News : Hyper-V

OCS 2007 R2 is now officially supported for virtualization of certain roles

Cedric Depaepe — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:04:00 GMT

We are pleased to announce official support for server virtualization for Office Communications Server 2007 R2.

We are introducing support for both a fully distributed virtualized topology across several hypervisors and for a single server virtualized topology. These topologies are supported on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V and any Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) certified partner solution (http://www.windowsservercatalog.com/svvp.aspx?svvppage=svvp.htm).

Presence, Instant Messaging (including remote access, federation, and Public IM Connectivity) and Group Chat workloads are supported. The following server roles can be deployed:

· Front-End Servers

· Back-End SQL Server 2008 64 bits

· Group Chat Channel Servers

· Group Chat Compliance Servers

· Edge Access Servers

The virtual machines must be running on Windows Server 2008 64 bits. Archiving Server and Monitoring Server (CDR Only) can be connected to a virtualized Enterprise pool, but they must run on a physical server.

The fully virtualized distributed topology has been tested to handle up to 40,000 users, including 10,000 group chat users.

Virtualization of the other workloads is not supported because of possible quality issues with real-time media. Specifically, voice, video, live meeting and desktop sharing workloads cannot be part of the virtualized deployment. Therefore audio/video/web conferencing servers, audio/video/web edge conferencing servers, dial-in conferencing, Communicator Web Access, enterprise voice, or Remote Call Control may not be deployed as part of the virtualized pool. If any one of these workloads is required, a new pool with physical servers must be deployed for those users. For more information about support for client virtualization technologies, please refer to the official support statement at: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/951152.

In order to plan both their physical and virtualized topologies, customers can use Microsoft® Office Communications Server 2007 R2 Capacity Planning Tool, which can simulate user load for the available workloads. This will help customers validating the hypervisor load and scalability before going to production.

Along with this announcement, a whitepaper detailing the tested architecture, performance, use of the Capacity Planning Tool, and a methodology to select a successful architecture can be found at: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=0a45d921-3b48-44e4-b42b-19704a2b81b0

SC DPM 2010 RC is out !!!

Cedric Depaepe — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:58:00 GMT

SC DPM 2010 RC is out, if you want to download it and test it on Hyper-V go here http://connect.microsoft.com/site840/Downloads/DownloadDetails.aspx?DownloadID=26452

An interesting article on SC DPM 2010 to backup Hyper-V here http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=c9d141cf-c839-4728-af52-928f61bebdca

Hyper-V R2/ Xenserver 5.5 : vSphere 4 product comparison

Cedric Depaepe — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:48:00 GMT

Go to the Media section to find an interesting article about this topic

Virtualization news #6

Benoit KRINGS — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 13:32:16 GMT

The FIRST System Center Virtual Machine Manager book is now available (http://bit.ly/7RqpSl)
The Offline Virtual Machine Servicing Tool v2.1 has now been released! (http://bit.ly/4BipLS)
Hyper-V Technical Information and Resources on TechNet (http://bit.ly/87teL3)
VIDEO: Hyper-V Virtual Disk Overview (http://bit.ly/51UGOZ)
Windows Server 2008 R2 Feature Components Poster (http://bit.ly/5MfaLx)
Microsoft’s Windows 7 Download Tool Re-Posted (works very well with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V server R2) (http://bit.ly/7pTzYX)
PDC session : Mark Russinovich - Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Kernel Changes (http://bit.ly/56Dw54)
Do you want to script RDS for VDI (http://bit.ly/5xwveT)
(French) Administrez Windows Server 2008 R2 en mode Server Core avec SConfig et Core Configurator 2.0 (http://bit.ly/7QuxzQ)
Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) Administration Video Series now available for download (http://bit.ly/7W02cB)
Core Configurator for Windows Server 2008 R2 available (http://bit.ly/8WifE7)
Why Hyper-V cannot boot off of SCSI disks (and why you should not care) (http://bit.ly/7yI9hf)
five free Windows Server 2008 R2 training sessions (http://bit.ly/75v6Om)
How To : Adding a Node To A VMM Managed Hyper-V Cluster (http://bit.ly/67Anrh)
Hyper-V Monitor Gadget Now Available (http://bit.ly/5Hrpjn)

