I was chatting with Brian Bourne from CMS Consulting in Toronto about some Hyper-V R2 work that they have done recently.  In the conversation Brian shared a ton of learning's from the field on some of the Hyper-V R2 upgrades, deployments and V2V/P2V migrations.  I asked him to write up a post and he did, so much so that I had to split it into two posts. You can find Part 1 here!

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The release of R2 has been a major step forward for Microsoft’s virtualization strategy. It has also meant a rise in customer interest and willingness to move their data center and production servers on to the platform. Here at CMS Consulting, we’ve been offering both training and consulting services to help customers through the process. Here are some of the things we’ve learned along the way.

Virtual to Virtual (V2V) Migrations

In theory, this should be easy as pie right? The machine is already virtualized. How hard can a conversion be? Once again think about cloning to new hardware. For Virtual Server or VMWare to Hyper-V migrations, it truly appears as a completely new hardware platform to the operating system. This leads us to a few tips I’d like to add to the standard documentation.

- Cleanly shutdown the virtual machine, merge snapshots if they exist.

- After migration, logon to ensure the Hyper-V integration components are installed and working. VMM may think its ok, but it may not be. More tips on this below.

- If you are migrating offline or inactive virtual machines, remember they do get started as part of the migration process. This means you better think about the consequences of having that machine come online and what network its virtually “plugged in to” when it does.

Overall V2V migrations from Virtual Server and Hyper-V do go smoothly, but realize that the machine will be stopped and offline for the duration of the migration. Online migration is not a listed option. Data copy and fix-up time will determine the outage duration. Also, plan additional outage time so you can manually clean up and test the server. You may wish to have a strategy to block user access to services until you’re confident you want to introduce the server back into the environment.

If you want to do a migration “online” you will need to treat the VM as if it was a physical machine and follow the steps for P2V online migration. In fact, my team has used this strategy a number of times for migrating difficult VMWare virtual machines. Success when migrating a VMWare source varies widely based on ESX version, complexity of “hardware” configuration under ESX and other environmental factors. Sometimes treating the source as a P2V really is the best option.

Physical to Virtual

What I find odd about the VMM wizard for physical machine migrations is that it assumes you want to do an online migration and actually hides the tab for offline options from plain sight. Sure, I trust VSS enough for backups – but if I’m going to take a production server and virtualize it, I’d like the data to be as stable and consistent as possible. So for my money, I do an offline P2V if at all feasible. There are a few scenarios where you might forego an offline migration. Here are some scenarios where I would do an online P2V:

- You just want a copy of the server for testing or giggles, so data consistency doesn’t matter

- You truly can’t afford the server outage while data copies

- You have a source server with less than 512MB. (I recently had to migrate an old server with 448MB - online worked but offline won’t even start.)

- Finding drivers for WinPE to boot on some old hardware appears to be more effort than it’s worth.

I’d like to also suggest than when you’re looking at doing a P2V you also consider the “build fresh” strategy. This could be your opportunity to upgrade to Server 2008 R2 as the operating system and consolidated roles and services. There are two reasons to do this. First is to take advantage of the new features and increased performance of R2. Perhaps more importantly is to reduce the number of overall machines in your environment. I don’t mean physical machines here. I mean machines you have to license, patch, monitor and otherwise manage. If you can consolidate roles and services to a single VM then now is a good time to do it. Let’s not forget that fewer VM’s also means a reduction in hardware requirements and those ever-important spindle counts.

I also want to talk about P2V of non-domain machines. If you read the documentation on Technet, it very clearly states that the source machine needs to be either a member of the domain or there must be a domain trust. I have found this to be categorically untrue. I’ve had no issue doing P2V with both workgroup and isolated domain machines (including the DC of an “isolated” domain). The trick was to make sure the source machine had connectivity with both the VMM server and the target Hyper-V host. Once that was sorted out, I simply entered the appropriate machine credentials in VMM and everything worked fine. In theory you could also use the SysInternals Disk2VHD utility. This tool is designed for online use only. Although I previously recommended against online migrations, I started thinking about using Disk2VHD while booted to an alternate OS. We did some basic testing and found it won’t run under WinPE. In theory you could cobble together a full Win7 boot from USB and make it work. If we ever get around to that, we’ll post the results. In all cases so far, it’s easier to move everything on to a temporary network switch, P2V and then move back to the appropriate networks.

