Quick Tip: Quick and Dirty on When You Should Use Hyper-V Snapshots/Checkpoints.
You should create a snapshot, or checkpoint (as they are called in System Center Virtual Machine Manager), right before you make any known change to your VM that would require some sort of system or application restore if the configuration, patch or application upgrade went wrong.
Snapshots are a recovery point that saves the state, data and hardware configuration of a VM. Now, With Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012, the creation and deletion of a snapshot happens without VM downtime. The process can be scripted, but it is most commonly done manually, either by an application owner or by a virtualization system administrator, before any changes are made to the VM. These types of snapshots are different from conventional host-level backups of VMs, but use the same underlying VSS Hyper-V Writer, which is installed when you enable the Hyper-V role, to prepare (quiesce) the memory and I/O state of the VM, in order to precisely capture its state at that moment. However, the outcome of these two processes differs.
When you create a snapshot… Read the rest of the article HERE
Also see.. AVHD – WT…”A”?
TechNet Radio: ITProGuru vs. Hyper-V LIVE! (Part 2)
Part 2 of my chat with Dan Stolts (ITProGuru) and talk about the new LIVE features of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 on Technet Radio/Channel 9.
More demos and banter below.
TechNet Radio: ITProGuru vs. Hyper-V Live (Part 2)
Demos include:
TechNet Radio: ITProGuru vs. Hyper-V LIVE! (Part 1)
I had a chance to sit down with Dan Stolts (ITProGuru) and talk about the new LIVE features of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 on Technet Radio/Channel 9. The content comes from my recent session at the VirtG Boston Deep Dive Day 2013, Hyper-V LIVE!. Exciting features have emerged. Demos and banter are below.
TechNet Radio: ITProGuru vs. Hyper-V Live (Part 1)
Demos Include:
Here is the Channel 9 video location that has a nice outline of what we talked about as well as when the Demos start.
VirtG Boston Deep Dive Day 2013– Hyper-V LIVE!
I have been writing a little less these days and getting out on the road a little more. Here is my recent appearance at the VirtG Boston Deep Dive Day at the Microsoft Offices in Cambridge, MA going over the LIVE features of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012. Lots of live demos of the new features.
This session will focus on all the new LIVE features of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 with many live demos. Best practices from a Hyper-V expert and Microsoft MVP on how they should configured based on your hardware and network resources available will be included. Use of Hyper-V manager, System Center 2012 and PowerShell will all be part of this fast paced demo based session.
The following NEW Hyper-V features will be included:
· Live Add Memory
· Live Snapshot Merging
· Live Migration
· Multiple Live Migrations
· Cluster Node Live Evacuations
· Live Migration without Shared Storage
· Live Storage Migration
Check out the other sessions HERE on Vimeo.
Recent Article: Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Storage Feature Shortcomings
This is part two of my take on what is still missing from the next version of Hyper-V. To read part one, go HERE. The storage architecture of Windows Server 2012 has come a long way to benefit Hyper-V 3.0, but there are still some seemingly basic features that have been left out. Part two focuses on these storage shortcomings and how I think they could be addressed by utilizing similar technologies now found within the product.
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Microsoft revamped the Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V storage architecture, but there is still some room for improvement.
Storage has always been a weakness for Hyper-V. The process of shrinking, expanding, migrating and backing up virtual machines (VMs) creates a lot of difficulties in Hyper-V environments. But the new live migration and storage migration enhancements in Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, including the seamless movement of VMs and virtual hard disks between physical storage volumes without downtime, could solve many of the lingering issues.
The methods proposed below would greatly reduce downtime and simplify Hyper-V management by eliminating several manual and tedious tasks.
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Read the rest of the article HERE.
**TAKE THE POLL: At the end of each article, there is a poll on which absent feature you think is most glaring. Here are the current stats. Vote and give your feedback.
Microsoft MVP for Virtual Machine HyperV
The email came in today for my second Microsoft MVP for Virtual Machine. It was a tough year to find time with the birth of twins last July bringing the kid total to 4, but I am certainly honored to be part of that community of professionals again. I hope to see you at various events throughout the year.
Recent Article: Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V missing features and potential fixes
Don’t get me wrong, Hyper-V within Windows Server 2012 includes some excellent additions. But, with every release, there are bound to be a few features that miss the cut. My recent article looks at a few of these features that I wish would have made it in.
“For all the new features and enhancements to Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, the virtualization platform still has its shortcomings.
Having worked with Hyper-V since the early betas, I appreciate the speed at which Microsoft adds new features. With each Hyper-V release, however, I still see a few areas of improvement that could add key functionality and ease administration. Below, I look at three of these shortcomings in Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V and offer some practical fixes.
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Part one of this two part series looks at the following shortcomings that I still believe exist.
1. Poor Quick Migration between hosts with different processor architectures
2. Inadequate Live/Quick Migration of VMs between different Hyper-V version
3. Imperfect hot-add memory allocation with a running VM
Read details of the article HERE
**TAKE THE POLL: At the end of each article, there is a poll. Are These Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V Shortcomings a Deal Breaker? Here are the current stats. Vote and give your feedback.
