However, Windows Server 2008 R2 provides many new features and upgrades, including several that go hand in hand with new features found in Windows 7.

That means there are more new reasons to upgrade both the desktop operating system and the server operating system at many companies.

If that doesn’t sound like major undertaking, I don’t know what is.

What is an R2 Release Anyway?

Many businesses have been plugging along comfortably with older combinations of Windows XP and either Server 2003 or Windows Server 2000, and installing only those service packs and features designed to keep those systems running securely and stably.

Therefore, the question that has to be asked is what is an R2 release and exactly what does the R2 version of Sever 2008 have to offer?

Over the past several years, Microsoft has received a lot of feedback from users in the business community who wanted a more predictable release cycle for critical business platforms such as Microsoft’s server operating systems. For businesses that had driven the planning uncertainty out of other areas of operations, the seemingly random release schedule of Server upgrades and service pack releases prevented IT from adequately planning everything from hardware acquisition, to lease schedules, to software budgeting.

In addition, companies wanted to keep the critical security and performance updates to the operating systems separate from updates that added new features. Companies where extensive testing and planning make virtually any downtime unacceptable, didn’t like that in order to keep their systems secure and optimized they had to introduce new, untested, features and services into their environment, or deal with kludgey, file deleting, registry editing, hacks to remove those features from otherwise necessary Service Pack updates.

On the other hand, in the technology industry, five years is a lifetime and Microsoft worried that products would quickly become out of date, with its offerings lacking the latest features and innovations if new feature sets were released only twice a decade. If there was one thing Microsoft did not need, it was to bolster the view of the company as a slow moving dinosaur out of touch with the fast moving pace of business.

The compromise the company struck was that the company would focus on releasing new versions of core business software products approximately every five years. Like with Windows Server 2003 and then Windows Server 2008. Service packs would continue to be released whenever necessary in order to update critical security, stability, and performance issues.

However, Service Packs would not contain new features within them. Instead, Microsoft would update feature sets with an R2 release every 2 to 3 years.

This way, businesses that wanted to keep up to date with the latest security, stability, and performance enhancements, but did not want to introduce new features (and their potential stability and security problems) into the production environment could install Service Packs. And, those companies looking to incorporate the latest technologies and feature set could take advantage of the R2 releases.

Thus, Server 2008 R2 offers much more than just a Service Pack, but not quite as much a new full-scale release.

So, what exactly is in the latest release of Windows Server 2008 R2?

Server 2008 R2 Upgrade Costs

Many of the features and functionalities in Server 2008 were introduced in the original, or “R1″ release of Server 2008. However, for environments currently running Windows Server 2003, these features should also figure heavily in any decision whether to upgrade to Server 2008 R2 or not.

Obviously, migrating from Server 2003 to Server 2008 R2 is not a free update, unless the company is enrolled in certain licensing subscriptions.

For IT groups already running the original Server 2008 system, the question gets a little murkier. For businesses with Software Assurance, the question is merely one of value versus the time and effort to upgrade the server operating system.

For those without Software Assurance, or other business licensing that includes free upgrades, Windows Server 2008 R2 is not a free upgrade. In other words, for those running Server 2008 already, the evaluation involves not only the time and effort, but additional cost as well.

New Features in Server 2008 R2

As before, there are several Editions of Windows Server 2008 R2 available depending upon the needs of an organization. Some features are optional on certain editions or only available on specific editions. Thus, a straight list of all new features is a relatively complicated undertaking.

However, there are certain features that are the “deal-makers” in Server 2008 R2.

  •   Hyper-V and Virtualization

The centerpiece of Server 2008 was the addition of virtualization as a built-in function of the operating system. As is often the case, the company’s first effort was successful and usable if not as scalable or feature filled as competing offerings. However, for companies looking to start down the path toward virtualization or to roll out the new technology on a limited basis, Microsoft’s Hyper-V offered a great entry point without any additional cost.

One area that has received substantial attention for the R2 release of Windows Server is virtualization and Hyper-V.

Features like Live Migration, Hot Add/Remove Virtual Machine Storage, integration with desktop virtualization (VDI), and also presentation or application virtualization (formerly provided in some fashion by Terminal Services) have all been added.

