Expert Reference Series of White Papers

Hyper-V Server 2008 R2

Free Virtualization without a Server Operating System

1-800-COURSES

www.globalknowledge.com

Hyper-V Server 2008 R2: Free Virtualization without a Server Operating System
Glenn Weadock, Global Knowledge Instructor and Course Developer, MCITP, MCSE, MCT, A+

Introduction
Virtualization has become such a hot topic that the number of virtualization techniques, tools, and technologies is into the dozens, and thats just from Microsoft. Some of the benefits of virtualization include hardware cost savings (initial and ongoing), role separation, configuration optimization, less disruption when one specialized VM goes down, easier reallocation of resources such as memory, supporting legacy applications (-i.e., in Windows 7s Windows XP Mode), and providing a convenient test platform. Hyper-V, Microsofts high-end virtualization platform, debuted shortly after Windows Server 2008, and has since been available as part of that server operating system. However, many people are surprised to learn that you can get Hyper-V without Server 2008, and at no cost! The similarly-named Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 lets you deploy virtual machines in situations where you really dont need a full-fledged underlying server operating system. The hypervisor sits on top of the hardware in a very thin layer and talks to the virtualization-specific processes running on compatible processors, such as Intel-VT and AMD-V. (This hardware assist dramatically improves the performance of virtual machines running in the Hyper-V environment.) Hyper-V Server 2008 is basically the hypervisor without the surrounding server, and it comes with no device drivers, although it does support the Windows Server driver model for compatibility with a wide range of hardware. If youre familiar with Server Core, the GUI-less version of Server 2008, Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 has a similar feel to it, minus most of the services, roles, and features you get with Server Core. You get a command-line interface and a few command files to help you perform the initial setup, and thats it. The idea is that you will spend as little time as possible getting Hyper-V Server 2008 up and running, after which you will manage it remotely, with friendlier tools. The topics in this white paper are as follows: Comparison vs. Windows Server 2008 Requirements Initial setup Device drivers Installing Hyper-V Server 2008 Hyper-V Manager on Different Platforms Creating and Configuring Virtual Machines Conclusion

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Comparison vs. Windows Server 2008

Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and the version that comes with the full Windows Server 2008 R2 product are very similar in the feature set. Both support up to 384 virtual machines (in case the original Hyper-Vs limit of 192 was a problem for you!), failover clustering, and virtual machine snapshots. Both support standard Windows drivers and high-performance I/O for enlightened virtual machines (more on that in a minute). Both support directattached storage (SATA, eSATA, PATA, SCSI, USB, Firewire) and storage area networks (iSCSI and Fiber Channel). And both are faster than the original version of Hyper-V, particularly in the areas of TCP offload, dynamic virtual hard drives, and differencing disks. In another bit of good news, virtual hard drives (VHD files) are completely compatible and portable between the two environments. Additional similarities include the following: Support for both 64-bit and 32-bit guest operating systems Support for non-Windows guest operating systems (e.g., certain versions of Linux) Up to 64GB guest operating system memory Up to 1 TB total memory (this is up from 32 GB in the original Windows Server 2008 version of Hyper-V) Up to 4 processor cores emulated for guest operating systems Up to 64 logical processor cores on the host Support for clustering across multiple guest VMs Support for Network Load Balancing across clusters bility to migrate one VM between cluster nodes with no perceived downtime (Live Migration, also A new since Windows Server 2008) The big difference is that Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is not an operating system, but rather a stand-alone virtual machine platform. However, there are a few other differences, too. yper-V Server 2008 R2 supports up to 8 sockets, just like Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition, H but Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter Edition lets you go up to 64 sockets. heres no local GUI for administration with Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. Windows Server 2008 R2 provides T the Hyper-V Manager MMC console. yper-V Server 2008 R2 conveys no rights for Windows Server virtual machines. Windows Server 2008 H R2 Enterprise Edition includes license rights for up to 4 VMs, and Datacenter Edition includes unlimited rights.

Copyright 2011 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved.

