Dynamic Datacenter Workshop, Dubai

by Shijaz Abdulla on 01.02.2010 at 15:03

Last week I was in Dubai for the Dynamic Datacenter workshop along with two partners from Qatar – Mannai Trading and EBLA Consulting.

Among Qatar attendees, we had Pradeep Joy and Johny John from Mannai Trading and Bashar Badr from EBLA.

The course provides IT Professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to install and configure the underlying components of a Microsoft Dynamic Data Center solution. Partners were trained on how to onboard a Proof of Concept using the DDC Toolkit. The products include Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, System Center Operations Manager, Configuration Manager, Data Protection Manager and Virtual Machine Manager.

The trainer was Jeffrey Roach from Wright & Robbins (a Microsoft vendor based in Seattle) and it was four days packed with excitement and interaction. Jeff is now in Prague, delivering the same workshop to our European partners.

While we were in Dubai, we also got a chance to attend a separate Unified Communications Sales training, which included a hands-on user experience of Microsoft UC solutions.

Categories:  'Partners'
Tags:  'Dubai, Dynamic Datacenter, system center, unified communications, virtualization, Workshop'
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Dual booting Windows Server 2008 R2 with Windows 7 using VHD booting

by Shijaz Abdulla on 05.11.2009 at 20:38

I wanted to run Windows Server 2008 R2 in a dual boot configuration on my Windows 7 RTM laptop – so that I can demonstrate Windows Server 2008 R2 features to partners when required.

This gave me an opportunity to use the new “Boot from VHD” feature on Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2. Essentially, I would have Windows 7 on my laptop on one partition on the raw disk. The remaining space on the RAW disk (in my case 15 GB) will be allocated to a partition containing a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) file, that can be mounted to boot the computer off the VHD file. I will be installing Windows Server 2008 R2 on this VHD file.

Here’s how I went about doing it.

Since I did not have any unallocated space on my hard drive, I used the “shrink” option on drive C in Windows 7 (Computer Management) to get some free space – and got 15 GB unallocated as seen in the above screenshot.

Next, I popped in the Windows Server 2008 R2 DVD.

At the Welcome screen above, I press SHIFT+10 to launch the WinPE console.

Once you get the WinPE console, use DISKPART to prepare a partition for the Windows Server 2008 R2 VHD:

1. Type ‘DISKPART’ to launch the utility
2. Type ‘LIST DISK’ to see the list of physical disks in your machine.
3. Type ‘SEL DISK 0’ assuming you have only 1 physical disk installed
4. Type ‘CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY’ to create a primary partition out of the free space
5. Type ‘FORMAT FS=NTFS QUICK’ to quick-format the new partition on NTFS format
6. Type ‘LIST VOL’ and look at what you’ve done . Notice the asterisk next to the new partition (in my case, it’s Volume 3).
7. Type ‘ASSIGN’ to assign the next available drive letter to the selected partition.
8. Type ‘LIST VOL’ again to see what drive letter was assigned (in my case, it’s E)
9. Now for the magic: ‘CREATE VDISK FILE=E:\FILENAME.VHD MAXIMUM=15000 TYPE=EXPANDABLE’ – this creates a dynamically expandable VHD file filename.vhd on the new volume with a maximum size of 15000 MB. Keep the maximum size lesser than the size of the partition.
   
10. Notice that once you finish this command, Windows 7 detects virtual hardware “Microsoft VHD HBA” and installs it. 
    
11. Type ‘SELECT VDISK FILE=E:\filename.vhd’
12. Type ‘ATTACH VDISK’ to attach the VHD disk.
13. Type ‘CREATE PARTITION PRIMARY’ to create a primary partition inside the VHD.
14. Quick format the partition on NTFS by issuing the ‘FORMAT FS=NTFS QUICK’ command
15. Assign a drive letter V: on this volume ‘ASSIGN LETTER=V:’
16. LIST VOL to see what you’ve achieved.

• Volume 1 and 2 were pre-existing Windows 7 volumes
• Volume 3 (E:) is the disk that we created to store the VHD file
• Volume 4 (V:) is the virtual disk inside the virtual machine (uses space on E:)

Type EXIT DISKPART to close the utility and close the WinPE session.

Next, continue with the Windows Server 2008 R2 installation from Windows 7. Do not choose the upgrade option, choose the New Installation option.

Choose to install Windows on the partition you just created.

 

When installation is complete, and you restart your computer, a boot loader menu appears, where you can choose to boot Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

Categories:  'Uncategorized'
Tags:  'dual boot, virtualization, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2'
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Which Microsoft applications can I virtualize?

by Shijaz Abdulla on 24.10.2009 at 20:29

For a list of Microsoft servers and products that are tested and supported in virtualized environments, see the Microsoft KB article 957006.

Be sure to bookmark this article, as the page is regularly revised as new products are supported. As of writing this post, the page is at Revision 10.0.

