You can do this by using
thefollowingcommand:
Get-VM <virtual machine name>| Select-Object VMName, ProcessorCount
Figure 5.40
Its a good idea to verify a virtual machines current virtual CPU count.
Once you have verified the virtual machines current virtual processor
count, you can modify the number of virtual processors that are assigned
tothevirtual machine by using the following command:
Set-VMProcessor <virtual machine name> -Count <number of virtual CPUs>
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For example, to assign two virtual processors to a virtual machine named

NewVM1 (Figure 5.41), you can use this command:
Set-VMProcessor NewVM1 Count 2
Figure 5.41
You can use the Set-VMProcessor cmdlet to configure a virtual machines virtual CPU usage.
Of course there are also some other switches that you can use with
theSetVMProcessor cmdlet. For instance, if you want to set a reserve,
maximum and relative weight value, you can use a command like this:
Set-VMProcessor <virtual machine name> -Count 2 Reserve 10 Maximum
75 RelativeWeight 200
In case you are not familiar with these particular values, here are their
meanings:
Limit The maximum amount of time that a virtual machine is allowed

touse a physical CPU. The default limit is 100% usage.
Reservation A percentage of CPU time solely for a specific virtual

machine. By default the reservation is set at 0%.
Weight A relative weight that affects how much CPU time a virtual
machine will receive. The default weight is 100.
You can also use the Set-VMProcessor cmdlet to enable compatibility for
older operating systems by including the Compatibility For Older Operating
Systems Enabled switch in the command, as in the following example:
Set-VMProcessor <virtual machine name>
-CompatibilityForOlderOperatingSystemsEnabled $true
Building a virtual machine from scratch

Earlier in this chapter you saw that it is possible to build a virtual machine
byusing the New-VM cmdlet. However, when you use a minimum set of
switches with this cmdlet, the virtual machine is lacking, to say the least.
In fact, the newly created virtual machine doesnt even have a virtual hard
disk. There are a couple of ways to overcome this problemthe easiest way
being toprovision the virtual machine while it is being created. Although this
approach can complicate the New-VM command, it does allow you to create
afully provisioned virtual machine using a single command.
For example, to create a new virtual machine named NewVM4 that has
a50-GB virtual hard drive and is located at F:\NewVM4, you could enter
thefollowingcommand:
New-VM Name NewVM4 NewVHDPath F:\NewVM4\disk1.VHDX
NewVHDSize 50GB Path F:\NewVM4
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This command (Figure 5.42) works really well for creating a virtual machine
andits virtual hard disk. The problem is that the virtual machine is still abit
lacking. By default, this virtual machine is only equipped with 512 MB of
memory, a single virtual processor, and the virtual network adapter is not
connected to a virtual switch (Figure 5.43). Never mind the fact that you might
need to create some additional virtual hard disks for the virtual machine.
Figure 5.42
You can create a virtual hard disk and a virtual machine at the same time.
Figure 5.43
By default, a new virtual machine is provisioned with a very modest amount

ofhardwareresources.
Unfortunately, you cant do much more with the New-VM cmdlet. You can
specify startup memory, but thats about it. That being the case, what follows
is a set of line-by-line instructions for creating and provisioning a new
virtualmachine.
168
This example illustrates how to create a new virtual machine named NewVM5.
The virtual machine will be equipped with two 50-GB virtual hard disks, two
gigabytes of virtual memory, four virtual processors, and it will be connected
to a virtual switch.
Start by creating the virtual machine and its 50-GB boot drive (Figure 5.44),
using the following command:
New-VM Name NewVM5 NewVHDPath F:\NewVM5\disk1.VHDX
NewVHDSize 50GB Path F:\NewVM5
Figure 5.44
You can create a new virtual machine from the command line.
Now that you have created the virtual machine, you need to provision it. Start
by adding the second 50-GB virtual hard disk (Figure 5.45). You can create
anew hard disk using this command:
New-VHD F:\NewVM5\Disk2.VHDX Size 50GB
Figure 5.45
You have created a dynamically expanding virtual hard disk.
This command created a 50-GB dynamically expanding virtual hard disk.

Theproblem is that the virtual hard disk is still not attached to the virtual
machine. You can verify this by entering the Get-VMHardDiskDrive command,
followed by the name of the virtual machine (Figure 5.46).
Figure 5.46
The new virtual hard disk is not attached to the virtual machine.
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This command not only displays the virtual hard disks that are in use, it also
shows which IDE ports are currently in use. When you join the newly created
virtual hard disk to the virtual machine, you will have to choose a set of
ports that are not in use. For example, to use IDE port 0.1 you would use
thiscommand:
Add-VMHardDiskDrive NewVM5 IDE 0 1 Path F:\NewVM5\Disk2.vhdx
The command does not generate any output, so to verify its success you need
to reissue the Get-VMHardDiskDrive cmdlet (Figure 5.47) as shown below:
Get-VMHardDiskDrive NewVM5
Figure 5.47
You must add the virtual hard disk to the virtual machine.
Now that the virtual hard disks are in place, you simply need to provision
memory, CPU and network connectivity. The task of provisioning memory
and CPU resources to the new virtual machine is easy (Figure 5.48) and can be
accomplished using these commands:
Set-VMMemory NewVM5 Startup 4GB
Set-VMProcessor NewVM5 Count 4
Figure 5.48
Adding CPU and memory resources to the virtual machine is easy.
The last step in the process is to connect the virtual network adapter
tothevirtual switch. As you may recall, this isnt a single-step process. You
have to retrieve both the name of the virtual network adapter and the name
of thevirtual switch (Figure 5.49). To retrieve the name of the virtual adapter,
usethe following command:
$VMNic = Get-VMNetworkAdapter VMName <virtual machine name>
Next, you need to retrieve the name of the virtual switch. You can do this by
using the following command:
Get-VMSwitch | Select-Object Name
Now you need to connect the virtual network adapter to the virtual switch by
using this command:
<virtual switch name>
You can use the following command to verify connectivity:
Get-VMNetworkAdapter VMName <your virtual machine name> | Select-
Object VMName, Name, SwitchName
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Figure 5.49
Connecting the virtual machine to the network requires a few steps.
The new virtual machine is now fully provisioned. You can verify all of
thevirtual machine settings through the Hyper-V Manager (Figure 5.50).
Figure 5.50
You can use the Hyper-V Manager to verify the virtual machine settings.
171
Deleting a virtual machine

To delete a virtual machine, use the Remove-VM cmdlet. The only required
parameter is the name of the virtual machine that you want to delete.
Forexample, if you want to delete a virtual machine named NewVM4,
usethiscommand:
Remove-VM NewVM4
When you enter this command, Hyper-V will prompt you for confirmation
(Figure 5.51) before deleting the virtual machine.
Figure 5.51
You can use the Remove-VM cmdlet to delete a virtual machine.
Working with virtual machine snapshots

One of the most frequently used features in Hyper-V is snapshots. Snapshots
allow an administrator to protect a virtual machine prior to performing
apotentially dangerous operation. For example, many administrators are in
the habit of creating a snapshot prior to applying a service pack to a virtual
machine. That way, if the service pack happens to cause problems, the virtual
machine can be easily reverted to a previous state.
Snapshotting through PowerShell can be a bit complex, but the following
examples will give you the basics of how it works. To take a snapshot of
avirtual machine, you can use this command:
Get-VM <virtual machine name> | Checkpoint-VM
For example, to create a snapshot of a virtual machine named NewVM1
(Figure5.52), you can enter the following command:
Get-VM NewVM1 | Checkpoint-VM
Figure 5.52
The Checkpoint-VM cmdlet is used to create snapshots.
After you have created a snapshot, you probably want to verify that
thesnapshot exists. One way of doing this is to select the virtual machine
within the Hyper-V Manager and look at the Snapshots pane (Figure 5.53).
Of course, this chapter is all about PowerShell, so if you want to verify
thesnapshot through PowerShell, you can use the Get-VMSnapshot cmdlet
(Figure 5.54) shown below:
Get-VMSnapshot VMName <Virtual machine name>
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Figure 5.53
The new snapshot is visible through the Hyper-V Manager.
Figure 5.54
You can view snapshots through PowerShell.
Things get a bit trickier if you want to restore a snapshot in order to revert
avirtual machine to a prior state. You can roll back a virtual machine by using
the Restore-VMSnapshot command (Figure 5.55). This command requires you
to provide the name of the virtual machine and the name of the snapshot. You
can enter this information manually, but it is a lot easier to use a command like
this one:
Restore-VMSnapshot Name (Get-VMSnapshot VMName <virtual machine
name>).Name VMName <virtual machine name>
Figure 5.55
You can use the Restore-VMSnapshot cmdlet to revert a VM to a previous state.
For example, if you want to roll back a virtual machine named NewVM1
tothestate in which it existed when the most recent snapshot was created,
youcan use this command:
Restore-VMSnapshot Name (Get-VMSnapshot VMName NewVM1).Name
VMName NewVM1
When you enter this command, PowerShell will prompt you to confirm that you
want to perform the rollback.
173
If you decide instead to remove the most recently created virtual machine
snapshot, the command syntax is exactly the same, except that you
would use the Remove-VMSnapshot cmdlet (Figure 5.56) instead of
theRestoreVMSnapshot cmdlet. The syntax is as follows:
Remove-VMSnapshot Name (Get-VMSnapshot VMName <virtual machine
name>).Name VMName <virtual machine name>
Figure 5.56
The Remove-VMSnapshot cmdlet is used to delete unwanted snapshots.
It is worth noting that this command does not prompt you for confirmation
before deleting the snapshot. Therefore, you should exercise extreme caution
when using the Remove-VMSnapshot cmdlet.
Live migration of a virtual machine

Live migrations are one of the easier functions to perform through PowerShell.
The PowerShell cmdlet for live migrations is Move-VM. At a minimum
thiscmdlet requires you to specify the virtual machine name and the name
of the host server to which the virtual machine will be moved. For example,
to move the virtual machine named NewVM3 to the server Lab2, you use
thiscommand:
Move-VM NewVM3 Lab2
The problem is that the above command moves the virtual machine itself,
butnot the virtual machines storage. Therefore, the command is only
appropriate if the virtual machines files reside on SMB storage.
In most cases, you need to specify the destination storage path as
anadditional switch. To see how this works, imagine that you want to move
the virtual machine NewVM3 to server Lab2 and you want to store the virtual
machine files in F:\VMs (Figure 5.57). You can perform the migration using
thiscommand:
Move-VM NewVM3 Lab2 DestinationStoragePath F:\VMs
Figure 5.57
Use the Move-VM cmdlet for live migrations.
174
Getting help
Although you can do a lot with regard to managing Hyper-V through
PowerShell, the PowerShell cmdlets and their syntaxes are sometimes
difficult to remember. Fortunately, Microsoft provides a number of different
mechanisms to help you use PowerShell.
The question mark switch

Throughout this chapter you have probably noticed that PowerShell cmdlets
can sometimes use a number of optional switches. Therefore, one of the keys
to using PowerShell effectively is to determine all the options for a particular
cmdlet. This is easier to accomplish than it might seem. To see a list of
theoptions that can be used with a cmdlet, simply enter the cmdlet followed
by the -? switch (Figure 5.58). For example, to see all of the options for using
the Get-VM cmdlet, enter the following command:
Get-VM -?
Figure 5.58
The question mark switch is used to retrieve the full syntax for any PowerShell cmdlet.
Any time you use the question mark switch, PowerShell asks you if you want
to run the Update-Help cmdlet. The Update-Help cmdlet causes PowerShell
to download the latest help files from the Internet. When the help file update
completes, the full command syntax will be displayed.
Get-Help
PowerShell cmdlets are a combination of nouns and verbs. Sometimes,
however, it can be difficult to remember what noun-verb combinations can be
used together, and this is where the Get-Help cmdlet comes into play. Get-Help
can show you all of the nouns that can be used with a particular verb or all of
the verbs that can be used with a specific noun. For example, in Hyper-V many
of the cmdlets are designed to be used on virtual machines and therefore use
VM as a noun (Get-VM, Set-VM, etc.). If you want to see all of the actions that
can be performed on a VM (Figure 5.59), you can use the following command:
Get-Help *-VM
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Figure 5.59
These are all of the verbs that can be used with the VM noun.
As previously mentioned, Get-Help can be used with both nouns and verbs.
Notice in Figure 5.59 that the last cmdlet on the list is Suspend-VM. If you are
curious as to whether the Suspend verb can be used with nouns other than VM,
you can enter this command:
Get-Help Suspend-*
When you enter this command (Figure 5.60), you will see that PowerShell
uses the Suspend verb for a number of different purposes, some of which are
not even related to Hyper-V. For example, you can use the Suspend verb to
suspend a service or a print job.
Figure 8.60
The Get-Help cmdlet can help you to figure out what noun and verb combinations will
worktogether.
What-If
As you have no doubt noticed throughout this chapter, some PowerShell
commands are complicated. That being the case, it would be nice to have
a way to make sure that you are entering the correct command before you
actually press Enter. The good news is that Windows gives you a way to
find out what a specific PowerShell command would do before you actually
execute the command. The trick is to append the WhatIf switch to the end of
thecommand.
For example, suppose that you werent quite sure what would happen if you
executed the New-VM command. You could append the WhatIf switch to
thecommand (Figure 5.61) and PowerShell would tell you that the command
would create a new virtual machine named New Virtual Machine.
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Figure 5.61
The WhatIf switch is used to find out what will happen if you perform a certain command.
It is worth noting that not every PowerShell cmdlet can be used with
WhatIf. Tosee which cmdlets support the use of WhatIf (Figure 5.62), enter
Get-Command | Where Definition Like *whatif*
Figure 5.62
Not every cmdlet works with the WhatIf switch.
IntelliSense
In addition to the PowerShell interface that is shown throughout this chapter,
Microsoft also provides a feature called the PowerShell Integrated Scripting
Environment (ISE). In the Windows Server 2012 version of PowerShell,
theIntegrated Scripting Environment contains a feature called IntelliSense,
which anticipates the command that you are about to type and offers help as
you enter the command.
To see how this feature works, go to your Hyper-V servers Metro interface,
click the Administrative Tools tile and double-click on the Windows PowerShell
ISE command (Figure 5.63), which is found on the Administrative Tools list.
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Figure 5.63
The Windows PowerShell ISE icon is found on the Administrative Tools menu.
When the Windows PowerShell ISE window opens, start typing a PowerShell
command. As you type, the IntelliSense feature will engage and help you with
the commands syntax (Figure 5.64). For instance, if you type New-V, then
IntelliSense will show you all of the cmdlets that start with New-V. As you
progress through the list of commands, IntelliSense even offers syntax help.
Figure 5.64
Windows PowerShell ISE provides help with command syntax.
The Show-Command pane

The Show-Command pane (Figure 5.65) is another feature of the Windows
PowerShell ISE interface. The Show-Command add-on is displayed on the right
side of the PowerShell ISE window by default, but it can be enabled or disabled
through the interfaces View menu.
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Figure 5.65
The Show-Command pane can help you to assemble PowerShell cmdlets.
As you enter a command, the Show-Command add-on displays various fields

that allow you to enter values to use with the command. For example, if you
were to enter the New-VM command, you could enter values such as thevirtual
machines name and startup memory.
Once you have filled in the various attribute fields, you can use the buttons
at the bottom of the window to run the command, insert the command into
thePowerShell window or copy the command to the clipboard.
TechNet
Finally, Microsoft TechNet is a great resource for getting help with PowerShell
commands. The page is located at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/
hh848559.aspx (Figure 5.66) and contains a full list of every available Hyper-V-
related cmdlet. Clicking on a cmdlet takes you to a page that provides the full
syntax (Figure 5.67) and some usage examples for the cmdlet.
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Figure 5.66
TechNet provides a reference for all of all of the Hyper-V related cmdlets.
Figure 5.67
Clicking on a link takes you to a page with the cmdlets syntax and usage examples.
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Chapter 6
Virtual Machine
Management
Although much of this book deals with managing Hyper-V,
host-level management would be pointless without
virtual machines. This chapter explains how to create
virtual machines using the Hyper-V Manager andhow to
make configuration changes to virtual machines asyour
needsevolve.
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Creating virtual machines

Hyper-V makes it easy to create a new virtual machine. This section walks
you through the process of using the New Virtual Machine Wizard to create
asimple virtual machine. The various virtual machine settings and options are
explained in more detail later in this chapter.
1. Open the Hyper-V Manager, right-click on your host server and then
select theNew | Virtual Machine commands from the right-click menu
(Figure6.1).
Figure 6.1
Right-click on the host server and choose the New | Virtual Machine command.
2. When the New Virtual Machine Wizard begins, click Next to bypass
3. Enter a unique name for the virtual machine. Keep in mind that this name
is used to identify the virtual machine in the Hyper-V Manager (Figure 6.2).
The name is not automatically assigned as the guest operating systems
computer name, so after you install an operating system onto the virtual
machine you will have to manually rename Windows to match the virtual
machines name.
4. Select the checkbox for Store the virtual machine in a different location
and enter a path where the virtual machine should be stored. Thepath
should normally point to a high-performance, fault tolerant storage array
with plenty of free space. If the virtual machine is going to be clustered,
the virtual machine location should ideally point to aCluster Shared
Volume.
5. Click Next.
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Figure 6.2
Provide a name for the new virtual machine and specify the virtual machines location.
6. Enter the amount of memory to assign to the virtual machine. As

an alternative, you can use dynamic memory. Dynamic memory is
discussed later in this chapter (Figure 6.3).
7. Click Next.
Figure 6.3
Specify the amount of memory to assign to the virtual machine.
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8. Choose the virtual switch to which the virtual machine should be

connected (Figure 6.4).
9. Click Next.
Figure 6.4
Choose the virtual switch to use for network connectivity.
10. Verify that the Create a Virtual Hard Disk option is selected (Figure 6.5).
11. Enter a name for the virtual hard disk that will be created.
12. Provide a location for the virtual hard disk if necessary. In general,
thelocation should match the virtual machine location you
specifiedearlier.
13. Provide a size for the virtual hard disk.
14. Click Next.
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Figure 6.5
Specify the name, location, and size of the virtual hard disk.
15. Choose the option to install an operating system from a boot CD or DVD
(Figure 6.6).
16. Click Next.
Figure 6.6
Choose how you want to install an operating system onto the new virtual machine.
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17. Take a moment to verify the information displayed on the summary

screen. If everything appears to be correct, click Finish.
18. Verify that the Hyper-V Manager lists the new virtual machine (Figure 6.7).
Figure 6.7
The new virtual machine should be listed within the Hyper-V Manager.
Installing a guest operating system

If you have followed the technique outlined above, then you have created
avirtual machine, but the virtual machine does not do anything yet. You still
have to install an operating system onto the new virtual machine.
To do so, perform thefollowing steps:
1. Insert an operating system installation DVD into the servers DVD drive.
2. Double-click on the new virtual machine to open it (Figure 6.8).
Figure 6.8
Open the new virtual machine and then start it.
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3. Choose the Start option from the virtual machines Action menu to start
the virtual machine.
4. When prompted, press any key to boot from the installation DVD.
One common problem with the technique described above is that the DVD
drive can only be used by one virtual machine at a time. If the DVD drive is
already in use, you will receive an error message indicating that thevirtual
machine failed to start (Figure 6.9).
Figure 6.9
You will receive this error message if the DVD drive is being used by another virtual machine.
When this happens you can fix the problem by releasing the DVD drive from
the server that is currently using it. To do so, follow these steps:
1. I n the Hyper-V Manager, double click on the virtual machine that is
currently using the DVD drive. This will open the virtual machine.
2. Choose the Release command from the virtual machines Media menu
(Figure6.10).
Figure 6.10
You must release the DVD drive from the virtual machine that is currently using it.
3. Close the virtual machine interface.

