Chapter 3. Configuring Hyper-V

The concept of virtualizing servers has, in the past several years, grown from a novel experiment to a convenient lab and testing tool to a legitimate deployment strategy for production servers. Windows Server 2012 R2 includes the Hyper-V role, which enables administrators to create virtual machines (VMs), each of which runs in its own isolated environment. VMs are self-contained units that administrators can easily move from one physical computer to another, greatly simplifying the process of deploying network applications and services.

This chapter covers some of the fundamental tasks that administrators perform to create and deploy Hyper-V servers and VMs.

Objectives in this chapter:

Objective 3.1: Create and configure virtual machine settings

Server virtualization in Windows Server 2012 R2 is based on a module called a hypervisor. Sometimes called a virtual machine monitor (VMM), the hypervisor is responsible for abstracting the computer’s physical hardware and creating multiple virtualized hardware environments, called VMs. Each VM has its own (virtual) hardware configuration and can run a separate copy of an operating system (OS). Therefore, with sufficient physical hardware and the correct licensing, a single computer running Windows Server 2012 R2 with the Hyper-V role installed can support multiple VMs, which administrators can manage as if they were standalone computers.

RemoteFX

RemoteFX enables remote computers to connect Hyper-V guest VMs with an enhanced desktop experience, including graphics adapter virtualization, USB redirection, and intelligent encoding and decoding. Don’t expect many questions about RemoteFX on the exam.

Note

This objective covers how to:

Virtualization products can use several different architectures to share a computer’s hardware resources among VMs. The earlier type of virtualization products, including Microsoft Windows Virtual PC and Microsoft Virtual Server, requires a standard OS installed on a computer. This becomes the “host” OS. Then you install the virtualization product, which adds the hypervisor component. The hypervisor essentially runs alongside the host OS, as shown in Figure 3-1, and enables you to create as many VMs as the computer has hardware to support.

A hybrid VMM sharing hardware access with a host operating system
Figure 3-1. A hybrid VMM sharing hardware access with a host operating system

This arrangement, in which the hypervisor runs on top of a host OS, is called Type II virtualization. By using the Type II hypervisor, you create a virtual hardware environment for each VM. You can specify how much memory to allocate to each VM, create virtual disk drives by using space on the computer’s physical drives, and provide access to peripheral devices. You then install a “guest” OS on each VM, just as if you were deploying a new computer. The host OS then shares access to the computer’s processor with the hypervisor, with each taking the clock cycles it needs and passing control of the processor back to the other.

Type II virtualization can provide adequate VM performance, particularly in classroom and laboratory environments, but it does not provide performance equivalent to separate physical computers. Therefore, it is not generally recommended for high-traffic servers in production environments.

The virtualization capability built into Windows Server 2012 R2, called Hyper-V, uses a different type of architecture. Hyper-V uses Type I virtualization, in which the hypervisor is an abstraction layer that interacts directly with the computer’s physical hardware—that is, without an intervening host OS. The term hypervisor is intended to represent the level beyond the term supervisor, in regard to the responsibility for allocating a computer’s processor clock cycles.

The hypervisor creates individual environments called partitions, each of which has its own OS installed and accesses the computer’s hardware via the hypervisor. Unlike Type II virtualization, no host OS shares processor time with the hypervisor. Instead, the hypervisor designates the first partition it creates as the parent partition and all subsequent partitions as child partitions, as shown in Figure 3-2.

A Type I VMM, with the hypervisor running directly on the hardware
Figure 3-2. A Type I VMM, with the hypervisor running directly on the hardware

The parent partition accesses the system hardware through the hypervisor, just as the child partitions do. The only difference is that the parent runs the virtualization stack, which creates and manages the child partitions. The parent partition is also responsible for the subsystems that directly affect the performance of the computer’s physical hardware, such as Plug and Play, power management, and error handling. These subsystems also run in the OSs on the child partitions, but they address only virtual hardware, whereas the parent, or root, partition handles the actual hardware.

Hyper-V

It might not seem like the Hyper-V role in Windows Server 2012 R2 provides Type I virtualization, because it requires the Windows Server OS to be installed and running. However, adding the Hyper-V role actually converts the installed instance of Windows Server 2012 R2 into the parent partition and causes the system to load the hypervisor before the OS.

Windows Server 2012 R2 includes the Hyper-V role only in the Standard and Datacenter editions. The Hyper-V role is required for the OS to function as a computer’s primary partition, enabling it to host other VMs. No special software is required for an OS to function as a guest OS in a VM. Therefore, although Windows Server 2012 R2 Essentials does not include the Hyper-V role, it can function as a guest OS. Other guest OSs supported by Hyper-V include the current Windows workstation OSs and many other non-Microsoft server and workstation products.