In addition, services like clustering and failover have been improved and expanded. Also, included is the long awaited ability to boot from storage networks.

  •   64-bit Architecture and More

Of course, the R2 release contains upgraded support for more powerful hardware. Server 2008 R2 becomes the first version to be released only in 64-bit architecture, marking the official end of 32-bit computing for Server products.

R2 supports up to 256 logical processor cores and up to 64 logical cores for each host. New power management features allow processor cores to be parked when load is low and then automatically re-enabled when demand increases. In a large data center, the amount of savings just from lowered cooling requirements alone could make an upgrade to R2 worth it.

Other new features receiving a lot of attention are improvements in Remote Administration, as well as secure connections for remote employees without the need for third-party VPN software, updates to Active Directory management, including a recycle bin for AD objects, streamlined performance, improved storage management, and an update to PowerShell.

Add to all of this the fact that many of the high-end features of Windows 7 will only work with Server 2008 R2, or will work much better with it, and it starts to add up to a must upgrade scenario.

The only real question in these trying economic times is when and where the will and funds will meet the need for a much improved server operating system environment.

Related posts:

• Overview of Server 2008 R2 — The Half Version Upgrade
• Windows 7 Features That Require Server 2008 R2
• Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 New Features: Dynamic Memory and RemoteFX

If you’re planning on making the move to virtualization, whether it’s Hyper-V or VMware you need to first make sure that your hardware, and more specifically your processor, can handle virtualization. How do you do that?

Well, there’s actually a really easy way to check which Intel processors support virtualization and which don’t.

So if you’re looking to implement virtualization and you need to check your current hardware, or if you’re looking to buy new hardware — this is the best way to check which Intel processor you can use — before spending money on a new box or a new processor.

You can access this super easy to use too at ark.intel.com/vtlist.aspx

And in the video below I’ll show you exactly how it works and how you can use it to your advantage.

Related posts:

• Virtualization Interoperability with Windows Server and Red Hat Linux
• Hyper-V and VMware — Part 1: Usability
• Hyper-V Certification – MCTS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuration (Exam 70-652)

Here are couple things to keep in mind.

First, the new Windows Server 2008 R2 can only be installed (or upgraded) on 64-bit servers.  If you have Server 2008 installed on a 32-bit server, you will first need to upgrade your hardware to 64-bit before upgrading to Server 2008 R2.

Another thing to think about is whether you want to install R2 from scratch or run an upgrade. Both options are available so it is up to you to decide.  When it comes to a clean install, it is quite easy and almost exactly the same as installing Server 2008.

Is the Upgrade Free?

Well, it depends. 

According to Microsoft, if you purchased Windows Server 2008 together with Software Assurance (SA), your upgrade to Server 2008 R2 is free.  If you did not purchase SA, then unfortunately you will need to purchase R2 before upgrading. 

How much will R2 cost without Software Assurance?  Microsoft did not publish the pricing just yet but you can contact your reseller and ask him/her what would be the cost for your upgrade.

To verify that the upgrade is in fact free for people who purchased SA, I contacted Microsoft via live chat.  Here is our quick conversation:

• Jodi: How may I assist you today?
• Gosia: Hi Jodi, I just have a quick question about Windows Server 2008 R2. If I already have Windows Server 2008 – will the upgrade be free or is there a price tag for upgrading?
• Jodi: Do you know if you purchased Software Assurance when you bought Windows Server 2008?
• Gosia: No… I did not purchase Software Assurance…
• Jodi: Ok, It is my understanding that you will have to purchase the Windows Server 2008 R2 if you did not purchase Software Assurance with the Windows Server 2008.  You will not have to re-purchase CALs, just the server software.
• Gosia: I see. But if I had purchased software assurance then it would have been a free upgrade, right?
• Jodi: Correct.  And, customers that had purchased Software Assurance are eligible for Windows Server 2008 R2 before new customers.
• Gosia: That will teach me a lesson for next time. Thank you for your time. That’s all I needed.
• Jodi: Sure.

So as you can see, purchasing SA is always a good idea and it saves you money in a long run.

Improvements in Server 2008 R2

Why should you upgrade to Server 2008 R2?  Are you going to benefit from the upgrade?