4. Go back to the newly created virtual machine and start the virtual machine
by using the instructions previously provided.
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Renaming virtual machines

A virtual machines computer name and the name that is displayed through
the Hyper-V Manager should always be kept in sync. Otherwise, managing
virtual machines becomes very confusing. Unfortunately, Hyper-V does not
automatically synchronize virtual machine names. Therefore, you will usually
have to either rename the virtual machine or change its computer name.
To rename a virtual machine, follow these steps:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine you want to rename and choose
theRename command from the right-click menu (Figure 6.11).
3. Enter a new name for the virtual machine.
Figure 6.11
Right-click on the virtual machine and choose the Rename command.
The exact method used to change a virtual machines computer name varies
considerably depending on the operating system that is running on the virtual
machine. To change the computer name for a virtual machine that is running
Windows 8, follow these steps:
2. Double-click on the virtual machine whose name you want to change.
Thiswill display the virtual machines console.
3. Log in to the virtual machine.
4. Click the Desktop tile.
5. Right-click on the Start tile and choose the System command from
theright-click menu (Figure 6.12).
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Figure 6.12
Right-click on the Start tile and choose the System command.
6. When the System dialog box appears, click Change Settings (Figure 6.13).
Figure 6.13
Click the Change Settings link.
7. When the System Properties sheet appears, make sure that the Computer
Name tab is selected and click the Change button.
8. Enter the new computer name and click OK (Figure 6.14). A reboot will be
required for the new name to take effect.
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Figure 6.14
Enter the new computer name and click OK.
The Integration Services

The Integration Services are a set of drivers that allow a virtual machine to
communicate directly with the hypervisor. For those who come from a VMware
background, the Integration Services are comparable to the VMware Tools.
Virtual machines can function without the Integration Services, but they will
perform much better if the Integration Services are installed. Virtual machines
that do not use the Integration Services must rely on emulated hardware, which
degrades the virtual machines overall performance. Unfortunately however,
the Integration Services are only compatible with virtual machines that are
running Windows operating systems. You can install the Integration Services by
completing these steps:
2. Double-click on the virtual machine that needs to have the Integration
Services installed. This will display the virtual machines console.
3. Select the Insert Integration Services Setup Disk command from
theAction menu (Figure 6.15).
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Figure 6.15
Choose the Insert Integration Services Setup Disk option from the Action menu.
4. When the AutoPlay screen appears, click the Install Hyper-V Integration
Services option.
Upgrading the Integration Services

If you upgrade a server that was previously running an earlier version of
Hyper-V to Hyper-V 3.0, the upgrade process only affects the hypervisor and
the host operating system. The virtual machines themselves are not altered in
the process and continue to run the same version of the Integration Services
they were using prior to the upgrade.
A virtual machine that is running an earlier version of the Integration
Services will function in a Hyper-V 3.0 environment, but the virtual machines
performance will not achieve the level of performance that it would if it were
running the current version of the Integration Services.
The easiest way to tell whether or not a virtual machine is running the latest
version of the Integration Services is to open the Hyper-V Manager, select the
virtual machine and then select the Networking tab. If the virtual machine is
running an earlier version of the Integration Services, the Status indicator will
say Degraded (Integration Services upgrade required)."
You can upgrade the virtual machines Integration Services by following
thesesteps:
2. Double-click on the virtual machine that needs to be upgraded. This
displays the virtual machines console.
3. Select the Insert Integration Services Setup Disk command from
theAction menu.
4. When the AutoPlay screen appears, click the Install Hyper-V Integration
Services option.
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5. This displays a message indicating that an earlier version of theIntegration

Services has been detected. Click OK to upgrade to the latest version of
the Integration Services (Figure 6.16).
Figure 6.16
Click Yes to upgrade the Integration Services.
6. When the upgrade process completes you must reboot the virtual
machine. When prompted, click Yes to restart the virtual machine
(Figure6.17).
Figure 6.17
Click Yes to restart the virtual machine.
Virtual machine settings

As you saw earlier, the New Virtual Machine Wizard steps you through
theprocess of creating a new virtual machine. Among other things,
thewizard helps you to allocate physical hardware to the virtual machine.
Over time, however, you may find that the initial hardware provisioning is
inadequate. When that happens, you can change the hardware allocation for
avirtualmachine.
A few words of caution

There are a few things to be aware of before you begin modifying a virtual
machines hardware assignments. First, if you make ahardware allocation
change to a virtual machine that is running Windows, itis possible that you
will have to reactivate Windows. Whether or not you will have to reactivate
theoperating system depends on the number of hardware allocation changes
you have made and the nature of those changes.
Also be aware that in most cases you will have to shut down the virtual
machine to make hardware allocation changes, although there are exceptions.
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Accessing a virtual machines settings

Changes to a virtual machines hardware usage can be made through
PowerShell or through the Hyper-V Manager. Techniques for modifying
hardware allocations through PowerShell are discussed in Chapter 5. If you
want to modify a virtual machines hardware allocation using the Hyper-V
Manager, follow these steps:
2. Shut down the virtual machine that you will be modifying (if necessary).
Figure 6.18
Right-click on the virtual machine and choose the Settings command.
The Settings page allows you to modify the virtual machines settings.
Theindividual settings are discussed in the sections below.
Adding hardware
The first option listed on the virtual machines Settings screen is the Add
Hardware option (Figure 6.19). You can use this option to add four different
types of hardware to the virtual machine. This includes:
SCSI Controllers
Network Adapters
Legacy Network Adapters
Fibre Channel Adapters
Network-related hardware is discussed in Chapter 10.
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Figure 6.19
You can add several different types of hardware to a virtual machine.
Adding a SCSI Controller

You can add a SCSI controller to a virtual machine by completing these steps:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine to which you want to add aSCSI
controller, and select the Settings command from the right-click menu.
3. When the Settings screen appears, click on Add Hardware.
4. Select the SCSI Controller option and click Add (Figure 6.20).
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Figure 6.20
Click Add Hardware and then click on the SCSI Controller option and click Add.
5. On the following screen, click the Add button (Figure 6.21).
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Figure 6.21
Make sure that the Hard Drive option is selected and click Add.
6. On the following screen, make sure that your new SCSI controller is
selected on the Controller drop-down list (Figure 6.22).
7. Use the Location drop-down list to select a location that is not currently
inuse.
8. Choose either the Virtual Hard Disk option (to connect a virtual hard
disk to the SCSI controller) or the Physical Hard Disk option (to connect
theSCSI controller to a physical SCSI disk as a pass-through disk).
9. Specify the physical or virtual hard disk that you want to use (you can
create a new virtual hard disk by clicking the New button if necessary).
10. Click OK.
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Figure 6.22
You must choose a location that is not in use.
BIOS
The Settings screens BIOS section allows you to configure thestartup
behavior for the selected virtual machine (Figure 6.23). The BIOS page contains
acheckbox you can select to turn the Num Lock on or off at boot time. You
can also control the boot device order by selecting a boot device and using
theMove Up and Move Down buttons to change the devices priority.
197
Figure 6.23
The BIOS screen lets you control the boot order and the startup state of the Num Lock key.
Memory
The Memory page allows you to control the amount of memory that is
assigned to the virtual machine (Figure 6.24). The Startup RAM field controls
theamount of memory that will initially be assigned to the virtual machine.
Ifdynamic memory is not being used, the amount of memory specified in
theStartup Memory field will be available to the virtual machine the entire time
that the virtual machine is powered on.
198
Figure 6.24
Use the Memory page to configure static or dynamic memory.
Dynamic memory is designed to increase a host servers virtual machine

density (thereby allowing the server to host more virtual machines than would
otherwise be possible. Dynamic memory lets you provision a virtual machine
with just enough memory to allow it to boot. Whenever additional memory
is required, the virtual machine can request it until it reaches the maximum
memory cap you define for its use.
Care must be taken when using dynamic memory, because it is possible to
overcommit the servers memory. This means than you can end up allocating
more memory than what is physically installed in the server.
If you want to enable dynamic memory, select the checkbox for Enable
Dynamic Memory. There are five values that you must set:
Startup RAM The startup RAM is the amount of memory that the virtual
machine needs in order to boot.
Minimum RAM The minimum RAM is the absolute minimum amount of
memory that the virtual machine should ever use. Typically theMinimum
RAM setting will be lower than the Startup RAM because virtual machines
often consume less memory when idle than during thebootprocess.
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Maximum RAM This setting reflects the maximum amount of memory

that the virtual machine should ever use.
Memory Buffer The memory buffer is expressed as a percentage of
memory that is reserved as a buffer. This buffer accommodates sudden
changes in the virtual machines demand for memory.
Memory Weight The memory weight setting, controlled through
aslide bar, lets you prioritize the virtual machines memory needs. When
thehost server is low on physical memory, then virtual machines that
have low priority memory weights might have their requests for additional
memory rejected so that memory can be made available tohigher priority
virtualmachines.
Processors
The Processors setting allows you to control the number of virtual processors
that are assigned to a virtual machine. By default each virtual machine is
assigned one virtual processor, but you can change this value if necessary
andprovision a virtual machine with additional virtual processors (Figure 6.25).
Figure 6.25
You can provision a virtual machine with additional virtual processors.
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In addition, Hyper-V lets you configure various limits on virtual processor usage
as a way of preventing a virtual machine from using too many physical CPU
resources. The Settings that are available to you include:
Virtual Machine Reserve (percentage) This setting allows you to reserve
a percentage of a single physical CPU core for the virtual machine.
Percent Total System Resources The Percent Total System Resources
setting allows you to control the percentage of the servers total
processing power that the virtual machine is allowed to use.
Virtual Machine Limit (percentage) This value reflects the maximum
percentage of allocated processors that the virtual machine is allowed
touse.
Relative Weight Virtual machines that have been assigned higher
relative weights receive more CPU time than virtual machines with lower
relative weights.
Disks
When you created a virtual machine you got a taste of the process involved
in setting up a virtual hard disk, but a single virtual machine often requires
multiple virtual hard disks. There are several concepts that you need to
understand when creating virtual hard disks in Hyper-V.
One of the first decisions you need to make is the virtual hard disk format.
Hyper-V lets you choose between creating a VHD- and a VHDX-based virtual
hard disk. VHD is the legacy virtual hard disk format that was introduced in
Windows Server 2008 and continued to be used in Windows Server 2008R2.
VHD-based virtual hard disks have a maximum capacity of just under 2 TB
(2,040 GB).
In contrast, VHDX is the next-generation virtual hard disk format, which was
introduced in Windows Server 2012. VHDX-based virtual hard disks have
amaximum capacity of 64 TB. In addition, the VHDX format is designed to be
more resilient than the VHD format, thus providing better protection against
disk errors that might result from power failures.
Another important consideration is the type of virtual hard disk that you are
creating. Hyper-V gives you three choices including:
Fixed Size
Dynamically Expanding
Differencing
When you create a fixed size virtual hard disk, the virtual machine will claim
the physical disk space required by the virtual hard disk as soon as the virtual
hard disk is created. For example, if you create a 1-TB fixed size drive, then
a1-TB virtual hard disk file will be immediately created. The advantage tothis
approach is that fixed size virtual hard disks offer superior performance
compared todynamically expanding virtual hard disks.
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Although dynamically expanding virtual hard disks dont perform as well

as fixed size virtual hard disks, they make much more efficient use of
theunderlying physical disk space. When you create a dynamically expanding
virtual hard disk, only a small amount of disk space is initially used. Additional
physical disk space is claimed only as it is needed until the virtual hard disk
reaches its maximum size. For example, if you were to create a 1-TB dynamically
expanding virtual hard disk, the virtual hard disk would initially consume less
than 1 GB of physical disk space. As you add data to the virtual hard disk,
itwill gradually consume more and more physical disk space until it eventually
reaches 1 TB in size. The nice thing about this approach is that physical storage
space is not consumed until it is actually needed, so you wont end up in
asituation in which most of your physical storage space is locked away in
mostly empty virtual hard disks.
The third type of virtual hard disk that you can create is a differencing disk.
Differencing disks are used in parent-child relationships with another virtual
hard disk. For example, if there is a virtual hard disk that you want to preserve,
you could create a differencing disk. All write operations from that point
forward are directed to the differencing disk, thus ensuring that the parent
virtual hard disk remains unmodified.
To create a new virtual hard disk and add it to a virtual machine, complete
these steps:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine to which you want to add a new virtual
hard disk and choose the Settings command from the right-click menu.
3. When the virtual machines Settings screen appears, select the controller
to which you want to attach the new virtual hard disk (Figure6.26).
Thecontroller must have a free port available. Each of the two
IDEcontrollers can support up to two devices and a SCSI controller can
support up to 63 devices.
4. Choose the Hard Drive option and click the Add button.
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Figure 6.26
Choose the controller to which you want to bind the new virtual hard disk, choose the Hard
Disk option and click Add.
5. Select an unused port number from the Location drop-down list

(Figure6.27).
6. Select the Virtual Hard Disk option and click the New button.
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Figure 6.27
Choose a free location for the new virtual hard disk.
7. When the New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard opens, click Next to bypass
theWelcome screen.
8. Choose the desired virtual disk format (Figure 6.28). As a general rule you
should use VHDX unless there is a chance that you may eventually need
to move the virtual disk or the corresponding virtual machine to a legacy
Hyper-V server.
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Figure 6.28
New virtual hard disks should always be created as VHDX.
9. Click Next.
10. Choose the virtual hard disk type (Figure 6.29).
11. Click Next.
Figure 6.29
Choose the type of virtual hard disk that you want to create.
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12. Enter a name for the virtual hard disk that you are creating and specify
thelocation where you would like to store the new virtual hard disk
(Figure6.30).
13. Click Next.
Figure 6.30
Specify a name and a location for the virtual hard disk.
14. Specify the size of the virtual hard disk that you are creating or use
theoption to copy the contents of a physical hard disk.
15. Click Next.
16. Take a moment to review the summary screen to make sure that all of
theinformation that has been presented is correct. Assuming that all is
well, click Finish to create the new virtual hard disk.
COM ports
Virtual COM ports are a feature that you will probably never have to use.
Theyare provided solely for backward compatibility with legacy physical
servers. You can map Virtual COM ports to a named pipe by completing
thesesteps:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine for which you want to configure a COM
port, and select the Settings command from the right-click menu.
3. When the Settings page opens, select the COM port that you want to
configure (Figure 6.31).
4. Select the Named Pipe option.
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5. Enter the pipe name.

6. If the pipe exists on a remote computer, select the checkbox for Remote
Computer and enter the UNC path to thenamedpipe.
Figure 6.31
Virtual COM ports exist solely for backward compatibility purposes.
Diskette drives
Another feature that is provided solely for the purpose of providing backward
compatibility with aging physical hardware is the virtual diskette drive feature.
This feature allows Hyper-V to emulate a floppy disk drive. It is worth noting
however, that a virtual machine cannot be configured to use a physical
floppydrive.
Unlike virtual hard disks, virtual diskette drives must be created outside
of avirtual machine. You can create a virtual diskette drive by completing
thesesteps:
2. Right-click on the name of the host server and select the New | Floppy
Disk commands from the right-click menu (Figure 6.32).
3. Navigate to the location where you want to store the virtual floppy disk.
4. Enter a name for the virtual floppy disk and click Create.
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Figure 6.32
Right-click on the host server and choose the New | Floppy Disk commands from
therightclick menu.
Once the virtual floppy disk has been created, you can configure a virtual
machine to use it by completing these steps:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine to which you want to attach the virtual
floppy disk and select the Settings command from the right-click menu.
3. Click on Diskette Drive (Figure 6.33).
4. Click on the Virtual Floppy Disk (.VFD) File option.
5. Click the Browse button and then navigate to and select the virtual floppy
disk file that you created earlier.
6. Click Open.
7. Click OK.
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Figure 6.33
Click on Diskette Drive and specify the virtual floppy disk you created earlier.
The virtual machine name

Earlier in this chapter, you saw a quick-and-dirty method for renaming a virtual
machine. Sometimes, however, you might want to change a virtual machines
name and also make some notes about how the virtual machine is to be used
or why it is configured the way that it is. To do so, complete these steps:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine and select the Settings command from
3. Click on the Name option in the Management section (Figure6.34).
4. Enter the new name for the virtual machine (if necessary) in
theNamefield.
5. Add any notes about the virtual machine.
6. Click OK.
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Figure 6.34
You can rename a virtual machine and enter notes about the virtual machines purpose.
The Integration Services

Earlier in this chapter, you learned about installing or upgrading the Integration
Services. Although those techniques dealt with deploying or upgrading
theIntegration Services as a whole, the Integration Services are actually made
up of a number of different individual components. You can enable or disable
the individual Integration Services independently of one another. To verify that
the Integration Services are installed and to check which Integration Services
are enabled, complete these steps:
2. Right-click on a virtual machine and choose the Settings command from
3. Go to the Management section and click on Integration Services
(Figure6.35).
4. Select or deselect the checkboxes to enable or disable the individual
services.
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Figure 6.35
You can enable or disable individual Integration Services components.
The smart paging file location

In the section on memory, you learned that a virtual machine sometimes
requires more memory to start than it needs to run. Imagine that a virtual
machine requires 1 GB of memory for startup, but can run on 512 MB of
memory once the startup process has completed. Now, consider a situation in
which this virtual machine is restarted, but the server cant give it the full 1 GB
of memory that it needs for startup. In this type of situation, a smart paging
file provides the virtual machine with the memory that it needs to start. Once
startup is complete, the virtual machine goes back to using RAM.
To set the smart paging files location for a virtual machine, complete
thesesteps:
3. Click on the Smart Paging File Location option, found in the Management
section (Figure 6.36).
4. Enter the desired location for the smart paging file.
5. Click OK.
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Figure 6.36
You can specify the location for a virtual machines smart paging file.
Automatic start action

Hyper-V allows you to configure what happens to individual virtual machines
when a host server is booted. For example, you might want to configure some
virtual machines to automatically start whenever the host server comes online.
Hyper-V gives you three different automatic start options including:
Nothing (the virtual machine is not automatically booted when the host
server starts)
Always Start if it was Running when the Server was Stopped
Always Start this Virtual Machine Automatically
If you choose to automatically start a virtual machine it is a good idea to
add a startup delay. Startup delays can help reduce resource contention by
preventing all of the virtual machines from booting simultaneously. Thestartup
delay also ensures that virtual machines boot in a specific order. You can
configure a virtual machines automatic start action by completing these steps:
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3. Locate the Management section and click on Automatic Start Action.

4. Choose the desired automatic start action (Figure 6.37).
5. Specify the desired start delay.
6. Click OK.
Figure 6.37
Select the desired startup action.
Automatic stop action

Just as you can specify an automatic start action for a virtual machine, you
can also set an automatic stop action. The automatic stop action controls
what happens to the virtual machine if the host server is shut down. Your
optionsinclude:
Save the Virtual Machine State
Turn Off the Virtual Machine
Shut Down the Guest Operating System
Most administrators prefer to use the Save the Virtual Machine State option.
Itis worth noting however, that this option requires some additional physical
disk space because the contents of the virtual machines memory must be
written to disk.
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The next best option is shutting down the guest operating system. This
option ensures that the virtual machine is brought down in a clean state.
However, this option is valid only if the Integration Services are installed on
thevirtualmachine.
You can control a virtual machines automatic stop action by following
thesesteps:
3. Locate the Management section and click on Automatic Stop Action
(Figure 6.38)
4. Choose the desired automatic stop action.
5. Click OK.
Figure 6.38
Select the desired automatic stop action.
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Virtual machine snapshots

Hyper-V offers a snapshot feature for virtual machines that allows you to roll
back a virtual machine to a previous state if necessary. Administrators typically
create snap shots prior to making major configuration changes or installing
service packs onto virtual machines.
Some words of caution

Before you learn to work with snapshots, there are two things that you need to
know. First, creating snapshots can degrade a virtual machines performance.
Snapshots are based on the use of differencing disks, and the way that
thedifferencing disks are used causes the virtual machines read performance
to be slightly degraded. As you accumulate more and more snapshots for
avirtual machine, the more the read performance will suffer.
Second, snapshots are not application aware. You can do serious damage
if you use snapshotting with some types of database servers. Before you
use snapshots on a virtual machine, it is important to find out whether or
not the applications that are running on that server are compatible with
Hyper-Vsnapshots.
Configuring the snapshot file location

Before you begin creating snapshots, it is a good idea to configure
thesnapshot file location. Ideally, snapshots should be stored on a fault-
tolerant volume that is regularly backed up. You can configure the snapshot file
location by completing these steps:
3. When the Settings screen appears, locate the Management section
andclick on Snapshot File Location.
4. Enter the desired snapshot file location (Figure 6.39).
5. Click OK.
215
Figure 6.39
Enter the desired snapshot location.
Creating virtual machine snapshots

You can create a virtual machine snapshot by completing these steps:
2. Select the virtual machine that you want to snapshot.
3. Right-click on the virtual machine and choose the Snapshot command
from the right-click menu (Figure 6.41).
216
Figure 6.41
Right-click on the virtual machine and select the Snapshot command from
therightclickmenu.
4. When the snapshot completes, the snapshot is listed in the consoles

Snapshot section. The snapshot includes a date and time stamp that you
can use to determine when the snapshot was created (Figure 6.42).
Figure 6.42
The Snapshots pane lists a date and a time stamp for each snapshot.
Deleting snapshots
Snapshots diminish a virtual machines read performance. That being the case,
it is usually best to keep only the snapshots that you need. When a snapshot is
no longer needed, you can remove it by completing these steps:
2. Select the virtual machine whose snapshots you want to delete.
217
3. Right-click on the snapshot that you want to delete and select the Delete
Snapshot command from the right-click menu (Figure 6.43).
4. When you are prompted for confirmation, click the Delete button.
Figure 6.43
Right-click on the unwanted snapshot and choose the Delete Snapshot command.
If you have accumulated a large hierarchy of snapshots for a virtual machine,

itmight be tedious to delete them one at a time. To perform a bulk removal by
deleting all or a portion of thesnapshot tree, complete these steps:
2. Select the virtual machine whose snapshots you want to remove.
3. Click on a point within the snapshot hierarchy that represents the oldest
snapshot you want to delete.
4. Right-click on the snapshot and choose the Delete Snapshot Subtree
5. When prompted about whether or not to delete the selected snapshot
subtree, click Delete.
218
Figure 6.44
Right-click on the oldest snapshot that you want to delete and select the Delete Snapshot
Subtree command from the right-click menu.
Renaming snapshots
When you create a new snapshot, Hyper-V labels the snapshot with the name
of the virtual machine and the date and time when the snapshot was created.
However, it can be more helpful to assign the snapshot a meaningful name that
indicates why you created the snapshot. You can accomplish this by performing
these steps:
2. Select the virtual machine on which you want to rename a snapshot.
3. Right-click on the snapshot that you want to rename and choose
therename option from the right-click menu (Figure 6.45).
4. Rename the snapshot.
219
Figure 6.45
Right-click on the snapshot and choose the rename command.
Applying snapshots
Its best to avoid applying snapshots if you can, because there can be
consequences to rolling a virtual machine back to an earlier point in time
(particularly with application servers that are not intended to be used with
snapshotting). However, the need to revert a virtual machine to a previous state
is sometimes unavoidable. To apply a snapshot, follow these steps:
2. Select the virtual machine that you need to roll back.
3. Select the snapshot that you want to apply.
4. Right-click on the snapshot and select the Apply command from
therightclick menu (Figure 6.46).
220
Figure 6.46
Right-click on the snapshot and choose the Apply command from the right-click menu.
5. Choose whether you simply want to apply the snapshot or if you want to
take another snapshot before you apply the snapshot (Figure 6.47). Using
the Take Snapshot and Apply option gives you the ability to roll back
thevirtual machine to its current state in the event that you accidentally
apply the wrong snapshot.
Figure 6.47
You can optionally take another snapshot prior to applying the snapshot.
6. When the snapshot has been applied, the Now indicator will be moved to
just beneath the snapshot that you have applied (Figure 6.48). The other
snapshots still exist and can be applied or deleted.
Figure 6.48
You can delete the old snapshots after applying a snapshot.
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Chapter 7
P2V Conversions
After setting up a new Hyper-V deployment, one of
thefirst things that you will probably want to do is to
begin virtualizing your physical servers. This is what is
known as physical-to-virtual or P2V conversion. Hyper-V
does not contain any built-in tools for performing
P2Vconversions, but you can use Microsofts System
Center Virtual Machine Manager or any number of third-
party tools to perform the conversion.
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Conversion planning
Microsofts primary tool for performing P2V conversions is System Center
Virtual Machine Manager (SC VMM). SC VMM provides two different methods
for performing P2V conversions. You can perform an online conversion or
you can perform an offline conversion. An online P2V conversion is run
against aphysical server that is actively running. An offline conversion takes
thephysical server offline prior to performing the conversion.
Regardless of whether you are performing an online or offline conversion,
it is extremely important that you do not use this method to perform a P2V
conversion of virtual machines that have encrypted volumes. Doing so will
likely render the volumes unreadable.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager

online conversion
Online conversions are the preferred conversion type because performing
anonline conversion allows the physical server to remain accessible throughout
the conversion process. The actual steps to perform anonline conversion
vary depending on the version of System Center Virtual Machine Manager
that you are using. The steps outlined below are based on System Center
Virtual Machine Manager 2012 SP1. To perform an online conversion, follow
thesesteps:
1. Open the Virtual Machine Manager Administrator Console.
2. Select the VMs and Services tab.
3. Click on Create Virtual Machine and choose the Convert Physical
Machine option (Figure 7.1).
Figure 7.1
Click on the Create Virtual Machine button and choose the Convert Physical Machine option.
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4. When the Convert Physical Server (P2V) Wizard opens, enter the name
orIP address of the computer that you want to convert (Figure 7.2).
Figure 7.2
Enter the name or IP address of the physical computer that you want to convert.
5. Enter a set of administrative credentials for the computer that you

areconverting.
6. Click Next.
7. Enter a name and an optional description for the new virtual machine that
will be created.
8. Click Next.
9. Click the Scan System button. The scan analyzes the target system to
make sure it is suitable for conversion (Figure 7.3).
224
Figure 7.3
Click the Scan System button to perform a hardware inventory on the computer that is
being converted.
10. Click Next.

