70-659 Vouchers Giveaway!

May 14, 2012 10 Comments

Hey folks my friends at TekSource Corporate Learning (www.teksource.ca) in Toronto have told me that they have just received nine (9) more vouchers for the 70-659 exam (TS: Microsoft Windows Server 2008: Server Virtualization).  Knowing that so many of you were disappointed when Ruth (Technology Advisor, Microsoft Canada) announced that she was out of them, I thought I would take this opportunity to offer them up to you.

Now, there are some pre-conditions:

  1. First priority is going to go to members of the IT Pro Toronto Virtual Study Group (or any other affiliated study group from across the country).  They have done the work, and many were under the impression that we had promised them vouchers.
  2. Second priority will go to people who have attended any session that I have led or participated in.  That means a user group event, IT Pro Boot Camp, Tae Kwon Do class, Summit, anything… as long as I was there and recognized as a presenter or proctor.
  3. Third priority goes to Canadian IT Pros.  I know I support the community worldwide, but my first priority for this program has to go to Canada.  They are not geo-locked, but I will be checking! :)
  4. You have to schedule and take the exam before May 31, 2012.

So with that being said, if you want a voucher I need for you to do two things:

  1. Comment on this blog article to the effect of ‘I want a voucher! I want to get certified!’
  2. If you are a member of one of the study groups, send me an e-mail letting me know which one, who the leader is, and when it ended (or is scheduled to end).  That will of course put you to the front of the line.
  3. If you are not a member of one of the study groups let me know which session you attended.
  4. If you did not attend one of my sessions let me know where in Canada you live… and work or study!
  5. Check your e-mail!  If you don’t get an e-mail then I am sorry, you didn’t get it.

That’s it folks.  I will ask one more thing though… Commit to writing the exam before May 31.  If for any reason you cannot I do not want to see any of these vouchers (value: $150 US Dollars!) wasted.  Also please let me know how you did!  I am always very interested in the success of my students and readers!

Good luck… both with the contest and the exam!

Filed under Certifications, Certs, Hyper-V, IT Pro, Virtualization

Saskatoon IT Virtualization Boot Camp–Day 1

March 30, 2012 1 Comment

I don’t know why I always poo-poo Saskatoon, because I always have a great time when I am here.  However this week I expected would be a bit rough… I arrived in Saskatoon on Thursday fighting a terrible head cold which I had brought with me from Montreal.  I used no fewer than 40 tissues during my user group presentation, much to the amusement of the great and vibrant audience of nearly 40 IT Pros.

When I showed up at the Saskatoon Business College at 8:30 in the morning, ready to set up for a 10:00am start.  I had a healthy dose of Benylin (non-drowsy formula), Cold-FX, lozenges, and decaffeinated tea bags.  One eager attendee (who had won a great prize at the UG meeting!) actually got here before us, and helped us to set up the room.  We got the room set up, and within a few minutes the room started to fill up.

We had a great time, and the Challenge was exciting right through the end, with three teams heading into the last challenge of the day with fewer than 5 points separating them.  However the prizes weren’t as important as the knowledge – a lot of people learned a lot about Microsoft Virtualization, iSCSI SANs, Failover Clustering, and more.  They worked as teams, nine teams working as cohesive units with the hopes of winning the prize, but with the certainty that they were learning about technologies they hadn’t previously played with.

Of course we also discussed Server 8 – very briefly – and topics such as Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), and all sorts of other fun side-topics.  We had decent lunch, a few laughs, and a lot of fun.

Tomorrow is another day… we will start with 10 new teams, fresh and ready to learn, compete, and bond.  I love working with community… so much better than working alone! –M

Filed under Boot Camp, Hyper-V, Microsoft Canada, Saskatoon, Virtualization

Creating a Virtual Machine in Windows Server 8 “beta” with Hyper-V

March 19, 2012 1 Comment

Hyper-V is, as I have mentioned in this space before, going to be a game changer.  I am really looking forward to the new maximums both of the host and guest machines.  However those of you who have become familiar with Hyper-V over the past couple of years, you will be able to hit the ground running because there really isn’t much of a learning curve because as you will see in this demo, the basic functionality is as it used to be… with a couple of very minor changes.  Watch! –M

Filed under Hyper-V, Windows 8, Windows Server 8 Tagged with , , , , ,

Installing the Hyper-V Role in Windows Server 8 ‘beta’

March 17, 2012 1 Comment

I am off to the races with Windows 8, both client (on a HP EliteBook 2740p) and Server 8 “beta” (on an HP ProLiant ML 350 G5)!  When I say off to the races, I mean it… this is a much faster operating system than I am used to, and I am coming from really good stuff Winking smile

This first in a series of videos demonstrates how easy it is to install the Hyper-V role on Windows Server 8.  Hope you enjoy! -M

Installing the Hyper-V Role is easy… all done in five minutes!

Filed under Hyper-V, Windows 8, Windows Server 8 Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Windows Server 8: Busting the limits in Hyper-V, and comparing the numbers to VMware vSphere 5.0

March 9, 2012 4 Comments

It’s here! Ok, what I should say is that it’s BETA edition is here! Windows Server 8 is going to be a game changer for all sorts of reasons. However for those people who have been saying that Hyper-V is not ready for prime-time (it has been for a while) the new limits are going to make a lot of people reevaluate that position.