Lisa and I have mentioned a couple of our favorite new features in R2 like the Global Search bar in Active Directory Administrative Center or the Recycle Bin in Active Directory.

But besides the cool toys you’re going to get, here are few reasons for upgrading to R2:

• Better performance on more powerful hardware (Windows Server 2008 R2 can be only installed on 64-bit server)
• “Balanced” power policy for processors
• Enhanced Virtual Desktop Integration (VDI) technology
• Efficient Server Management
• Enhancements to Hyper-V
• File Classification Infrastructure (FCI) Feature for data management
• DirectAccess for remote users
• BranchCache for remote offices
• Improved and Simplified Management for SMBs
• Internet Information Services 7.5 (IIS 7.5)

To read more about these features check out the Top 10 Reasons to Upgrade to R2 from Microsoft.

Upgrading to Server 2008 R2 in 8 Easy Steps

Once you’re ready to upgrade your Server 2008 to R2 follow these simple 8 steps.

 
1.  Start the installation by clicking Install Now.

 
2.  Select the option to get the latest updates for installation by click on the option.

 
3. Next, select the appropriate version — I have Server 2008 Enterprise installed on my system so that’s the one I’m choosing. Once you make your selection, click Next.

 
4.  Accept the License terms and click Next.

 
5.  Now we are ready to select the Upgrade option — go ahead and click on the selection.

 
6.  R2 is now going to run a compatibility checker.  If you get a report that some things need to be improved or corrected, you must do that before continuing with the upgrade.

 
7. My compatibility checker gave me a couple of warnings but nothing major, so I’m going to continue. Once you’re ready, click the Next button.

 
8. Now we wait for the Upgrade to complete.

As you can see it is a very easy upgrade and as long as your compatibility checker turns out ok, you are good to go with your new Windows Server 2008 R2 in no time!

Related posts:

• Upgrading to Server 2008 from Server 2003
• A Guide to Upgrading to SCCM 2007 R2
• Installing Hyper-V Server Role in 7 Easy Steps

Hyper-V is becoming more and more popular in the virtual world and so is the Hyper-V certification — MCTS: Windows Server Virtualization, Configuration.

I’m not sure if many of you were aware that this certification even exists, since it’s not as popular as the other Windows Server certifications. In fact, only a little bit over 2 thousand people hold the Hyper-V cert, compared to over 37, 35 and 28 thousand for Active Directory, Network Infrastructure, and Applications Infrastructure certifications, respectively.

Note: The above stats are from 9/9/09; to see more current stats go here.

Well, now that you’re aware of the Hyper-V cert let me give you all the info on what you need to do to get it.

Hyper-V Exam 70-652 Details

From what I heard, the number of exam questions is around 50 with approximately 90-120 minutes to complete them all. The passing score was reported to be the usual 700.

I hear that it has a lot more lab questions that any other MCTS exam.  Overall, however, this exam is not too difficult and with solid preparation and lots of practice you are guaranteed to ace it.

As always, I strongly suggest going through all the questions and answering the ones you know how to answer first.  While doing so, mark the ones that will take longer for you to answer as well as the ones you have no clue about. Once you go through all the questions and reach the final one on your first “round” go back and review the marked questions for the rest of the allotted time.

By using this method you will have a chance to answer all the questions you know and then spend the rest of your time on the ones that you might not be sure about. Be aware of changing your answers on the second run, though. Chances are your “gut feeling” was right and the answer you picked the first time is correct.

Trust me on this one, I learned the hard way

Hyper-V Exam 70-652 Topics

There are 4 main topics on the Windows Server Virtualization, Configuring exam:

• Installing Hyper-V (14%)
• Configuring and Optimizing Hyper-V (20%)
• Deploying Virtual Machines (30%)
• Managing and Monitoring Virtual Machines (36%)

Make sure you know how to deploy, configure and manage Hyper-V machines since it accounts for nearly 2/3 of the exam questions.

I also found out through lots of forums and the nice people who shared their exam experiences that you need to be familiar with SCVMM08 (Systems Center, Virtual Machine Manager), clustering/quick migration requirements, how to use snapshots withing Hyper-V, Authorization Manager, iSCSI configuration for failover clustering, and versioning information for both VMs and Host Servers.