11. Select the checkboxes for each of the physical machines hard disks that
you want to convert (Figure 7.4).
225
Figure 7.4
Select each physical disk that you want to convert.
12. Make any necessary adjustments to the virtual hard disks sizes, types
orchannels.
13. Click Next.
14. Specify the number of virtual processors and the amount of memory that
you want to assign to the virtual machine (Figure 7.5). By default, System
Center Virtual Machine Manager will use the same amount of memory
andthe same number of processor cores as in the physical machine that
you are converting.
15. Click Next.
226
Figure 7.5
Specify the hardware you want to allocate to the new virtual machine.
16. Select the Hyper-V host that will host the newly created virtual machines
(Figure 7.6). Hyper-V hosts are assigned a star rating to reflect their
suitability for hosting the newly created VM.
17. Click Next.
227
Figure 7.6
Select the Hyper-V host that will host the newly created virtual machine.
18. Specify a location on the target server where the virtual machine files
should be stored.
19. Click Next.
20. Specify the network adapter configuration for the new virtual machine
(Figure 7.7).
21. Click Next.
228
Figure 7.7
Specify the new virtual machines virtual network adapter configuration.
22. Specify your preferred startup action for the virtual machine (Figure 7.8).
23. Specify your preferred stop action for the virtual machine.
24. Click Next.
229
Figure 7.8
Specify a startup action and a stop action for the new virtual machine.
25. Take a moment to review the Conversion Information screen to make sure
that no issues are detected (Figure 7.9). If any issues are reported, resolve
them and click the Check Again button.
26. Click Next.
230
Figure 7.9
Make sure there are no issues standing in the way of the virtual machine
conversionprocess.
27. Review the information presented on the summary screen to make sure it
is correct.
28. Click the Create button to begin the conversion process.
29. Go to the Jobs tab to confirm that the conversion is being performed
(Figure 7.10).
231
Figure 7.10
You can use the Jobs tab to monitor the conversion process.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager

offline conversion
Not all virtual machines are suitable for online conversions. For example, some
virtual machines may run operating systems that are not suitable for online
conversions. Likewise, some applications have been known to suffer database
corruption during online conversions. If your physical server cannot be safely
converted online, it is best to perform an offline conversion.
An offline conversion differs from an online conversion in that System
Center Virtual Machine Manager creates a Windows PE boot environment
onthephysical server. The server is then booted into this environment so that
the servers operating system and applications can be taken offline during
theconversion process.
Once again, the steps to perform a conversion vary considerably depending on
the version of Virtual Machine Manager you are using. The steps used in this
chapter are based on the use of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012
SP1. To perform an offline conversion, complete these steps:
1. Open the Virtual Machine Manager Administrator Console.
2. Select the VMs and Services tab.
3. Click on Create Virtual Machine and choose the Convert Physical
Machine option (Figure 7.11).
232
Figure 7.11
Click on the Create Virtual Machine button and choose the Convert Physical
Machineoption.
4. When the Convert Physical Server (P2V) Wizard opens, enter the name
orIP address of the computer that you want to convert (Figure 7.12).
233
Figure 7.12
Enter the name or IP address of the physical computer that you want to convert.
5. Enter a set of administrative credentials for the computer that you

areconverting.
6. Click Next.
7. Enter a name and an optional description for the new virtual machine that
will be created.
8. Click Next.
9. Click the Scan System button. The scan will analyze the target system
andmake sure that it is suitable for conversion (Figure 7.13).
234
Figure 7.13
Click the Scan System button to perform a hardware inventory on the computer that is
being converted.
10. Click Next.

11. Select the checkboxes for each of the physical machines hard disks that
you want to convert (Figure 7.14).
235
Figure 7.14
Select each physical disk that you want to convert.
12. Make any necessary adjustments to the virtual hard disks sizes, types
orchannels.
13. Click the Conversion Options link, located in the lower left portion of
thewizard.
14. Select the Offline Conversion option (Figure 7.15). It is also generally
recommended that you use the option to turn off the source computer
after the conversion completes.
236
Figure 7.15
Choose the Offline Conversion option.
15. Click Next.

16. Specify the IP address configuration that the boot environment should
use in the conversion process (Figure 7.16). By default, the Windows PE
boot environment will inherit the IP address that the physical machine is
currently using (assuming that the machine has been assigned a static IP
address), but you can obtain an IP address from a DHCP server or you can
manually assign an IPv4 or an IPv6 address of your choosing.
237
Figure 7.16
Choose the IP address that the boot environment will use.
17. Click Next.

18. Specify the number of virtual processors and the amount of memory
to assign to the virtual machine (Figure 7.17). By default, System
Center Virtual Machine Manager will use the same amount of memory
andthesame number of processor cores as in the physical machine that
you are converting.
19. Click Next.
238
Figure 7.17
Specify the hardware that you want to allocate to the new virtual machine.
20. Select the Hyper-V host for the newly created virtual machines (Figure
7.18). Hyper-V hosts have a star rating that reflects their suitability for
hosting the newly created VM.
21. Click Next.
239
Figure 7.18
Select the Hyper-V host for the newly created virtual machine.
22. Specify a location on the target server where the virtual machine files
should be stored.
23. Click Next.
24. Specify the network adapter configuration for the new virtual machine
(Figure 7.19).
25. Click Next.
240
Figure 7.19
Specify the new virtual machines virtual network adapter configuration.
26. Specify the preferred startup action for the virtual machine (Figure 7.20).
27. Specify the preferred stop action for the virtual machine.
28. Click Next.
241
Figure 7.20
Specify a startup action and a stop action for the new virtual machine.
29. Take a moment to review the Conversion Information screen to make sure
that no issues are detected (Figure 7.21). If any issues are reported, resolve
them and click the Check Again button.
30. Click Next.
242
Figure 7.21
Make sure that there are no issues standing in the way of the virtual machine
conversionprocess.
31. Review the information presented on the summary screen to make sure
itis correct.
32. Click the Create button to begin the conversion process.
33. Go to the Jobs tab to confirm that the conversion is being performed
(Figure 7.22).
243
Figure 7.22
You can use the Jobs tab to monitor the conversion process.
Using the Disk2VHD free physical disk

conversion tool
As previously mentioned, System Center Virtual Machine Manager is the tool of
choice for performing physical to virtual conversions in a Hyper-V environment.
However, System Center Virtual Machine Manager is not the only tool for
thejob. A number of different vendors provide conversion tools, some of which
are quite expensive.
If a commercial P2V tool such as System Center Virtual Machine Manager is
beyond your budget, you might consider using Disk2VHD, afree tool provided
by Microsoft and Sysinternals to aid in P2V conversions.
Unlike System Center Virtual Machine Manager, Disk2VHD does not perform
machine-level P2V conversions. Instead, it converts a physical hard disk to
avirtual hard disk. You can then manually create a virtual machine and tell it
touse the newly created virtual hard disk.
The nice thing about this tool is that it can be run while a server is online. You
can even use it on physical computers that only have one hard drive. Disk2VHD
creates a VSS snapshot prior to building the VHD file, and this allows the VHD
file to be stored on the same disk that is being converted. Of course the tool
delivers much better performance if you are able to store the VHD file on a disk
other than the one you are converting.
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You can download the Disk2VHD utility at: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/

sysinternals/ee656415.aspx To use the tool, follow these steps:
1. Download and extract the Disk2VHD application.
2. Double-click on Disk2VHD.exe to launch the Disk2VHD application.
3. Click Agree to accept the license agreement.
4. Select the checkbox for the disks that you want to convert (Figure 7.23).
5. Enter a path and a file name for the VHD file that you are creating.
6. Click the Create button.
Figure 7.23
Disk2VHD is a very simple tool for performing physical-to-virtual disk conversions.
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Chapter 8
Replication
Of all the new features in Hyper-V 3.0, replication is
ahands-down favorite. Replication makes it possible
tocreate replica virtual machines on a secondary Hyper-V
server. You can use the replica as a relatively up-todate
backup in the event that something happens toyour
primary Hyper-V server.
246
How you should use replication

Before you learn how to build a Hyper-V replica, you need to understand
that that the Hyper-V replica feature is not intended to be areplacement for
failover clustering. As explained in the earlier chapters on failover clustering,
the purpose of a cluster is to make a virtual machine highly available. If a host
server fails, the virtual machines that were running on that host server will
instantly fail over to another cluster node. Clustering also allows host servers to
be taken offline for maintenance without disrupting the virtualized workload.
Hyper-Vs replica feature provides capabilities that are somewhat similar to
clustering, but replicas are intended for use in smaller environments and do not
have the same capabilities as clusters. Failover clusters are designed to fail over
automatically, but replicas have to be failed over manually.
Another important difference is that Hyper-V replicas use asynchronous
replication. This means that replication works really well over low-bandwidth,
high-latency links. However, the use of asynchronous replication means that
replication does not happen in real time and a replica is therefore not a true
mirror image of a virtual machine. Replication cycles are designed to occur
every five minutes, but there are factors that can delay replication.
As a general rule, larger organizations use clustering whenever possible.
Replication is intended for use in smaller organizations andis a convenient
way to create secondary copies of virtual machines rather than being
afaulttolerant solution.
System requirements
There arent any special system requirements for using replication beyond
thesystem requirements for running Hyper-V. Each edition of Windows Server
2012 supports Hyper-V replication. However, there is a big difference in
theway the two editions of Windows Server 2012 are licensed.
When planning your licensing, consider the number of virtual machines that
you plan to replicate and whether or not those virtual machines are running
Windows Server 2012. Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition andDatacenter
Edition have exactly the same capabilities. The difference between the two
editions lies in the number of virtual servers for which they are licensed.
Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition is licensed for up to two virtual
instances of Windows Server 2012. Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Edition,
on the other hand, is licensed for an unlimited number of virtual instances of
the Windows Server 2012 operating system. Thus, you should consider the
most appropriate licenses for both the source server and destination server
(the replica host) before you start configuring replication.
247
Configuration planning
Although Hyper-Vs replication feature is designed to be easy to set up,
there are a number of aspects to the configuration process that you must
consider before you actually set up replication. Some of the more important
aspectsinclude:
Clustering
Destination Server (hardware (NIC, storage, etc.))
Authentication Type
Compression
Virtual Machine and Virtual Hard Disk Selection
Initial Synchronization
Each of these issues is addressed in the following sections as you go through

the process of setting up a replica.
Configuring basic Hyper-V replication

Now that you've read about the various aspects of Hyper-V replication, you
will learn how to configure replication in a nonclustered environment. Notice
that the instructions require you to perform some steps on the source server
(the server containing your virtual machines) andother steps on thedestination
server (the server that will contain your replica virtual machines). You will have
to switch back and forth between the two servers as you work through these
procedures. To configure replication for a non-clustered virtual machine,
complete these steps:
On the destination server

2. Select your host server.
3. Click the Hyper-V Settings link, found in the Actions pane.
4. When the host server Settings dialog box launches, select the Replica
Configuration option (Figure 8.1).
248
Figure 8.1
Select the Replica Configuration container.
5. Select thecheckbox for Enable this computer as a Replica server.

6. Select the checkbox corresponding to the type of authentication that you
wish to use. Kerberos is the preferred authentication type.
7. Verify that Kerberos is set to use Port 80.
8. Choose the radio button to Allow replication from any authenticated
server.
10. Specify the path where you want replica virtual machines to be stored.
11. Take a moment to verify your settings and click OK (Figure 8.2).
12. Click OK to acknowledge the firewall warning (Figure 8.3).
249
Figure 8.2
Verify all of your settings and click OK.
Figure 8.3
Click OK to acknowledge the firewall warning.
Configuring the Windows Firewall

Before you can finish setting up replication, you will need to configure
theWindows Firewall to allow replication traffic to pass. To do so, follow
thesesteps:
1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Click on System and Security.
3. Click on Windows Firewall.
4. Click on Allow an app or feature through the Windows Firewall.
5. Locate Hyper-V Replica on the list of apps and features.
250
6. Enable either the Hyper-V Replica HTTP or the Hyper-V Replica HTTPS
feature (Figure 8.4).
7. Click OK.
Figure 8.4
Hyper-V Replica traffic must be able to pass through the Windows firewall.
On the source server

Hyper-V replication makes use of two serversa source server
andadestination server. The source server is the Hyper-V server that is
currently running the virtual machine. The destination server is the server
to which the virtual machine will be replicated. The configuration process is
performed almost entirely against the source server.
To implement Hyper-V replication, perform the following steps on your
sourceserver:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine that you want to replicate.
3. Choose the Enable Replication command from the right-click menu.
4. When the Enable Replication wizard opens, click Next to bypass
5. When prompted, enter the name of the replica server and click Next
(Figure 8.5).
251
Figure 8.5
You must provide the name of the replica server.
6. Choose the most appropriate authentication type (Figure 8.6).

Theauthentication type must match what you used on the destination
server.
7. Select the checkbox for Compress the data that is transmitted over
thenetwork if you want to enable network compression. Network
compression decreases bandwidth consumption, but increases CPU usage.
Microsoft recommends using compression in most situations.
252
Figure 8.6
Choose whether or not to compress network traffic.
8. Click Next.
9. Select the virtual hard disks that you want to replicate (Figure 8.7).
Figure 8.7
Choose the virtual hard disks that you want to replicate.
253
10. Click Next.

11. Choose the number of recovery points you want to store for the
virtualmachine.
12. Click Next.
13. Choose the method that you wish to use for the initial replication process
(Figure 8.8). You can send the initial replica across the network or you
can use removable media instead. The rest of the steps in this procedure
are based on the assumption that you will send the initial replica across
thenetwork.
Figure 8.8
Choose the initial replication method.
14. Specify when you would like the replication process to begin.
15. Click Next.
16. Verify the summary information.
17. Click Finish.
18. Verify that the Hyper-V Manager shows the virtual machines status as
Initial Replication (Figure 8.9).
254
Figure 8.9
Verify that the replication process has begun.

2. The replicated virtual machine should be listed. The virtual machines
status should indicate that it is receiving changes from the source server
(Figure 8.10).
Figure 8.10
The replica server should be receiving the replicated data from the source server.
Configuring cluster-based replication

The process of setting up virtual machine replication works in largely the same
way in a clustered environment as it does when you configure replication
between two standalone Hyper-V servers. The primary difference is that in
clustered environments you must install an additional component called
theHyper-V Replica Broker. Otherwise, replication will break down if the virtual
machine is moved to another cluster node.
In a clustered environment, you can replicate a virtual machine in
thefollowingways:
From a Hyper-V cluster to a standalone host

From a Hyper-V cluster to another Hyper-V cluster
From a standalone host to a Hyper-V cluster
The instructions below guide you through the process of replicating aclustered
virtual machine to a standalone host (this is the most common form of
clusterbased replication). As with standalone replication, you must perform
some steps on the source server (in this example, a cluster node where theVM
resides) and other steps on the destination server (a standalone VM in this
case). To configure the Hyper-V replica, complete these steps:

2. Select your host server.
255
3. Click the Hyper-V Settings link, found in the Actions pane.

4. When the host server Settings dialog box launches, select the Replica
Configuration option (Figure 8.11).
Figure 8.11
Select the Replica Configuration container.
5. Select thecheckbox for Enable this computer as a replica server.

6. Select the checkbox corresponding to the type of authentication that you
wish to use. Kerberos is the preferred authentication type.
7. Verify that Kerberos is set to use Port 80.
8. Choose the radiobutton to Allow replication from any authenticated
server.
10. Specify the path where you want replica virtual machines to be stored.
11. Take a moment to verify your settings and click OK.
12. Click OK to acknowledge the firewall warning.
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Configuring the Windows Firewall

Before you can finish setting up replication, you will need to configure
theWindows Firewall to allow replication traffic to pass. To do so, follow
thesesteps:
1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Click on System and Security.
3. Click on Windows Firewall.
4. Click on Allow an app or feature through the Windows Firewall.
5. Locate Hyper-V Replica on the list of apps and features.
6. Enable either the Hyper-V Replica HTTP or the Hyper-V Replica HTTPS
feature (Figure 8.12).
7. Click OK.
Figure 8.12
Hyper-V Replica traffic must be able to pass through the Windows firewall.
On the source server

Normally Hyper-V replication makes use of two serversa source server
andadestination server. In a clustered environment things arent quite so
simple. The source could be either a standalone Hyper-V host or a cluster node.
The same also holds true for the destination server.
The example here uses a Hyper-V cluster node as thesource server
andassumes that the virtual machine being replicated is running within
thecluster. The destination server is the server to which the virtual machine will
be replicated and, in this case, it will be astandalone Hyper-V host.
257
First you need to install the Hyper-V Replica Broker on the Hyper-V cluster. To
do this, complete the following steps:
2. Choose the Failover Cluster Manager command from the Manage menu.
3. Navigate through the console tree to Failover Cluster Manager | <your
cluster> | Roles.
4. Right-click on the Roles container and choose the Configure Role
Figure 8.13
Right-click on the Roles container and select the Configure Role command from
therightclick menu.

6. Choose the Hyper-V Replica Broker from the list of roles andclick Next
(Figure 8.14).
258
Figure 8.14
Choose the Hyper-V Replica Broker from the list of roles and click Next.
7. Enter a name that clients can use when connecting to the Hyper-V
ReplicaBroker.
8. Enter an IP address that the Hyper-V Replica Broker can use andclickNext.
9. Take a moment to verify the information presented on the summary
10. When the installation process completes, click Finish.
Now that you have installed the Hyper-V Replica Broker, the next step is to
designate a virtual machine for replication. You can accomplish this task by
following these steps:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine that you want to replicate.
3. Choose the Replication | Enable Replication commands from
therightclickmenu.
4. When the Enable Replication wizard begins, click Next to bypass
5. When prompted, enter the name of the replica server and click Next
(Figure 8.15).
259
Figure 8.15
You must provide the name of the replica server.
6. Choose the most appropriate authentication type. The authentication type

must match what you used on the destination server.
7. Select the checkbox for Compress the data that is transmitted over the
network if you want to enable network compression (Figure 8.16). Network
compression decreases bandwidth consumption, butincreases CPU usage.
Microsoft recommends enabling compression in mostsituations.
260
Figure 8.16
Choose whether or not to compress network traffic.
8. Click Next.
9. Select the virtual hard disks that you want to replicate (Figure 8.17).
Figure 8.17
Choose the virtual hard disks that you want to replicate.
261
10. Click Next.

11. Choose the number of recovery points you want to store for
thevirtualmachine.
12. Click Next.
13. Choose the method that you wish to use for the initial replication process
(Figure 8.18). You can perform the initial replication over thenetwork
or you can opt to use removable media instead. Theremaining steps in
this section assume that you are performing the initial replication over
thenetwork.
Figure 8.18
Choose the initial replication method.
14. Specify when you would like the replication process to begin.
15. Click Next.
16. Verify the summary information.
17. Click Finish.
18. Click Close when you see the Replication enabled successfully dialog box
(Figure 8.19).
19. Verify that the Hyper-V Manager shows the virtual machines status
asInitial Replication.
262
Figure 8.19
Verify that the replication process was successfully enabled.

