New Windows version: “Windows Blue” to be called Windows 8.1

“Windows Blue” will be called Windows 8.1 and will be a free update to Windows 8 for consumers through the Windows Store

Blue advances the Windows 8 vision. It will deliver the latest new innovations across an increasingly broad array of form factors of all sizes,  display, battery life and performance.

Blue, will be available for both Intel and ARM-based PCs and tablets, will be tailored to work on smaller form-factor tablets and devices.

Microsoft surpassed 250 million Store apps downloaded in the first six months, and almost 90% of  app catalog has been downloaded every month.

Check out at the JP Morgan Technology, Media & Telecom Conference in Boston, with Tami Reller .

More info and source: http://blogs.windows.com/windows/b/bloggingwindows/archive/2013/05/14/windows-keeps-getting-better.aspx

Private Cloud & Virtualisation Strategy Event – MELB/BRIS/SYD – All you need to know

VIP Event.  Few seats available.

Help your business gain maximum competitive advantage with minimal risk.

You are invited to an exclusive event, as well the exclusive book launch of Alessandro Cardoso’s book System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2012 Cookbook.

Private Could and Virtualisation strategy with Insight, Microsoft and Veeam.

Mobile. Social. Big data. The cloud. These trends are all impacting how businesses engage with their customers, partners, and employees in order to better compete. We also know that for many modern CIOs and technology leaders, the cloud presents an opportunity to redefine the role IT plays in implementing business strategy.

Why attend?

Envisioning Your Private Cloud: Participate in a scenario based discussion.

• Make more of your existing investments. Learn how to:
• Take existing resources and skills to the private and public cloud
• Use a single toolset to manage traditional and cloud environments
• Use a common identity infrastructure to mitigate risk
• Use a common platform to maximise IT and developer efficiency

Embrace the right IT for your business

• Get maximum control with the private cloud
• Obtain maximum agility and scalability with the public cloud
• Get the best of both by extending private to public

Register now at:       http://au.insight.com/events/private-cloud-virtualisation-event/

Dates and Locations

Melbourne: Wednesday 29th May – 2:00 – 5:00pm
Microsoft – Level 5, 4 Freshwater place, Southbank, VIC, 3006

Brisbane:  Thursday 30th May- 8:30 – 11:30am
Microsoft – The North Stradbroke Island Room Level 28, 400 George Street, Brisbane, QLD, 4000

 Sydney: Thursday 13th June – 8:30 – 11:30am
Microsoft – 1 Epping Road, North Ryde NSW 2113,

Windows 2012 : Hyper-V Network design scenarios and setup – Part 1

I am starting a series of blogs to talk about Network in Windows 2012 Hyper-V

I will be covering the following scenarios, but of course there are many more possibilities :

• Scenario 1 :  4 (or more) 10GB Nic’s + 2 ISCSI/FC connectivity
• Scenario 2 : 2 (or more) 10GB Nic’s (converged network)
• Scenario 3 : 6 (or more) Nic’s 1GB Nic’s

Let’s start with scenario 1. We will create 2 teams : one for management/csv/live migration (MGMT-LM-CSV-TEAM) and other for vm external traffic (VM-TEAM).

1. First of all,  I recommend you to rename the physical nic’s. We will create the teams as per bellow:

a) 2 nic’s, teamed to be used for management + csv + live migration utilisation= MGMT-LM-CSV-TEAM

b) 2 (or more) nic’s teamed to be used for VM traffic only ( external traffic ) = VM-TEAM

c) 2 ISCSI or Fiber Channel connectivity. You will need to install the MPIO feature ( DO NOT TEAM)

As for the team VM-TEAM we can use the GUI to create the virtual switch:

• Click on Server Manager, then click on Local Server
• Click on Nic Teaming. Click on Task and then click on NEW TEAM

 

 

Select the NIC’s that will be part of the team. Make sure you select NIC’s from different Physical interfaces. Done

But for the MGMT-LM-CSV-TEAM, we need to use the Powershell as the GUI does not allow us to create multiples Virtual Switches for the same team and then we will also, configure the QoS.

Here is the PowerShell command

# Create Hyper-V Virtual Switch connected to VM-TEAM

New-VMSwitch -Name “External” -NetAdapterName “VM-TEAM” -AllowManagementOS $false

# Create Hyper-V Virtual Switch connected to MGMT-LM-CSV-TEAM

New-VMSwitch -Name “MGMT-LM-CSV-SWITCH” -NetAdapterName “MGMT-LM-CSV-TEAM” -AllowManagementOS 0 -MinimumBandwidthMode  Weight

# Set the default QoS policy; Switch is used for VMs only

Set-VMSwitch “MGMT-LM-CSV-SWITCH” -DefaultFlowMinimumBandwidthWeight 100

Add-VMNetworkAdapter -ManagementOS -Name Management –SwitchName MGMT-LM-CSV-SWITCH

Add-VMNetworkAdapter -ManagementOS -Name LM -SwitchName MGMT-LM-CSV-SWITCH

Add-VMNetworkAdapter -ManagementOS -Name CSV -SwitchName MGMT-LM-CSV-SWITCH

Set-VMNetworkAdapter -ManagementOS -Name LM -MinimumBandwidthWeight 40

Set-VMNetworkAdapter -ManagementOS -Name CSV -MinimumBandwidthWeight 5

Set-VMNetworkAdapter –ManagementOS –Name Management –MinimumBandwidthWeight 5

 

Now let’s have a look back on the GUI  (NIC Team):

And let’s have a look in the Hyper-V Manager Console, on the properties of the Virtual Switch’s:

Management, Live Migration and CSV switch: MGMT-LM-CSV-SWITCH.