Before attempting a P2V, try to get the source machine “as clean as possible”. Ensure the source meets the requirements for free space and service pack levels, run a checkdisk and defrag on all partitions and remove unused programs and drivers. You will also want to remove hardware-vendor specific management tools. If you are doing a P2V migration against a virtual machine, be sure to remove VMWare tools, or the Microsoft Integration components. Stop all non essential services and applications. If you find that the P2V task is failing in the SCVMM scan, then start by looking at what security products you have installed. The P2V agent is installed at the time you click “scan system”. I have had it hang with no errors on either the SCVMM server or the source physical machine. In my case, the VMMInstallDetector service was hanging, and the culprit turned out to be the anti-virus product on the server. You can try to manually run the agent installation from “\\vmmservername\c$\Program Files\Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2\agents\p2v\” if you’d like a closer look at what’s happening.

Here’s one last thought on P2V. I always choose the option to shutdown the physical machine after conversion. I don’t want the machine restarted. As soon as it restarts, I know my virtual machine and physical machine are no longer the same and who knows what might change, update or replicate when the physical machine starts. So I want to make sure it stays offline and the machine continues its new life as a virtual machine. There’s one catch. This strategy will result in the overall conversion job ending in a warning state with error 458. The warning essentially tells you that because the machine shutdown, the VMM agent didn’t get removed. If for some reason you decide to bring the machine back online – remember to manually remove it.

Some Hints for All Migration Scenarios.

There are a few things that SCVMM “fix up” doesn’t consider that you will need to.

- Windows will need activation again. Just like when you clone a machine and there’s a substantial hardware change – a VM migrate will trigger re-activation.

- Personally, I’m fussy about my machines looking for hardware that doesn’t exist. It just slows down boot time and I believe, overall machine stability. If you follow the instructions in KB241257 you’ll be able to see all the phantom devices in device manager on all versions of Windows (not just 2000 as the KB suggests). Delete these non-present devices.

- Near every physical machine I’ve ever converted starts with an ominous “Service Failed to Start” message. A quick look at the event viewer shows EventID 700 –The Parallel port driver service failed to start due to the following error”… the quickest way to make this problem go away is to change HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\Parport\Start from a value of 3 to a value of 4.

- Various other products might complain, thinking they’ve been moved, so you should test everything. A perfect example is a terminal services licensing server will need activation again. If you don’t think to look at this, then 90 days from now you can expect user calls.

- On the odd occasion, when migrating 2008 servers the HAL may not get switched when it is supposed to be. The symptom isn’t obvious. Integration components will appear to be fine. You’ll run and re-run integration services setup and it will install successful but simply not work. This means no mouse control in the virtual machine which will add to your frustration if you are using remote desktop to connect to the VMM server or Hyper-V Manager. Here’s the trick. On the VM open the system configuration utility (MSConfig.exe). Click the Boot tab, and then click Advanced options. Select the Detect HAL check box, click OK, and then restart the virtual machine. You’ll find that your integration services will now magically start working.

- Time synchronization is a funny thing. It’s ok to have VM’s sync time with the host, if the host syncs with a domain controller (PDC emulator) but if you’ve gone and virtualized your PDC emulator you’ll be in for an entertaining circle of lost time. Don’t have your PDC emulator syncing time with the host. (See reference links below).

Conclusion

I’d suggest that if you were hoping to point a wizard at your server VLAN, cross your fingers and click “Next, Next, Finish” – then you’re probably going to be disappointed. The migration to Hyper-V needs to be approached with the same planning and consideration you would give to any server refresh or move. With a cautious approach and a maintenance window that will allow for testing and troubleshooting time, you will be ensured success.

Additional Resources:

Deployment Considerations for Virtualized Domain Controllers

Considerations when hosting Active Directory domain controller in virtual hosting environments

Microsoft Virtualization Solution Accelerators

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

Microsoft Virtualization Team Blog

The System Center Virtual Machine Manager Team Blog

I was chatting with Brian Bourne from CMS Consulting in Toronto about some Hyper-V R2 work that they have done recently.  In the conversation Brian shared a ton of learning's from the field on some of the Hyper-V R2 upgrades, deployments and V2V/P2V migrations.  I asked him to write up a post and he did, so much so that I had to split it into two posts.

-------------------------

The release of R2 has been a major step forward for Microsoft’s virtualization strategy. It has also meant a rise in customer interest and willingness to move their data center and production servers on to the platform. Here at CMS Consulting, we’ve been offering both training and consulting services to help customers through the process. Here are some of the things we’ve learned along the way.