2. The replicated virtual machine should be listed. The virtual machines
status should indicate that it is receiving changes from the source server
(Figure 8.20).
Figure 8.20
The replica server should be receiving the replicated data from the source server.
Monitoring replication health

For a quick status update on a replicas health, follow these steps:
2. Select the virtual machine that you want to check.
3. Select the Replication tab at the bottom of the window (Figure 8.21).
263
Figure 8.21
The Replication tab displays the overall replication health.
For a more comprehensive picture of the replication health, complete these

steps:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine whose health you need to determine.
3. Select the Replication | View Replication Health commands from
theright-click menu (Figure 8.22).
Figure 8.22
Right-click on the virtual machine and select the Replication | View Replication
Healthcommands.
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As you can see in the figure below, the Replication Health dialog box provides
detailed information about the health of thereplicationprocess (Figure 8.23).
Figure 8.23
The Replica Health dialog box provides detailed information about the health
ofthereplication process.
It's important to know that the information provided about replication health
is often inconsistent, depending on which Hyper-V server you are viewing
the health information. To illustrate the accuracy problem, check out the two
screen captures below:
Figure 8.24
The primary replica shows Replication Error and Replication Health of Critical.
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Figure 8.25
The secondary replica shows Replication Paused and Replication Health Warning.
As you can see in the figures above, the primary Hyper-V server shows a critical
error, while the replica server shows only a warning condition. As such, the only
way to reliably assess the replicas health is to look at the health information on
both the primary and the replica server.
Resolving replication errors

As mentioned in the previous section, the replication feature tends to work
well but replicas can sometimes fall out of sync. Checking the replication health
can help you to determine whether or not your virtual machine replicas are
being properly synchronized, but a health check alone will not fix replication
problems. If you are planning to use the Hyper-V replica feature, it is critically
important to know how to correct synchronization problems when they occur.
If you suspect a replication problem, click the Reset Statistics button
on theReplication Health dialog box explained in the previous section
(Figure8.26). Hyper-V has a bad habit of displaying outdated errors
andwarning messages, so it is important to verify that the information that
you are seeing is current. If you want to preserve theexisting replication health
report, click the Save As button to export the replication health information to
a CSV file before you reset thereplicationstatistics.
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Figure 8.26
Resetting the replication statistics allows you to view the most current health information.
If after checking the most recent health information, you determine that
replication has stopped, try right-clicking on the virtual machine andchoosing
the Replication | Resume Replication commands from theright-click menus
(Figure 8.27). This restarts the replication process andwill usually fix the
replication problem.
Figure 8.27
Manually resuming replication will usually correct the replication problem.
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If using the Resume Replication command does not fix the problem, check to
make sure that your servers have plenty of free disk space and thatthere is
still network connectivity between the servers. Its also a good idea to check
theservers event logs for any errors.
Pausing replication
If you need to take a server containing replicas offline for maintenance, it is
agood idea to pause the replication process first by following these steps:
1. Open the Hyper-V Manager on the server that needs to be taken offline.
2. Right-click on the replica virtual machine.
3. Choose the Replication | Pause Replication command from the right-click
menus (Figure 8.28).
Figure 8.28
Right-click on a replica virtual machine and choose the Replication | Pause Replication
commands from the right-click menus.
When you are finished performing maintenance on the virtual machine,

you can resume the replication process by right-clicking on the replica
andchoosing theReplication | Resume Replication commands from
therightclick menus.
Disabling replication
If you no longer wish to replicate a virtual machine, you can permanently
disable replication by using Hyper-Vs Remove Replication function. To do so,
follow these steps:
2. Right-click on the virtual machine for which you want to stop replication.
3. Select the Replication | Remove Replication commands from
therightclick menus (Figure 8.29).
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4. When prompted for confirmation, click the Remove Replication button

(Figure 8.30).
Figure 8.29
Select the Replication | Remove Replication options from the right-click menus.
Figure 8.30
Click the Remove Replication button.
Testing the replication failover

Before you perform a full-fledged failover, it is a good idea to test the replica to
make sure that it is healthy and that you can perform a failover without placing
the replica in jeopardy. To test the failover capabilities, complete thefollowing
steps:
1. Open the Hyper-V Manager on the destination host.
2. Right click on the virtual machine that you want to test.
3. Choose the Replication | Test Failover commands from the right-click
menus (Figure 8.31)
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Figure 8.31
Failover testing can only be performed on the destination host.
4. You will now see a message stating that you can create a separate virtual
machine to verify that a recovery point is able to start successfully and that
the virtual machine is running correctly (Figure 8.32).
5. Choose the recovery point from which you want to create the new
virtualmachine.
Figure 8.32
Choose the recovery point from which you want to create the new virtual machine.
6. Click the Test Failover button.

7. You should see the replica virtual machines status change to Test Failover.
When this process completes, a test virtual machine will be created
(Figure8.33).
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Figure 8.33
Windows creates a test virtual machine.
8. Start the test virtual machine and verify that it functions properly.
In case you are wondering, when Hyper-V creates the test virtual machine, what
it is really doing is snapshotting the replica and then using a differencing disk
for the test virtual machine. This allows you to boot the test virtual machine
and interact with it, without having to worry about damaging your replica
in the process. The replication process can continue normally throughout
thetesting process.
When you have finished testing virtual machine failover, you must shut down
and delete the test virtual machine. Keep in mind that the test virtual machine
is using the same virtual hard disks as the primary replica virtual machine. This
means that it is safe to delete the test virtual machine through the Hyper-V
Manager, but you should not attempt to manually remove individual virtual
machine components through the file system.
Performing a planned failover

1. Power down the virtual machine that you plan to fail over.
2. Right-click on the replicated virtual machine on your host server.
3. Select the Replication | Planned Failover commands from the right-click
menu (Figure 8.34).
Figure 8.34
Choose the Replication | Planned Failover commands from the right-click menu.
4. The Planned Failover dialog box lists the prerequisites you must meet
as well as the actions you must perform as a part of the planned failover.
After verifying that you have met the prerequisites, click the Failover
button.
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5. When you see a message confirming the success of the operation,

clickOK.
6. Verify that the virtual machine is running on the replica server.
Unplanned failover
An unplanned failover is a disaster recovery technique that you should use only
as a last resort. You would use unplanned failovers in situations in which your
primary Hyper-V host server has failed catastrophically and you want to switch
over to your replica. The reason why this is a last resort operation is because
unplanned failovers almost always result in data loss. Any data that has not
been replicated from the primary server to the replica is lost. You can perform
an unplanned failover by completing these steps:
1. Open the Hyper-V Manager on the host server that contains your replicas.
2. Right-click on the virtual machine that you want to fail over.
3. Choose the Failover command from the right-click menu (Figure 8.35)
Figure 8.35
You can perform an unplanned failover by right-clicking on a virtual machine and choosing
the Failover option from the right-click menu.
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Chapter 9
Hyper-V
Management
So far this book has covered topics such as Hyper-V
deployment, virtual machine migrations and even virtual
machine creation through PowerShell. However, in any
virtual datacenter there is ongoing maintenance that
you must perform in order to keep your host servers
and virtual machines healthy. In this chapter, you will
learn about two important maintenance tasksresource
metering and patching host serverclusters.
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Resource metering
In any virtual server environment, it is important to keep track of the resources
that virtual machines are using. Virtual servers share a finite pool of hardware
resources on the host server. If any individual virtual machine were to consume
excessive resources, it could potentially rob the other virtual machines of
thehardware they need. Resource metering allows you to keep track of
hardware usage on a per virtual machine basis.
Although it makes sense to use resource metering as a tool for measuring
performance and allocating virtual machine resources, some people use
resource metering as a way of facilitating chargebacks. In previous versions
of Hyper-V to implement chargebacks you had to either develop a custom
solution or use the Self Service Portal for System Center Virtual Machine
Manager. The Self Service Portal provided a very nice interface for tracking
chargebacks, but setup was tedious.
Hyper-V 3.0s resource metering capabilities do not include built-in chargeback
management capabilities, but they do lay the ground work for building your
own chargeback management system. Furthermore, the fact that the resource
metering capabilities are PowerShell based means that developing such
asolution is much easier than it would have been in the past.
The nice thing about Hyper-Vs resource metering capabilities is that they
are completely open ended, which means that you can easily adapt them to
your own needs. Resource metering allows you to track several different vital
statistics on a per virtual machine basis. These statistics include:
Average CPU usage, measured in megahertz over a period of time

Average physical memory usage, measured in megabytes
Minimum memory usage (lowest amount of physical memory)
Maximum memory usage (highest amount of physical memory)
Maximum amount of disk space allocated to a virtual machine
Total incoming network traffic, measured in megabytes, for a virtual
network adapter
Total outgoing network traffic, measured in megabytes, for a virtual
network adapter
Enabling resource metering

Before you can use resource metering, you will need to enable it. Resource
metering is a virtual machine-level operation, but you can use PowerShell to
simultaneously enable resource metering for all of the virtual machines that are
running on a host. The command for doing so is:
Get-VM ComputerName <host server name> | Enable-VMResourceMetering
For example, to enable resource metering for all of the virtual machines on a
host named Lab1, you would use the following command (Figure 9.1):
Get-VM ComputerName Lab1 | Enable-VMResourceMonitoring
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Figure 9.1
This command enables resource metering for all of the virtual machines that are running
on the designated host server.
Of course, you can easily enable resource metering for a single virtual machine
by altering the command slightly. For example, if you want to enable resource
metering for a virtual machine named VM2, you would use the following
command (Figure 9.2):
Get-VM VM2 | Enable-VMResourceMetering
Figure 9.2
You can enable resource metering on a per virtual machine basis.
Modifying the collection interval

Hyper-Vs resource metering does not track virtual machine usage in real time.
Doing so would rob the host server of memory and CPU cycles that could be
better used running production workloads. Instead, the resource metering
feature samples virtual machine usage on a periodic basis.
By default, Hyper-V samples virtual machine resource usage once per hour
(assuming that resource metering is enabled). You can modify the sampling
frequency, but you have to be careful not to collect resource metering data too
frequently or you could impact the virtual machines performance.
When you modify the resource metering collection frequency, enter
thefrequency in HH:MM:SS (hours:minutes:seconds) format. For instance, if you
want to collect resource metering data once every minute, use the following
command:
Set-VMHost ComputerName <host server name>
-ResourceMeteringSaveInterval 00:01:00
Figure 9.3 shows an example of using this command on a host server
namedLab1.
Figure 9.3
This command changes the resource metering collection interval to one minute.
In the figure above, notice that you are adjusting thecollection period at the
host server level. You cannot change the collection period on a per virtual
machine basis.
Keep in mind that it's not a good idea to collect resource metering data once
aminute in production environments. There is a reason why Microsoft chose to
use hourly collection of metering data as the default.
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Viewing resource metering information

There are a number of different ways you can view resource metering
information. For instance, ifyou want to display all of the resource metering
data for a specific virtual machine the easiest way to do so is by using the
following command:
Get-VM <virtual machine name> | Measure-VM
If you want to view the resource metering information for a virtual machine
named VM2, you could use thefollowing command (Figure 9.4):
Get-VM VM2 | Measure-VM
Figure 9.4
This is the easiest way to view all of the resource metering data for a specific
virtualmachine.
Viewing all available resource metering data

The command shown in the previous section provides all of the metering data
for a specific virtual machine. Recall that at the beginning of this chapter you
learned how to enable resource metering for every virtual machine on the host
server. You might be curious about how to create a comprehensive report of
server-wide resource meteringdata.
You can access all of the metering data that has been collected for a Hyper-V
server by using a slight variation of the command used in the previous section.
The command is basically the same, except that it omits the virtual machine
name. The command looks like this:
Get-VM | Measure-VM
As an alternative, you can force this command to run against a specific Hyper-V
host server by appending the ComputerName parameter and the name of the
host server to the Get-VM cmdlet. For example, to view all of the metering data
for virtual machines stored on a Hyper-V server named Lab1, you would use
this command:
Get-VM ComputerName Lab1 | Measure-VM
You can see this command in action in Figure 9.5.
276
Figure 9.5
It is possible to view the resource metering data for all of the virtual machines on the server.
Viewing specific resource metering properties

Unlike some of the PowerShell commands discussed earlier in this book,
theMeasure-VM cmdlet does not overwhelm you with an excessive amount
of data. The resource metering feature tracks only seven values. Even so, there
may be situations in which you only want to view specific values. There are
afew different ways to accomplishthis.
For example, if you are interested in viewing only the data related to memory
usage and you want to create a memory usage report for all of the virtual
machines that are running on a host, you can use the Select-Object cmdlet to
specify the properties you want toview.
To do this you need to know the property names, which you can find by using
this command:
Get-VM | Measure-VM | Select-Object *
When you enter this command, Hyper-V shows a full report of metering data
for each virtual machine. More important, this metering data is broken into two
columns (Figure 9.6). The column on the left lists all of the property names that
are used by the Measure-VM cmdlet. Once you know the property names, you
can customize the output to include specific properties.
277
Figure 9.6
You can use this command to determine all of the property names that are supported by
the Measure-VM cmdlet.
With that in mind, use the Select-Object cmdlet to build a report that shows
memory usage data for the virtual machines. Note that when you use the
Select-Object cmdlet, PowerShell shows you EXACTLY what you have requested
and nothing more. That being the case, you should include the VMName
property, otherwise there's no way to tell which virtual machines the metering
data belongs to. Use the following command (Figure 9.7):
Get-VM | Measure-VM | Select-Object VMName, AvgRAM, MaxRAM,
MinRAM
Figure 9.7
You can filter the Measure-VM cmdlets output to show only specific properties.
278
Sorting the output

In a variation of the technique demonstrated in the previous section, it is
possible to sort the output. For example, you can sort the list by thehighest
average RAM value. This technique is very similar to the technique used
in the previous section. The biggest difference is that you must append
theSortObject cmdlet and specify the sort order and the property onwhich
to base the sort. For example, if you want to create a memory usage report like
the one shown in the previous section, but you also want to sort the data by
the average memory consumption (inadescending order), use the following
command (Figure 9.8):
Get-VM | Measure-VM | Sort-Object Property AvgRAM Descending |
Select-Object VMName, AvgRAM, MaxRAM, MinRAM
Figure 9.8
You can easily sort the resource metering data by using the Sort-Object cmdlet.
The lab server used in the examples in this chapter contains a reasonable
number of virtual machines, but in the real world, a Hyper-V host might have
too many virtual machines to view all of the resource metering data at once on
screen. In situations like that it is useful to narrow down the list. Fortunately,
PowerShell makes it possible to list only your top results. For example,
iftheoutput is too long andyou only want to see the three virtual machines
with the highest memory usage, you can use the First switch and the number
of virtual machines you wantto display (three in this case). The command for
thisis:
Get-VM | Measure-VM | Sort-Object Property AvgRAM Descending |
Select-Object First 3 VMName, AvgRAM, MaxRAM, MinRAM
As you can see, Figure 9.9 displays, the three virtual machines with the highest
memory use.
Figure 9.9
You can tell PowerShell to display only your top results.
279
Displaying specific resource metering results

You may have noticed in some of the figures that memory usage for many of
the virtual machines was zero. This happens because resource metering collects
data for virtual machines whether or not they are powered on. Fortunately,
PowerShell makes it easy to filter the list to hide all of the virtual machines that
are powered off.
One way to do this is to create a filter that displays all of the virtual machines
that have minimum memory values greater than zero using the following
command:
Get-VM | Measure-VM | Where MinRAM -GT 0
The output of this command is shown in Figure 9.10
Figure 9.10
You can filter the output to include only specific results.
Although the example above lists only virtual machines that are powered on,
there are other ways to use this technique. You can also use this method to
locate any resource metering data. For example, you can use thetechnique to
locate virtual machines that are consuming over 4 GB of RAM on average or
virtual machines with a very high average CPU usage.
Reporting
In this chapter, you have learned how to view a variety of resource metering
data. Sometimes, however, it is more beneficial to build a report. This allows
you to track resource usage over time and makes it easier to view themetering
data when there is too much data to view on the screen. Thechapter on
PowerShell contains an entire section on reporting. It shows how to build
HTML-based reports and how to export data to a CSV file, which is viewable in
Microsoft Excel. The use of CSV files is especially handy for tracking metering
data over time.
Cluster-aware updating
One of the big problems previously with managing Hyper-V clusters in
Windows Server 2008 or 2008 R2 was that patching a Hyper-V cluster was
atedious and time-consuming process. If you wanted to patch the servers
within the cluster using only native tools, you had to manually live migrate
thevirtual machines off a cluster node, patch and reboot the node, and repeat
the process for each remaining cluster node.
280
There are some options for automating the process: you can automate cluster-
level patch management using System Center Orchestrator or System Center
2012 Virtual Machine Manager. The problem is that there are licensing costs
associated with these tools and setting up automated patch management can
be complicated.
Windows Server 2012 offers a new feature called Cluster-Aware Updating. This
feature allows you to patch the nodes in a Hyper-V cluster without having to
manually patch each node or resort to using external tools.
Cluster-Aware Updating takes a round-robin approach to patch management.
Itstarts by placing a cluster node into maintenance mode. This causes
thevirtual machines that are running on the host to be automatically live
migrated to the best possible node (as determined by the cluster).
It is worth noting that choosing the best possible node is based solely on
theamount of free memory on each cluster node. This is different from
theprocess used by System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager, which uses
a number of different criteria to determine the best possible cluster node.
Once the virtual machines have been live migrated off the host, the server
is patched and rebooted. The update process then takes the node out of
maintenance mode, which in turn allows it to host virtual machines once again.
Theprocess is repeated for every node in the cluster.
There are two ways to use Cluster-Aware Updating Self Updating or Remote
Updating. Self Updating is the more common of the two methods and involves
running the Cluster-Aware Update tool directly on a cluster node according to
a schedule that you set. Remote updating involves installing the Cluster-Aware
Update tool on a computer that is not a cluster node. The computer must be
running Windows Server 2012 or Windows 8.
Installing the Cluster-Aware Update tool

If you plan to use self updating for the cluster, you will not need to install
theCluster-Aware Update tool, because the tool is installed by default on
cluster nodes. If you want to install the tool onto a non-cluster node, the exact
method depends on the operating system that is running on the computer.
Assuming that the computer is running Windows Server 2012, you can install
the Cluster-Aware Update tool by completing thesesteps:
2. Select the Add Roles and Features command from the Manage menu.
the Welcome screen.
4. Verify that the Role-Based or Feature-Based Installation option is
5. Select the server where you want to install the tool and click Next.
6. Click Next to bypass the Server Role selection screen.
7. Select thecheckbox for Failover Clustering from the list of features
(Figure9.11).
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Figure 9.11
Select Failover Clustering from the list of available features.
8. When prompted, click the Add Features button (Figure 9.12).

Figure 9.12
Click the Add Features button.
9. Click Next.
10. Take a moment to verify that the Failover Cluster Management Tools will
be installed (Figure 9.13).
11. Click Install.
282
Figure 9.13
Make sure that the Failover Cluster Management Tools will be installed.
Performing a Cluster-Aware update

Assuming that you are going to be performing a self update, you can perform
a Cluster-Aware update by completing these steps:
1. Open the Server Manager on a failover cluster node.
2. Choose the Cluster-Aware Updating option from the Tools menu
(Figure9.14).
3. When the Cluster-Aware Updating tool opens, use the Connect
toaFailover Cluster drop-down list to select a failover cluster.
4. Click the Connect button (Figure 9.15).
Figure 9.14
Choose the Cluster-Aware Updating option from the Tools menu.
283
Figure 9.15
Click the Connect button.
5. Assuming that this is the first time you have performed a Cluster-Aware
update, click on Configure Cluster Self-Updating Options.
6. When the Configure Self-Updating Options Wizard launches, click Next to
bypass the Welcome screen.
7. You should see warning that the cluster is not configured with
theClusterAware Updating clustered role (Figure 9.16). Select
thecheckbox for Add the CAU clustered role with self-updating mode
enabled to this cluster.
Figure 9.16
You must add the CAU clustered role with self-updating mode enabled to the cluster.
284
8. Click Next.
9. Set a self-updating schedule (Figure 9.17). It is best to choose an off-peak
usage period.
Figure 9.17
You must specify a self-updating schedule.
10. Click Next.

11. When the Advanced Options screen opens, you have the option of
setting some custom update parameters or you can click Next to accept
thedefaults (which is usually recommended).
12. Choose whether or not you wish to receive recommended updates in
thesame way as important updates (Figure 9.18).
285
Figure 9.18
You can install recommended updates in the same manner as important updates.
13. Click Next.