Note that you won’t be able to change any setting using the GU

I as we created 3 virtual network adapters (mgmt,lm,csv).

VM external traffic switch: External

 

to be continue….

Sharing roles with Hyper-V on the same physical host

Please DON’T !

I see so many questions around that, which means that some folks still do not understand:

Simple as that DO NOT ADD OTHER ROLES IF ADDING HYPER-V ROLE.

When the Hyper-V role is installed, the host OS becomes the Parent Partition, and the Hypervisor partition is placed between the parent partition and the hardware.

When you have the Hyper-V role installed keep it as a dedicated Hyper-V host server. Other roles and features not directly related to supporting the Hyper-V role are not supported on the parent partition and that includes DOMAIN CONTROLLER.

The only Roles and Features supported to be installed on the physical host (hyper-V) are:

• File and Storage Services (installed and part of Hyper-V support)
• Failover Cluster Manager (if host will become part of a cluster)
• Multipath I/O (if host will be connecting to an iSCSI SAN, Spaces and/or Fibre Channel)
• Remote Desktop Services (if VDI will be used on the host)

Plus:

Also, when possible, choose the Server Core installation to reduce OS overhead, reduce potential attack surface, and to minimize reboots (due to fewer software updates).

Ensure hosts are up-to-date with recommended Microsoft updates, to ensure critical patches and updates – addressing security concerns or fixes to the core OS – are applied.

Host should be domain joined, unless security standards dictate otherwise. Doing so makes it possible to centralize the management of policies for identity, security, and auditing. Additionally, hosts must be domain joined before you can create a Hyper-V High-Availability Cluster.

Anti-virus software should exclude Hyper-V specific files using the Hyper-V: Antivirus Exclusions for Hyper-V Hosts article

Windows 2012 Hyper-V pass-through disks and Live Migration support

Since Windows Server 2008 R2 and now with Windows Server 2012,  the performance improvements of Fixed and Dynamic disks are impressive. One of the main reasons that some IT folks were still deploying pass-through was due to the disk size limitation to 2TB. But in Windows 2012, with the VHDX format the  size limit increased to a huge 64TB and you have features that prevent corruption; plus, by using pass-through disks you lose benefits  such as portability, snap-shotting and thin provisioning.

In saying that,  as pointed by Jeff Woolsey, Microsoft Windows Server & Cloud:

Pass-through disks are supported during Hyper-V Live Migration ONLY if the Virtual Machine being migrated and the pass-through disk are manage by the same Hyper-V cluster :

Pass through disks are still supported with Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Live Migration (just like they were with Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V) as long as the migration of a clustered VM and the pass through disk is managed by the cluster.

Pass through disks are not supported for migrations outside of a cluster, such as:

• Shared Nothing Live Migration or
• Using standalone hosts with file on a SMB share (without clustering enabled)

…pass through disks aren’t supported because the pass through disk doesn’t have a way to move between hosts.

Again my recommendation  : STAY AWAY FROM PASS-THOUGH DISKS.

You will find similar recommendation from the fellow MVP’s Aidan Finn, Didier Van Hoye or Hans Vredevoort

 

Microsoft released updates for System Center 2012 SP1

Microsoft released an update rollup for some of the System Center 2012 SP1 family products.

To automatically install the updates, 

check the  Microsoft Update  or

To manually download the following update packages :

App Controller (KB2815569): http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=2815569

Operations Manager (KB2826664): http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=2826664

Operations Manager – UNIX and Linux Monitoring (Management Pack Update) (KB2828653): http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=2828653

Service Manager (KB2828618): http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=2828618

Orchestrator (KB2828616): http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=2828616

Data Protection Manager (KB2822782): http://catalog.update.microsoft.com/v7/site/Search.aspx?q=2822782

 

 

More info:  http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2802159

Monitoring Hyper-V and VMware workloads. Integrating SCVMM with SCOM. Veeam MP

The System Center 2012 VMM cookbook has a Chapter 10 (as a plus for the readers), which is not on the paperback/Kindle version. It is mentioned in the “What This Book Covers” section of the book and if you brought the book you will be able to download the chapter for free.

Chapter 10, Integration with System Center Operations Manager 2012 SP1, provides tips and techniques to allow administrators to integrate SCOM 2012 with SCVMM when monitoring the private cloud infrastructure.