Benoît KRINGS [MVUG Belgium]

Register for Beta Exam 71-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization

Benoit KRINGS — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 06:43:00 GMT

I have received an e-mail from Microsoft inviting me for the 71-659 : TS: Window Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization.
So if you have an up to date SME Profile (http://bit.ly/6K0K2u ) with the right expertise mentioned, you probably received the same e-mail:

Register for Beta Exam 71-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization

You are invited to take beta exam 71-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization. You were specifically chosen to participate in this beta because of your Microsoft Learning SME Profile or previous participation with Microsoft Learning. This opportunity will also be offered to the general public. If you pass the beta exam, the exam credit will be added to your transcript and you will not need to take the exam in its released form.

By participating in beta exams, you have the opportunity to provide the Microsoft Certification program with feedback about exam content, which is integral to development of exams in their released version. We depend on the contributions of experienced IT professionals and developers as we continually improve exam content and maintain the value of Microsoft certifications.

71-659: TS: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization counts as credit towards the following certification(s).

MCITP: Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator

Availability

Registration begins: December 1, 2009

Beta exam period runs: December 4, 2009– December 31, 2009

Receiving this invitation does not guarantee you a seat in the beta. We recommend that you register immediately. Beta exams have limited availability and are operated under a first-come-first-served basis. Once all beta slots are filled, no additional seats will be offered.

When the promotional code will be public I'll publish it on this blog.

Benoît KRINGS [MVUG Belgium]

New virtualization certification

Benoit KRINGS — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 17:08:00 GMT

I have just read a post from the blog "Born to learn" (http://borntolearn.mslearn.net/) (MS Learning's Blog) with the new certification :
MCITP : Windows Server 2008 R2, Virtualization Administrator

more info here : http://bit.ly/6Clohd

Don't forget to update (or create) your SME profile (http://bit.ly/6K0K2u ) to receive beta exam invitation !

Benoît KRINGS [MVUG Belgium]

Virtualization Day : All the sessions are online now !

Benoit KRINGS — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 16:25:00 GMT

All virtualization day sessions are now on TechNet Chopsticks

DESKTOP :

Virtualization Day: Desktop Virtualization – The App-V Sequencing Process

Virtualization Day: MED-V with Windows 7

Virtualization Day: Leveraging the advantages of Virtualization with HP Blade System

Virtualization Day: Desktop Virtualization: Providing You with Clear Guidance

Virtualization Day: Desktop of the future – notes from the field

Virtualization Day: Building a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure using Citrix and Microsoft technology

Virtualization Day: Desktop Virtualization - Microsoft Application Virtualization Explained

SERVER

Virtualization Day: Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V

Virtualization Day: Disaster Recovery and Failover Clustering

Virtualization Day: Security Architecture and Best Practices for Hyper-V

Virtualization Day: Storage and Hyper-V: The Choices You Can Make

Virtualization Day: Microsoft’s Builds the Foundation for your Private Cloud

Virtualization Day: Citrix Essentials for Hyper-V

Enjoy !!!

Virtualization News

Benoit KRINGS — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:11:15 GMT

A Hyper-V update rollup package is available for Windows Server 2008 R2 http://bit.ly/6XZqwD
MVUG UK Article on MED-V Architectural Design Restrictions http://bit.ly/57tvNf
MDOP: Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) article on www.labo-microsoft.com (French) http://bit.ly/7sEhug
Whitepaper : Running Microsoft Office Communications Server 2007 R2 (OCS) in a Virtualized Topology version 1.2 http://bit.ly/4XA501
Hyper-V pass-through disk performance vs. fixed size VHD files and dynamic VHD files in Windows Server 2008 R2 http://bit.ly/67baRN
Fabricem blog's : 1er pas avec SCVMM 2008 R2 - Mise en oeuvre de PRO – Installation et Configuration (French) http://bit.ly/4KOHMl
MVUG UK Blog Post : Guest Operating System Support - Comparing MED-V with XP Mode on Windows 7 http://bit.ly/4FmUf8
Virtual PC guy's Blog : Hyper-V and Domain Controllers – Demo Tips and Tricks http://bit.ly/4NISPR
HP has released "Implementing Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2". : http://bit.ly/7UIv47
Deploying Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 on USB Flash Drive http://bit.ly/8ZfoHC
Announcing App-V 4.6 RC and integration with Office 2010 Beta! http://bit.ly/5JZWj0