14. Take a moment to verify that the information displayed on the summary
screen is correct.
15. Click Apply.
16. Verify the success of the operation (Figure 9.19).
17. Click Close.
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Figure 9.19
You should see a message indicating that the cluster role was added successfully.
Previewing cluster updates

In order to see what the next update will consist of, you can generate an
update preview by following these steps:
2. Choose the Cluster-Aware Updating option from the Manage menu.
3. Choose your cluster from the Connect to a Failover Cluster drop-down list
and click Connect if necessary.
4. Click the Preview Updates for this Cluster link (Figure 9.20).
Figure 9.20
Click the Preview Updates for this Cluster link.
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5. When the Preview Updates dialog box launches, click the Generate
Update Preview List button (Figure 9.21).
Figure 9.21
Click the Generate Update Preview List button.
6. Windows will produce a list of updates (Figure 9.22). You can click on
anitem to see more detailed information about it.
Figure 9.22
This is what the preview list looks like.
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Applying updates
Updates will be applied according to the schedule that you previously set.
Ifnecessary however, you can apply updates to the cluster on demand by
following these steps:
2. Choose the Cluster-Aware Updating option from the Manage menu.
4. Click Apply Updates to this Cluster.
5. When the Cluster-Aware Updating Wizard launches, click Next to bypass
the Welcome screen.
6. When the Confirmation screen appears, click the Update button
(Figure9.23). This does not actually perform the update, but rather
schedules an immediate update.
Figure 9.23
Click the Update button.
7. Verify the success of the operation (Figure 9.24), and click Close.
289
Figure 9.24
Make sure that the operation was successful and click Close.
Generating a report
Occasionally it may be useful to create a report as a way of verifying
thepatches that have been deployed to your Hyper-V cluster. The Failover
Cluster Service provides a reporting function that you can use for this purpose.
You can generate a cluster patching report by completing these steps:
2. Choose the Cluster-aware Updating option from the Manage menu.
4. Click the Generate Report on Past Updating Runs link.
5. When the Generate Updating Run Report dialog box launches, set
thedate range for the report (Figure 9.25).
6. Click the Generate Report button.
290
Figure 9.25
Set the date for the report.
When the report completes, the dialog box displays all of the completed runs
within the specified time period. Click on a run to display the updates that
occurred as a part of that run (Figure 9.26). The lower portion of thedialog
box provides statistics on the run that include information such as theamount
of time that the run took to complete and the number of successful
andfailedupdates.
Figure 9.26
The Run Report provides detailed information about the patches that were applied
tothecluster.
291
Clicking the Export Report button at the bottom of the screen generates
anHTML version of the report, which contains highly detailed and easytoread
information about thepatches that were applied to the cluster nodes
(Figure9.27).
Figure 9.27
Its a good idea to export the report to HTML because it is much easier toread.
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Chapter 10
Networking
Virtual machines running on a Hyper-V server typically
share the servers physical network adapters. In addition,
Hyper-V supports storage networking through the use of
virtual Fibre Channel. This chapter discusses techniques for
configuring virtual networking and virtual Fibre Channel.
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An introduction to the virtual switch

Perhaps the most important concept with regard to Hyper-V networking is that
of the virtual switch. Virtual machines communicate with one another and with
the physical network by means of a virtual switch (Figure 10.1).
Figure 10.1
Virtual machines communicate with one another and with the physical network through
avirtual switch.
When you first install Hyper-V, the setup process asks you which network
adapter you wantto use with Hyper-V. When you make this choice, Hyper-V
creates a virtual switch for the specified network adapter.
Hyper-V also creates a virtual network adapter that the host operating system
uses to communicate with the virtual switch. The virtual network adapter is
assigned the name that was previously used by the physical network adapter.
The only component used by this virtual network adapter is the Hyper-V
Extensible Virtual Switch protocol (Figure 10.2). The virtual network adapter
does not use any of the other common networking components such as TCP/IP.
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Figure 10.2
The virtual network adapter uses only the Hyper-V Extensible Virtual Switch.
The virtual switch itself is also accessible through the Control Panels list of
network connections. It uses the same name as the virtual network adapter,
except that the letter V is appended to the beginning of the adapter name
to indicate that the adapter is a virtual switch. The virtual switch inherits the
physical adapters former IP address configuration.
Virtual switch types

Although Hyper-V creates a virtual switch by default (assuming that you
have allowed Hyper-V to use one of your servers physical network adapters),
thedefault virtual switch isn't the only virtual switch you can use. Hyper-V
allows you to create multiple virtual switches, and each virtual switch offers one
of three different types of connectivity including:
External The virtual switch provides connectivity to the virtual network

and to the physical network.
Internal The virtual switch provides connectivity to virtual machines
running on the host server and to the host server itself. No connectivity
tothe physical network is provided.
Private A private virtual switch only provides network connectivity
between virtual machines running on the host. Virtual machines with
private connection cannot communicate with the host server or with
thephysical network.
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Creating a virtual switch

Although Hyper-V creates a virtual switch during the initial setup process, you
can create additional virtual switches if needed by following these steps:
2. Right-click on the listing for the host server and choose the Virtual Switch
Manager command from the right-click menu (Figure 10.3).
Figure 10.3
Right-click on the host server and choose the Virtual Switch Manager command.
3. When the Virtual Switch Manager opens, make sure that the New virtual
network switch option is selected.
4. Choose the type of virtual switch that you want to create.
5. Click the Create Virtual Switch button (Figure 10.4).
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Figure 10.4
Choose the virtual switch type and click the Create Virtual Switch button.
6. Enter a name for the new virtual switch you are creating (Figure 10.5).
7. Optionally enter notes explaining the virtual switchs purpose.
8. Select the virtual switchs connection type. If you choose to link the virtual
switch to an external network, select the network adapter that the new
virtual switch will be bound to. There is also a checkbox you can select to
control whether or not the management operating system will be able to
access the network adapter.
9. If the virtual switch needs to communicate across a VLAN, select the
checkbox forEnable Virtual LAN Identification for Management
Operating System and specify a VLAN ID.
10. Click OK to create the virtual switch (Figure 10.5).
297
Figure 10.5
Click OK to create the new virtual switch.
Connecting a virtual machine to a virtual switch

Connecting a virtual machine to a virtual switch is simply a matter of opening
the virtual machines Settings page, selecting the virtual network adapter,
andchoosing a virtual switch. As an alternative, you can create a new network
adapter and bind it to a virtual switch of your choosing.
To link an existing virtual network adapter to a different virtual switch,
complete these steps:
3. When the settings page appears, select the network adapter.
4. Use the Virtual Switch drop-down list to select the virtual switch that you
want to use.
5. Click OK (Figure 10.6).
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Figure 10.6
Choose the virtual switch that you want to assign to the virtual machine and click OK.
Adding networking hardware

When you create a virtual machine using the Hyper-V Manager, Hyper-V
automatically provisions the virtual machine with a virtual NIC. However,
you might need to create additional virtual NICs or other types of network
interfaces. You can add three types of networking hardware to virtual
machines, including:
Network Adapters
Legacy Network Adapters
Fibre Channel Adapters
Creating a new virtual network adapter

To add a virtual network adapter to a virtual machine, complete these steps:
2. Shut down the virtual machine on which you want to create a new virtual
network adapter.
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4. When the Settings screen appears, click Add Hardware.

5. Select the Network Adapter option (Figure 10.7).
6. Click Add.
Figure 10.7
Click Add Hardware, select the Network Adapter option and click Add.
7. Choose the virtual switch that you want the new network adapter to
connect to (Figure 10.8).
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Figure 10.8
Select the virtual switch that the new virtual network should connect to.
8. Click OK.
9. The newly created virtual network adapter will be listed in the virtual
machines Settings page (Figure 10.9).
Figure 10.9
The virtual machines Settings screen now lists two virtual network adapters.
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Configuring bandwidth management

Virtual network adapters support bandwidth throttling through Hyper-
Vs Bandwidth Management feature (note that bandwidth management is
not supported for legacy network adapters). You can configure bandwidth
management either as a part of the virtual network adapter creation process,
or you can configure bandwidth management later.
The bandwidth management feature allows you to configure minimum
bandwidth maximum bandwidth, or both. Enter bandwidth limits as numerical
values equaling the number of megabits per second (Mbps) that you want to
allow. For unrestricted bandwidth, use a value of zero.
To enable bandwidth management for an existing virtual machine, complete
these steps:
3. When the settings page appears, select the virtual network adapter for
which you want to manage bandwidth (Figure 10.10).
4. Select the checkbox for Enable bandwidth management.
5. Optionally enter the minimum bandwidth usage in Mbps.
6. Optionally enter the maximum bandwidth usage in Mbps.
7. Click OK.
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Figure 10.10
Select the Enable Bandwidth Management checkbox and specify the minimum
andmaximum bandwidth usage.
Adding a legacy network adapter

Legacy network adapters are useful on virtual machines that do not have
theIntegration Services installed. The legacy network adapter provides
network connectivity to virtual machines that do not have the ability to use
aregular virtual network adapter. To add a virtual network adapter to a virtual
machine, complete these steps:
2. Shut down the virtual machine on which you want to create a virtual
network adapter.
4. When the Settings screen appears, click Add Hardware (Figure 10.11).
5. Select the Legacy Network Adapter option.
6. Click Add.
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Figure 10.11
Choose the Legacy Network Adapter option and click Add.
7. Choose the virtual switch to which the legacy network adapter

willbeconnected.
8. Click OK.
VLAN identification
Both virtual network adapters and legacy network adapters support the use of
VLAN identification. Virtual network adapters and legacy network adapters can
be configured with VLAN identification during the adapter creation process or
later. You can configure an existing virtual or legacy network adapter to use a
VLAN by completing these steps:
3. When the Settings screen appears, select the network adapter to which
you want to assign VLAN identification (Figure 10.12).
4. Select the checkbox for Enable virtual LAN identification.
5. Enter a VLAN identifier number.
6. Click OK.
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Figure 10.12
Select the Enable virtual LAN identifier check box, enter a VLAN ID and click OK.
NIC teaming
The problem with sharing a single physical network adapter among multiple
virtual machines is that the network adapters bandwidth must be shared by all
of the virtual machines that use it. One way to overcome this limitation is to use
NIC teaming.
NIC teaming involves combining multiple physical network adapters into
asingle logical network adapter. The aggregate bandwidth of all the NICs in
the team is available to any physical or virtual server that uses the NIC team.
For example, if you build a team consisting of three 10-gigabit NICs, then
theNIC team would be able to deliver 30 gigabits of bandwidth.
NIC teaming is also useful for fault tolerance. Normally if a physical NIC fails,
all of the virtual machines using the virtual switch that is bound to that NIC will
lose network connectivity. In a teamed environment, however, thefailure of
asingle physical NIC does not cause the entire NIC team to fail. The NIC team
continues to function, but at reduced capacity. It is even possible to designate
a physical NIC within the team as a hot spare (which Microsoft refers to as
a"standby adapter"). Thus, if a NIC fails, thespare can take over so that the
team can continue to operate at fullcapacity.
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NIC teaming is not new in Hyper-V 3.0. Previous versions of Hyper-V allowed
the use of a NIC team, but it had to be created at the hardware level using
specialized NICs that were certified by the hardware vendor for teamed use.
In contrast, Hyper-V 3.0 lets you create a NIC team at the software level. The
physical NICs do not have to meet any special requirements. It is possible to
use a random collection of commodity NICs from multiple vendors.
Windows Server 2012 lets you create NIC teams consisting of up to 32 physical
NICs. For the most part, you can use a NIC team in place of a physical NIC
without issue. The only exceptions are situations in which the following
technologies are used:
SR-IOV
Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA)
TCP Chimney
These technologies bypass the networking stack and send traffic directly
tothephysical network adapters.
Teaming modes
Before you can build a NIC team, you have to decide which teaming mode you
want the team to use. Windows Server 2012 supports three different teaming
modes including:
Switch Independent This mode allows you to build a NIC team without
having to worry about the configuration of the physical switch. If you
dont know what type of teaming mode to use, then switch independent is
thesafe choice.
Static Teaming Mode This mode is switch dependent and requires
thephysical switch to be configured in a way that identifies the links that
make up the team.
LACP This is a special type of dynamic NIC team that allows you to
reconfigure the team on the fly as needed by adding or removing
physicalNICs.
Building a NIC team

Before you create a NIC team, it is important to realize that any static IP
address assignments that have been made to the individual network adapters
included in the team will be lost. You will need to assign static IP addresses
later to the team as a whole, rather than to individual NICs within the team.
Tobuild a NIC team, complete these steps:
2. Click on the Local Server option.
3. Click on the Disabled link next to the NIC Teaming option (Figure 10.13).
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Figure 10.13
NIC teaming is configured through the Server Manager.
4. When the NIC Teaming dialog box launches, click the Tasks drop-
down found in the Teams section and choose the New Team option
(Figure10.14).
Figure 10.14
You can create a NIC team by choosing the New Team option.
5. Enter a name for the NIC team (Figure 10.15).

6. Select the network adapters to include in the NIC team.
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Figure 10.15
Assign a name to the NIC team and specify the network adapters that should be included
in the team.
7. Click the Additional Properties link.

8. Select the Teaming Mode that you want to use (Figure 10.16). Teaming
modes were explained in the previous section.
Figure 10.16
Specify your preferred teaming mode.

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9. Specify the preferred load balancing mode. You can choose between
Address Hash and Hyper-V Port. Address Hash balances network traffic
across all of the NICs in the team and is usually the best choice. Hyper-V
Port matches virtual machines to a specific physical NIC. The Hyper-V Port
method tends to waste a lot of bandwidth; it might saturate some physical
network connections, while leaving others with lots of free capacity.
10. If you have chosen to use a standby adapter then select the adapter you
want to use as a standby spare.
11. Click OK.
Once the NIC team has been created, the Control Panel will still show
theindividual NICs, but it will also display a teamed NIC (Figure 10.17).
Individual NICs within the team should be configured so that the only protocol
bound to the NIC is the Microsoft Network Adapter Multiplexor Protocol
(Figure 10.18). Windows automatically configures teamed NICs correctly, but it
is important to avoid manually altering the NICs configurations. If you need to
assign a static IP address, you should assign it to theNICteam.
Figure 10.17
Windows displays the teamed NIC alongside the physical NICs.
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Figure 10.18
The NICs making up the team should be configured to use the Microsoft Network Adaptor
Multiplexor Protocol and nothing else.
Note that Hyper-V does not automatically use the newly created NIC team.
Ifyou want Hyper-V to use the NIC team, you will need to bind the NIC team
to avirtual switch (Figure 10.19).
Figure 10.19
You need to bind the NIC team to a virtual switch so that Hyper-V can use the NIC team.
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Virtual Fibre Channel

One of the new Hyper-V networking features that has received the most
attention is virtual Fibre Channel. In the past, some physical servers were not
good candidates for virtualization because they required direct connectivity
to Fibre Channel storage. Virtual Fibre Channel makes it possible for a virtual
machine to directly access a Fibre Channel SAN without having to use the host
operating system for connectivity.
Virtual Fibre Channel requirements

Before you can use virtual Fibre Channel, some requirements must be met.
First, the virtual machine must run a compatible operating system. Microsoft
supports virtual Fibre Channel for virtual servers running Windows Server 2008,
Windows Server 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012.
The next requirement is that the host server must contain at least one physical
Fibre Channel adapter. The adapter must support N_Port Virtualization (NPIV).
The NPIV feature must be enabled and the adapter must be connected to
anNPIV-enabled SAN.
It is worth noting that many of the Fibre Channel adapters that support NPIV
disable NPIV by default. For example, Emulex LightPulse LPE1150-F4 Fibre
Channel adapters fully support NPIV, but NPIV is disabled by default. In this
case, you can enable NPIV support by using the OneCommand Manager utility
provided by Emulex (Figure 10.20).
Figure 10.20
You may have to enable NPIV support on your Fibre Channel adapter before you can use
Hyper-Vs virtual Fibre Channel feature.
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Live migration planning

Although Hyper-V allows you to live migrate virtual machines that use virtual
Fibre Channel, you must meet some additional requirements. First, each
Hyper-V server that could potentially host a virtual machine that uses virtual
Fibre Channel must be equipped with physical Fibre Channel connectivity to
your SAN.
The second requirement is that each Fibre Channel adapter must have
two separate Word Wide Names (WWNs). During the live migration
process, thehost server releases one of the WWNs, but not the other. The
destination host uses the recently released WWN to establish connectivity
to theFibre Channel storage. For a brief moment, both hosts are connected
to theFibre Channel storage, using the two WWNs. This allows the live
migration to complete without losing storage connectivity in the process.
Once thedestination host has established storage connectivity, the source
host releases its other WWN to the destination host and the live migration
iscompleted.
Creating a virtual SAN

The first step in implementing virtual Fibre Channel is to create a virtual SAN.
To do this, complete these steps:
2. Right-click on the name of the host server and choose the Virtual SAN
Manager command from the right-click menu (Figure 10.21).
Figure 10.21
Virtual SAN Manager command in the shortcut menu.
3. When the Virtual SAN Manager opens, click on World Wide Names
(Figure 10.22).
4. Make any necessary changes to the World Wide Names.
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Figure 10.22
Make any required changes to the World Wide Names.
5. Select the New Fibre Channel SAN option and click the Create
button(Figure 10.23).
Figure 10.23
Select the New Fibre Channel SAN option and click the Create button.
6. Enter a name for the new Fibre Channel SAN (Figure 10.24). One common
practice is to name the SAN after the underlying Fibre Channel Host Bus
Adapter.
7. Select the checkbox next to the listing for the Fibre Channel adapter.
8. Click OK.
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Figure 10.24
Enter a name for the new virtual SAN, select the check box for the Fibre Channel adapter
and click OK.
Adding a virtual Fibre Channel adapter

Once you have created a virtual SAN, adding it to a virtual machine is easy.
Todo so, complete these steps:
2. Shut down the virtual machine to which you want to add virtual Fibre
Channel connectivity.
4. When the Settings screen appears, click Add Hardware (Figure 10.25).
5. Select the Fibre Channel Adapter option.
6. Click Add.
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Figure 10.25
Select the Fibre Channel Adapter option and click Add.
7. Select your virtual SAN from the Virtual SAN drop-down list (Figure 10.26).
8. If you need to modify the World Wide Node Names (WWNNs) or
theWorld Wide Port Names (WWPNs), click the Edit Addresses button
and make any required modifications.
9. Click OK.
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Figure 10.26
Select your virtual SAN from the Virtual SAN drop-down list and click OK.
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Chapter 11
Backing up Hyper-V
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Information Technology is driven by data! Every facet of IT, from decision

making, to database management, to communications, to intellectual
property finds its roots in data. We have evolved our entire industry around
theabsolute necessity of maintaining the integrity and accessibility of our data.
The 2000s saw the rise of the mega-datacenter where hundreds of thousands
of square feet of insanely secured and spectacularly supported infrastructure
can house the ever-growing need to store and make accessible that precious
data. Microsoft has played a quiet but dominant role in the push to drive
theinnovation of the datacenter. They have, by all accounts, built the largest,
fastest, best distributed, portable, state-of-the-art datacenter infrastructure
inthe world. Data drives decision making and decision making drives business.
Today businesses generate data at a staggering rate. One of the key functions
of every IT environment is to ensure the absolute protection of thedata,
andthis has translated into the two critical functions of data protection
anddisaster recovery.
Cloud, cloud, cloud, cloud, cloud! The client/server networks of the past are
being replaced with a new network design paradigmcloud! Virtualization
is the gateway technology to cloud. Virtual machines (VMs) are the core
components of networks. This is a pretty big departure from the client/server
networks of the past where hardware was the core component. Nowhere does
this make a bigger difference than in data protection and disaster recovery.
Data protection in a virtual world

One of the truly amazing benefits of virtualization with Hyper-V (or any other
Type 1 hypervisor for that matter) is that the hypervisor provides a layer of
abstraction between the physical hardware and the virtual machines. This is
a really big deal! That layer of abstraction effectively means that hardware
resources can be pooled together into an abstracted set and then allocated
to VMs on an as needed basis. In Hyper-V this concept is referred to as
a resource pool. When you consider data protection in conjunction with
Hyper-V, it is important to begin with the realization that it is the virtual
machinenot the physical diskthat is the core operating component of
thevirtual environment. It is also important to consider that the virtual
machine is a conglomerate of components that together make up afunctioning
VM andits underlying OS, applications, services, files, settings,etc.
In the past, the prevailing strategy for data protection was primarily made
up of the functions of access protection (still as important as ever but not
discussed in this chapter) and backup and recovery. In a client/server network
the core component was the physical disk. The OS, the applications, the files,
services and drivers were all directly tied to the physical disk. Because thedisk
was the core component of the network, the vast majority of solutions for
backup and restoration operations were designed specifically to back up disks.
Companies built powerful, and sometimes complex, software implementations
focused on backing up the physical disk. The majority of those tools relied on
client components or agents installed on the local disk to aid in the process
of monitoring the disk, generating the backup, responding to calls from
acentralized software console, and reporting and alerting functions. In those
318
days the term server backup had reference to a specific disk drive or drive
set. Since everything associated with the server was generally associated
with thephysical disk and each disk was owned by a single server, if you
successfully backed up the disk, you successfully backed up the server.
Of course businesses also had dedicated arrays of disks loosely connected
to servers with the sole purpose being to store data. Here again the central
component was the physical disk, and the backup solutions utilized theexact
same strategy of disk-focused backup, and the strategy worked very
well,until
One of the most significant promises of virtualization is the consolidation of
server workloads onto a single set of hardware. This consolidation promises
decreased capital expenditures and increased utilization percentages. While
both of those are awesome for the business, consolidation also brings with
it a major challenge for the traditional backup software. Virtualization is
NOT centered on the physical disk. The core component of virtualization,
andthecloud, is the virtual machine.
Rule #1 Physical backup is not virtual backup!

If you try to use your traditional backup and recovery practices (which
are focused on backing up disks) they will not prove effective on your
virtualmachines.
How do you back up a VM in Hyper-V?