Categories:  'Uncategorized'
Tags:  'Hyper-V, support, virtualization, vmware'
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Red Hat hypervisor tools to run on Windows only!

by Shijaz Abdulla on 09.09.2009 at 05:34

I read with interest a report on ZDNet this morning that the open source company Red Hat will initially offer its hypervisor management tools for Windows systems only.

According to the report, the company based its decision on the fact that Windows still leads as the operating system of choice for desktops.

A strange move this, especially from a company that usually takes the GPL (GNU Public license) route.

It is interesting to note that while Red Hat and VMware offer hypervisor management software only for their own respective hypervisors, Microsoft’s System Center suite offers hypervisor management for BOTH Hyper-V and VMware, physical machine management, virtual machine management, and application (workload) management – all integrated in a common platform – the System Center suite.

Categories:  'Uncategorized'
Tags:  'Hyper-V, hypervisor, Red Hat, system center, virtualization'
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Release Candidate for SCVMM 2008 R2 available

by Shijaz Abdulla on 10.06.2009 at 09:30

The Release Candidate (RC) for System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 is now available for download on Microsoft Connect.

The major new features included with SCVMM 2008 R2 are:

• Storage Migration: Enables migration of a VM’s storage while VM is running both within same host (with no downtime) and across other hosts (with minimum downtime).
• Live Migration Queuing: By default Windows Server 2008 R2 can do only one Live Migration at a time. SCVMM 2008 R2 allows queuing of simultaneous live migration requests and retrying later on.
• Rapid Provisioning: Allows administrators to use new SAN technologies to clone a LUN containing a VHD and present it to the host. Saves a lot of time, as the network copy (BITS) is not required.
• Host compatibility Checks: Deep compatibility tests for testing hardware compatibility are included, which allows testing to be done before attempting migration (and subsequently failing). Also includes features that will make the VM compatible with the new host before migration.
• Support for 3rd party Clustered File Systems (CFS): Support for third party clustered files systems similar to Microsoft’s Cluster Shared Volume (CSV). Example: Melo from Sanbolic
• Support for Veritas Volume Manager: SCVMM 2008 R2 now recognizes Veritas Volume Manager disks as cluster disk resources.

Happy virtualization!

Categories:  'Uncategorized'
Tags:  'Hyper-V, Release Candidate, SCVMM, virtualization'
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Setting up Virtual Windows XP (aka “XP mode”) in Windows 7

by Shijaz Abdulla on 21.05.2009 at 13:09

Last evening, I installed Windows 7 Ultimate Edition x64 Release Candidate (RC) on my Lenovo W500 notebook. Since I was moving from Windows 7 Ultimate x32 Beta, this meant a complete re-installation, as there is no upgrade option from beta to RC.

The installation was pretty smooth and I did not have issues with drivers for the standard hardware on this notebook.

After installing the RC, I decided to try out Virtual Windows XP (or ‘XP Mode’ as the media calls it). Here’s how I went about doing it:

1. Restart the computer and enter BIOS. Make sure Hardware Assisted Virtualization (HAV) is enabled.  (Hint: Look under CPU options) This requires a processor that is HAV enabled with technologies like Intel VT or AMD-V, which is common on most of recent machines.
2. Download Windows Virtual PC. This will require a restart at the end of the installation.
3. Download XP Mode Beta. This is a 400+ MB download.
4. Complete the installation, see screenshots below:
   
   
5. Check out the Start Menu, you will find Virtual Windows XP.
   

   
   

6. When Virtual Windows XP starts for the first time, it will take a while. Once it has started, you will find the Windows XP Virtual PC instance as below:
   
7. Right click on the Windows XP Start menu and choose Open All Users.
   
8. Place shortcuts to the Windows XP programs that you want to publish in Windows 7 in this folder. All shortcuts you place here will automatically appear in the Windows 7 Start Menu! Let’s put Internet Explorer 6 as an example:
   
9. Close the virtual machine. You cannot open a virtual Windows XP application while the virtual machine is open, and you will be prompted to close the machine.
10. On your Windows 7 Start menu, point to Windows Virtual PC > Virtual Windows XP Applications. You will find the XP shortcuts you placed in Step 8 here!
    
11. Open your Windows XP application from the Windows 7 Start menu. See Internet Explorer 6 from Windows XP running side-by-side with Internet Explorer 8 from Windows 7!
    
    Notice the Luna theme of Windows XP is maintained on the IE 6 window, even while it is running on Windows 7.

How does one end a process running on the Virtual Windows XP machine?

Simply by opening the Windows 7 Task Manager, the user can see both Windows 7 applications as well as Windows XP mode applications in a single interface. The user may end the Windows XP task (labeled ‘(remote)’) from the same Task Manager instance:

XP Mode is a really cool feature that will help organizations running Windows XP to make the move to Windows 7 much easier. Legacy applications that do not support running on Windows Vista or Windows 7 can still continue running on XP mode, just like we ran Internet Explorer 6 on Windows 7 in this example. The user simply clicks on a shortcut on the Windows 7 Start Menu or desktop and the Windows XP application opens, giving the end-user a seamless experience.

