Boxstarter is an open-source application that enables you to do the unattended install of everything required to turn bare metal, Azure VM or Hyper-V VM into a working Windows Server. It is built on top of Chocolatey, Nuget, and PowerShell to make the repeated installation of windows-based machines into an automated error-free process. Matt Wrock, Boxstarter's creator, explains how to use it.… Read more
If you want to learn how to optimize and troubleshoot Hyper-V, then this book, written by Microsoft people whose day job is to assist customers with precisely with these issues, is a safe bet. It is not, however, a book for anyone struggling to come to grips with the basics of Hyper-V… Read more
A Hyper-V replica will provide a rapid disaster-recovery by simply replicating to a standby site a VM running at the primary site. Is it, therefore, ideal for running SQL Server in high-availability? Well, it depends on the type of HA you require, and whether you need the features that aren't supported. Nirmal explains the details and shows how to set it up.… Read more
A Hyper-V replica installation provides rapid disaster-recovery by asynchronously replicating a VM running at a primary site to a replica site. Know how to prepare for something to go wrong at the Primary Server/Site? In this article Nirmal Sharma presents the Replication options for a Replica Virtual Machine with a focus on Hyper-V Failover.
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A Hyper-V replica installation provides a great opportunity for providing rapid disaster-recovery by asynchronously replicating a VM running at a primary site to a replica site across LAN or WAN to maintain a hot standby VM. Nirmal explains more, and shows how to set it up.… Read more
Hyper-V has become far more sophisticated since the release V3 of Windows 2012, but it means that there are now a number of alternative ways of achieving migration and High-availability. The right method depends on your particular requirements, as Nirmal explains.… Read more
Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Cookbook is a comprehensive resource for administrators and consultants looking for practical examples of Hyper-V technology. Beginners unfamiliar with Hyper-V and those who have worked with earlier versions can benefit from this book.… Read more
A configuration of Hyper-V networking across two or more Hyper-V Hosts is the most complex type. It needs to be configured according to the business rules and communication between Virtual Machines and the Hyper-V Parent Partition is best configured with VMBUS and VSP/VSC components. Nirmal explains how best to do it… Read more
Hyper-V Networking can be configured to meet a wide range of requirements, but it isn't always obvious which choices are appropriate when configuring the virtual network, and in particular the best ways to implement Virtual Network Switches.… Read more
If you're working with Hyper-V, it's recommended that you use Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core for your root partition, as its stripped-down nature makes it a more secure option than it's more full-bodied sibling. But it can also be painful to work with. Jaap Wesselius expertly guides us through the pitfalls.… Read more
Reliability is one of the great payoffs to virtualization, and failover clustering has got a whole lot better with Windows Server 2008 and Hyper-V. Now, you get failover without any downtime for the virtual machine. Jaap tells you how to implement it.… Read more
In the first of a series of articles on Hyper-V Networking, Nirmal explains Hyper-V networking and VLAN tagging, and shows how to set up a Virtual Network switch. Once this is done, the Hyper-V Virtual Network Switches can be used to connect unlimited no. of Virtual Machines. … Read more
By using a virtualized clustering computing environment with failover, you can improve server availability without using as many physical computers. A group of independent computers can work together to increase the availability of virtualised applications and services. If one of the cluster nodes fails, another node takes over to provide the service without disrupting the service. Nirmal Sharma explains the failover process under Hyper-V and how to improve the performance of a failover.… Read more
In his previous article "Hyper-V, an introduction" Jaap Wesselius explained about the Hypervisor, the parent partition, the child partition, and Integration Components. In this article Jaap discusses installing Hyper-V, all kinds of Virtual Hard Disks, Virtual Networks, and some best practices.… Read more
For SQL Server and Exchange Server, Windows Server Virtualization is going to be increasingly important as a way for the administrator to allocate hardware resources in the most efficient way, to offer more robust services, and for deploying services. Jaap Wesellius starts his new series on Hyper-V by explaining what Hyper-V is, how it relates to Windows Server 2008 and how it compares to ESX, Virtual Server and Virtual PC. .… Read more
Desmond explains the fundamentals of building a test lab for Windows servers and Enterprise applications from scratch using Hyper-V on a supported x64 machine. He even suggest tips and tricks to help make the journey smoother.… Read more
Microsoft now supports running Exchange Server 2007 in server virtualization environments, not just on Hyper-V, but on any virtualizing solution that is validated in the Server Virtualization Validation Program. Before virtualizing Exchange Server, you will need to be clear about the business advantages, and consider the size of the installation, otherwise the results can be a disappointment… Read more