1Terabyte of RAM per Virtual Machine

The previous limitation of 64 gigabytes per virtual machine did not limit most workloads, but there are certainly cases for some servers that do need it. I don’t think you are going to see a lot of virtual machines running the full terabyte anytime soon… but being able to break the 64GB barrier is nice! VMware went the same way in vSphere 5, whereas their previous limit was 255GB (nearly 4 times that of Hyper-V) they quadrupled that. (vSphere 5.0: same)

160 Logical Processors per Host

The 160 LPs (includes cores, hyper-threads) is going to keep coming up as long as Intel and AMD keep putting more cores onto a CPU, and more CPUs onto the board. VMware went the same way, up to 160 LPs. (vSphere 5: same)

1024 Virtual Machines per Host

With a previous limitation of 384 VMs per host I used to wonder who really needed that. However when taking into account how much RAM can go into a host (2TBs) that is a lot of room for a lot of workloads. Add to that the fact that CPUs are more powerful than ever (Thanks to Moore’s Law) and any respectable datacentre stores their virtual machines on external storage, we are in a place where it makes sense to put more and more. With that being said, it is not likely that companies are going to run that high density under normal conditions, but when planning a failover environment you can now plan for fewer failover hosts (if necessary). VMware also boosted their limitations, previously at 320 VMs per host, they increased their limit: (vSphere 5: 512 VMs per host)

64 Nodes per Cluster

For all of those who have badmouthed Microsoft clustering over the years (I am one of them) Failover Cluster Services in Windows Server 2008 / R2 was a breath of fresh air. What was previously daunting and scary was made friendly and useable, and now it is not uncommon to see small business customers implementing failover clustering (see Busting the Myth: You cannot cluster Windows Small Business Server) in environments that were previously too small for it to be cost efficient. In Server 8 Microsoft has increased the maximum number of nodes in a cluster from 16 to 64, which is huge for datacentre environments that really need that scale. VMware has also increased their number, but not to the same level. (vSphere 5: 32 nodes per cluster)

4000 Virtual Machines per Cluster

by my math, if you can have up to 1024 virtual machines per host, and up to 64 nodes in a cluster, the theory should be that you could support up to 32,768 virtual machines in the cluster that would support up to half of the hosts failing simultaneously before you max out your resources. Obviously someone on the product team knows something that I don’t (probably several somethings) and caps it to 4000 VMs per cluster, a 75% increase over the previous iteration, which was capped at 1000. This is a huge lead over VMware, whose limits have not been increased over vSphere 4.1 (vSphere 5: 1000 virtual machines per cluster)

32 virtual CPUs per Virtual Machine

Here is where Microsoft has really hit a home run. previous versions of Hyper-V limited your virtual CPUs to four. kicking this up to 32 shoots way past VMware’s previous version, and matches their current limits. If you have virtual machines that require huge processing capacity you can go as high as you want… with the limiting factor being your physical hardware (you cannot assign more virtual CPUs than you have physical cores, including hyper-threading). This will be another game changer and will go a long way to proving the enterprise-readiness of Hyper-V. (vSphere 5 limit: same)

64 Terabytes per Virtual Hard Drive

Advantage: Microsoft… in a huge way. With the previous limit of two terabytes per VHD file, the new and improved VHDX file format shoots through the ceiling and will support much larger volumes. While most of us have no need for volumes this large, there are customers who have been using either pass-through disks (or RDMs or extents in VMware) to support large database files. VMware’s VMDK files will still be limited to 2TB, but can be expanded to 64TB using extents (which I am not a fan of). As well, they also offer support for 64TB volumes in Raw Device Maps, but in Physical Compatibility Mode only. (vSphere 5: 2TB)

Other Features

There are too many new features to mention, and over the next few months I will be writing about these and more in more detail. Both Microsoft and VMware have added support for UEFI boot systems; VMware is offering a better graphical experience in your virtual machines that now support Aero graphic capabilities in Windows 7; Microsoft’s RemoteFX is going to be huge… but there isn’t much I am currently allowed to say about it, except for the fact that you are going to like your VDI experience going forward with Windows Server 8!

There is a lot more to say, but I do not want to flirt with my NDA. If you are an IT Pro it is time for you to download the bits for Windows 8 beta, install it, play with it, and get used to it. You are going to noticed a huge difference over 2008, and if you don’t fall in love with it, I will give you a money-back guarantee (yes, the beta is free).

The future of Windows Server Virtualization is BRIGHT… and for the proponents of VMware who feel that nobody will ever touch them, I look forward to seeing the two sides push each other to make the experience better and more powerful, because that way it is the IT shops – the administrators, the IT Pros – who really win!

Filed under Hyper-V, Virtualization, VMware, Windows 8, Windows Server 8

The Great Debate: Virtualization Experts Butt Heads

March 8, 2012 Leave a comment

On March 5th ZDNet hosted an on-line debate between two industry experts on server virtualization (http://www.zdnet.com/debate/hyper-v-or-vmware/6348000). Jason Perlow (cleanly on the Hyper-V side) and Ken Hess (squarely and religiously in the VMware corner) are both recognized industry experts for whom I have a great deal of respect.  I did not watch the debate live, but I have read the transcript (available at the link listed) and am surprised by a few of the responses, which I would like to address here.

While most of you know, I would like to clarify my position for the sake of transparency: While I am certified in both Hyper-V and VMware technologies, my bread and butter is Microsoft; I have lived in that space for most of my career, and am a Virtual Partner Technology Advisor (Core I/O) with Microsoft Canada.  With that being said, all of my virtualization certifications are up to date (MCITP: Virtualization Administrator 2008 R2, VMware Certified Professional 5) on both technologies. 

I do not have a bad word to say about vSphere 5.  VMware has another winning technology on their hands in my opinion.  Where I feel they have fallen short is in their pricing model.  As Hyper-V Server and the System Center suite keep closing the gap technologically, I would have expected VMware to take the threat seriously, sharpen their pencils, and lower the costs of licensing (and supporting) their solutions.  Instead in July they announced their new Memory Allocation pricing model, which is costing companies more and not less without deploying any new solutions.  A colleague was telling me recently that their customer had been advised by VMware (not by a Partner, but by VMware proper) to build servers with more and more memory, and to build their VM environment based on that model because of course the CPUs were the only cost.  Three months later the new pricing model was announced, and their licensing jumped from $18,000 per year to $96,000.  It is stories like these that are making many VMware shops reevaluate their positions, and start to consider Hyper-V as a real alternative.

Having read the debate transcript through and through a number of times, as well as the comments, My position on one thing has been reaffirmed: Having the debate with proponents of VMware is akin to trying to debate religion with a zealot.  I have the greatest respect for Ken, who has proven himself a superior IT professional.  However many of his arguments are telling that he is so vehemently pro-VMware that he has not bothered to do his homework on Microsoft, and does not seem to have done his homework for this debate.  To wit:

“Microsoft has a chance to claim a small percentage of the market’s growth over the next few years but will never encroach on VMware’s pole position.”

It sounds to me like Ken is drinking the VMware Kool-Aid… “We are the best, always will be, and nobody could ever catch us.” Oh Hare, I would like to introduce you to the turtle.

“Microsoft’s Hyper-V is basically an attempt to enter a committed market.”

I am sure that Microsoft hopes that VMware continues to think this way… if they continue to jack up their prices as if their customers just don’t have a choice, they will eventually realize that customers (and yes Ken, even the CxOs who make the decision and measure potential downtime in the cost of a product) that Hyper-V is as good as we have been saying, and that they are already paying for it with their license for Windows Server… and most of these companies also have System Center running, so why wouldn’t they look at a more cost-effective solution to do the same thing?

“if you’re a Microsoft fan, you have to admit that you’ll probably wait until the Windows Server 8 R2 version and a couple of service packs before you take the plunge for anything production-oriented. If you don’t, then you haven’t learned any lessons in the past two decades.”

While I understand that older versions of the operating system did release with some bugs (notice vSphere U1, U2) the legacy mindset that you still have to wait until R2 SP1 is just folly.  Windows Server 2008 was as solid as any OS on the market, and the services packs and R2 releases have just made t better.  If VMware is banking on people holding out for another eighteen months after RTM of Windows Server 8 then I would remind them that hey… even if that were true (it isn’t) Server 2008 R2 SP1 is out now, and has been for a year – and is considered the most stable operating system on the planet.  If people are not going to Server 8 then watch out for the ones who VMware is angering with their Memory Tax who will go to that platform.

“I know that Microsoft touts their new Hyper-V as a "free" solution but it isn’t free. You still have to buy the license for the base operating system from Microsoft.”

Aside from the fact that VMware shops that use Windows Server in their environments also have to buy the license for the base operating system, I would point out (as Jason did) that Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is a free platform (equivalent to ESXi) that does more for free… For the features that VMware touts as necessary (vMotion, High Availability, monitoring, DRS, DPM) you have to buy the appropriate license of vCenter Server, PLUS the vMotion (etc…) licenses per ESXi host.  All of those are available for free with Hyper-V Server (Live Migration, Failover Clustering, monitoring, CPU Core Parking).

(In response to the question: How easy is it to migrate from a Vmware infrastructure to a Hyper-V infrastructure? “I’ve never done it nor do I know anyone who has. My guess is that currently, you’d have to reconstruct all of your virtual machines in Hyper-V. “

Here’s why you should never come to a debate unprepared.  System Center Virtual Machine Manager (current version as well as the soon to be released VMM 2012) has the ability to easily and seamlessly manage ESX and ESXi hosts through vCenter Server allowing a company who wishes to begin the migration process to do so without ripping and replacing existing infrastructure, and without having to manage and monitor two separate environments during the transition (which can take several years if necessary).  While the old VMware hosts are retired, rather than purchasing licenses for new servers they can deploy new Hyper-V Servers, and the heterogeneous environment can be fully managed from the single VMM console. 

While VMM does offer the option to perform V2V (virtual to virtual) conversions and migrations from VMware to Hyper-V seamlessly and easily (and without standalone tools, as is required in vCenter Server), it is not necessary to do so – you can use the single console to manage your complete environment until all of your ESX hosts are retired.

“from a hardware point-of-view, you’ll probably have to upgrade your hardware to run Hyper-V. Yes, even Server Core. Think of the Celsius to Fahrenheit temperature conversion formula when you think of converting from VMware to Hyper-V; double your current hardware requirements and add 32.”

Ken is sure that to migrate a host from ESXi to Hyper-V you would have to upgrade the hardware, and in most cases that is simply not true – the Hyper-V hypervisor may use slightly more resources than ESXi, but not nearly enough to require new hardware.  In fact, one of the advantages of Hyper-V is that it is based on the Windows kernel… in other words, if your hardware works with Windows, it will almost certainly support Hyper-V.  For datacentre admins that may not be a big issue – like most IT Pros I am a huge proponent of deploying server-grade hardware that is tested and approved… but how does a novice get started out learning Hyper-V? They install it on a workstation or a laptop, play with it, break it, and fix it.  VMware simply does not allow you to do this, and novices – even seasoned IT Pros who want to learn the product – have a great deal of trouble starting out.

I have been saying for years that IT should not be a religion… it should be about using the best tool for the job, and that means being willing to listen to alternatives and keeping an open mind that sometimes the solution you have been using for years may no longer be the smartest one.  That is why I bought a Macbook Pro a couple of years ago… it is why I learned Active Directory when Novell Netware was still the world leader… and it is why I started learning Hyper-V, after so many years working with VMware.  Don’t get me wrong… For three years after I started playing with Active Directory I still ran both AD and Netware… and to this day I am still consulting on and teaching both vCenter and Hyper-V (as well as maintaining my certifications).  The world changes – now people can get fired for buying IBM… I no longer adore my 64, and Hyper-V is a player in the Server Virtualization market… if you don’t believe me, check out the Gartner Magic Quadrant.  Those who embrace it will be well equipped to give their customers the proper balanced advice.  Those who deny it will be like all of my friends who collected CNE (Certified Novell Engineer) ribbons because Windows networking would never take off.

Filed under ESXi, Hyper-V, System Center Virtual Machine Manager, Virtualization, VMware

Ottawa & the NCR… Let’s Get Virtual!

February 11, 2012 4 Comments

If you are an IT Pro in the National Capital Reason, we have an event for you!  On Friday, February 17th and again on Saturday, February 18th Microsoft Canada’s Evangelism team is bringing the IT Virtualization Boot Camp to you!

Damir Bersenic and I will be hosting the event, for two days of geeking out… we will be building a virtualization environment from scratch, including full failover and Live Migration capabilities, and all in one day!

The format is fun and exciting, with teams of four participants competing for cash prizes!  The cost is $25, all of which goes directly to your local user group which, in turn, helps you!