Benoît KRINGS [MVUG Belgium]

TechNet event - Virtualization day - 17 nov 2009 - Utopolis Mechelen

Benoit KRINGS — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:21:00 GMT

TechNet Event: Learn how to use Virtualization from the Desktop to the Datacenter

Using products that span the desktop to the data center, you can bring capacities online in real-time, as needed; streamline and provision applications, services and data on-demand; accelerate backup and recovery, and enhance availability so that your users are well protected against system failure and service interruptions.
This event will consist out of two tracks one for Data Center Virtualization and one for Desktop Virtualization.

Following technologies will be covered:

Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization
Application Virtualization
Virtual Desktop Infrastructure
Windows Server 2008 R2 - Hyper-V
System Center Virtual Machine Manager
….

More information (tracks details, speakers, …) on Arlindo’s blog and here

Registration : Server Track - Client Track

Some news…

Benoit KRINGS — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 20:43:00 GMT

- Application Virtualization 4.5 for Terminal Services white paper available for download
- Free Windows 7 Deployment E-book for IT Pros

Interesting articles :

- Installing Microsoft Application Virtualization (Part One) (Part Two)
- Windows 7 / Windows Server 2008 R2: Remote Desktop Connection Broker (Part One) (Part Two)
- More on VHD files

Hyper-V Articles

Benoit KRINGS — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 18:33:00 GMT

- Hyper-V How To: Free Tools for Hyper-V Management
- Setting up Hyper-V with a UPS
- How To: Upgrade Hyper-V to Hyper-V R2
- Hotfix needed to move R2 differencing disk to Windows Server 2008
- Microsoft Press eBook on Windows Server 2008 R2 (Free)

Technet Roadshow - The New Efficiency

Benoit KRINGS — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 08:00:29 GMT

On October 27th and 29th Microsoft is hosting two Technet roadshows on Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Exchange Server 2010. Sign up for a live launch event near you to experience hands-on labs, live demos, and hear MVPs and industry leaders demonstrate how these products can work for you. This is this year’s best chance to learn and network with your peers and explore the new efficiency.

Full details and free registration can be found on http://www.microsoft.com/belux/technetroadshow/Events.aspx

Using Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager 2007 SP1 with Hyper-V

Benoit KRINGS — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 08:15:00 GMT

In this article, you will learn about Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2007 SP1, and how it can backup Hyper-V configuration information and virtual machines. In addition to reviewing DPM 2007 SP1’s functionality, you will understand how to update Hyper-V and virtual machines for backup using DPM 2007 SP1.

read the article on VirtualizationAdmin.com website

Some virtualization news (Oct 2009)

Benoit KRINGS — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 08:08:34 GMT

The SysInternals team just announced the availability of a new tool: Disk2vhd
Windows XP Mode RTM for Windows 7 is available for download for Technet and MSDN subscribers (under Applications -> Windows Virtual PC)
Microsoft and Red Hat Complete Cooperative Technical Support <read the article>
Screencast : XP Mode in action
Whitepaper : Application Compatibility Best Practices for Remote Desktop Services
MDOP 2009 R2: What's New in MDOP for Windows 7 <read the article>
Get on the bus : the bus will be in Belgium on October 30 (registration : Mechelen – Gent)

Hyper-V : How To...

Benoit KRINGS — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:43:00 GMT

Tony Soper (from MSFT) wrote a lot of Hyper-V How to's on his blog, here is an excerpt: