Introduction to Hyper-V​

Hyper-V is an emulation/hyper-visor Microsoft developed technology – similar to VMWare Workstation or ESXI that allows you to run Virtual Machines and different workloads simultaneously. Hyper-V is currently available in Windows 8, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows 8.1 & Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2. The Hyper-V hypervisor allows multiple workloads to run on the same physical hardware that in the past would have otherwise only been suitable for one workload – allowing for power and resource efficiency.

Hyper-V Specifications​

Host operating system:

To install the Hyper-V role, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard, Enterprise or Datacentre edition, Windows Server 2012 Standard or Datacentre edition, or Windows 8 (or 8.1) Pro or Enterprise edition is required. Hyper-V is only supported on x86-64 variants of Windows. It can be installed regardless of whether the installation is a full or core installation. **Processor: **An x86-64 processor

Hardware-assisted virtualization support: This is available in processors that include a virtualization option; specifically, Intel VT or AMD Virtualization (AMD-V, formerly code-named “Pacifica”).

A NX bit-compatible CPU must be available and Hardware Data Execution Prevention (DEP) must be enabled.

Although this is not an official requirement, Windows Server 2008 R2 and a CPU with second-level address translation support are recommended for workstations.

Second-level address translation is a mandatory requirement for Hyper-V in Windows 8

Memory

Minimum 2 GB. (Each virtual machine requires its own memory, and so realistically much more.)

Windows Server 2008 Standard (x64) Hyper-V full GUI or Core supports up to 31 GB of memory for running VMs, plus 1 GB for the Hyper-V parent OS.]

Maximum total memory per system for Windows Server 2008 R2 hosts: 32 GB (Standard) or 2 TB (Enterprise, Datacentre)

Maximum total memory per system for Windows Server 2012 hosts: 4 TB

Guest operating systems​

Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 supports virtual machines with up to 4 processors each (1, 2, or 4 processors depending on guest OS-see below)

Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 supports virtual machines with up to 64 processors each.

Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 supports up to 384 VMs per system.

Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 supports up to 1024 active virtual machines per system.

Hyper-V supports both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) guest VMs.

Improvements of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012​

Hyper-V Extensible Virtual Switch

Network virtualization

Multi-tenancy

Storage Resource Pools

.vhdx disk format supporting virtual hard disks as large as 64 TB with power failure resiliency

Virtual Fibre Channel

Offloaded data transfer

Hyper-V replica

Cross-premise connectivity

Cloud backup

Installing Hyper-V in Windows 8 & Windows 8.1​

1. Navigate to Control Panel & select Uninstall a Program underneath programs
2. Select Turn Windows Features On or Off
3. Check Hyper-V & Hyper-V Platform and select additional relevant features – I would HIGHLY recommend Hyper-V GUI Management Tools.
4. Windows will go through and install the Hyper-V modules onto the Windows 8 workstation. Once completed the workstation will need a restart and you will be able to now fully utilise Hyper-V!

Installing Hyper-V for Windows Server 2012​

1. Open Server Manager
2. Click Add Roles and Features and click Next
3. Select Hyper-V Role and click Next
4. Select the appropriate NIC (network interface card) for live migration and select Next
5. Select the default locations for your VHD (virtual hard disks) and VM (virtual machine) configuration files to be held and select Next
6. Once the Hyper-V role has been fully installed – restart the Windows Server 2012 machine. You should now have access to the Hyper-V Manager.

Hyper-V Tips and Tricks​

How to stop and restart the Hyper-V service​

1. Open Hyper-V Manager
2. Select the relevant Hyper-V server
3. Select Stop Service

How to create a new Virtual Machine in Hyper-V​

1. Open Hyper-V Manager
2. Select New and Virtual Machine
3. The before you Begin Wizard will now appear – click Next
4. Choose a name for your Virtual Machine and verify the storage location is for the virtual machine is appropriate and click Next
5. Here you can select the “generation” of the Virtual Machine.
6. Generation 1 – These are for 32bit legacy based systems usually used for Windows 7 and Windows XP/Linux virtual machines.
7. Generation 2 – These are for Windows Server 2012 or 64bit versions of Windows 8
8. NOTE: Once Virtual Machine generation has been selected – YOU CANNOT change it.
9. NOTE: Using Convert-VMGeneration script you can convert a Generation 1 VM to Generation 2.
10. You can now select the RAM amount you would like to delegate to your Virtual Machine and select Next
11. If you have VLAN setup you can set your Virtual Machine to use the connection – I don’t so I am just going to click Next
12. Now you can specify the appropriate VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) for the Virtual Machine to use – you can either create a new one or use an existing VHD.
13. This is where you specify the path to your installation media for your virtual machine – such as an OS (operating system) ISO.
14. You have finally setup your new Virtual Machine! Verify all the settings are correct and click Finish to configure and generate your new Virtual Machines.
15. You can now right click on your Virtual Machine under the Hyper-V Manager and select Connect… to start it.

WOL (Wake on Lan) functions – can be extremely useful especially in remote management and deployment of resources. I have come across a neat little free utility named: SoftPerfect Network Scanner which although being freeware comes with a manner of useful functionality from small to large WANs so I recommend to anyone having a flick through the utility.

1. First download the utility – SoftPerfect Network Scanner and save to an easily locatable location – ie Desktop or My Documents/Downloads.
2. Extract the netscan zip file. There are 2 folders – one for 32 or one for 64 bit.
3. Open netscan.exe
4. In the Range from fields type the IP range you would like to scan – ie 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.255 and press Start Scanning to the right.
5. Depending on the size of your network – this may take anywhere from a few seconds to minutes.
6. Once completed press Ctrl+A to select all devices (You can also go into View, Quick Filter Hosts & select Shared Folders to help distinguish what machines are actually workstations).
7. Right click and select Wake-On-LAN, Send Wake-On-LAN signal to send the WOL packet to the workstations in the IP range.

Note: What I would recommend doing – is doing this process while you know the workstations have been started and instead of sending the Wake-On-LAN signal in Step 8 – select Save MAC to WOL Manager. You can then go to Options on the top menu of the Network Scanner and select Wake-On-LAN Manager – here you can add more workstations – clear the workstations by hostname/mac address and subnet that you do not want to include and specify a delay in sending out the Wake-On-LAN packets between workstations.

In this example I am using a – TD-W8960N.

I am only going to give you a brief outline on how to set this up as various people need various settings – however it is extremely easy to utilise and doesn’t require a router restart to take effect.

1. First navigate to the routers administration page – open your internet browser and navigate to: 192.168.1.1
2. On the left hand side Menu select Advanced Setup
3. Select Parental Control
4. Here you have 2 options – you can place a Time Restriction which will allow you to specify by time and day (by MAC address filtering) that will Block or Allow internet connectivity during certain periods. The second is URL filtering allowing you to place a block on certain URLs.

1. Unplug your TV from the power for 5 minutes to allow for power capacitors to clear charge.
2. Plug TV back into power and press the on button.

Note: If this fails to turn the TV on and blinking red lights still insist – contact your manufacturer or local television repair store. A few Samsung models (such as the Samsung Series 6 LCD sets) are well known for faulty capacitors which causes this problem.

Branchcache is one of those things – that can either be a blessing or a curse depending on how your network is setup.

Supported by Windows 7/Windows 8 & Server 2008 R2/Server 2012 – Branchcache is one of those technologies that I believe should be setup as default from the start – especially in larger organisations or enterprises.

First off – Branchcache is a method of “transparent caching” popular files from a network share to a more locally centralized – to the requesting computer – without increasing network bandwidth for a file that continuously gets pulled from a fileserver.

Hosted​

Branchcache hosted is a method of actually having a Branchcache server – on an actual physical remote site away from the main fileserver.

Say you request a file “Untitled.docx” from the fileserver (at the main location – which may be on the opposite side of the country from your location) – however some of your colleagues also have requested the same file. The hosted Branchcache server that is usually located closer to your physical location then the main fileserver – holds a “cached” copy which your computer will grab first. If no one had requested the “Untitled.docx” previously your Windows workstation will then retrieve the file from the main fileserver and the Branchcache server will then host the file for an amount of time – specified by your systems administrator – this allows faster read times on the files you are commonly working on and reduces overall network latency.

Distributed​

Branchcache Distribution is a method in which there is no local branchcache server available. This method is commonly used for smaller external remote sites – compared to the hosted method which requires a server setup. Through the use of the Local Group Policy distributed branchcache allows you to retrieve commonly used documents from other branchcache supported Windows workstations without the use of a dedicated server.

The files get “cached” onto the local workstations – allowing any supported Branchcache workstation to pick up the cached files without having to download the files from the network fileserver – reducing the continuous pull from the network fileserver and allowing for faster start – this method however is not recommended in a highly secure environment as files are stored on the local workstations.

Note: Both methods do a file check to make sure the file version you are opening – is the most up to date. If the file you are opening is out of date – to the one stored on the fileserver then Branchcache will automatically run the latest version and update it’s cache.