Requirements
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 requirements dont differ much from the requirements for Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2. ou must use explicit virtualization support, known as HAV (Hardware-Assisted Virtualization). To find Y out whether a given system supports HAV, Microsoft offers a free downloadable Hardware-Assisted Virtualization Detection Tool. Intel calls their HAV implementation Intel VT and AMD calls theirs AMD-V. You will usually find this setting in the BIOS. You must have a 64-bit (x64) environment. Theres no support for Itanium systems. Your CPU speed must be 1.4 GHz or faster. You must have hardware-enforced Data Execution Prevention (DEP), which is usually set in the BIOS. ou must have at least 8 GB of available disk space, although the actual amount you will need will Y depend on the VMs you plan to host. hysical memory needs to be adequate for the environment(s) to be virtualized. This means at least 1 P GB, although Microsoft recommends 2 GB or more; the actual amount you need will depend on how many VMs you plan to host and how much memory they need to work well. The maximum amount of physical memory you can use is 1 TB.

Installing Hyper-V Server 2008

The initial installation of Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is quite easy. Here are the main steps. Download the ISO file from Microsoft (its about 1.5 GB in size) Burn a DVD from the ISO with your favorite tool (personally, I like ImgBurn) et up your Hyper-V server machines BIOS to enable Hardware-Assisted Virtualization and Data ExecuS tion Prevention Boot the DVD on your designated Hyper-V server machine Choose language, time, and currency formats, and keyboard layout Click Install Now and agree to the license agreement pecify where you want the product to be installed (you can delete, create, and format disk partitions S here) Get a cup of coffee, or two or three. Create a password for the local administrator account (youll be prompted for this) Note that you can also use the Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 DVD as a recovery tool in much the same way as the Windows Server 2008 R2 installation DVD. Instead of choosing Install Now, choose Repair your computer. Oh, by the way: you cant upgrade to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 from Windows Server 2008 R2, nor can you go in the reverse direction.

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Initial Setup
Finishing the Hyper-V Server 2008 installation is a little anticlimactic, but if you did it correctly (and its hard to mess it up), then when you log in as the local administrator, you should see the text-mode Server Configuration Tool, shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: The Server Configuration Tool

You can return to this script anytime by typing SCONFIG.CMD. (By the way, this is basically the same tool you get with Server Core 2008 R2.) Here are the steps you will normally perform here. Join a domain Assign a computer name Add an account (e.g., a domain account) to the local administrators group Set up remote management - Allow management by the Hyper-V MMC - Allow management by PowerShell - Allow management by Server Manager - Show Windows Firewall settings Set up Windows Update Download and install Windows Update patches Permit Remote Desktop sessions Set up TCP/IP Set the clock and calendar Enable or disable failover clustering Log off, restart, shut down
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You can do just about all of the above tasks with other tools, but the Server Configuration Tool is handy in that it reduces the number of command-line programs you need to remember. Theres not a lot of documentation for this tool, but the best source that Ive found is at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=134202 where you can click Configuring a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008 R2 with Sconfig.cmd. Note that it is possible to set up your Hyper-V Server 2008 host so that its not actually a member of your Active Directory domain, but the virtual machines that it hosts are members of the domain. However, although technically there are ways to manage HVS2008 when the host machine and/or remote machines are not domain members, it can be a lot more complex to configure. My general recommendation is to make the host and the VMs members of the domain unless you have a specific reason to do otherwise. By the way, if you happen to accidentally close both the Server Configuration tool and the command prompt window, and find yourself staring at a lovely but blank teal display, just press Ctrl-Alt-Del to start Task Manager and click the New Task button, then type CMD.

Device Drivers
When it comes to configuring your hardware, the device driver model is basically the same as in the Windows Server 2008 R2 version of Hyper-V (see Figure 2). Just above the hypervisor is the VMBus, or Virtual Machine Bus, where communications occurs between the different virtual machines and with the parent partition. The parent partition is where the device driver support lives, even though it doesnt contain an operating system.

Figure 2. The parent partition contains drivers, but no operating system.

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So-called enlightened clients (ones such as Windows Server 2008 R2, that know about, and take advantage of, Hyper-V) running in child partitions use the device drivers provided by the parent partition with low overhead. The parent partition is in charge of all the hardware for the physical box. If necessary, you can add device drivers to this partition by opening a command-line session from the Server Configuration Tool and running the PNPUTIL program (see Figure 3).

Figure 3. You can add drivers that work with Windows Server 2008 R2.

Hyper-V Manager on Different Platforms

You can manage your Hyper-V systems remotely, but the specific tools youll need to install or download depend on the operating system you use. n Windows Server 2008 R2, either x86 or x64 versions, you can use Hyper-V Manager (see Figure 4), O which is an MMC snap-in. If the Hyper-V role has not been enabled on the server, you can install the administrative console via Server Manager. Its part of the Remote Server Administration Tools feature. n Windows 7, you can also use Hyper-V Manager, but youll have to download the Remote Server O Administration Tools. n Windows Vista SP1 and newer, youll have to download the Hyper-V Console for Vista (see Microsoft O Knowledge Base article KB952627).