Thats a really great question! Microsoft has provided a really great answer.
Its called VSS. Way back in 2003 Microsoft introduced something called
the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), which among other things allowed
the user to make and keep multiple versions of files. In the event of loss,
corruption, or a simple desire to go back to the way things used to be,
VSSmade it possible to easily revert to an earlier version of a file.
See: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc757854(v=WS.10).aspx
The true genius behind VSS was that it is file based (volume based is
thetechnically correct term) and not physical disk based. VSS was relatively
underappreciated and underutilized until the introduction of Hyper-V in 2008.
At this time there were several obvious uses for a file-based tool like VSS that
would maintain previous versions of files. Remember the majority of a Hyper-V
virtual machine is contained within a single .vhd or .vhdx file. Microsoft went
on to make direct recommendations about the benefits of using the VSS
process to back up virtual machines and directly answered the question How
do you back up a VM in Hyper-V? You use VSS!
VSS
VSS is not an application. You wont find it on the Start menu. It is a service
and a process with multiple parts used to make image copies of files. In this
particular instance those files are associated with Hyper-V. The VSS process
uses a couple of different components (see Figure 11.1).
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Figure 11.1
VSS Requestor
Volume
Shadow Copy
Hyper-V VSS
Writer
Virtual Machine
VSS Requestor As its name suggests, this software component handles

various requests to the Volume Shadow Copy Service vssvc.exe. In the case of
Hyper-V backup, it is looking for information about available resources to write
the image of a given virtual machine. That write is going to be accomplished
by an available VSS Writer. The VSS Requestor is built by the software
developer unless you decide to use Windows Backup, in which case Microsoft
has included a built-in VSS Requestor. Microsoft provides the Volume Shadow
Copy Service SDK free in the Microsoft Download Center for those interested
inthe process of building a VSS Requestor.
Vssvc.exe The Volume Shadow Copy Service provides the central control
infrastructure for the VSS process, handling incoming requests from
requestors, identifying writers, relaying availability info back to the requestor
and requests to the VSS Writer.
VSS Writer Provides the capability to write the image of the virtual machine
while providing the important function of application quiescence (or quieting).
This ensures that the backup of the virtual machine includes valid copies of
theunderlying applications and their data in a complete and usable format.
Inthe case of backing up Hyper-V, Microsoft has provided a specific writer
called the Hyper-V VSS Writer.
Hyper-V VSS Writer metadata The technical information about the actual
location of the data, what should be included as part of the backup image,
how the data is structured, and the configuration information for the virtual
machine is all contained as part of the Hyper-V VSS Writer metadata. This
information is used in conjunction with the Hyper-V VSS Writer as it processes
the request for an image or backup of an existing Hyper-V VM.
The components of the VSS process work in conjunction with one another to
back up a virtual machine.
One of the benefits of using the VSS process is that, unlike backing up physical
disks, there is no need to install or configure any agents or client components
on the VM in order to accomplish the backup.
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Some cheese for your whine

Change happens! There will be those who have spent lots of time, money
andeffort to build a backup infrastructure focused entirely on the physical
disk and who will want to continue using that infrastructure in spite of
thenecessity for change. While the VSS process is the preferred method of
backing up virtual machines, it is still technically possible (however ill advised)
to use the old methods of agent-based backups to complete the task of
backing up your virtual machines. In order to be successful you will be left to
install the same agents you used in the old physical environment on each of
your virtual machines and to expend additional time and effort to build your
virtual machines so that they meet the old client/server network standards.
Theadditional time and effort at each step of the process makes this approach
prohibitive, especially in light of the dramatic benefits of choosing a VSS-based
backup software solution. Could it be done? Yes! Should it be done? No!
Windows Backup
As in previous versions of Windows Server, Microsoft has included Windows
Backup in Windows Server 2012. This edition of Windows Backup includes
amechanism for VSS-based backups of Hyper-V virtual machines. The tool is
absolutely free. It will successfully complete a VSS full or VSS copy of a virtual
machine. Like previous editions of Windows Backup, there are no frills in
theform of additional options. Here is how it works.
In order to use Windows Backup you must add this feature in the Add Roles
and Features wizard in Server Manager.
Once in place, you can kick off the tool from the desktop icon or from the tools
menu in Server Manager.
Figure 11.2
Backups in Windows Backup are built under the Local Backup menu option in
the Actions pane on the right side of the main screen (Figure 11.2, above). You
can choose Backup Schedule or a Backup Once option from the Actions pane.
This example uses the Backup Once option. This launches the Backup Once
Wizard (See Figure 11.3).
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Figure 11.3
You have the option of choosing to build a one-time backup based on

thesettings in your scheduled backups or to select the Different Options radio
button, which will give you the chance to view all of the options and settings
and build a unique set for this individual backup job.
After selecting an option, click Next to continue to the next step in the wizard.
Figure 11.4
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Remember that Windows Backup is a traditional disk-focused backup utility,

so the first option is to back up the full server (Figure 11.4). This assumes that
your server is running in the old client/server model. In order to back up a VM,
you will need to choose the Custom radio button so that a VSS backup may
beinitiated.
Click Next to select items for backup.
Figure 11.5
Next you get to choose what items to include in the backup by choosing
theAdd Items button (Figure 11.5). This launches the dialog shown in
thenextfigure.
Figure 11.6
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Drill down to the desired VM and select it for backup, as shown in the Select
Items dialog (Figure 11.6). There are two other big things to notice on this
screen, indicated by the yellow exclamation icons. First, notice that if you have
used data deduplication on the volume that contains this VM, the data will
be backed up in the unoptimized form, meaning at its original size. Second,
inorder to create the backup, the virtual machine will be placed in saved state
mode, meaning that any workload this VM supports will be at least temporarily
unavailable. After you have selected items to include in the backup, click OK.
Now you can move to the advanced settings for the backup shown in the next
step of the Backup Once Wizard.
Figure 11.7
Click the Advanced Settings button on the Backup Once Wizard (Figure 11.7).
This takes you to the Advanced Settings dialog (Figure 11.8).
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Figure 11.8
In Windows Backup, it is possible to set exclusions of files that you do not want
to include in the backup. The Advanced Settings dialog is also where you are
asked to choose whether you would like to make a VSS copy backup, which will
retain the existing application log files, or make a VSS full backup, which will
truncate the existing log files for the applications (Figure 11.8). After you have
made a selection, click OK to move to the next step.
Figure 11.9
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Next you are given the choice of the type of destination for the backup job.
Will it be housed on locally attached storage or will you use a remotely shared
folder? In this example, the radio button for Local drives has been selected
(Figure 11.9). Click Next to select the backup destination.
Figure 11.10
Now you are given the opportunity of choosing the volume where you want
the job to be stored upon completion, and you are also given summary
statistics about the volume (Figure 11.10). Select the destination and clickNext.
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Figure 11.11
After you have defined the destination, the Backup Once Wizard displays
asummary confirmation page. If the confirmation is correct, you can click
theBackup button to start the process (Figure 11.11).
Figure 11.12
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The backup will proceed until completion and present summary statistics on
status and size of data transferred. In this case, note that the entire 8.35 GB
was transferred (Figure 11.12). There is no compression or deduplication in
Windows Backup. Windows Backup is a general purpose, no frills, VSS capable
backup tool.
Windows recovery
It is often said that the whole point of backup is recovery. In the case of
Windows Backup, the recovery process proceeds as follows.
First, open the Windows Backup application from the tools menu from Server
Manager or the Windows Backup icon on the desktop. Choose Recover from
the Actions pane. This launches the Recovery Wizard.
Figure 11.13
Notice that the information shown in the first step of the Recovery Wizard
indicates that you can recover files, applications, volumes, or the system state;
however, in this case, none of this applies because you are recovering a VM
(Figure 11.13). You can really only recover the VM that you backed up in its
entirety. There just isnt a granular approach to recovering VMs in Windows
Backup. This backup happens to be stored on a volume attached to this server.
Click Next on the wizard to select the backup date.
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Figure 11.14
Here you locate the backup file based on the schedule in which the backup
completed. Select the appropriate date from the calendar to see available
backups in the recoverable items section (Figure 11.14). Click Next on
thewizard to select the recovery type.
Figure 11.15
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In this example, you are recovering a Hyper-V VM to its original location

(Figure11.15). Click Next on the wizard to select the items you wish to recover.
Figure 11.16
Drill down to select the VM backup to restore (Figure 11.16). Click Next on
thewizard to specify recovery options.
Select the desired location for recovery. This is one place where Windows
Backup exceeds expectations as it will allow recovery to an alternate location
oreven make a copy to a folder.
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Figure 11.17
After choosing the recovery option, wait for the process to complete
(Figure11.17).
Windows Backup is a decent utilitarian approach to backup and recovery of
aVM in Hyper-V. It does not perform compression, deduplication or item-level
recovery. Its biggest draw is the fact that it is free. Imagine a scenario where
all the desired functionality were included in a software package while still
maintaining the free price tag.
The best backup

Veeam builds the best backup software for Hyper-V. It is powerful, easy
to use and affordable. In fact, Veeam builds a free edition of its backup
software. The following discussion explains exactly how Veeam Backup Free
Editionworks.
Veeam offers an easy-to-use interface based on Microsoft User Interface
design guidelines.
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Figure 11.18
From the main screen, it is easy to expand the Hyper-V server and see
thevirtual machines. In this case, you can see that the VM is actually up
andrunning (Figure 11.18). Veeam will complete the backup without stopping,
pausing or moving the VM to the saved state mode. Select a VM and choose
Veeam Zip from the ribbon. This launches the dialog shown in the next image.
Figure 11.19
Browse to a location where you want the completed backup to be stored

andthen click OK (Figure 11.19). This launches a summary dialog that shows
how much data has been backed up and the success.
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Figure 11.20
Click the Show Details button (note that this button toggles to Hide Details)
in order to get all the information about each processing backup job
(Figure 11.20). Wait for the backup to complete. The process is simple. It is
important to note that Veeam Backup Free Edition includes the compression
and deduplication functions. In this example, the VM was 8.3 GB and after
compression and dedup, 3.3GB was transferred to the backup repository.
Thetool calculated the rate of compression at 2.4x. Pretty cool!
Recovering Hyper-V VMs with Veeam

Backup
The process of recovery with Veeam Backup Free edition is powerful. It begins
by choosing Restore from the ribbon (Figure 11.21).
Figure 11.21
When you select the Restore button, you will be prompted to select the backup
file of your choice.
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Figure 11.22
After you select the backup file, click Open on the dialog shown above
(Figure11.22).
Figure 11.23
Veeam Backup Free Edition will load the selected backup file and show you its
properties (Figure 11.23). Next, click the Restore button on the .vbk Properties
dialog. Although Veeam Backup Free Edition will restore the full VM, it will also
allow you to restore the VM files, such as the configuration, settings or other
files necessary to run the VM beyond its .vhd or .vhdx file.
Finally, you can choose to restore files from within the Windows OS of the VM,
as shown in the next image. For this example you can choose files from within
the Windows OS.
334
Figure 11.24
When you choose to recover files from within the Windows OS, Veeam Backup
Free Edition will mount the operating system and present you with a nicely
structured Windows Explorer-like view of the files (Figure 11.24). At this point
you can simply browse to the files or folders you want to recover and then
right-click and choose Restore from the right-click menu.
Veeam Backup Free Edition is the clear choice for a powerful, easy-to-use,
affordable backup for Hyper-V. Veeam also builds a backup toolset you
can purchase called Veeam Backup & Replication, which adds scheduling
functionality, multi VM job functions and VM replication capabilities.
Veeam Backup Free Edition and the Free Trial Version of Veeam Backup
&Replication can be downloaded at the veeam website www.veeam.com.
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Chapter 12
Automation
andOrchestration
336
Introduction
This chapter will be a bit of a departure from previous chapters in that it will
focus less on the basics of Hyper-V features, installation and configuration
and more on how to automate deployment and administrative actions on
theHyper-V platform in an enterprise environment.
With the rise of the dynamic datacenter, cloud computing (private, public
andhybrid cloud), the focus on service-driven IT has led to an increased
focus on advanced automation and self-service, in which IT removes itself
as thebottleneck to request fulfillment through process automation. In this
model, IT becomes a service-driven organization rather than a technology-
driven organization, providing service offerings through a service catalog,
many of which may require little manual effort beyond approval of the request
in a service desk/ticketing system. With that in mind, this chapter focuses less
on Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 and more on the tools and strategies
available to automate and orchestrate advanced VM, application and virtual
network deployment on Hyper-V.
While PowerShell improvements in v3 secure its place as a go-to toolset in
Hyper-V administration and management, it is not an end-to-end management
solution for the entire virtualization lifecycle. Fortunately, inparallel
todevelopment of Windows Server 2012, Microsoft has been hard at work
updating its System Center 2012 management suite to support the latest
version of its Server OS and hypervisor. In Service Pack 1 for System Center
2012, Microsoft officially added support for management of Windows Server
2012 Hyper-V.
As you saw in chapter 5, PowerShell has a rich set of cmdlets for managing
Hyper-V. While the improvements in PowerShell in Windows Server 2012
for managing Hyper-V are significant, any organization with more than
ahandful of Hyper-V servers will require centralized management capabilities
to effectively manage multiple Hyper-V hosts and VM guests. This is where
theMicrosoft System Center 2012 management suite comes into play
(seeFigure 12.1). The focus in this chapter will be limited primarily to two
System Center 2012 components:
System Center 2012 Virtual Machine Manager (VMM), which is
thestandard for managing Hyper-V in the enterprise
System Center 2012 Orchestrator (Orchestrator), which provides
runbook automation capabilities with out-of-the-box integration with
the other System Center components (including VMM), Active Directory
andthirdparty platforms
These two components together provide powerful automation capabilities
for Hyper-V virtualization deployment management, which you will explore in
depth in this chapter.
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Figure 12.1 Components of the System Center 2012 management suite
This chapter will spend little time on simple automation, but instead will focus
more on the orchestration of processes. Although it may seem that two terms
are used for the same concept, they are actually quite different. Automation is
essentially advanced scripting, while orchestration requires automation coupled
with decision points based on runtime conditions and business requirements
(such as change management requirements).
Automation is the process of automating a specific task, usually through
ascripting language such as PowerShell. The task typically has one goal,
though it may require several steps to achieve that goal. An example is
bring this server down for maintenance. This may require spinning down
connections to an application, stopping specific processes and then taking
theapplication offlinebut the automation is of a specific task.
Orchestration, on the other hand, is the automation of a complete process. In
the case of cloud computing and IT, this can also be accomplished using scripts
but more often involves the use of APIs. Orchestration links a set of automated
tasks into a single process (IT operational and/or business processes) and may
span multiple devices, applications, solutions and even datacenters. Bring this
server down for maintenance may actually be a single task in a larger process
that is Deploying a new version of an application.
The subtle difference between automation and orchestration is important
primarily because the former is focused on automating a concrete set of steps
normally handled manually but that are performed to a device or component.
The latter often requires participation of intelligent infrastructure components
and decision logic based on runtime conditions in the components involved in
the orchestration (such as resource utilization on Hyper-V hosts as part of the
criteria in determining VM placement). The infrastructure is an active participant
in orchestration.
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Workflows in PowerShell v3
At this point, its likely that you already appreciate the role of PowerShell
in managing Hyper-V. PowerShell definitely plays a role in automating
deployment, administration and maintenance in Hyper-V environments of all
sizes. In PowerShell version 3, the Windows Workflow Foundation engine is
integrated into PowerShell, easing the process of automating long-running,
large-scale, or complex tasks that require multiple steps across multiple
machines. Traditionally Windows Workflow has been a developer-only tool
requiring Visual Studio and a lot of code to create a solution. In the latest
PowerShell release, Microsoft has elevated workflow to an in-the-box solution
that IT Pros can leverage to easily create a solution using their existing
PowerShell scripting skills. Workflow provides direct support for parallel
execution, retry of failed operations, and the ability to suspend and resume
operations. For example, a workflow can detect a problem that requires
manual intervention, notify the operator of this condition and then suspend
operations until the operator corrects the situation and resumes the workflow.
Authoring has been simplified through the extension of the PowerShell
language with the workflow keyword. You can now easily author a workflow
using the tools that ship in all Windows Server 2012 versions. The behavior
of a workflow is different from a simple script or function as it includes a few
more rules. However, if you know how to write a PowerShell function, you
already know most of what you need to know to write a workflow. Authoring
workflows using PowerShell is much easier than working with XAML, and for
most IT Pros it is much easier to understand than Workflow designer tools like
Visual Studio.
Here is a sample PowerShell workflow that provisions five Hyper-V VMs, each
with a differential disk referencing the master disk (goldimage.vhdx). The VMs
will all be placed in the folder specified by the $VMBaseLoc variable, assigned
to the virtual network referenced by $VMNetwork, and finally, each VM
willbestarted.
Figure 12.2 PowerShell workflow for bulk Hyper-V VM provisioning
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While these new PowerShell workflow capabilities are powerful, they

are not afull enterprise solution for Hyper-V virtualization management
andautomation.
Automating Hyper-V in the enterprise

with System Center 2012
System Center 2012 delivers very powerful management capabilities, soitis
quite easy to get started developing advanced orchestrated Hyper-V
provisioning scenarios.
Installing VMM and Orchestrator

To follow the step-by-step deployment examples presented in this chapter,
you will need to install the System Center 2012 VMM and Orchestrator
components. You can install each of these components in a single Hyper-V
VM (and you can install both in the same VM). You can download VMM
andOrchestrator from the Microsoft website at http://technet.microsoft.
com/en-US/evalcenter/hh505660.aspx?ocid=otc-f-corp-jtc-DPR&wt.mc_
id=TEC_103_1_4
Instructions for installing VMM can be found on the Microsoft website
athttp://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/gg610617.aspx. To follow
theexamples in this chapter, you should install a VMM management
server and the VMM console. You may install both on the same server.
Step-by-step instructions for installing Orchestrator can be found on
theMicrosoft website at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/
hh420336.aspx. This is a short and easy installation once you have a SQL
Server instance in place. You may install some or all of these components
on the same server. Since the Orchestrator database is fairly lightweight,
you can install it on a shared SQL 2008 R2 or SQL 2012 server.
To follow the examples in this chapter, you should install

An Orchestrator management server
The Orchestrator database
The Runbook Designer console
Download, register and deploy the VMM Integration Pack for Orchestrator
(necessary for interacting with VMM and Hyper-V)
Download from http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.
aspx?id=34611&WT.mc_id=rss_alldownloads_all)
Instructions on registering and deploying an integration pack
at http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh420346.aspx
Configure Orchestrator Connectivity to VMM (included in VMM
Integration Pack Guide)
Microsoft has also recorded a short YouTube video on how to install
Orchestrator and import integration packs, which you can view at http://www.
youtube.com/watch?v=a7F1d87vYnI
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Stop here and complete installation of VMM and Orchestrator before

moving on to the examples in the remainder of this chapter.
Adding a Hyper-V Host to VMM
Have you already installed VMM? If not, go back to the Installing VMM
and Orchestrator section earlier in this chapter and refer to the installation
resources provided.
Once you have VMM installed, the next step is to add your Hyper-V server(s)
toVMM for management. Completing these steps installs the VMM
management agent on your Hyper-V host(s).
To add a Hyper-V server to VMM, perform the following steps:
1. From the desktop, launch the VMM Admin Console with a user that is
amember of the VMM Administrators user role
2. From the Navigation pane, select the Fabric workspace, as shown
inFigure12.3.
Figure 12.3 Verifying Your Hyper-V host status in the VMM Admin Console
3. From the ribbon, select Add Resources Hyper-V Hosts and Clusters,
asshown in Figure 12.4. This will launch the Add Resource wizard,
asshown in Figure 12.5.
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Figure 12.4 The Add Resources menu in the Fabric workspace
4. Assuming your Hyper-V server is a member of an Active Directory

domain; select the radio button labeled Windows computers in a trusted
Active Directory domain on the Resource location screen, as shown
inFigure12.5.
Figure 12.5 Selecting Hyper-V host location
5. On the Credentials screen, select Manually enter the credentials

andprovide credentials with local administrator rights on the Hyper-V
host, as shown in Figure 12.6.
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Note: For additional reading on the advantages of using Run As Accounts

in VMM and how to configure them, see Configuring Run As Accounts in
VMM in the VMM online documentation on the Microsoft website here.
Figure 12.6 Manually entering Hyper-V administrator credentials
6. On the Discovery scope screen, select the radio button for Specify
Windows Server computers by names and enter the names of
theHyper-V server(s) you wish to add to management in VMM,
asshownin Figure 12.7.
Figure 12.7 Specifying Hyper-V hosts for discovery
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7. On the Target resources screen, select the checkbox next to the Hyper-V
servers in the list you wish to add to manage from VMM, as shown in
Figure 12.8.
Figure 12.8 Selecting Hyper-V hosts to bring under management
8. On the Host settings screen, select the host group in which you would
like to add your Hyper-V server(s). The All Hosts group is the default value
andwill work for this example, as shown in Figure 12.9.
Figure 12.9 Select the host group for new Hyper-V hosts
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9. On the Migration Settings screen, ensure that the following items are
selected as shown in Figure 12.10:
Turn on incoming and outgoing live migrations
Use Credential Security Support Provider
Use any available network
Figure 12.10 Specifying migration settings in the Add Resource wizard
10. On the Summary screen, review your selection and then click Finish to
add the Hyper-V host to management in VMM. In the Jobs workspace,
you will see a running job titled Add virtual machine host as shown
inFigure12.11.
Figure 12.11 Job details for the Add virtual machine host job
345
Note: While basic host network settings are imported automatically,

theadvanced networking capabilities of Hyper-V and VMM are nearly
endless. For a deep dive, see How to Configure Global Network Settings
inVMM here.
Creating a VM template from an existing VM

VMM makes it very easy to create a VM template in Hyper-V from an existing
VM you have created previously. However, since the process of creating
atemplate involves running Sysprep to generalize the operating system,
itmakes the VM unusable. You can work around this by simply making a copy
of the existing VM, through a process known as cloning.
Step 1: Clone an existing VM

