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 suffer from runaway queries, if you have several database applications with unpredictable fluctuation in workload, or if you need to ensure that workloads get the memory or CPU they need according to certain priorities, then you need Resource Governer, and you need Roy Ernest's clear explanation of the technology.… Read more
VMWare VSphere is a virtualisation technology that is best learned by setting up, on a single PC, a VSphere cluster as a virtualisation lab. Once you have it, it will then be a useful tool in many ways. This doesn't need to be an expensive exercise, but can be daunting if you don't have a simple guide to talk you through the process. Here, Sean provides that simple guide
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Jorge Segarra, also known on Twitter as 'SQLChicken', was one of the finalists of the Exceptional DBA award this year. He lives and works in Tampa, Florida. As well as working as a DBA, he's a Hypervisor for the PASS Virtualization Virtual Chapter and chapter leader of the PASS Professional Development Virtual Chapter, and has also co-authored the book from Apress "Pro SQL Server 2008 Policy-Based Management".
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If you need to test new software, configurations, or operating systems, a virtual machine saves time, risk and hardware. You can set up a virtual Test environment for free with some products such as VMware Server 2. All you need is a simple set of instructions about how to set it up; and here it is, thanks to Sean Duffy.… 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
Virtualization is a powerful technology, but it comes with its own host of monotonous and time-consuming tasks, no matter how big or small your organization is. Eliminating these mind-numbing tasks (and the potential for error which they bring with them) is a goal with striving for, and well within your reach. Jonathan Medd explains.… Read more
If you're using virtualization technology, then at some point you'll have run out of (or will run out of) virtual disk space, leading to the provisioning of extra storage; are you confident that you know how to do that? Sean Duffy makes sure you're doing it right, sharing his recommendations and tips in this step-by-step guide. Follow this advice, and you'll be a virtualization veteran in no time.… 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
The chore of patching operating systems and applications is taking an increasing proportion of the time of a system administrator, so it is a a relief that at least VMware is keen to make the task easier. VMware provide a tool in vCenter Update Manager to assist in keeping VMware up to date. Jonathan Medd explains all.… Read more
The dream of an 'office in a box' has been around for years, but the increasing sophistication of virtualization software has turned the dream into reality. Ben Lye explains the problems and benefits of reducing the amount of physical hardware that were deployed in his organisation's regional offices.… 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
It isn't easy to measure the consumption of physical resources by servers in virtual machines, since each partition has its' own virtualised view of system resources. Not only that, but there is a subtle difference between virtual processors and physical processors. Brien Posey explains the special performance counters that can be used to get an accurate assessment, and goes on to describe how to test your physical servers to see if they are good candidates for virtualization. … 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