For more information and to register visit the Canadian IT Pro Connection at http://blogs.technet.com/b/canitpro/archive/2012/02/06/hands-on-with-private-cloud-technology-it-virtualization-boot-camp-dates-for-ottawa-amp-calgary.aspx.  I look forward to seeing you in Ottawa in February!

Filed under Hyper-V, Microsoft Canada, Microsoft Virtualization, Virtualization

Hey Vancouver IT Pros!

January 26, 2012 Leave a comment

If you are an IT Pro in Vancouver, we have an event for you!  On Friday, February 10th and again on Saturday, February 11th Microsoft Canada’s Evangelism team is bringing the IT Virtualization Boot Camp to you!

Damir Bersenic will be hosting the event, and I will be his trusty sidekick for two days of geeking out… we will be building a virtualization environment from scratch, including full failover and Live Migration capabilities, and all in one day!

The format is fun and exciting, with teams of four participants competing for cash prizes!  The cost is $25, all of which goes directly to your local user group which, in turn, helps you!

For more information and to register visit the Canadian IT Pro Connection at http://blogs.technet.com/b/canitpro/archive/2012/01/26/hey-vancouver-it-pros-it-virtualization-boot-camps-are-coming-to-your-city-feb-10-amp-11.aspx.  I look forward to seeing you in Vancouver in February!

Filed under Boot Camp, Hyper-V, Microsoft Canada, Virtualization

Layer 1 or Layer 2 Hypervisor? A common misconception of Hyper-V, and a brief explanation of the Parent Partition

January 3, 2012 3 Comments

In the world of Server Virtualization, there are two types of hypervisors: Layer 2 hypervisors are installed as an application (or service) on an existing operating system (such as Microsoft Windows).  Layer 1 hypervisors are in and of themselves operating systems that are installed on the ‘bare metal’ – directly on the hardware.

The hypervisor is the virtualization layer – the platform on which the virtual servers are hosted.  Because all operating systems require resources (some more than others) it is axiomatic that the Layer 1 Hypervisors – those that are themselves thin operating systems – are going to be more efficient than the Layer 2 Hypervisors, which have to first allow the parent operating system to take the resources that it requires, and then meter our the available resources to its applications and services as it sees fit.

It used to be easy enough to know which virtualization platforms were which, based on how you installed them.  So when Microsoft released Hyper-V as a role on Windows Server 2008 (and all subsequent versions) it was an easy mistake to make that it, as was its predecessors, a Layer 2 Hypervisor.  However that assumption is wrong.

As with all other Roles on Windows Server, Hyper-V is installed by first installing the operating system, then adding the role.  it requires a total of 10 clicks, two reboots, and it is done.

Two reboots… that is a bit unusual, isn’t it?  Usually Roles either do not require a reboot, or occasionally a single reboot.  Only when you install multiple roles would you need to reboot multiple times, and even then only occasionally.  So why does Hyper-V require two?

The following is going to feel, for a couple of paragraphs, as if I accidentally cut and pasted a completely irrelevant article below.  Please read on, I will tie it all together in a few paragraphs!

If you have ever been to downtown Montreal you may have seen Christ Church Cathedral.  According to the church’s website the building was completed in 1859, and consecrated in 1867 (not sure why the 8 year lag… but then, I am not entirely sure why a building needs to be consecrated).  In other words, it recently celebrated its 150th birthday… and despite the efforts of the best architects (Frank Wills, Thomas S. Scott) and masons, older buildings tend to require a certain level of care to maintain.  They may have built them well back then, but ask any Egyptologist to confirm that the pyramids are crumbling… slowly.

Now, the following story is my interpretation of a historical discussion that I have no insight into.  The facts are there, but the story behind it is simply pure guesswork.  In the mid-1980s the church (which it should be mentioned is also the home of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal) evaluated its resources and holdings and determined that financially they were lacking.  Their most prominent holding – the plot of land on which the church was built – was worth millions (at the heart of downtown Montreal, in the booming building economy of the 1980s), and they needed a way to leverage that if they were to remain (or return to) financially healthy. 

The board called for ideas of how to leverage the property… remember, this was before Matt Groening gave us the idea to commercialize the church.  Some of the ideas were certainly money-makers, but unrealistic.

Chapter_house

  1. They could tear down the church and build a commercial property.  Unfortunately, this would essentially eliminate the point of the church… couldn’t do that!
  2. They could build OVER the church… however there were several issues with that, not the least of which that building over an architectural wonder like the cathedral would mean masking its true beauty.  However from a more practical standpoint, building onto a building that old would have all sorts of concerns, some of them involve the scary words ‘building could fall down.’
  3. The strangest idea is what they actually ended up doing… they dug under the church, essentially putting the building on stilts, and built an underground shopping mall, which today is known as Promenades de la Cathedrale.  It is a multi-level mall with over fifty stores and a food court, along with underground parking.  It is an architectural feat that must have taken a year to design and longer to plan.  The steeple of the cathedral, however, is no higher than it was in 1867, and the project was executed successfully with movements never exceeding 3/16” inch.
  4. Union_ave2

Hyper-V installs in much the same way.  It lifts the base operating system up off the bare-metal, injects the thin-layer hypervisor onto the bare-metal hardware, and instead of placing the original back where it was, it condenses it into what I call a para-virtual machine, and creates the Parent Partition, which is a concept unique to Microsoft.  The Parent Partition is the ‘first among equals’ which controls the drivers, and allows the administrator to use the console rather than remoting into the system.  It does not use a .vhd (virtual hard drive) for storage, but rather writes directly to the hard drive.  There is no way to differentiate it from a non-virtual machine… except that the system boots to Hyper-V and then loads the Parent Partition.

The hypervisor loads in Ring –1… there are no hooks into it for any external code – it is purely written by Microsoft and read-only.  However on top of that the virtual machines (or Child Partitions) are all created equally… or at least three of the four types have equal access to the distribution of resources, with the fourth type (the Parent Partition) being the only partition that can reserve its own resources off the top – by default 20% of the CPU and 2GB of memory, but those numbers are adjustable.