More details about the topics covered are included on this Microsoft page.

Where to Start

You need to start with a good source of information for learning the theory behind virtualization. You can either buy a book or get a training video for this.

Next you need to get yourself a testing environment and put the theory into practice. This should be quite easy since all you need is one decent machine on which you can run multiple virtual machines, or should I say, Hyper-V machines.

As far as hardware is concerned, I would suggest getting at least 4GB of RAM and at least 200GB of hard disk space. You want to be able to run a couple VMs at the same time and still have decent speed.

If you decide to prepare with our Hyper-V training, Coach will show you step-by-step how to create multiple virtual machines to use for practice plus lots of other cool stuff.

Don’t I Need Experience?

Microsoft suggests that you have “at least one and a half years of experience working in Windows Server 2003 and/or Windows 2008 Server environments as system administrators.”  In addition it states that you should be familiar with virtualization products and technologies.”

This is a pretty typical suggestion from Microsoft, they want to make sure that you get enough experience with the technology before you start preparing for the exam.

I would like to add to that and say that if you don’t have the 1.5 years of experience you can make up some of the lost time by practicing.

Start by building your own virtual environment and practice, practice, practice. Break your virtual machines, fix them, and learn as much as you can. Remember that re-creating your VMs is a quick and easy fix, but that’s not the true fix; you should be able to fix them without re-creating them. Find out what went wrong so you can be a real professional in a production environment and on the job.

Practice is also the best way to learn the material for the exam, so make sure you’re getting enough of it.

Why Do I Want to Get Hyper-V Certified?

Virtualization is becoming more and more popular, which means Virtualization experts are becoming more and more in demand.

The Hyper-V certification will give you an edge over your competitors in job searching. As I mentioned in the beginning, there aren’t a lot of Hyper-V experts out there and this cert will give you a chance to become one.

By preparing for and passing the 70-652 exam you will be able to show prospective employers that you’re proficient in setting up, configuring and managing Hyper-V, which should also make you eligible for that promotion or raise you’ve been looking to score.

Related posts:

• MCTS Demystified: What you need to know about the Server 2008 Applications Infrastructure (exam 70-643) Certification
• MCTS Demystified: What you need to know about the Server 2008 Network Infrastructure (exam 70-642) Certification
• MCTS Demystified: What you need to know about the Server 2008 Active Directory (Exam 70-640) Certification

In my previous posts we talked about the usability as well as features of both:  Hyper-V and VMware.  It’s time to talk about the cost of each of these solutions.

A lot of you probably want to know which one is cheaper.  Well, this is not an easy question to answer.  There are a lot of factors that need to be considered when calculating the final cost. The total price for virtualizing your environment will depend on your current infrastructure — what Operating Systems currently run on your servers, how many servers are you going to virtualize, what functionality you’re most interested in, and few others.

A word of caution — the articles and blog posts that make the argument that one solution is cheaper than the other should be taken with a grain of salt. The authors are making a lot of assumptions that may not align with your environment and infrastructure, so don’t take anyone’s word — do your research.

Evaluating Cost of Hyper-V

Hyper-V might be significantly more affordable for a company that already invested into a lot of Microsoft products.  So for example, if all of your servers that will be virtualized have Microsoft Server 2003 and/or 2008 installed on them using Hyper-V is going to be a lot cheaper than using any other virtualization solution.  Hyper-V can be installed on Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 for free.

Unfortunately you will still need to invest in the following:

• System Center Server Management Suite
• System Center Configuration Manager
• System Center Operations Manager Server
• System Center Data Protection Manager

Also, keep in mind the limits of Hyper-V when it comes to RAM and processors.  All these items may bring your Hyper-V solution’s costs up.

Evaluation Cost of VMware

If you are downloading the free ESXi version of VMware the cost of your virtualization software is, well free, even for a Microsoft shop.  But as you probably already know, with ESXi you are not getting all the bells and whistles and this solution might not be sufficient for your virtualization needs, especially if you work for a bigger company.

VMware vSphere 4 currently starts at around $1K. The price goes up with the number of different features that are available.

If you are interested in vCenter you need to be prepared to spend around $6K.  The price tag on vCenter might look shocking to some of you but you need to take into consideration all the features that vCenter will provide for you.  Here is a quick list of what is included with vCenter.  For more details and information visit this VMware page.