Categories:  'Uncategorized'
Tags:  'migration, Release Candidate, Virtual Windows XP, virtualization, Windows 7, Windows XP, XP Mode'
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MED-V 1.0 is here!

by Shijaz Abdulla on 11.04.2009 at 12:34

Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization (MED-V) version 1.0 is now available to Software Assurance (SA) customers who have purchased MDOP (Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack) benefit.

MED-V is not available as a standalone product and is exclusively available as one of the six tools included in the MDOP.

MED-V bridges the application compatibility gap between current versions of Windows and legacy Windows-based applications by allowing enterprises to move desktops completely to newer versions of Windows.

For end-users: MED-V provides seamless integration of applications running in virtual machines with the host OS to provide for a unified desktop experience.  Legacy applications that are incompatible with newer versions of Windows will run off a Virtual PC, running a legacy Windows version. All this is seamless to the user; the user merely opens the application from the Start menu of the host OS.

For enterprise administrators: MED-V provides deployment and management of virtual desktops to enable key enterprise scenarios. The Virtual PC images and any updates can be distributed efficiently over the network using an advanced de-duplication technology.

MED-V vs. App-V

Desktop virtualization enabled by MED-V, isn’t the same as application virtualization. Desktop virtualization addresses the incompatibility between an application and the operating system.

Application virtualization enabled by App-V, deals with the incompatibility between two applications. It lets the two apps run on the same operating system in isolation – in a virtualized runtime environment. Microsoft App-V, which is also part of MDOP, enables this application virtualization.

MED-V essentially helps IT pros upgrade the Windows OS without interrupting the flow of business. The benefits of MED-V 1.0 include:

• Central creation, deployment and updating of PC images throughout the enterprise;
• Provisioning virtual images and user policies by business affiliation and requirements;
• Accelerating OS upgrades; and
• Simplifying IT integration by allowing two IT environments to run concurrently.

TechNet/MSDN subscribers can evaluate MED-V 1.0. Software Assurance customers can get it on the MVLS website.

Categories:  'Uncategorized'
Tags:  'App-V, MDOP, MED-V, virtualization'
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IT Evolution 08 @Abu Dhabi

by Shijaz Abdulla on 04.11.2008 at 15:40

The IT Evolution 08 event was held today at the Corniche Sheraton, Abu Dhabi. There were several informative sessions on Microsoft Virtualization technologies in the IT Pro track such as Hyper-V and Application Virtualization with SoftGrid/MDOP. The developer track included presentations on SQL Server 2008, Visual Studio .NET 2008 and Silverlight.

Partner presence included HP, Dell and Citrix. Yusuf Bismilla, Anton Delsink, Shahid Gaglani, and Amr El Garhy of Microsoft presented various topics.

Attendees were also given a chance to have their picture taken with the gaming character Master Chief from the Halo 3 game from Microsoft Game Studios.

 
Me with Master Chief of Halo 3 (left)

Categories:  'Uncategorized'
Tags:  'event, Hyper-V, hypervisor, silverlight, sql server, virtualization'
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Free training on Hyper-V

by Shijaz Abdulla on 17.08.2008 at 07:39

A free e-learning course is now available on the Microsoft Learning portal for those interested in learning about Hyper-V, the new virtualization technology that comes with Windows Server 2008.

The course is titled Clinic 5935: Introducing Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 and is available for free, probably for a limited time.

Click here to activate the e-learning content.

Categories:  'Uncategorized'
Tags:  'free software, Hyper-V, virtualization, Windows Server 2008'
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Hyper-V RTM released

by Shijaz Abdulla on 30.06.2008 at 09:05

On Thursday, June 26^th, Microsoft announced the availability of Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. You can now download Hyper-V and it will be available via Windows Update on July 8.

Virtualization can help companies maximize the value of IT investments; from decreasing the server hardware footprint, energy consumption and the cost and complexity of managing today’s IT systems, to increasing the flexibility of the overall environment. Microsoft’s strategy and investments in virtualization, which span from the desktop to the datacenter, help IT professionals and developers move toward Microsoft’s Dynamic IT initiative whereby they can build systems with the flexibility and intelligence to automatically adjust to changing business conditions by aligning computing resources with strategic objectives.

Hyper-V offers customers a reliable and scalable virtualization platform with high performance, that plugs into customers’ existing IT infrastructures and enables customers to consolidate some of the most demanding workloads. In addition, the System Center product family provides customers with a single set of integrated tools to manage both physical and virtual resources, enabling customers to create a more agile and dynamic datacenter .

PS: I am back.

Categories:  'Uncategorized'
Tags:  'Hyper-V, virtualization, Windows Server 2008'
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