In a hybrid hypervisor environment (for example, Hyper-V, VMware), using Operations Manager management packs (MPs) (for example, Veeam MP), you can monitor the Hyper-V hosts and the VMware hosts, which allow you to use only the System Center Console to manage and monitor the hybrid hypervisor environment

What we cover in chapter 10 :

• In this chapter, we will cover:
• Installing System Center Operations Manager 2012 SP1
• Installing management packs
• Managing Discovery and Agents
• Configuring the integration between Operations Manager 2012 and VMM 2012
• Enabling reporting in VMM
• Monitoring VMware vSphere infrastructure from the Operations Manager using management packs

With management packs, you can extend Operations Manager (OpsMgr) and its possibilities. On a hybrid hypervisor environment, where there is a mix of Hyper-V and VMware ESXi servers, the Veeam MP extends the OpsMgr for monitoring, alerting, and for undertaking remedial actions on VMware vSphere. Veeam MP uses vSphere API to gather information to allow monitoring and reporting against all layers of the VMware stack, which include layers from the underlying hardware though network, storage, hosts, clusters, datacenters, up to vCenter. Examples of the key metrics for the VMware admins include latency, CPU ready, disk and memory pressure against a host.

For the Chapter 10, Veeam Management Pack for VMware (SCOM) s required. You can download it from http://www.veeam.com/vmware-microsoft-esx-monitoring/resources.

Note: At the time of writing this book, Veeam offered a free 10-socket license of the Veeam MP for deep VMware monitoring in System Center 2012.

Enjoy reading !

To buy the book

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_athr_dp_sr_1?_encoding=UTF8&field-author=Edvaldo%20Alessandro%20Cardoso&search-alias=books&sort=relevancerank

http://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-system-center-virtual-machine-manager-2012-cookbook/book

new job as Practice Manager for Cloud and Emerging Technologies

This blog post is to share that on Monday, March 25th,  I am starting on a new job, as Practice Manager for Cloud and Emerging Technologies for APAC at Insight.

Also, on Tuesday, my book will be on sale. So hurry up and pre-order your own copy now at http://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-system-center-virtual-machine-manager-2012-cookbook/book

Thank you for reading my blog posts and getting in touch with me.

About Insight

Insight is one of the world’s leading single source providers of IT products and services. From competitively priced computers, hardware and software to services ranging from basic configuration to advanced design implementation and financing; we solve the IT needs of businesses and organisations of all sizes.

• Offices in 24 countries
• Trading in 170 countries
• Trading in 13 currencies
• Communications in 17 languages

“Now more than ever it’s important to have an IT solutions partner who can help you accomplish more of your IT goals, achieve new efficiencies and realize cost savings every step of the way.”

 

Linux Support on System Center 2012 SP1

If you are looking into running Linux on Hyper-V, here are the current Linux versions supported

 

	Linux						UNIX
	Red Hat	SUSE	CentOS	Ubuntu	Debian	Oracle	AIX	HP-UX	Solaris
Operations Manager	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Configuration Manager	X	X					X	X	X
Endpoint Protection	X	X	X	X	X	X
Virtual Machine Manager	X	X	X	X

Just Published System Center VMM 2012 SP1 Cookbook

Hi folks

I just want to share with all of you that my book is now published : http://www.packtpub.com/microsoft-system-center-virtual-machine-manager-2012-cookbook/book

I will be waiting for your feedback!

Microsoft Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) is a management solution for the virtualized datacenter, enabling Administrators to configure and manage their virtualization host, networking, and storage resources in order to create and deploy virtual machines and services to private clouds.

Covering the VMM 2012 SP1 and Windows 2012 features, architecture design, deloyment planning this book is full of tips, techniques and solutions. It will guide to create, deploy and manage your own Private Cloud with a mix of Hypervisors: Hyper-V, Vmware ESXi and Citrix XenServer.

What you will learn

• VMM Architecture and planning for a real word deployment
• Network Virtualization, Gateway integration, Storage integration, Resource Throttling, Availability options
• Operations Manager (SCOM) deployment and integration with VMM
• SC APP Controller (SCAC) deployment and integration with VMM to manage Private and Public Cloud (Azure)
• Cluster deployment with VMM Bare Metal
• Create and deploying Virtual Machines from Templates
• Deploy an High Available VMM Management Server
• Managing Hyper-V, Vmware and Citrix from VMM
• Upgrade from SCVMM 2008R2 to SCVMM 2012 SP1
• Monitoring VMware with Veeam Management Pack

Currently, no other book offers thorough coverage of System Center VMM 2012 SP1 and integration with App Controller and SCOM.

Acknowledgement

It has been an amazing journey and I greatly appreciate all of those who gave me their full support.

I could not have finished this book without the help from the Microsoft System Center and Microsoft Virtualization team in Redmond: Travis Wright, Carmen Summers, Ben Armstrong and Nigel Cain.

In addition, as I wanted this book to be reviewed by the Microsoft System Center team, I would like to acknowledge and thank Carmen Summers and Nigel Cain not only for endorsing my participation in the System Center TAP program, but also for their assistance, working beyond their time to review and to provide great feedbacks that helped out to improve the content, adding substantial value to this book. The readers will truly appreciate that!

I also would like to thank Richard Skinners, Steve Buchanan and Kristian Nese for reviewing the book.

I also would like to thank the Veeam for the great insights about their product.

I would also like to thank the Packt Pub team involved in this great project.