You cannot clone a VM with snapshots, so prepare the VM for cloning by
merging (deleting) any existing snapshots. Also, you cannot clone a running
VM, so your next step is to shut down the VM you intend to clone. You can
complete these two steps either in Hyper-V Manager or in the VMM Admin
Console:
To merge snapshots (called checkpoints in VMM): In the VMM console in
theVMs and Services workspace, right-click on the VM, select Properties
andthen the Manage Checkpoints tab. Process the snapshots just as you
wouldin Hyper-V Manager.
To shut down: In the VMM console in the VMs and Services workspace,
youcan shut down gracefully by selecting the VM followed by the Shut Down
button on the ribbon, visible in Figure 12.12
1. To clone your VM, select your VM from the list in the Virtual Machine tab
of VMs and Services workspace.
2. From the Create menu on the Virtual Machine tab, select Clone as shown
in Figure 12.12.
Figure 12.12 The Clone option from the Create menu
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3. On the Specify Virtual Machine Identity screen, type the name for
thecloned VM. Popular options here include <VMName>-Clone,
oraname descriptive of the operating system running in the VM. Since
these instructions are for cloning a Windows Server 2012 VM, theexample
uses the name WS2012-Clone. In the Description field, document
thename of the VM you are cloning, as shown in Figure 12.13.
Figure 12.13 Specify Virtual Machine Identity screen
4. On the Configure Hardware screen (shown in Figure 12.14), you can

change any of the default hardware settings related to the clone VM.
Configurable settings include CPU, memory, disk, network, as well as
anumber of advanced settings, including high availability, CPU priority,
memory weight and virtual NUMA. Any changes configured here will be
reflected in the VM clone and, ultimately, in the VM template youll create
from this clone in the next step.
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Figure 12.14 Configure Hardware screen
5. On the Select Destination screen, you will select where the new VM will
be placed. You can place the VM directly on a Hyper-V host (or host
cluster) or deploy it to a private cloud, as shown in Figure 12.15. For this
example, choose to deploy directly to a Hyper-V host.
Figure 12.15 Select Destination screen
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Note: You can configure private clouds and deploy VMs to clouds hosted
on Hyper-V in VMM. You can read more about the cloud capabilities in
VMM in How to Create a Cloud in VMM 2012 on the Microsoft site here.
6. On the Select Host screen, Hyper-V hosts available for placement are
shown in order of suitability (availability for placement) and resource
availability (available compute, network and storage resources). If you only
added one Hyper-V host, the process will be unchanged; you will simply
see only the one option for deployment. If the VM cannot be created, you
can find details on the blocking issue on the Rating Explanation tab above
the bottom window on the Select Host screen, as shown in Figure 12.16.
Figure 12.16 Select Host screen
7. On the Select Path screen, you select the location on the Hyper-V host
where the clone will be placed. You can click the Browse button to
choose an alternate storage location if you dont like the default selection,
asshown in Figure 12.17.
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Figure 12.17 Select Path screen
8. On the Select Networks screen, you can change the default adapter
settings, which will match those of the source VM you are cloning by
default. Since you are using a VM template created on the Hyper-V host
you are deploying to, you can accept the defaults on this screen.
Figure 12.18 Select Networks screen
350
9. On the Summary screen, confirm your settings and then click the Create
button to create the new VM, which will become your first VM template.
The Summary screen is shown in Figure 12.19.
Figure 12.19 Summary screen
Step 2: Create a VM template from the clone

Now, you are ready to create a VM template from this copy of the existing
virtual machine on your Hyper-V host.
1. In the VMM Admin Console, open the Library workspace.
2. On the Home tab, in the Create group, click Create VM Template. This
launches the Create VM Template wizard, as shown in Figure 12.20.
Figure 12.20 Select Source screen
3. On the Select Source page, click From an existing virtual machine that is
deployed on a host, and then click Browse (shown in Figure 12.20). This
launches the Select VM Template Source screen shown in Figure 12.21.
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Figure 12.21 The Select VM Template Source screen
4. In the Select VM Template Source dialog box, click the VM clone you
created earlier as the VM to convert into a template, click OK and then
click Next.
5. On the VM Template Identity page, provide a name for the VM template
and then click Next.
Warning: A warning message advises you that creating a template will

destroy the source virtual machine, and that any user data on the source
VM may be lost. This is expected, as the template creation process runs
Sysprep on the target VM. To continue, click Yes.
6. On the Configure Hardware page, you can change default settings

for CPU, memory and other hardware components. When complete,
clickNext.
Important: Under the Bus Configuration heading, make sure to verify that
the virtual hard disk containing the operating system has the Contains
theoperating system for the virtual machine checkbox selected. If this is
not the case, any VM deployments you attempt with this template will fail.
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Figure 12.22 The Configure Hardware screen
7. On the Configure Operating System page, you can configure the guest
operating system settings. After you have configured the guest operating
system settings, click Next.
Tip: If you want the VMs you deploy from this template to join an Active
Directory domain automatically, make sure to select Domain / Workgroup
(under the Networking heading) and provide the domain name and
credentials to join the VM to Active Directory, as shown in Figure 12.23.
Figure 12.23 The Guest Operating System screen
353
8. On the Select Library Server page, click the library server for the VM, as
shown in Figure 12.24, and then click Next.
Figure 12.24 The Select Library Server screen
9. On the Select Path page, click Browse as shown in Figure 12.25.
Figure 12.25 The Select Path screen
10. When you click the Browse button, you will be presented with the Select
Destination Folder screen shown in Figure 12.26, where you can select
thefolder in the library share where you want to store the VM template.
Select the folder where you intend to store your VM templates, and then
click OK.
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Note: If you like to keep things tidy, you can click the Explore directory link,
which opens File Explorer to the root of the library, allowing you to create
folders of your own.
Figure 12.26 The Select Destination Folder screen
11. On the Summary page, you can review your selections to confirm
thesettings for the template, and then click Create.
Figure 12.27 The Summary screen
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The Recent Jobs window will then pop up, and a job named Create Template
will appear as in progress. If you double-click on the running job, you will be
presented with detailed steps of the job in progress as shown in Figure 12.28.
Figure 12.28 The Recent Jobs window
When the job completes successfully, your VM template is ready to use!
Testing Your VM template: Create and deploy a VM

fromtemplate
Its a good idea to deploy a VM to ensure your template is functional before
progressing to more advanced scenarios.
1. Start by selecting the VMs and Services workspace in the VMM
AdminConsole.
2. On the Home tab, in the Create group, click the Create Virtual Machine
drop-down arrow, and then click Create Virtual Machine as shown in
Figure 12.29. This launches the Create Virtual Machine wizard.
Figure 12.29 Launching the Create Virtual Machine wizard
3. On the Select Source page, select the radio button labeled Use an
existing virtual machine, VM template, or virtual hard disk. Click Browse
and select the VM template you just created, as shown in Figure 12.30.
Figure 12.30 The Select Source screen
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4. In the Select Virtual Machine Source dialog box, click the appropriate VM
template as shown in Figure 12.31, and then click OK. (Your VM template
name may vary from that in the figure)
Figure 12.31 Selecting the source VM template
5. On the Select Source page, click Next .

6. On the Specify Virtual Machine Identity page, enter a name for your VM
and provide a description as shown in Figure 12.32, and then click Next.
Figure 12.32 Selecting the source VM template
7. On the Configure Hardware page, either select the profile you want to
use from the Hardware profile list, or configure the hardware settings
manually. After you have configured the hardware settings, click Next.
Note: If you configure a network adapter to use static IP addresses,

youmust also set the MAC address to static.
8. On the Select Destination page, select the Place the virtual machine on
ahost option as shown in Figure 12.33
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Figure 12.33 Selecting the destination where the VM will be placed
9. On the Select Host page, view the ratings, select the Hyper-V host on
which you want to deploy the VM as shown in Figure 12.34, and then
clickNext.
The host suggestions are based on a 0-5 star rating generated by

theIntelligent Placement feature of VMM. If you want to read more
about how this VMM feature works, see Understanding Virtual Machine
Placement andRatings in VMM on the Microsoft website.
Figure 12.34 The Select Host screen
10. On the Configure Settings page, review the settings for the VM. This is
your opportunity to change placement location (drive letter and path), VM
network settings, VM name, etc. as shown in Figure 12.35
In Locations, either accept the default VM path on the host for storing
theVM files or click Browse to specify a different location. Optionally
select the Add this path to the list of default virtual machine paths
onthehost check box.
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In Operating System Settings, click Identity Information. You can

either accept or change the computer name.
In Networking, you can click a network adapter to view the configured
network settings.
In Machine Resources, click Virtual Hard Disk, review and optionally
modify the settings and then click Next.
Figure 12.35 The Configure Settings screen
11. On the Add Properties page, you can configure the action to take
when the host starts or stops. To prevent the VM from being migrated
by PRO ordynamic optimization (the VMM features that dynamically
distribute guest load across Hyper-V host clusters), you can also select
theExclude virtual machine from optimization actions check box shown
in Figure12.36. When you are finished with this step, click Next.
Figure 12.36 The Add Properties screen
12. On the Summary page, confirm the settings and then click Create.
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Orchestration concepts for advanced VM

deployment scenarios
Before diving hands-on into a more advanced orchestration example, it will be
helpful to take just a couple of minutes to learn a few basic concepts related to
Orchestrator. Orchestrator automation capabilities are based on the concept of
runbooks (sometimes referred to as workflows), which are visual representations
of your datacenter processes as they are automated in Orchestrator. You create
runbooks by dragging and dropping activities into aworkspace in theRunbook
Designer (the primary administration andauthoring interface of Orchestrator)
and connecting them with links, asshown in Figure 12.37
Figure 12.37 The Runbook Designer Console in Orchestrator 2012

Runbook Automation (RBA) is the ability to define, build, orchestrate, manage
and report on runbooks that support system and network operational
processes. This capability allows IT professionals to automate tasks in
aVisio-like interface with a minimal need for programming and scripting
(notice that this is minimal need for scripting, not without scripting).
RBA using Orchestrator can cross multiple IT management disciplines in
asingle automation sequence, integrating multiple IT management tools
andinteracting with all types of infrastructure elements to automate
processes ranging from simple, such as automating self-service deployment
of a VM, to the complex, such as automating self-service deployment of a
group of VMs (a service). You can easily incorporate additional steps, such
as sending the requestor an email notification that his VM is ready, or even
adding therequestors departmental group to the local administrators
group in theVM(s), which you would likely find much more challenging with
script alone. While Orchestrator reduces the need for scripting, it does not
eliminate theneed for PowerShell in managing Hyper-V. As you have seen
in the previous chapters of this book, Hyper-V cmdlets in Windows Server
2012 are fantastic for carrying out a variety of administrative tasks remotely
and in bulkall without the need for the Windows UI. Try using PowerShell
to manage Hyper-V on Windows Server 2012 on a daily basis, where it meets
aneed not met by System Center.
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Runbook automation (Orchestration) is really taking automation to thenext

level. In the sections that follow, you will learn about some of the core
principles of runbook automation in Orchestrator, helping paint a picture
of the possibilities of Hyper-V and virtualization management with System
Center2012.
Activities and integration packs

Orchestrator comes with several dozen product-agnostic activities that perform
a variety of functions; these are known as Standard Activities. To expand
andcustomize the functionality of Orchestrator, you can add additional
product-specific activities, contained in packages known as integration packs
(IPs). Currently, there are System Center IPs with product-specific activities
available for each member product in the System Center 2012 suite, as well as
many third-party applications, including several network monitoring platforms
and service desk products. You can register and deploy integration packs
using the Deployment Manager interface. You can even download community-
developed integration packs and runbook samples from codeplex.com
ortheTechNet Gallery.
The activities in the VMM 2012 RTM Integration pack are shown below.
Create Checkpoint
Create New Disk from VHD
Create Network Adapter
Create New Disk
Create User Role
Create VM from Template
Create VM from VHD
Create VM from VM
Get Checkpoint
Get Disk
Get Network Adapter
Get User Role
Get VM
Manage Checkpoint
Move VM
Remove User Role
Remove VM
Repair VM
Resume VM
Run VMM PowerShell
Script
Shut Down VM
Start VM
Stop VM
Suspend VM
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Update Disk
Update Network Adapter
Update VM
Update User Role Property
Update User Role Quota
In the Service Pack 1 release of System Center 2012, several new activities were
added to the VMM 2012 Integration Pack to make automating deployment
of services instances from VMM service templates to Hyper-V even easier.
Thenew activities introduced in Service Pack 1 for Orchestrator 2012 include:
Apply Pending Service Update
Configure Service Deployment
Deploy Service
Get Cloud
Get Service
Get Service Configuration
Get Service Template
Get Tier
Get User Role Quota
Get VM Host
Get VM Network
Get VM Subnet
Monitor VMM Job
Scale Tier In
Scale Tier Out
Set Pending Service Update
Stop Service
Each activity performs a specific action when it is executed (the precise
behavior depends on how the activity is configured by the runbook author).
Once an activity has completed it will output one or more data elements
andtrigger any activities that are linked to it. For example, the runbook in
Figure 12.38 contains an activity that monitors a folder. When a file enters
the folder, the activity triggers a second activity to move the file to an archive
directory (there's a very basic backup approach!), which in turn links an activity
to log an event.
Figure 12.38 Sample Runbook
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Adding decision logic to your runbooks

Links connect activities in a runbook, directing the flow of activity and data
within a runbook based on conditions encountered at runtime. Whenever you
create a link in a runbook, by default it is configured to trigger the next activity
in the runbook when the previous one succeeds. However, links also provide
filtering; this allows you to limit the data arriving at the following activity in
the runbook and control the flow of runbook execution based on the result
of activity execution. Link conditions provide a set of author-configurable
functions for creating complex decision logic involving text, numeric or time-
related data. Links configured with conditional filtering logic as described
here are called Conditional Links. Configuring runbooks with multiple
branches driven by conditional links is a concept called branching. To make
your runbooks visually more intuitive, you can also change the display name
of activities and link labels to make them more descriptive of their purpose
in therunbook. You can even change the link color to highlight success
andfailure branches (green and red are recommended) within your runbooks.
For example, look at the runbook depicted in Figure 12.39, where the link
labeled VM deployed successfully is configured to trigger the next activity in
the runbook (Send Email (success)) only if the Create VM from Template activity
returns success.
Figure 12.39 Sample VM provisioning runbook implementing conditional links

andbranching
Responding based on runtime conditions

You can configure conditional filtering in link properties, using both include
and exclude logic. The Include tab specifies the conditions that will allow
data to flow to the next activity in the runbook. The Exclude tab specifies
theconditions that will cause data to be excluded from the next activity in
therunbook. The properties of the VM deployment failed link in the sample
VM provisioning runbook in Figure 12.39 above implements logic to send
afailure email only if the VM deployment fails. The properties of this link are
shown in Figure 12.40. The branches of the runbook that deal with failure
conditions in orchestration are called the failure branches of the runbook.
While labeling and color-coding those links in red is not required, it makes it
very easy for fellow administrators to interpret exactly what your runbook is
doing at-a-glance.
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Figure 12.40 - Link properties of Service Running link from runbook in Figure 12.39
Note: When implementing conditional filtering, bear in mind that rules

ontheExclude tab always supersede the rules on the Include tab.
With the basics out of the way, youre ready to create your first runbook to
deploy VMs to Hyper-V via the web with System Center!
Building your first runbook: Deploying a VM

fromOrchestrator
Have you already installed Orchestrator? If not, go back to the Installing
VMM and Orchestrator section earlier in this chapter and refer to
theinstallation resources provided.
Doing is the fastest path to learning, and the instructions here will help you
build your first runbook. This runbook will allow you (or any self-service user
you authorize) to deploy one or more VMs from Orchestrator, leveraging
theHyper-V VM template youve already created in VMM. The runbook you
will create is shown in Figure 12.39. Now take a look at the process of creating
therunbook.
1. In the Runbook Designer, right-click the Runbooks node and select New
Runbook as shown in Figure 12.41.
Figure 12.41 Creating a new runbook in the Runbook Designer interface
2. Next, rename the runbook. Right-click on New Runbook and select

Rename, as shown in Figure 12.42.
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Figure 12.42 Renaming your runbook
3. Rename the runbook 1. Deploy VM from Template.
Figure 12.43 Renamed runbook
4. Next, drag the following activities onto to the palette in the Runbook
Designer:
From the Runbook Control category, select and drag Initialize Data
onto the palette.
From the SC 2012 Virtual Machine Manager category, select and drag
Create VM From Template onto the palette.
From the Notification category, select and drag Initialize Data onto
thepalette.
Your runbook-in-progress should look similar to Figure 12.44.
Figure 12.44 VM provisioning runbook (in progress)
5. Next, you will connect the activities your runbook.

Move your mouse over the Monitor Folder activity in the Workspace.
On the right side there will appear a small arrow (called the link
handle) as shown in Figure 12.45.
Click and hold on the arrow, then drag it to the Move File activity next
to the Monitor Folder activity:
365
Figure 12.45 The link handle to connect runbook activities

Your runbook should now look similar to Figure 12.46.
Figure 12.46 VM provisioning runbook (in progress) with links in place
6. Next, configure the parameters of the Initialize Data activity (this is

theactivity that accepts input from the user). Double-click the activity to
open its Properties.
7. Click the Add button, which will add a parameter named Parameter 1.
Click on Parameter 1 and type EmailAddress in the box provided, as
shown in figure 12.47.
8. Click the Add button again, which will add a parameter named
Parameter2. Click on Parameter 2 and type VMName in the box
provided. When complete, the properties of this activity should look like
Figure 12.47.
Figure 12.47 Runbook inputs in the Initialize Data activity
9. Now, double-click the Create VM From Template activity to open

theactivity Properties (Figure 12.48). Set each of the values as directed
below. Use the ellipsis ( ) button to browse to the value anytime it
isoffered.
366
Destination Type: Host

Destination: Select your Hyper-V host
Path: Click the ellipsis and select the path
Figure 12.48 Properties of the Create VM From Template activity
10. For the VM Name parameter, you will configure the Create VM From
Template activity to derive its value from the VM Name parameter using
what is known as Published Data.
To configure this runbook activity to dynamically populate a field with
published data, right-click in the VM Name field and from the menu,
select Subscribe Published Data, as shown in Figure 12.49. This
opens the Published Data window.
Figure 12.49 Adding published data to a runbook activity
11. In the Activity drop-down, make sure the Initialize Data activity
is selected. In the list of properties, select VMName, as shown
inFigure12.50.
367
Figure 12.50 Selecting VMName from user input (published data)

The result should look similar to the image in Figure 12.51.
Figure 12.51 Results of Create VM From Template activity configuration
12. To provide a value for Source Template Name, use the ellipsis to select
theVM template you created earlier.
13. For Cloud Capability Profile, leave the default value.
14. Next, double-click the Send Email (success) activity to configure
properties of this activity.
Subject: To configure the Subject: field (which will serve as the subject
line of the email sent when the VM is provisioned successfully), you
will use a combination of free text and subscribe-to-published-data
technique you learned earlier. The subject line should read:
VM {VM Name from Create VM From Template} created successfully
Recipients: Click the Add button and use the subscribe-to-
published-data technique to configure the runbook to dynamically
add{EmailAddress from Initialize Data}, which will dynamically add
the email address supplied by the user at runtime (Figure 12.52).
368
Figure 12.52 Configuring email notification of successful VM deployment

Message: Using the subscribe-to-published-data technique you
learned earlier along with free text, create a message body indicating
to theuser that the VM has been created successfully. You could even
addinstructions here explaining how to connect to the VM with RDP if
you like!
Figure 12.53 SMTP server configuration in the Send Email activity
15. In this task, you will modify the link to define the failure path
forrunbooklogic.
Double-click on the link between the Create VM From Template
andthe Send Email (failure) activity.
On the right side in the condition field there is an underlined success
parameter. Click on this parameter and select the failed checkbox.
Select the Options tab.
Click on the black line next to Color and select a red color.
On the General tab, change the link name to VM deployment failed
and then click Finish.
369
Figure 12.54 Configuring link logic to trigger failure notification
16. Repeat the process for the success branch of the runbook by double-
clicking on the link between the Create VM From Template and the Send
Email (success) activity. Change the color to green (Figure 12.55) and
thelabel to VM deployed successfully.
Figure 12.55 Configuring link appearance in the success branch
17. Click Check In on the navigation bar above the palette to save your work.
And that is it! You have created your first runbook! Now you will test your
runbook to verify that it works using the Runbook Tester.
Deploying a VM from a template in Orchestrator

Now you will test your runbook, first using the Orchestrator Runbook Tester,
then using the Orchestration console.
1. To test your runbook, click Runbook Tester on the navigation bar above
the palette, as shown in Figure 12.56. This launches the Orchestrator
Runbook Tester in a new window.
370
Figure 12.56 Launching the Runbook Tester from the Runbook Designer
2. To start your runbook, click Run ( ) on the navigation bar in Runbook

Tester as shown in Figure 12.57.
Figure 12.57 The Runbook Tester Interface
3. You will be prompted to supply the values defined in the Initialize Data
activity. Supply a valid email address and VM name of your choosing
andthen click OK, as shown in Figure 12.58.
Figure 12.58 Providing input to your VM Provisioning runbook
371
Your runbook will now run to completion, with the Run VM From Template
activity contacting the VMM server to provision a new VM (using the VM
template you created earlier and specified in this runbook). If the VM is
created successfully, you will receive an email indicating success as shown in
Figure12.59. If VM provisioning fails, you will receive a failure notification.
Tip: After runbook execution completes, look at the detailed logging

information shown in the bottom center of the Runbook Tester.
Figure 12.59 Email notification of successful VM deployment