One primary difference between the Parent Partition and the Child partitions is seen in the following graphics.  In the first graphic (Image1) we see the Device Manager for the Parent Partition.  The expanded information is what you would expect – HP LOGICAL VOLUME denotes the HP RAID Array, the Display Adapter is ATI, there are two HP NC371i Multifunction Gigabit NICs, and the iLO Management Controller driver.  The second graphic (Image2) is a similar screenshot from an operating system running in a Child Partition on the same physical box.  It is the same ACPI x64-based PC… and it even has the same Dual-Core AMD Opteron™ Processor 8220 SE CPUs… it just has fewer of them (while Hyper-V allows us to assign up to four virtual CPUs to a VM, this one only has two).  Where the Parent Partition has HP LOGICAN VOLUMES, ATI ES1000 video, and HP NC371i network adapters, the corresponding drivers for the Child Partition are MSFT Virtual Disk Devices, Microsoft Virtual Machine Bus Video Device, and Microsoft Virtual Machine Bus Network Adapters.  While they have similar performance to the physical, the virtual partition has virtual hardware, unlike the para-virtual machine, which has physical hardware… sort of.

Image1: Device Manager, Parent PartitionImage2: Device Manager, Child Partition

Because the actual drivers for the physical hardware run in the Parent Partition, it also has a feature called the ‘Virtual Service Provider (VSP).’ The VSP communicates with the feature in the Child Partitions called the ‘Virtual Service Client (VSC).’ This is how the virtual machines can perform as well as their virtual counterparts, with the limitations of their virtual hardware only being how many of the resources are allocated to (or shared with) the VM.

Because of how the hypervisors differ, ESX (and ESXi) does not have a Parent Partition… their ‘operating system’ is their hypervisor.  With Microsoft Windows the hypervisor kernel is still Windows, so it works differently.  However, benchmark performance tests of both prove that there is slight to no difference in performance between ESX and Hyper-V**, whether testing against the full installation of Windows Server, Server Core, or Hyper-V Server.

Incidentally, I mentioned earlier that there are three types of Child Partitions… while this is true, the only differentiator is the operating system installed in the Child Partition… so the three types are:

  • Child Partition with Hyper-V supported OS
  • Child Partition with a non-supported (Legacy) version of Windows (or non-supported x86 OS)
  • Child Partition with a supported Xen-Enabled Linux Kernel (SLES, RHEL, CentOS)

Where VMware claims to support many more versions of many more operating systems than Hyper-V does, Microsoft is more realistic.  For example, Microsoft wrote Windows NT, but stopped supporting it years ago.  It, like any other x86 operating system, will install in a Hyper-V virtual machine, it will not have Integration Components.  You could will not be able to fully leverage the gigabit Ethernet adapter or high resolution video… but if you are still running NT chances are you didn’t have that anyways.  Microsoft also recognizes that it would be impossible to support many Linux builds, especially the ones that are primarily supported by community.  On the other hand, the three kernels that are supported account for well over 90% of Linux in professional datacenters. Chances are there will be more kernels supported in the future… but the majority are covered currently.

If your operating system of choice is Linux, then vSphere may be your best bet.  However, if you run a Windows-centric datacenter, but happen to have a number of Linux machines that you need to run, then Hyper-V with System Center is definitely for you… especially since you now understand why Hyper-V is really a Layer 1 Hypervisor, despite what some may claim!

—

**Although I have performed these tests, the End User License Agreement of vSphere 4.0, 4.1, and 5.0 all prohibit the publication of these benchmarks, and I would be stripped of my VMware certifications and subject myself to legal action if I did.  Solution… build them for yourself Smile

Filed under Hyper-V, Hypervisor, Parent Partiton, Virtualization, Virtualization Host

Hyper-V: Survival Guide–A Wiki!

January 2, 2012 1 Comment

If you are interested in Hyper-V, this is for you!  The TechNet Social has a wiki page on Hyper-V that is constantly growing, and you should bookmark it and refer to it as needed.  The link is: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/125.aspx

Filed under Hyper-V, TechNet, Virtualization

Virtualization Infrastructure: Which platform is right for you?

November 7, 2011 2 Comments

Over the past year as a Virtual Partner Technology Advisor for Microsoft Canada I have heard a lot of people say a lot of things about Hyper-V, and not all of it has been from people who work for (or are otherwise strongly invested in) VMware.  Some of those arguments are reasoned, others emotional, but there are still a lot of people who argue that  because Hyper-V is free, it cannot be as good a product as vSphere.

While I understand the thinking, I feel it is a misconception to state that Hyper-V is completely free.  For most instances it is a role that comes with Microsoft Windows Server.  Just like you do not pay for DNS Server or Internet Information Systems (IIS), Hyper-V is included with the product that you use to install it.

Of course, there is also the free hypervisor, Microsoft Hyper-V Server.  It is a free download from Microsoft, which can be installed directly onto the hardware.  However once you install that, you are still going to install operating systems that you have paid for (or will pay for) into the virtual partitions.  Statistically a vast majority of those will be Microsoft Windows operating systems… either modern or legacy versions.

What we obtain too cheap we esteem too lightly.  Tis dearness only that gives everything its value. –Thomas Paine

A Layer 1 Hypervisor (virtualization host platform) is, by definition, an operating system.  It is installed directly on the hardware (Ring –1).  However without another operating system – usually Windows – it does not do anything else.  So why should you pay for both the host operating system and the guest operating systems?  Microsoft does not believe you should have to, and so they give the hypervisor away for free.  In fact VMware does the same thing – ESXi is a free product as well.

In both the case of Microsoft’s Hyper-V and VMware’s ESXi the hypervisor is free, and it is only the management tools that you would pay for, and even that is not an entirely true statement.  You can download the vSphere client for free from vmware.com, just as you can download the Hyper-V Manager as part of the Remote Server Administration Tools (RSAT) from microsoft.com, and both of these can be installed on any Windows-based server or client operating system.  So really it is only the infrastructure tools – the tools that manage features such as Failover Clustering (Microsoft) and High Availability (VMware), intelligent placement, load balancing, and others that cost, and it is true that these are going to cost less with Microsoft Virtualization than with VMware’s vSphere.