• Centralized Control and Deep Visibility into Virtual Infrastructure
• Proactive Management of VMware vSphere
• A Scalable and Extensible Management Platform
• Distributed Resource Optimization
• High Availability
• Security

As you can see the price can climb pretty high but it can also be cost efficient when compared to Hyper-V if you are virtualizing hundreds of servers that have multiple OSs.

Conclusions?

You need to keep in mind that with both Hyper-V and VMware you are obligated to buy licenses for every operating system you run on your servers whether it is Windows, Linux, or anything else.

Also, as I mentioned at the beginning, beware of reviews and articles that claim one solution has lower TCO (Total Cost of Ownership) and high ROI (Return on Investment) than the other — this is unique to your situation and it is only up to you to decide.

VMware has an awesome TCO Calculator that will help you calculate your potential cost savings when using VMware virtualization.   It is pretty self explanatory and quite easy to use – try giving it a shot.

What do our Hyper-V and VMware instructors have to say?

Coach Culbertson, who is all about Hyper-V, says:

“I’d take Hyper-V over VMware due to the fact that Microsoft knows Microsoft. In building out virtual networks on Hyper-V, I haven’t encountered any weirdness, and it just works. I have had multiple instances of stuff not working in VMware that work exactly like they should in Hyper-V.

Another benefit to Hyper-V is I don’t have to pay a billion dollars for extra software licensing. With the recent advent of Microsoft releasing Hyper-V Linux Integration Components (LinuxIC), plus the current backwards compatibility for older OS’s, Hyper-V is going to quickly become a one-stop shop for virtualization. For the needs of most sysadmins, Hyper-V will be a cost effective solution that’ll get the job done in less time for less money.

Plus, faster snapshots. Just sayin’.”

David Davis, who loves VMware, says:

“To me, VMware is the winner due to its memory over commitment and ballooning features.  You can get many more guest VMs on a single physical server than you can with Hyper-V. Thus, you will need fewer servers to virtualize the same number of physical servers into guest VMs with VMware, than you would with Hyper-V.

Also, the VMware product is so much more mature. VMware has a 10 year development lead on Microsoft and it shows with so many advanced features — Vmotion, SVMotion, DRS, VMHA, DRS and now new features like FT and Data Recovery. Microsoft is still trying to catch up with the features from ESX 3.0 (and they aren’t really close yet).

PLUS, third party products — there are a zillion of them for VMware and like “none” for Hyper-V.”

Good luck in your decisions.  Feel free to ask questions and I will do my best to help you get the right answers.  Once you are successful in virtualizing your server infrastructure let us know which solution you chose (and why) and how it worked out!

Related posts:

• Hyper-V and VMware — Part 1: Usability
• Hyper-V and VMware — Part 2: Features
• 7 Awesome Things You Can Do With Hyper-V

Last week I talked about Hyper-V and VMware usability. In this article I want to talk about all the different features available for both — Hyper-V and VMware. 

Just like in the first article I am not going to suggest which one is better or which one is worse — this is for you to decide. I will just list the features and give you a very quick overview of what they will do for you.

If you’re interested in any of these features I would suggest doing some more research to find out if a specific solution is compatible with your current network infrastructure.

Ready? Here we go.

Hyper-V Features

Here is a list of Hyper-V features on Server 2008:

• Quick Migration – this features will let you, the administrator, to quickly move virtual machines from one host to another which means minimal downtime.
• High Availability – with Hyper-V you will be able to cluster your virtual machines on a specific host.
• Server Core Role – you can install Hyper-V by going to Add Role on Windows Server 2008. This is a very quick and easy installation.
• Integrated into Server Manager – the Hyper-V Manager is integrated into Server Manager providing the typical Microsoft look and feel. You can now add the Hyper-V role from Server Manager as well.
• Live Backups with VSS - this features is also called snapshots. It is provided by Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) Service and it allows you to take a live backup of a running virtual machine.
• VHD Tools – this enables you to do compaction, expansion, and inspection of any Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) that was created with Hyper-V.
• Linux Integration Components – these SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 components enable Xen-enabled Linux for VSP/VSC architecture as well as improved performance.
• VM Manageability – you can now import and export Virtual Machine (VM) settings for backups or for cloning purposes. You can clone the VMs not only on a specific host but across different hosts.
• Improved Performance – Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 now include integration components.
• Improved Access Control with AzMan – Authorization Manager (AzMan) enables Role-Based Access Control which provides better administration of Hyper-V environment with increased security.
• Remote Management – you can now install Hyper-V MMC on a separate management node.
• Increased Virtual SCSI Support – provides support up to 4 virtual SCSI controllers per VM which provides a broader disk support.
• Increased Memory Support – now up to 64GB of memory per VM.
• Quick Reset – you, as the administrator, can now quickly Reset Checkboxes and delete all saved credentials used for connection to VMs.