If you like, you can also test your runbook using the Orchestration Console.
1. Click Orchestration Console on the navigation bar above the palette,
asshown in Figure 12.56. This launches the Orchestrator Runbook Tester in
Internet Explorer.
2. Next, in the Runbooks pane on the left, select the folder containing
yourrunbook.
3. In the center pane, select the Runbooks tab and then select your runbook
as shown in Figure 12.60.
Figure 12.60 Initiating your runbook from the Orchestration Console
4. Click Start Runbook in the Actions pane as shown in Figure 12.60. This will
start runbook execution and open the Start Runbook interface.
5. Enter values for EmailAddress and VMName as with the previous test.
6. Select your runbook server from the Available Runbook Server(s) window
and move it to the Selected Runbook Server(s) window as shown in
Figure12.61.
372
Figure 12.61 Providing input to your VM Provisioning runbook

7. Click the Start button to provision your VM. The remainder of the runbook
execution process is just as described above.
Troubleshooting your runbooks

Your runbook may not execute perfectly on your first attempt, so you will
likely find it helpful to know a bit about how to troubleshoot your automation
sequences. However, you may have noticed that the Orchestration Console
lacks the detailed logging info present in the Runbook Tester. Every runbook,
when executed, generates a log that you can view in the Runbook Designer
(provided object-level is enabled). The Log and Log History windows
within theRunbook Designer will display the real-time and historic logs for
theselected runbook.
The Log window displays the logging of the current run of the runbook.
The log displays when the runbook started, and the activity currently
running in the runbook will have the running label beside it. The log
enables you to determine if there are any problems with specific activities
in your runbook.
The Log History window, shown in Figure 12.62, displays all previous
executions of the runbook you selected. The time that the runbook started
and ended is displayed at the top of each log entry, and the result of each
activity execution is displayed for each entry.
Figure 12.62 Log and log history tabs in the Runbook Designer
373
Double-clicking an activity log entry in the log lets you view the result of
theexecution of that activity. The Details dialog displays the Name, Type,
Status, Start Time and End Time of the activity. If enabled, the Details dialog
also allows you to browse the Published Data of the activity when it was
executed. Use this information when troubleshooting your runbook.
However, because of the overhead and additional database space it consumes,
object-level logging is disabled by default. When youre testing a runbook, you
can turn on object-level logging for insight into the output of each activity in
your runbook.
1. To enable object-level logging, right-click the runbook and select
Properties, as shown in Figure 12.63
Figure 12.63 Accessing runbook properties

On the Logging tab, select the checkboxes next to the Store Activity-specific
Published Data and Store Common Published Data.
Figure 12.64 Enabling object-level logging settings
374
Leveraging advanced deployment capabilities

inSystemCenter 2012
Just as with orchestration and runbook concepts, you will take a quick look
at some advanced virtualization deployment capabilities in System Center
2012 Virtual Machine Manager (VMM). Specifically, you will move beyond
VM templates to a new template model in the latest release of VMM called
aservice template.
VM templates offer some great benefits, most important, the ability to deploy
multiple VMs with very consistent configurations. At the same time, VM
templates have some limitations, including:
You can only deploy a single VM at a time. Once deployed, a VM doesnt
contain a reference back to the VM template from which it was deployed.
There is no mechanism to track the configuration of a deployed VM
against the template from which it was deployed.
There is no way to update a VM template and then easily apply those
changes against deployed VMs.
To address these shortcomings in System Center 2012 VMM, Microsoft added

a new template type called a service template, as well as a number of new
profile types. A service template can contain definitions for one or more VMs,
including multiple machine tiers. VMs within a service template can be of
different typesan example is a multi-tier web application. A service template
can define the front-end web tier, the middle tier business logic server,
andtheback-end database tier. Each tier can define different configurations
hardware configuration, O/S configuration and application configuration.
A service template is a source for service deployment and a configuration
baseline for deployed services. Deployed instances of services maintain
a reference back to the service template from which they were deployed,
enabling a basis for comparison of current settings to those of the original
template from which the VMs were deployed. With the many new application
and networking features in VMM and Hyper-V, this may come in very handy
when you want to check VMs for any drift from the expected configuration.
This opens up the capabilities for updating a deployed service by
updating the service template from which it originated, then applying
those changes to the deployed service instances, often without impacting
applicationavailability.
You can configure machine tiers as scale-out tiers where appropriate,
which enables dynamically deploying additional VMs in the tier up to your
specified maximum.
Service templates also introduce application deploymentcurrent support
is for three first class application deployment technologies:
WebDeploy for IIS applications
Server App-V for virtualized server applications
SQL DAC abstract data tier in SQL Server 2008 R2
375
Note: First Class application deployment technologies refer to

thefact that the metadata for deployment of these technologies is fully
understoodmeaning that configurations of these technologies can
becustomized.
For additional reading on the advanced capabilities of service templates
inVMM, see the topics under 'Creating Profiles and Templates in VMM on
theMicrosoft site here.
For application settings that cannot be controlled through any UI setting,

service templates allow for execution of scripts (PowerShell, VB, batch, SQL)
before and after significant deployment steps within the service template,
such as deployment of a VM or an application. Scripts defined in the service
template and executed as part of the service deployment are called generic
command executions (GCEs).
Figure 12.65 depicts a running service instance encompassing an N-tier
application containing web, application and database servers with WebDeploy
and Server App-V applications, and SQL data tier deployed entirely from a
service template in VMM 2012. Notice how each logical component (service,
machine tier, VM and application) have unique icons so the object type is easy
to identify.
Figure 12.65 Service instance deployed via a VMM service template
Best practices for VM deployment in Hyper-V and System Center 2012:

The Microsoft best practice for VM deployment (to Hyper-V or any
hypervisor supported by System Center 2012) is to wrap all VM templates
in service templates, whether it will be single VM or multi-tier, multi-VM
configuration, and then deploy VMs from the service template. This allows
for the potential to take advantage of all service template features in any
deployed VM. VMs deployed from standalone VM templates CANNOT be
retrofitted to service templates.
376
Configuring service templates

Service templates are authored in the new Service Designer within VMM.
The VMs are defined within the Service Designer with settings such as tiers,
applications, OS settings, networking requirements and Load Balancers, which
today include BigIP F5, NetScaler and Windows Server NLB. Service templates
are not fire-and-forget objects; they are always linked with the deployed
service, and the template can be used to update deployed services.
Typically when you are creating a service template, deployment-specific
information like hosts and load balancers is not availableyou just know you
need a host for the VM or a load balancer for the service. While it is outside
the scope of this book, it is worth noting that service templates in VMM 2012
SP1 can be configured to deploy the service instance not only to Hyper-V on
Windows Server 2012, but also many of the most recent versions of VMware,
including vSphere 5.0 and 5.1.
A look at the Service Designer

The Service Designer presents a simple drag-and-drop interface. When
aservice is first created, the author selects a basic framework (e.g., number
of tiers, whether or not a load balancer is required, etc.) for the service.
Thetemplate is then filled in using objects from the library palette.
The Ribbon at the top provides the list of actions that can be performed in
theDesigner
In the Designer Canvas shown in the next figure, you are looking at the service
template for a StockTrader service that has four tiersWeb Tier, two business
logic Middle Tiers and SQL Tier. All the tiers are connected to a logical network
called Redmond.
The Details pane at the bottom provides the property settings for the selected
object in the canvas.
Figure 12.66 VMM 2012 Service Designer Interface
377
Service template components

With System Center 2012 VMM, the service template provides a new way
to model a service. Service templates contain the definitions for VMs, their
connectivity, application definitions, and they are the starting point for a VM
ora service. Service templates have the following components:
Service template: The service template itself, consisting of one or more
computer tiers. You can configure additional settings, such as deployment
order and servicing order (if the template contains multiple computer tiers)
to control the order of operations during deployment and VM servicing after
deployment.
Computer tier: A computer tier (also called a machine tier) consists of exactly
one VM template. There can be one or more computer tiers. Computer tiers
can also be configured with minimum, maximum and default scale-out settings.
These determine the minimum, maximum and default number of VMs hosted
in the tier for use in deployment and capacity-related scale-out andscale-in
operations.
VM templates:
VM templates contain Hardware Profile, Guest OS Profile and reference
toa VHD in the library.
In the Guest OS profile, you can define what Roles/Features need
tobeinstalled.
VM templates have one application profile, which in turn has one
ormore application deployments WebDeploy, SQL DAC or Server
App-V packages. Application deployments always have references
totheapplication bits in the library.
VM templates can also contain a SQL profile, for installing a SQL server
instance in a VHD that contains a Sysprep instance of SQL 2008 R2.
Thisconsists of one or more SQL deployments that can have SQL scripts
and library resources for the SQL scripts.
Generic command executions: Custom EXEs can run during application
deployment. Examples might be installing a MSI package or enabling
firewallrules.
Load balancer templates: Load balancer templates can be setup for each
computer tier that needs to be scaled out.
Application host template: In an enterprise environment it is typical that
SQL databases are deployed to existing physical SQL servers. To support this
scenario, service templates can contain one or more host profiles for deploying
SQL DAC packages to existing physical servers.
Global settings: Any settings that need to be overridden as a part of service
deployment are available at the service template level as service settings.
378
Creating a service template

Creating a basic service template is a relatively simple, wizard-driven process
inthe VMM Administrator Console.
1. Begin by opening the console and selecting the Library workspace.
2. Next, right-click the Service Templates node in the navigation (left)
pane of the runbook and select Create Service Template as shown in
Figure12.67 to launch the New Service Template wizard.
Figure 12.67 Launching the New Service Template wizard
1. On the New Service Template screen, enter a name for your template
inthe spaces provided. This example uses the name WebApp Service with
a release of 1.0, as shown in Figure 12.68.
Figure 12.68 Choosing a service template pattern

2. Click OK to open the service template in the Service Designer interface
described earlier in this chapter and shown in Figure 12.69.
379
Figure 12.69 The Service Template Designer interface
3. In the navigation (left) pane, find the VM template you created earlier
anddrag it onto the machine tier box in the palette of the Service
Designer interface (also shown in Figure 12.69).
4. When you select the machine tier in Service Designer, the tier settings
will be shown at the bottom of the designer interface, as shown
inFigure12.70.
Figure 12.70 Machine tier settings presented in the Template Designer
5. To configure the advanced settings of the machine tier, double-click

onthemachine tier to open its Properties, as shown in Figure 12.71.
Onthe General tab, select the checkbox labelled This computer tier can
be scaled out. Set the Maximum instance count to 3.
380
Figure 12.71 General settings in Tier Properties
6. On the Hardware Configuration tab, make sure that your VM template

in the machine tier has network connectivity as shown in Figure 12.72.
VM templates within service templates that are not connected cannot
bedeployed.
Also in the network properties, make sure the Dynamic IP or Static IP
radio button is configured. If you do not have a DHCP server in your
environment, you will need to configure a static pool of IP Addresses,
as described on the Microsoft TechNet site here.
Figure 12.72 Hardware Configuration settings in settings in Tier Properties
381
7. On the OS Configuration tab, make any changes to the OS configuration

of your VM template (embedded in this service template). Dont move
on to the next tab yet, as there are some additional settings to explore
that will enable advanced deployment capabilities available only within
servicetemplates.
Figure 12.73 OS Configuration settings in Tier Properties
8. While still on the OS Configuration tab, under the Roles and Features
heading, select Roles as shown in Figure 12.74. For this example, select
the following roles and role services: Web Server (IIS), IIS Management
Console, Web Server, Application Deployment (and all children), Common
HTTP Features (and all children) and finally, Health and Diagnostics
(andallchildren).
Figure 12.74 Choosing OS Roles for installation in Tier Properties
382
9. Under Roles and Features, next select the Features node as shown in
Figure 12.75. Select Background Intelligent Transfer Service (BITS).
Figure 12.75 Choosing OS Features in Tier Properties
10. Moving on to the Application Configuration tab, you will see the area
where application first-class deployment and GCEs (remember these?) can
be configured.
Figure 12.76 Application Configuration settings in Tier Properties
11. On the SQL Server Configuration tab, you can configure the settings
for aSysprep SQL instance inside your VM template. In this case you
dont have a Sysprep instance, so leave the defaults and continue
tothenexttab.
Figure 12.77 SQL Server Configuration settings in Tier Properties
383
Note: Although the Application Configuration and SQL Server Configuration

tabs appear even in VM templates, these additional configuration features
are only functional inside service templates!
12. On the Custom Properties tab, you can add custom fieldsname/value
pairs that can be used to store values for any of your custom automation,
integration or reporting needs. Accept the defaults and move on
tothenext tab.
13. On the Settings tab, you can configure quota points.
14. On the Dependencies tab, you will see listed any components
this service template requires (e.g., VM templates, OS, hardware
andapplicationprofiles).
15. With your service template configuration now complete, click the View
Script button to view the PowerShell script (created by this wizard), which
will be run to complete the request (if desired), and then click OK.
16. Once youve configured all the settings in your template, click Save and
Validate on the ribbon to ensure the template is configured correctly,
asshown in figure 12.78.
Figure 12.78 Save and Validate service template settings
If there are any isssues with your service template, the issues will be
detailed at the bottom of the Service Designer, as shown in Figure 12.79.
If any issues appear, read the explanation provided and make corrections
to the settings in your service template as required and click Save
andValidate once again.
Figure 12.79 Issues detected in validation of service template configuration
Congratulations, your service template is complete! Next, you will try to deploy
a service instance to your Hyper-V server.
384
Deploying a service instance

Now that you have a service template in place in your VMM instance, its time
to deploy your first service to Hyper-V. After a service template has been
created or imported into VMM, it can be deployed either through VMM itself,
from Orchestrator (if you create a runbook to do so), the VMM Self-Service
Portal or some other service (for example, System Center 2012 App Controller
or Service Manager). As part of the deployment, you can customize computer
names, configure passwords or update other instance-specific settings.
Iftheapplication requires specific settings, for example a SQL connection
string, you can supply this at deploy time as well.
In addition, you can allow the same service template to be deployed into
different environmentsfor example, development and production. Simply
use the Import and Export wizards in the Library workspace of the VMM
Administration Console (see more on importing and exporting service
templates here).
Service deployment behind-the-scenes: The basic deployment steps carried out
by VMM are as follows:
Machine tiers are deployed based on the defined deployment order.
VMs are created, powered on, and OS profile settings applied, such as
joining the VM to a domain, etc.
The VMM Guest agent is installed into the VMthe VMM Guest Agent
allows application installation within the VM.
Optional pre-installation GCE are run.
Applications are installed.
Optional post-installation GCE are run.
If applicable, the VM is added to a load balancer.
1. In the Library workspace, select the Service Templates node andthen
theservice template you created previously. Click the Configure
Deployment button on the ribbon (Figure 12.80). The Create Service
screen opens.
Figure 12.80 Configuring deployment of a new service instance
2. In the Create Service window, click the Browse button and select
theservice template you just created from the window provided, as shown
in Figure 12.81
385
3. Provide a descriptive name for your service in the box provided, select
thehost group containing your Hyper-V server in the Destination
dropdown list and click OK, also shown in Figure 12.81.
Figure 12.81 - Assigning Service Name and Deployment Location
4. This opens the Deployment Preview shown in Figure 12.82. Here you can
change service settings (e.g., VM name, administrator password). After
making any necessary adjustments, click Refresh Preview in the ribbon to
refresh recommended placement settings.
Note: If you have multiple Hyper-V servers, the placement recommendation

is made automatically by the Intelligent Placement feature in VMM. Read
more about this feature on the Microsoft TechNet site here.
Figure 12.82 Viewing VMM Hyper-V host placement recommendations
5. Finally, click Deploy Service on the ribbon of the Deployment Preview

window to deploy your service.
386
Figure 12.83 The Deploy Service button (on the ribbon)
6. Youll be prompted one last time with a Deploy service pop-up, where
you will have the opportunity to view the PowerShell (created by this
wizard), which will be used to deploy your service. Click Deploy to initiate
theservice deployment.
Figure 12.84 Final deployment confirmation and the View Script button
7. Navigate to the VMs and Services workspace of your VMM Administrator

Console, where your service instance should appear almost instantly,
reflecting a status of Deploying while the deployment is in progress.
Figure 12.85 Service instance deployment in progress
387
8. If you would like to view the progress of your service deployment

atamore granular level of detail, navigate to the Jobs workspace and look
for a job in progress named Create Service Instance.
Figure 12.86 Service instance deployment job details
Congratulations! When the job completes successfully, you will have

successfully deployed your first service. While this was just a basic example,
it provides you with a base of knowledge that will help you progress to more
advanced Hyper-V deployment scenarios.
Hyper-V self-service deployment

While a deep dive into virtualization self-service is beyond the scope of this
book, you will no doubt be interested in how to make all of the deployment
and servicing capabilities youve learned accessible to the end users in your
organization. Fortunately, Microsoft provides a number of options based
onyour deployment needs. The capabilities, pros and cons of each option
aredescribed here.
VMM 2012 Self-Service Portal

The VMM self-service portal has been around in previous versions,
butreceives little attention in conversations around Windows Server 2012
Hyper-V andSystem Center 2012. Intended to be a departmental solution
forselfservice in test and development environments, VMM lacks the features
of some of the other self-service portal options offered by Microsoft, with no
support for multi-tenancy, Orchestrator runbooks or visibility into the latest
features of VMM templates.
Orchestrator Web Console

The Orchestrator Web Console, which you have you seen in this chapter,
does enable deployment of Hyper-V guests via Orchestrator runbooks
communicating with VMM 2012, but with a minimal interface. There is no
validation of user input nor management capability beyond what is provided
inrunbooks that you author. As a result, this interface receives little attention
indiscussions related to virtualization self-service
388
System Center 2012 App Controller

App Controller is a Silverlight-based web portal that provides a common
selfservice experience that can help you easily configure, deploy and manage
VMs and services across private and public clouds. App Controller is very
lightweight and quick to deployjust one of the reasons it is a popular
selfservice portal for virtualization in private cloud and datacenter scenarios
involving Hyper-V and System Center 2012 technologies.
Other advantages of App Controller include its native support for the new
features in VMM, including service template and delegation of access
and capacity (clouds and tenants). Additionally, App Controller supports
deployment of Hyper-V hosts in Windows Azure, providing access to both
private cloud and public cloud resources in a single pane of glass.
The primary cons to using App Controller for self-service are its lack
ofextensibility in customizing the portal interface, as well as a lack of
integration with service desk solutions, resulting in a change management
challenge for some organizations.
System Center 2012 Service Manager Self-Service Portal

System Center 2012 Service Manager (SCSM) is the service desk solution from
Microsoft, not only providing integration with VMM, Orchestrator and other
System Center components, but also a highly customizable and extensible
selfservice portal. SCSM supports integration of Orchestrator runbooks into
service offerings presented in a central Service Catalog, as well as robust
approval and notification workflow capabilities. Because SCSM hosts the CMDB,
integration with incident, service and change management is automatic.
For organizations wishing to implement an extensible, enterprise virtualization
self-service strategy, SCSM is the most robust option.
You should now have a better picture of the key components utilized
inHyper-V management and automation in the enterprise.
389
About the Author

Brien Posey is a freelance technical writer who has
received Microsoft's MVP award 9 times for his work with
Exchange Server, Windows Server, IIS, and File Systems
Storage.
Brien has written or contributed to about three dozen
books, and has written well over 4,000 technical articles
and white papers for a variety of printed publications
andWeb sites.
In addition to his writing, Brien routinely speaks at
ITconferences and is involved in a wide variety of other
technology relatedprojects.
About Veeam Software

Veeam Software develops innovative solutions for VMware backup, Hyper-V
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Microsoft SystemCenter with VeeamManagement Pack (MP), and to HP
OperationsManager with Veeam Smart Plug-In (SPI). Veeam also provides free
virtualizationtools. Learnmore by visiting www.veeam.com.
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Hyper-V 3.0 flavors

Because Hyper-V is designed to use the servers hardware to host a number

You may need to manually enable virtualization in the servers BIOS.

Installing Windows Server 2012

Verify your installation preferences.

Click Install Now.

6. Accept the license agreement and click Next (Figure 1.5).

You must accept Microsofts license agreement.

Choose the option to perform a custom installation.

The installation process will now begin.

Deploying Hyper-V 3.0

Choose the Add Roles and Features command.

Choose the Role Based or Feature Based Installation option.

Make sure that your local server is selected.

Select the Hyper-V role.

Be sure to reserve a network adapter for host management traffic.

14. Click Next.

Post deployment tasks

Configure the hosts IP address

Configure the hosts IP address

Rename the host

Click the Change Settings link.

Click the Change button.

Enter a new computer name and click OK.

5. Click OK to acknowledge the message indicating that you must restart

Join the host to a domain

Performing an in-place upgrade from

Click the Install Now button.

4. When prompted, click on the option to go online to install updates

You should go online to get the latest updates.

5. Enter your product key and click Next.

You must accept Microsofts license agreement.

Choose the option to upgrade the existing operating system.

Take a moment to read the compatibility report.

Migrating virtual machines from Hyper-V

Exporting the virtual machines

Select the virtual machines that you wish to export.

3. Click on the Export link.

Enter an export path and click the Export button.

Importing virtual machines

Select the virtual machine that you want to import.

Choose the appropriate import type.

The import process begins when you click Finish.

The import process can take a considerable amount of time to complete,

You must connect your virtual machine to a virtual switch.

This completes the process of importing a virtual machine. Previous versions

What about clusters?

Choose the Migrate Roles option.

2. When the Migrate a Cluster Wizard launches, click Next to bypass

Enter the name of your Hyper-V 2.0 cluster.

Choose the virtual machines that you want to migrate.

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Perhaps the most important concept to understand with regard to server

Maximum RAM per

In Hyper-V 3.0, shared storage is no longer required for failover clustering.

Domain membership Domain membership isnt an absolute

Cluster name The configuration process requires that a unique name

Cluster node hardware Another important consideration is the cluster

Network adapters Hyper-V is very flexible in terms of the network

Node IP addresses As a best practice, you should assign a static IP

Cluster IP address In addition to the IP addresses assigned tophysical