Does this argument make one better than the other?  Maybe… but exactly which is better may depend on who you ask.  There are many IT Pros who have been using VMware for years and swear by it, and even at a higher cost than Microsoft it is worth the money.  There are others who feel that in this day and age of trimming budgets and cutting costs the so-called ‘free’ Hyper-V is a better solution.  However a lot of the answer of ‘which is better’ will come down to the Universal Consultants’ Answer (UCA)… It depends.

When comparing the technologies side by side there are a number of factors we have to compare to determine the technological superiority of one over the other.

1. Performance

The first factor we have to consider is performance.  If Hyper-V does not work as well as ESXi then the comparison is irrelevant, just like it would be folly to compare a Porsche to a Fiat solely based on price.  The question will come down to this: on similar hardware will the platforms perform similarly?  In my tests (performed on both HP ProLiant and Dell PowerEdge server hardware) the performance of a virtual workload is similar – one or the other may perform up to 3-5% better depending on the actual workload type.  This is my experience, and unfortunately VMware’s End User License Agreement prohibits me from publishing comparative benchmarks.

2. Management Tools

If we can assume parity on training and competence on each platform (I hold both the VMware Certified Professional 4 and the Microsoft Certified IT Professional: Virtualization Administrator 2008 R2 certifications) then manageability will be divided into two compartments: 1) Do both platforms do everything that I need, and 2) How comfortable am I with the management tools available.

In my case, there is clear parity on features.  All of the components that I need and would use are in Hyper-V (taking into account that I have in all of my environments either System Center Virtual Machine Manager and System Center Operations Manager installed as management and monitoring components, or in the case of smaller networks the equivalent System Center Essentials (in the case of SWMI Consulting Group it is actually the HP Insight with Microsoft System Center Essentials 2010 offering).  With that being said, there are two components of VMware that I could see some organizations needing or, as is more often the case, wanting.  Those are Storage vMotion and Virtual Network Switches.

While I understand the theoretical desire for Storage vMotion, I am still always hesitant to use it in a production environment during busy times.  I admit I may be suffering from the same type of legacy mindset that I so often accuse others of falling into, but I just cannot see it as a good idea to move a .vmdk file from one SAN device to another while the virtual machine that is attached to that .vmdk file is operational.  I understand that the capability will be delivered with the next version of Hyper-V, and while I look forward to seeing it, I still do not think it is something I will do very often.

Of course Hyper-V has virtual networking as well, but there is no comparison between the two – VMware’s offering is much more robust than Microsoft’s.  With that being said, most companies don’t have a need for that robustness in their virtual networking – they have already invested in it in their physical networking, and have the CCNEs on staff to manage it.  While there are some companies that do have the need for features such as distributed virtual network switches (which I am told will be included in the next version of Hyper-V), I still suspect that most companies do not have such complex requirements.

As for the management console itself (vSphere Client versus Hyper-V Manager or System Center VMM) the jury is out… and irrelevant.  I may prefer chocolate ice cream, but that does not mean that someone else does not prefer vanilla nor that they would be wrong to.  I spend so much time in the System Center and MMC consoles that I was actually surprised to hear one of my students tell me recently that ‘I can’t get used to Microsoft’s management tools… vSphere is so much simpler!’  Just like that I was reminded that personal preference is so closely tied to our experience… someone who knows vSphere will absolutely prefer it, while someone looking at it for the first time might consider it difficult to navigate.

3. Support

VMware wants your vSphere environment to be managed by a VMware Certified Professional (VCP).  Likewise, Microsoft would prefer that your Hyper-V environment be managed by someone who at least holds a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist: Windows Server 2008 R2, Server Virtualization (MCTS).  Of course, if your IT guy is more of a generalist then nearly every Windows Server certification will cover the basics of Hyper-V, so most of the MCTS certs will do, or at least act as a foundation for Hyper-V.  That does not mean that VCPs are not extremely qualified.  Frankly, I believe that the VCP process was harder than the MCTS process, and suspect that most of the VCPs out there have a collection of other certifications including the odd MCSE and MCTS.

All of this to say that it is easier to learn Microsoft virtualization as a subset of other skills you already need in your environment than it is to invest in training on new (to them) technology for an IT Pro.  <shameless plug> The certification process can be as easy as spending a few hours with the e-learning course Collection 10215- Implementing and Managing Microsoft Server Virtualization (see Hyper-V Training–10215AE is now available in E-Learning! on The World According to Mitch) which will prepare you for the exam 70-659, and then scheduling (and sitting) the exam. </shameless plug> There is no requirement to sit the class before being allowed to take it.

4. Cost

So with all of these factors being equal, the decision for many will come down to cost… and this is one factor where Microsoft wins hands down.  According to price lists provided by Hewlett-Packard, VMware’s pricing for an 8-node cluster built on vSphere 5 Enterprise on servers with two CPUs (before we encounter the vMemory vTax) is USD$45,363.  Building the same environment on Microsoft technologies with System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 would cost $6,960 – less than one sixth the cost.  Expanding it out to the same configuration but four CPUs the VMware solution doubles in cost while the Microsoft solution remains the same.  In other words, as your environment grows arithmetically your costs on VMware grow exponentially.

Conclusion

As the technologies get closer in functionality it becomes more and more important to find a way to stay ahead, whether that be with innovation or with pricing.  Which is right for you?  That is for you to decide.  Which is right for me?  Check out the blog posts on the infrastructure at SWMI Consulting Group for your answer.

Filed under Article, Hyper-V, System Center Virtual Machine Manager, Virtualization, VMware

vPTA: What NOT to take away from my 1-day virtualization training!

October 31, 2011 3 Comments

As a Virtual Partner Technology Advisor I have a really cool job… I go to Microsoft Partners across Canada and demonstrate not simply the virtualization component of Hyper-V, but the entire environment that the partner could leverage to architect a virtualization solution for their customers. 