For all of you who are about to upgrade to Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft also provides the following features:

• Live Migration Feature for Failover Clusters - this feature will allow you to move virtual machines from one host to another without any interruption of service.
• Better Fault Tolerance and Cluster Validation Tool
• Enhancements to the Hyper-V Manager
• Better Virtual Networking – there are few new network technologies improving the overall VM network performance. Two of them are: VM Chimney (a.k.a. TCP Offload) and Jumbo Frames.
• Hot-Switching of VHDs – you can now add and remove VHD files without rebooting your virtual machine. This provides a lot more flexibility when it comes to storage needs and growth.

I think the biggest feature available with Windows Server 2008 R2 is the Live Migration feature. This feature has been available with VMware for quite some time and I know a lot of Microsoft lovers were waiting for it for quite some time.

VMware vSphere Features

VMware vSphere editions offer a different set of features which I will also go over with you.  Based on what features you are interested in you can pick the specific VMware edition

• Thin Provisioning – this feature provides increased storage utilization, enhanced application uptime, and simplified storage capacity management.
• VC Agent – VirtualCenter Agent will allow you to collect, communicate, and execute actions received from the VirtualCenter Server.
• Update Manager - will allow you to automate all patches and updates.
• VMSafe – with VMSafe your virtual datacenter can be more secure than physical environment.
• vStorage APIs – enables backup software to perform scalable, centralized backup of your virtual machines without disturbing your users.
• High Availability (HA) – this feature is slightly different from the Hyper-V HA. VMware offers HA across your entire virtualized environment without the cost or complexity of clusters.
• Data Recovery – this is a disk-based backup and recovery solution that provides quick, simple and complete data protection for your virtual machines.
• Hot Add – will allow you to perform dynamic, on the fly change to Virtual Machine resource.
• Fault Tolerance – This feature, based on vLockstep technology provides zero downtime and zero data loss without the clustering solution.
• vShield Zones – with this feature you will be able to run applications efficiently within a shared resource pool and at the same time maintain trust and network segmentation of users and sensitive data.
• VMotion – this is a VMware version of Live Migration, which will enable you to move a virtual machine from one physical server to another.
• Storage VMotion – this type of Live Migration will allow you to move virtual machine disk files between different physical servers while maintaining service availability.
• DRS+DPM – Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS) provides constant monitoring of utilization across resource pools while Distributed Power Management (DPM) optimizes power consumption in your datacenter.
• vNetwork Distributed Switch – will provide a centralized point of controller for cluster level networking. It simplifies and enhances the provisioning, administration, and monitoring of Virtual Machine Networking.
• Host Profiles – this is a new feature included in vSphere that ensures a level of configuration standardization and compliance across your hosts.
• Third Party Multipathing – this feature is provided by Pluggable Storage Architecture (PSA) that allows workload balancing and high availability.

Now you can go over and see which features you will need or want to use in your environment. You should seriously consider them all before choosing one of these virtualization solutions. 

For more information on Hyper-V features visit Windows Server 2008 site and Windows Server 2008 R2 site. 

If you want to find out more about VMware features visit VMware vSphere Editions Comparison.

Related posts:

• Hyper-V and VMware — Part 1: Usability
• Hyper-V and VMware — Part 3: Cost
• Adding Storage to a Hyper-V Machine !!Without Shutting it Down!!

Mel and I recently did a bonus video on how to install SQL Server 2008 on Hyper-V for our SQL Server 2008 Administration and Hyper-V trainings and today we wanted to share a short clip from that video.