General Planning

When you plan to move to Hyper-V, the source machine is going to be one of the following:

· Virtual machine running on VMWare

· Virtual machine running on Virtual Server

· Virtual machine running on Hyper-V 2008 (R1)

· Physical machine on domain

· Physical machine off domain

If you are unsure where to start, then I strongly recommend you start by running the MAP tool and using the Virtualization Candidates Assessment for Hyper-V Server Consolidation. A key part of your migration success will be ensuring that the virtual machines perform as well or better than their physical source machines. This exercise in performance counter gathering and capacity planning is where the MAP tool can really assist you.

This entire article assumes you will be using System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) to do your migration. Ideally you would own both SCVMM and System Center Operations Manager so that you can take advantage of advanced performance and resource optimization (PRO) and reporting. But here’s a tip. You can download a 180-day evaluation copy of SCVMM (the last one I downloaded showed 365 days left in the eval). The evaluation copy doesn’t appear to be crippled in any way and can be used for your migration.

Here are a few high level tips on migrating to a Hyper-V based virtual environment. Actually, it all really boils down to one thought that you have to stick in the front of your brain. “I’m cloning to new hardware”. If you think about cloning to new hardware and the various challenges that brings, you’ll be able to predict most of the failures and gotchya’s.

Upgrading from Hyper-V 2008 to 2008 R2

Skip to the next paragraph if you don’t already have Hyper-V. If you have an existing Hyper-V environment, then you’ll likely want to upgrade it in-place. Performance benefits alone should compel you. The in-place upgrade generally goes smoothly. During the compatibility check portion of the installation you’ll be warned to remove the Hyper-V role from the server and directed to KB957256. Here’s the deal. Just make sure all the VM’s are cleanly shut down and that no snapshots are left behind before you start the upgrade. If you do this, you can safely ignore the warning and proceed with an in-place upgrade. For the most part, the process is then fairly obvious with one exception. The network adapters often end up mucked up. This could mean IP addresses missing or assigned to the wrong adapter. Be sure to be physically present for the upgrade. In my experience, this seems to happen consistently when you have allowed the management operating system to share the adapter. Be careful when you “fix” this since it can be a little confusing as to which adapters are real and which ones are virtual on the host machine.

The next blog post will cover the migration aspects and look at some best practices for virtual to virtual (V2V) and physical to virtual (P2V) migrations.

Deployment Considerations for Virtualized Domain Controllers

Considerations when hosting Active Directory domain controller in virtual hosting environments

Microsoft Virtualization Solution Accelerators

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit

Microsoft Virtualization Team Blog

The System Center Virtual Machine Manager Team Blog

A few weeks ago Rodney wrote a great post about the new XP mode in Windows XP. This is based on a new version of Virtual PC. I wanted to take a moment to talk about the new version which was released in beta along with the Windows 7 RC.

First this version of Virtual PC will only work with Windows 7, so earlier versions of Windows will have to stick with Virtual PC 2007.

Second, you can run Windows Vista and windows 7 in a virtual PC, what is really cool is that you can get full Aero glass compatibility in a virtual PC environment after you install the integration features. (notice that in Virtual PC it’s integration features not integration components as it is in Hyper-V) Notice the transparency effect in the screenshot below.

Another change is the integration of the virtual machine interface into Windows Explorer

Some additional things to keep in mind, in order to run Virtual PC for Windows 7 your CPU, chipset and BIOS need to support hardware virtualization.

Here is the link to download virtual PC

In a previous entry, guest blogger Sean Kearney shared a new feature in Windows Server 2008 R2 directory services called the Active Directory Recycle Bin.  Sean is back to show us how to recover those deleted objects.

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So you’ve done it.  We all have.  Deleted a user, group, OU by accident but thankfully you have 2008 R2 in place and the AD Recycle Bin enabled.  To recover now is a breeze!  Start by launching Powershell V2 on Server 2008 R2 and run the following command

GET-ADOBJECT –filter {name –like “missingitem*”} –includedeletedobjects | RESTORE-ADOBJECT

That’s it.  Nothing harder than that. Was that so hard?  The great thing, is as long as it’s an object in Active Directory, it’s protected by this new feature for 180 days.  Also, this just does restore the object.  It’s restores the object, its security, its trusts!

If you’d like to learn more about the Active Directory Recycle Bin, Check out these great resources on Technet.com

Active Directory Recycle Bin - Instructional Video on Technet Edge

I’ve done it, I know people who have done it, and I bet you have done it before as well.  Right-click an object in Active Directory Users and Computers and instead of clicking the properties link you accidentally hit delete.  Boom, gone and the only way to get it back is via a restore from backup.  Restart the DC, boots into Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM), restore the system state backup and apply either a authoritative or non-authoritative restore.

