Hyper-V: Scaling and

Migrating

Virtual Machine

Windows

Server 2008 was the inclusion of virtualization in the form of the Hyper-V

role. Hyper-V provides a fast, fully supported, hypervisor-based virtualization solution

that gives you the flexibility to manage your IT resources more effectively and efficiently.

In this chapter we look at the changes to Hyper-V for Windows Server 2008 R2 and how

to most effectively use them in your environment.

The key areas of improvement in Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V are as follows:

using Clustered Shared Volumes (CSVs).

Even as recently as a few years ago, virtualization was something that IT people talked

about, but it simply wasn’t a significant part of most IT infrastructures. Most virtualization

either was very expensive or was based on using an emulation layer of software that

ran on top of the operating system. This meant that performance was less than ideal, and

most applications weren’t supported running in a virtualized environment.

With the release of Hyper-V, however, that changed dramatically, and nearly everyone

in IT is actively investigating or already deploying virtualized servers and applications.

Microsoft fully supports virtualization for most products (see the Microsoft Knowledge Base

policies for Microsoft server software).

So why the rush to virtualize? There are several different reasons why organizations choose

virtualization, but the two we hear as the most common drivers are the following:

Virtualization gives you the flexibility to quickly create test environments, to move

workloads from one server to another, and to rapidly deploy additional VMs to meet changing

requirements. It also gives you a far greater degree of hardware independence, as the

virtualized workload sees a consistent virtualized hardware across a wide range of physical

hardware.

Virtualization plays an important role in enabling organizations to make the most effective

use of their hardware resources. By virtualizing multiple workloads onto a single physical

server, each in its own VM, you can take advantage of underutilized computer resources while

simplifying the overall management of your infrastructure.

Virtualization also helps you save money. By having fewer physical computers, you reduce

your energy consumption, datacenter space requirements, and hardware support costs, while

also reducing your carbon footprint, a not insignificant consideration these days

As with most things Windows, there are multiple ways to deploy, manage, and configure VMs

running on Hyper-V. You can use the Hyper-V Manager console, either locally (if you’re running

a full server installation, not Server Core) or remotely. You can use Windows PowerShell

cmdlets. You can use the Failover Cluster Manager if the Hyper-V server is part of a Windows

failover cluster, or you can use System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2008 R2, as

shown in Figure 3-1.

Figure 3-1 System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2.

Creating a New Virtual Machine

Determine how much memory and disk space you need for the virtual machine.

System requirements for Virtual Server

Physical computer and host operating system requirements

Following are the minimum system requirements for the physical computer and the host operating system:

	An x86-based computer with a 550 megahertz (MHz) or faster (1 gigahertz [GHz] recommended) processor with L2 cache, such as processors from any of the following families:   Intel—Xeon or Pentium families   AMD—AMD64 or Athlon families   You can run Virtual Server on servers with multiple processors. Virtual Server 2005, Standard Edition can run on servers with a maximum of four processors. Virtual Server 2005, Enterprise Edition can run on servers with more than four processors. The maximum number of processors for Virtual Server 2005, Enterprise Edition is determined by the host operating system.
	CD-ROM or DVD drive
	Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher resolution monitor recommended
	Host operating system: The 32-bit version of any of the following operating systems:   Microsoft Windows Server™ 2003, Standard Edition   Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition   Microsoft Windows Server 2003, Datacenter Edition   Microsoft Windows® Small Business Server 2003   Microsoft Windows XP Professional

 

Decide on a name for the virtual machine.

See "Virtual machine name" in Modifying general virtual machine properties

Create a virtual machine, which includes assigning a name and memory, and creating or assigning a virtual hard disk.

Create a virtual machine

If you want to add optional components such as a virtual SCSI adapter, additional virtual hard disks or additional virtual network adapters, modify the virtual machine as needed.

Add or Remove Virtual Machine Components

If you want to configure startup options such as automatic startup or a user account under which to run the virtual machine, modify the appropriate virtual machine property.

 

To create a new VM, right-click the server in the tree pane of the Hyper-V Manager, and

select New and then Virtual Machine, as shown in Figure 3-3.