The complete video on how to install SQL Server on Hyper-V will be available as a bonus video in both the Hyper-V and SQL Server 2008 Administration courses.

So check out the short video clip and let us know what you think!

Related posts:

• How to Use Hyper-V and WDS to Virtualize Windows Server 2003
• Video: Coach Culbertson on Server 2008 R2 Training — Free for a Limited Time
• How to Create a New Virtual Machine with Hyper-V

Which is better — Hyper-V or VMware?

Many will argue one way or another, but there is no real answer. The reality is that both of these are great virtualization solutions and it is up to you to choose the one that works best for your situation.

So today I have decided to do something different. Instead of comparing Hyper-V and VMware with different comparison tables and charts (as many websites have been doing) I want to talk about these two virtualization solutions as two separate entities.

I’m not going to push my opinions on you and tell you that one is superior over the other, instead I’m simply going to help you make the right decision by giving you all the facts.

Before you decide which solution to choose, you need to examine your current infrastructure, find out how many servers you are going to virtualize, what functionality and management options you are looking for, and how much your company is willing to invest in this project.

Once you have all these answers you can then look into the different virtualization solutions and decide which one would best fit your scenario. This is not an easy task so take your time and do your research.

Virtualization may save you tons of money and if done properly you can maximize these benefits, so take advantage — but don’t choose one over the other just because someone said it is “better”.

In today’s article I’m going to talk about Hyper-V and VMware’s usability — how easy it is to use their interfaces, what are some of their benefits, and how much training you are going to need before you’re able to utilize them.

Hyper-V Usability

Hyper-V is quite easy to understand and use, especially for Microsoft people. It has the Microsoft look and feel so you won’t have to get used to a different GUI.

The Hyper-V role is easy to install and the Hyper-V Manager is integrated into Server Manager so, as you can imagine, the look is identical.  You have all your Virtual Machines listed in the middle, followed below by their snapshots and some detailed information about the VMs.  On the right side you get a nice Actions column with all the necessary options.

So really, once you get Hyper-V installed, your virtual machines created, and servers migrated, it shouldn’t take long before you can fully manage your virtual infrastructure, especially if you’re used to Windows Server.

VMware Usability

VMware ESXi and vSphere are a little different and it may take some time to get used to for some people, especially for Microsoft guys and gals. But there is nothing difficult about it — it’s just different.

With ESXi (the free VMware version) you get a very nice window with multiple, easy to read tabs that are quite self explanatory.

As for vSphere you have 3 management options. For those of us who love GUIs, you have vSphere client and vSphere Web Access. They are both very similar and very easy to understand — you get your tabs on top and necessary commands in the right column.

vSphere Client:

vSphere Web Access:

Command-line junkies have their own way of managing vSphere. There is not much I can explain here though — you get a black window with a command prompt.

Once you get them installed and VMs configured you should be able to manage them pretty easily.

Linux/Unix people will probably love the command-line option for managing their VMs and the rest of us will probably pick either the Client or Web Access to do our jobs.

How Much Training Will You Need?

I think it’s a great idea to get some type of training on either one of the virualization solutions you select.  Sure you might be able to “figure things out” but the training will save you a lot of time and money, trust me.

By teaching yourself you will probably need lots of time in your test environment to do “trial and error” type of stuff, figuring things out, how they work, what they do, how the specific settings will affect your network, etc.  You will break things, maybe configure them incorrectly and therefore lose the cost efficiency that you are looking for.

Don’t get me wrong, trial and error and playing around with technology is a great way to learn, but it is much more efficient to have some guidance in the form of training. And I’m not just saying that because I work at Train Signal; I’ve passed my share of certifications and I’ve mastered many different technologies including virutalization.

Getting your hands on some training will eliminate all the frustration and you are not going to waste valuable time. You will get your questions answered and you will find out some awesome tips and tricks.

So get a book or a training video and get it done the right way.  Once you find out how, when, where and why — virtualization will not only be a breeze, it will be your favorite technology to use.

Related posts:

• Hyper-V and VMware — Part 3: Cost
• Hyper-V and VMware — Part 2: Features
• 7 Awesome Things You Can Do With Hyper-V

To celebrate the release I’m going to show you how to create a new virtual machine using Hyper-V and Server 2008.