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Figure 4: Hyper-V Manager running on Windows Vista

You can also use Microsofts System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, or SCVMM for short, if youre a System Center customer. If you prefer using PowerShell, you can use that remotely as well as locally. In fact, some Microsoft employees have prepared a PowerShell Management Library for Hyper-V (see http://pshyperv.codeplex.com) that will allow you to perform the following activities remotely. Find a VM Connect to a VM Discover and manipulate VM states Back up, export, and take snapshots of VMs Add and remove VMs Manipulate disk controllers, drives, and disk images Manipulate Network Interface Cards Work with VHD files Various independent developers have also produced PowerShell modules for use with Hyper-V.

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Finally, if youre already proficient with WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation), you can talk to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 via WMI calls. The Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) website includes details. Note that you can use any combination of the above utilities and tools.

Creating and Configuring Virtual Machines

Creation, configuration, and management of virtual machines are performed remotely from the machine running Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. Using the Hyper-V Manager, you can easily create a new VM from scratch by right-clicking the server in the navigation pane and choosing New and Virtual Machine to launch the New Virtual Machine wizard (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: Remotely Creating a New VM with the Wizard

You can later modify any of the virtual machines using the consoles Settings link in the Action pane (see Figure 6). Again, theres no GUI to do any of this at the actual Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 machine itself, although if you enable PowerShell support, you can perform some of these tasks locally via PowerShell.

Copyright 2011 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved.

Figure 6: Configuring VM settings remotely

If you plan to create multiple virtual machines on your Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 box, youre probably going to want to create a virtual network. That, too, is done with the Hyper-V Manager. An external virtual network creates a virtual switch and binds it to the TCP/IP stack of the host machines network interface. You can also configure failover clustering. Use SCONFIG.CMD to enable this capability on your Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 machine. Then, on a remote computer, install the Failover Cluster Manager console (its part of the Remote Server Administration Tools), and use it to configure your cluster. Note that you will probably need at least one additional network interface, and possibly more. For example, if you want to set up Live Migration, so you can move running virtual machines from one node of a failover cluster to another node (up to a maximum of 16 nodes), Microsoft suggests that you have four dedicated network interfaces, as follows. One for remote administration of the Hyper-V server One for Live Migration traffic One for storage traffic with Cluster Shared Volumes One for VM network connectivity

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Remember that all the operating systems in your virtual machines need to be licensed and need proper antivirus and antimalware protection. However, also remember that the Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 parent partition does not need antivirus or antimalware protection, because it doesnt have an operating system! You can, if you like, use BitLocker drive encryption on the parent partition of your Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 box. Use the OCSETUP command to install the BitLocker feature, and then use the MANAGE-BDE command-line tool to configure BitLocker to your specifications.

Conclusion
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is a good solution for situations where you need a virtualization platform but not the overhead, complexity, or cost of a full-blown operating system. For example, I use a Hyper-V Server setup in my own office as a nice alternative to having eight physical computers running the different operating systems I need to experiment with for my teaching and consulting work. Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 has a relatively small footprint and is readily managed remotely after the initial setup. I offer kudos to Microsoft for making a useful product available at no charge.

Learn More
Learn more about how you can improve productivity, enhance efficiency, and sharpen your competitive edge. Check out the following Global Knowledge courses: Configuring, Managing, and Maintaining Server 2008 R2 (M6419) Implementing and Managing Microsoft Server Virtualization (M10215) For more information or to register, visit www.globalknowledge.com or call 1-800-COURSES to speak with a sales representative. Our courses and enhanced, hands-on labs and exercises offer practical skills and tips that you can immediately put to use. Our expert instructors draw upon their experiences to help you understand key concepts and how to apply them to your specific work situation. Choose from our more than 1,200 courses, delivered through Classrooms, e-Learning, and On-site sessions, to meet your IT and business training needs.

About the Author

Glenn Weadock is a longtime instructor for Global Knowledge and has co-developed with Mark Wilkins two Microsoft Official Curriculum courses on Server 2008 Active Directory and Server 2008 network infrastructure. Glenn also consults through his Colorado-based company Independent Software, Inc., provides expert-witness services, and is the author of 18 computer books.

Copyright 2011 Global Knowledge Training LLC. All rights reserved.

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