As with anything you should be backing up your Hyper-V machines.  I think that just goes without saying.  Backing up Hyper-V has gotten easier with the addition of VSS and Windows Server Backup (WSB).  WSB is a new feature in Windows Server 2008 that replaces the old NTBackup from days gone by.  It is not installed by default ...

Softgrid is what I like to call the next paradigm shift in virtualization. First we had Server and computer virtualization. This helped consolidate resources by allowing administrators to increase the density of servers per rack, and decrease the complexity of managing hundreds of servers. The next wave of virtualization is happening at the ...

Ever wish you could grab just one file from a PC backup rather then having to restore the entire backup? Now with Vista CompletePC backup you can! Using Vista CompletePC Backup you can now create full backups of your entire hardrive to external media. (For instance a USB hard drive) for details on how to create backups take a look at this previous ...

Sysprep is a great tool, to create an image that can be pushed out to client machines. With Sysprep, you can install the OS and any applications, create the Sysprep image and then push it to other client or server machines. Within minutes you can have the other systems up and running with all the require applications, service packs and hotfixes ...

Just noticed the EnergizeIT Keynotes have been posted. You can see my demo in the virtualization keynote starting at about 10:30 but you should really watch the whole thing as Allen Stewart goes into some depth on what's in store for Windows Server Virtualization! EnergizeIT '06 Virtualization Keynote

Virtual Server 2005 is a powerful virtualization tool. One of my favourite features is the web based administration of the server and the virtual machines. As with any web facing application SSL encryption is important, and with Virtual Server 2005, it is a snap to configure. There are two different SSL configurations required for Virtual Server ...

If you read Part 1 and are following along, you should have your cluster running and Virtual Server 200 R2 installed. Part 2 will cover the creation of a virtual machine on the clustered host(s). With the Virtual Server cluster running, let's install the first virtual machine and try out a failover scenario! To begin, open up the Virtual Server ...

Virtual Server 2005 R2 is a great virtualization platform to build your virtual network on. Improvements in R2 allow you to maintain availability using Windows clustering technologies. With R2 not only can you cluster guest machines in the virtual enviroment, but you can also cluster the hosts. To begin, you will need an understanding of how to ...

If you read Part 1 of this article, you are 1/2 way to a virtual cluster! Part 2 will cover the configuration of the shared disk and the 2 node cluster. To start the configuration of the shared storage, ensure that the DC is running and that both Node 1 and Node 2 are shutdown. Add the Quorum VHD to Node 1 and connect it to SCSI ID 0 on the ...

Clustering is a difficult thing to learn for most people, not due to any inherent difficulty in implementing a cluster, but for the lack of hardware that most people have access too. How many people do you know with access to multiple servers and shared storage devices that can be used to build a cluster? Virtual Server to the rescue! Yes that is ...

Virtual Server 2005 is a great program for learning, testing and consolidating. There are a number of ways to improve performance and here are my top 5 performance improvements.  Add more memory - Each virtual machine will require the same memory as a physical machine would. The more memory you have the more virtual machines you can run. ...

Virtual Server 2005 includes a type of virtual hard drive (VHD) called a Differencing Disk. A Differencing Disk is a disk that holds changes made to the base, or parent disk, without affecting the parent disk. You can use one parent disk for multiple servers that have differencing disks. When combined with Sysprep you can have a new virtual ...

Virtual Server 2005 is a powerful tool for testing, development, labs and education purposes. With Virtual Server 2005 you can setup a small LAN with a few servers and/or workstations to test applications, work through how-to guides or practice for your certification exams. I use Virtual Server 2005 for all my demos and all the screenshots you see ...

A Differencing Disk is a disk that holds changes made to the base, or parent disk, without affecting the parent disk. You can use one parent disk for multiple servers that have differencing disks. Virtual Server 2005 allows you to merge the differences into the parent disk, or merge the parent and differencing VHD into a new VHD. By merging the ...

BEEP! BEEP! It's a common occurence in Virtual Server 2005, when the virtual machine causes the host to beep. This usually happens when error messages and other dialog boxes pop up on the virtual machines screen. It drives me nuts, and muting my PC did not kill it! The simplest way to stop the beeping is with the good old NET STOP command. NET ...