When we developed the program last year we had several discussions around what hardware we should use to deliver the sessions.  Theoretically we wanted server-grade hardware but we couldn’t get anyone to donate it… and frankly the idea of carrying a 2U server around did not appeal to me.  We briefly discussed the possibility of building it in a remote datacentre (i.e.: at SWMI Consulting Group) but decided against it because of potential Internet connectivity issues.

We ended up building the environment on laptops, and I have a suitcase that I refer to as my Mobile Datacentre.  It is not an ideal solution, but it allows us to do everything we wanted to do on the client’s site; I can get onto an airplane with it as carry-on, and it takes less than 30 minutes to set up completely.  In a future article I will outline what my ‘kit’ consists of, but essentially it has a couple of laptops that run Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

After the first few deliveries I started to get calls from the partners that I had not expected… asks for support on the most ridiculous scenarios, to which I would respond ‘Why would you ever want to do that in a production environment?’  The answer kept coming back ‘Well, isn’t that how you told us to do it?’ Of course it wasn’t, but as I thought about it I understand where some of the miscommunications came from.  Based on that, I have compiled a list of lessons you should never take away from my vPTA sessions.

1. Your laptop is NOT a server!

2. Your desktop is NOT a server!

I have met people over the years – especially in the SMB space – who feel that because a computer is based on x86 hardware and the specs are similar they can run their production servers on any hardware.  This is WRONG! Just as there is a difference between corporate-grade and consumer-grade hardware, servers should only be run on server-grade hardware – whether you prefer HP, Dell, or Intel OEM machines.

3. You should have multiple domain controllers!

4. If you have only ONE domain controller, and it is virtualized, there are risks in joining the virtualization host to that domain.  I am not saying that it will not work – it will – as long as you are careful about it.  Remember, do it carelessly at your peril!

5. When using a Storage Area Network (SAN), which is highly recommended for virtualization environments, use a proper physical SAN device.  Trying to do things ‘on the cheap’ with software SAN solutions may work… but use them as a last resort.  Remember, they will not have the flexibility or power of a physical SAN, nor the management tools.

6. If you do decide to use a Software SAN (such as Microsoft iSCSI Software Target 3.3), DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES BUILD IT IN A VIRTUAL MACHINE.

What software SANs do in order to ensure that the volume is not shared is it creates a fixed-size VHD. If you create a 100GB LUN (Logical Unit Number) then a 100GB VHD is created on the volume. Creating a VHD within a VHD not only slows things down, it also has the potential to… well, make things go bad.

7. Don’t (on a daily basis… or EVER!) turn your Hyper-V hosts off, disconnect them and all of your networking components, put them into a roller-board suitcase, and travel with them.  Your servers should only move if your company sells your building and moves to a new one.  Otherwise they should stay put and always stay on!  In fact, there should be careful planning for UPS requirements and generators in the event of power outages.  Remember… when I am finished at your site at the end of the day… I ‘destroy’ the demo environment and rebuild it before going to my next session!

8. YOU NEED MORE THAN ONE NETWORK CARD RUNNING ON A CHEAP D-LINK SWITCH TO MAKE YOUR VIRTUALIZATION ENVIRONMENT WORK!!!  This is not a commentary on D-Link hardware… for home and SMBs they probably work pretty well (I use them for some things).  When planning the network architecture of your virtualization environment you should do some serious planning around networking requirements, including how many NICs for production, how many for iSCSI, how many for Clustering, will your Production vNetwork be shared with your Management vNetwork?  The answer to all of these questions depends on your requirements… but it is ALWAYS more than one.  Remember: More NICs=More Better!

9. Your iSCSI (Storage) network should not be on the same wire as your Production network, and if it is out of necessity then you should at the very least implement vLAN tags to segregate the traffic.  Remember, the only encryption you can put on an iSCSI network (and few people seem to…) is CHAP – not very good. 

10. YOUR LAPTOP AND DESKTOP ARE NOT SERVERS! Of course this is the same as Points 1 & 2, but important enough a message that it warrants repeating.

11. VM Snapshots are great for labs and testing, but are not recommended for your production environment, and are NEVER a long-term solution.  In fact this is STRONGLY discouraged by both Microsoft, VMware, AND SWMI Consulting Group  They should be used in production sparingly and carefully, and only with very careful planning and monitoring.  Remember, when you delete a snapshot… NOTHING HAPPENS.  The VHD and AVHD files only merge when you shut down the virtual machine, and can take a lot of time!

12. Breaking any of these rules in a production environment is not just a bad idea, it would likely result in an RGE (Resume Generating Event).  In other words, some of these can be serious enough for you to lose your job, lose customers, and possibly even get you sued.  Follow the best practices though and you should be fine!

Filed under Article, Hyper-V, Virtualization

Microsoft Virtualization Learning Resources

September 29, 2011 1 Comment

It is amazing how many people ask me what resources are available for someone who wants to learn Microsoft Virtualization and then get certified with either the MCTS (Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist) or MCITP (Microsoft Certified IT Professional).  After all, they are all over the place. The first place to look is Microsoft.

According to IDC WW Quarterly Server Virtualization Tracker (March, 2011) Hyper-V has grown to a 16% market share, which is pretty amazing considering that prior to the launch of Hyper-V in 2008 the world scoffed at Microsoft Virtualization.  In July Gartner released its Magic Quadrant for x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure placed Microsoft in the Leaders quadrant, which for years had belonged exclusively to VMware.  I have been telling people for years that you should never bet against Microsoft once they decide to put all of their resources into going from Worst to First.  They hire the best developers and have the deepest pocket… and have more experience making solid operating systems than anyone else!

Of course I still recommend everyone take my course! I did not write Microsoft Learning’s 10215A, but I have taught it several times and it has been very well received.  Some people don’t want to take a full week ILT class, so now it is available on-line as an e-learning offering from Microsoft Learning as Collection 10215- Implementing and Managing Microsoft Server Virtualization.  If you don’t recognize the handsome (sic!) fellow on camera, then hopefully one day we will be able to actually meet.  I had so much fun recording it, even though I had to change my style so drastically to fit their guidelines.