Last week I did an installation walk-through to show you just how easy installing Hyper-V on your Server 2008 really is. Today we’ll go a step further and create our very first virtual machine.

Don’t worry, this part is easy too — follow my step-by-step instructions and you will have your virtual machine in no time.

Create a Virtual Machine with Hyper-V & Server 2008

1. To start, login to your Server where Hyper-V is installed and open up Server Manager.

2. Next, click on New in the right column.

3. A small pop-up window should show up with three options:

• Virtual Machine…
• Hard Disk…
• Floppy Disk…

Go ahead and select Virtual Machine.

4. The New Virtual Machine Wizard window should pop up.  At this point you have the option to click Finish if you want to create a virtual machine that is configured with default values per Microsoft. 

I’m going to show you how to select your own options, so instead we are going to click Next.

5. In the next window we need to specify a name for our virtual machine. In this example, I’m going to use the name “BaseInstallation2K8″. 

We also need to specify the location where we are going to store our virtual machine. Now keep in mind that if you are going to use the snapshot feature, you will need enough space to store your virtual machine together with your snapshots. 

I would also not recommend storing it on your C:\.  The choice is yours, however, and in this example we are going to select our G:\ drive where there is plenty of space for the VM as well as multiple snapshots. 

After you’ve made your selection, click Next.

6. On this screen we need to assign memory for our new Virtual Machine. Please note that this memory will be deducted from your physical machine’s memory so make sure to leave some memory for your server to operate on. 

I’m going to leave the default of 512MB and click Next.

7. Now we need to select the type of connection we want for this machine.  As you can see the default option is “Not Connected”. 

There is another option that we have — this option was created when we installed our Hyper-V — “NVIDIA nForce Networking Controller – Virtual Network”. 

Let’s select the virtual network and click Next.

8. Next we’re going to create our virtual hard disk. 

Make sure the name, location and size is correct and let’s leave the defaults for now. When ready click Next.

9. And finally we have a few options for installing an Operating System:

• we can install an OS later
• boot from a cd/DVD-ROM or .ISO file
• boot from floppy disk
• or install it from a network

In our example we have created an .ISO image file and we are going to select it for our OS.  Once you have made your selection, click Next.

10. Double check your summary window before clicking Finish. We will also select the check mark next to “Start the virtual machine after it is created” and then hit Finish.

Congrats! Your first virtual Machine in Hyper-V has been created.  Now, wasn’t that easy?

 
P.S. If you speak German, take a look at a recent review of our Hyper-V Training.

Related posts:

• Installing Hyper-V Server Role in 7 Easy Steps
• Adding Storage to a Hyper-V Machine !!Without Shutting it Down!!
• Hyper-V and VMware — Part 2: Features

It will take you less than 7 minutes and only 7 easy steps.

And in case you haven’t seen my previous Hyper-V article, check out my 7 Awesome Things You Can Do With Hyper-V.

How to Install Hyper-V on Server 2008

To begin, make sure you are logged in to your Windows Server 2008 machine and your Server Manager is open.

1. Click on Roles and then on Add Roles option in the right column.

2. In the Before You Begin window you can check a box next to Skip this page by default. This is only an informational page and after reading it once you will probably never want to read it again. So to skip it you can check the box here and when ready, click Next.

3. In this step you need to select the role you want to install, which is Hyper-V, then click Next.

4. Read through the information about Hyper-V and when ready, click Next.

5. Our physical machine has two network controllers. What we’re going to do now is select which one is going to be utilized by Hyper-V for our network connectivity.

In my example I’m going to select the first local area connection and then click Next. You should select whatever works best for your network.

6. Make sure all your choices are correct and when ready, click Install.

7. Once the installation is completed you will see your Installation Results page. Go ahead and click Close — your Hyper-V installation has been successful!

Next Time

In my next article I’ll walk you through creating a new virtual machine in Hyper-V — don’t miss it!

See how you can stay up to date with Server 2008.

Related posts:

• 10 Steps to Installing the Web Server Role in Windows Server 2008
• How to Create a New Virtual Machine with Hyper-V
• Install DHCP Role on Windows Server 2008