Guest author, Sean Kearney, covers this new feature in Windows Server 2008 R2.

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One of the fantastic features provided in Server 2008 R2 is the new Recycle Bin for Active Directory.

I recognize that nobody here is going to intentionally mess up their own Active Directory.  But problems can happen.   A Junior technician misheard the phrase “Disable” with “Delete”, a malicious Administrator leaving the company, dumb luck.  Any number of problems can occur and this feature will save the day.

There are a few caveats to using this

• You must have the Domain functional level in Server 2008 R2 mode.
• You must enable the feature by using LDP.EXE or Powershell.
• It is managed and used 100% by Powershell.  There is no GUI version presently.
• Once enabled, you cannot disable it.  This is a one way trip folks
• The enabled Recycle Bin has a 180 day retention policy.

That’s it.  In Server 2008 R2, select the new Active Directory Powershell under Administrative Tools and type in the following command

GET-ADOPTIONALFEATURE –filter {name –like “*”}

You will be presented with a screen showing you

FeatureScope       : {Forest}
Name               : Recycle Bin Feature 
RequiredForestMode : Windows2008R2Forest 
IsDisableable      : False 
ObjectGUID         : 0599c1a6-6f8f-42d4-b9a0-ab2791d4719e 
ObjectClass        : msDS-OptionalFeature 
FeatureGUID        : 766ddcd8-acd0-445e-f3b9-a7f9b6744f2a 
EnabledScopes      : 
RequiredDomainMode : 
DistinguishedName  : CN=Recycle Bin Feature,CN=Optional Features,CN=Directory Service,CN=Windows NT,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=energized,DC=energizedtech,DC=com

Looking at the information above, there are no enabled scopes which confirms that the AD Recycle Bin is presently disabled. So to make all this useful, I guess we should turn it on.  So in the same Powershell Window key in this command

ENABLE-ADOPTIONALFEATURE ‘Recycle Bin Feature’ –score forest –target ‘domainfqdn’

You will get a prompt warning you that it will make the change.   Choose “Yes” if you wish to enable this feature or CTRL-C to abort. Once you’re done, it’s active.  To confirm, run the following command again

GET-ADOPTIONALFEATURE –filter {name –like “*”}

And you’ll get a similar response but note

FeatureScope       : {Forest}
Name               : Recycle Bin Feature 
RequiredForestMode : Windows2008R2Forest 
IsDisableable      : False 
ObjectGUID         : 0599c1a6-6f8f-42d4-b9a0-ab2791d4719e 
ObjectClass        : msDS-OptionalFeature 
FeatureGUID        : 766ddcd8-acd0-445e-f3b9-a7f9b6744f2a 
EnabledScopes      : {CN=Partitions,CN=Configuration,DC=energized,DC=energizedtech,DC=com} 
RequiredDomainMode : 
DistinguishedName  : CN=Recycle Bin Feature,CN=Optional Features,CN=Directory Service,CN=Windows NT,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=energized,DC=energizedtech,DC=com

You’ll see the “Enabled Scopes” is now covering the domain.

For more information see:

Active Directory Recycle Bin Step-by-Step Guide

PowerShell 2.0, included in Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, includes a new Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE) which provides you with a GUI based tool to write your scripts and learn PowerShell.  To launch PowerShell 2.0 ISE simply drill down to Start –> All Programs –> Accessories –> Windows PowerShell.

Once that is launched you’ll see the ISE load and you are ready to begin.

The top portion, aka the Script Pane, is your scripting environment which allows you to write PS scripts.  The play and stop buttons are used to start and stop the running of a script.  The middle portion, aka the Output Pane, is where the script is executed and the results displayed.  Finally at the bottom is the Command Pane, where you can run individual Cmdlets and “one-liners”.  So besides a nice GUI editor why do I like the PowerShell ISE? 

• · ISE Features -  Tab completion, line numbering, indenting and the always useful search and replace.
• · Customizable ISE -  You can change the color, location and size of the various panes to suit your style.
• · Colored Syntax – Like other scripting environments different colors are used to highlight variables, strings, objects and Cmdlets.
• · Support for Unicode -  The PowerShell ISE supports Unicode.
• · Debugging.  I always make mistakes and the ability to set breakpoints, walk through the script step by step really helps find those errors.

If you are using Windows 7 or Server 2008 R2 give the ISE a try!  Compared to Notepad it is a dream to work with :)