Last week I published an article pointing to all of the original Jump Start videos – you can check that out here (Real Help in a Virtual World) and see Symon Perriman and Corey Hines talking… you can see their passion as well as their knowledge.

On October 4th Symon will be at it again… this time teamed up with a very good friend of mine and a true celebrity of the Canadian IT Pro scene, Rick Claus from Microsoft Canada.  They will be hosting MC3 October: Virtualization, a session for the Microsoft Certified Community Connection.  It will be a free 3-hour session presenting a current look at virtualization – an update on technology, an overview of certifications, and a discussion of the career opportunities available.  You will not want to miss this session!

Microsoft has several other offerings available, including a new Jump Start! Microsoft Server Virtualization – Get Certified! offering which you can register for now by clicking here. For $99 you not only get a full day of Jump Start lessons (as a Live Virtual Classroom), you also get an exam voucher (value $150!) included. You don’t have to be a mathematical genius to realize that it’s worth it!  Reserve your spot today.

Knowing all of this are you still interested in taking the full class with me?  As long as you are a Microsoft Partner (in Canada) you can, and subsidized at that.  Keep watching your Partner Newsletters for details on when the next class is, and either I or another highly skilled Microsoft Certified Trainer will be glad to teach it to you.

Are you in Toronto and do not want to wait for the next newsletter? SWMI Consulting Group partners with a Microsoft Silver Learning Partner to deliver this training both as public classroom and private offerings for your company.  Let us know and we will be glad to set it up for you.

As well, if you are a Microsoft Partner in Canada and would like for a Virtual Partner Technology Advisor to come to your offices to spend a day teaching your team about both the technologies and the business value of Microsoft Virtualization, then all you have to do is speak with your Partner Account Manager and see if you qualify.  I’d love to come see you Smile

Virtualization is not only the future, it is the present… you don’t have to be Gartner or IDC to see that.  With VMware’s new Memory Tax Hyper-V is the way to go… and now is the time to learn it.  Check out these resources, build out your lab environment, and get with the program because WE NEED YOU! Actually, it is your clients who need you… to learn the technology so that you can architect and build the best solutions for them.  How do you do that? The first step is to learn, the second is to get certified.  Good luck!

Filed under Hyper-V, Microsoft Learning, Microsoft Virtualization, Virtualization

Hyper-V Training–10215AE is now available in E-Learning!

September 28, 2011 5 Comments

I am asked all the time what are the best resources available to learn Hyper-V and the associated technologies – from the hypervisor to System Center, Failover Clustering, data protection, remote desktop and so much more – and the answer is simple: Take the course. Microsoft Learning’s course 10215A is an excellent offering that I teach quite often, chiefly but not exclusively for the Microsoft Partner Network in Canada.

Unfortunately not everyone can take my class.  There are a lot of reasons, including geography, cost, and availability.  Not every company is willing to allow their employees to take five days off to take a class, and realistically the class is not offered in every city or by every training centre.  To pay for a five day instructor-led MOC course is another reason – most centres charge over $2,000 to attend the five day class, and that does not include lunch or the cost of writing the exam.  Microsoft Canada has offer this course several times per year (and will continue to do so) and subsidizes it heavily making for one of the best deals in town… but there are only so many seats in the class, and you have to be one of the first fifteen.

There are a few other issues that I hear often, including complaints that there is a lot of information to digest in 5 days (and often taught in 4 days).  The labs should be made available after the course, which of course would greatly increase the value but also the cost.

So I am pleased to announce that Microsoft Learning has now released the course in e-learning format.  Collection 10215: Implementing and Managing Microsoft Server Virtualization is an on-line collection of six mini-courses:

The six courses include demos, practice questions, and labs, as well as yours truly on screen teaching most of the material in an abridged version of the ILT version.  It can be viewed either on-line, or downloaded and viewed off-line using the E-Learning Offline Player.  I was glad to find this out because I have a lot of airplane travel coming up in the next two months, and it will be a good use of my time.  Whether you plan to go through the courses on-line or off-line they will be a very good use of your time to go through them to learn Hyper-V, understand the tools around Hyper-V that make it a very viable alternative for VMware, and of course prepare yourself to pass exam 70-659!

E-Learning is a great alternative to instructor-led training (ILT) for a number of reasons.  Of course, as a professional IT trainer I truly believe that the best way to learn most technologies is to sit through my class.  I do not only teach the material on the slides (I hate RTFS instructors!), I try to convey to my students my real-world experience with the technologies, as well as the business value which is so important when speaking with CxOs.  However for students who cannot take the time or cannot spend the money, or for those who do not live close enough to a training centre that offers the course that the are interested in, e-learning allows students to learn the material (and prepare for the exam) from wherever they are, for a lower cost, and at their convenience.  They will never cancel at the last minute due to client emergencies, they will just go through the material at their convenience.  As for the real-world experience… well, for that you have The World According to Mitch Smile

Let me know what you think about the course… I would love your feedback!

Filed under Hyper-V, Microsoft Learning, Microsoft Virtualization, Virtualization

Real Help in a Virtual World

September 22, 2011 4 Comments

As you know I spend a lot of time discussing virtualization, both as a vPTA for Microsoft Canada and as an MCT.  There is a lot of information out there to help IT Pros at every level, from getting started to the graduate-level super-high-end questions.  The problem is finding it, and when you do find it you have to separate the wheat from the chaff – the valuable information from all of the fud that is out there.

The following is a list of  videos are essentially a soup to nuts graduate course on Microsoft Server Virtualization.  Although I love teaching the class, I am glad that I can point my students (and the rest of you!) to a few on-line resources… until the Microsoft e-learning course 10215AE comes on-line (in November) I suggest you watch these videos, especially if you are thinking about taking any of the Microsoft Certification exams anytime soon!  The speakers are Corey Hynes and Symon Perriman, both IT Pros whom I trust and respect. -M

Filed under Hyper-V, Microsoft Virtualization, Virtualization

← Older posts