The primary difference between the Standard and Datacenter editions of Windows Server 2012 R2 is the number of VMs they support. When you install a Windows Server 2012 R2 instance on a VM, you must have a license for it, just like when you install it on a physical machine. Purchasing the Datacenter edition allows you to license an unlimited number of VMs running Windows Server 2012 R2 on that one physical machine. The Standard license allows you to license only two virtual instances of Windows Server 2012 R2.

Readeraid Header

Readeraid. You might find that reports vary on the specific minimum requirements of Windows Server 2008. This is not uncommon for new operating systems because the minimum requirements change as the operating system moves from beta to the release candidate stage to the final RTM version. The requirements outlined in Table 1-1 are not finalized. You might be able to get Windows Server 2008 to install on a computer that does not meet these specifications, but the experience will be less than optimal.

Hyper-V hardware limitations

The Windows Server 2012 R2 version of Hyper-V contains massive improvements in the scalability of the system over previous versions. A Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V host system can have up to 320 logical processors, supporting up to 2,048 virtual CPUs and up to 4 terabytes (TB) of physical memory.

One server can host as many as 1,024 active VMs and a single VM can have up to 64 virtual CPUs and up to 1 TB of memory.

Hyper-V can also support clusters with up to 64 nodes and 8,000 VMs.

Windows Powershell

Another major improvement in the Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2 versions of Hyper-V is the inclusion of a Hyper-V module for Windows PowerShell, which includes new cmdlets dedicated to the creation and management of the Hyper-V service and its VMs.

In addition to the Hyper-V implementation in Windows Server 2012 R2, Microsoft provides a dedicated Hyper-V Server product, which is a subset of Windows Server 2012 R2. Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 includes the Hyper-V role, which it installs by default during the OS installation. With the exception of some limited File and Storage Services and Remote Desktop capabilities, the OS includes no other roles, as shown in Figure 3-3.

Roles available in Hyper-V Server
Figure 3-3. Roles available in Hyper-V Server

The Hyper-V Server is also limited to the Server Core interface, althoughas with all Server Core installationsit includes SCONFIG, a simple, script-based configuration interface, as shown in Figure 3-4. You can manage Hyper-V Server remotely by using Server Manager and Hyper-V Manager, just as you would any other Server Core installation.

The Server Core interface in Hyper-V Server
Figure 3-4. The Server Core interface in Hyper-V Server

Unlike Windows Server 2012 R2, Hyper-V Server is a free product, available for download from Microsoft’s website. However, Hyper-V Server does not include any licenses for virtual instances. You must obtain and license all the OSs you install on the VMs you create.

Once you have the appropriate hardware, you can add the Hyper-V role to Windows Server 2012 R2 by using Server Manager, just as you would any other role.

Adding the Hyper-V role installs the hypervisor software, and, in the case of a full GUI installation, also installs the management tools. The primary tool for creating and managing VMs and their components on Hyper-V servers is the Hyper-V Manager console. Hyper-V Manager provides administrators with a list of all the VMs on the local host and enables administrators to configure the environments of both the servers and the individual VMs. There is also a set of Hyper-V cmdlets for Windows PowerShell that enables you to exercise complete control over VMs using that interface.

Microsoft recommends that you do not install other roles with Hyper-V. It is better to implement any other roles that you need the physical computer to perform within one of the VMs you create by using Hyper-V. In addition, you might want to consider installing Hyper-V on a computer by using the Server Core installation option. This will minimize the overhead expended on the partition. As with other roles, installing Hyper-V on Server Core excludes the graphical management tools, which you must install separately as a feature on another computer.

Before you can install the Hyper-V role on a server running Windows Server 2012 R2, you must have the appropriate hardware:

To install the Hyper-V role, use the following procedure.

  1. In Server Manager, on the Manage menu, select Add Roles And Features. The Add Roles And Features Wizard starts, displaying the Before You Begin page.

  2. Click Next to open the Select Installation Type page.

  3. Leave the Role-Based Or Feature-Based Installation option selected and click Next. The Select Destination Server page opens.

  4. Select the server on which you want to install Hyper-V and click Next. The Select Server Roles page opens.

  5. Select the Hyper-V role. The Add Features That Are Required For Hyper-V dialog box appears.

  6. Click Add Features to accept the dependencies and then click Next to open the Select Features page.

  7. Click Next to open the Hyper-V page.

  8. Click Next. The Create Virtual Switches page opens, as shown in Figure 3-5.

    The Create Virtual Switches page of the Add Roles and Features Wizard
    Figure 3-5. The Create Virtual Switches page of the Add Roles and Features Wizard

  9. Select the appropriate check box for a network adapter and click Next. The Virtual Machine Migration page opens, as shown in Figure 3-6.

    The Virtual Machine Migration page of the Add Roles and Features Wizard
    Figure 3-6. The Virtual Machine Migration page of the Add Roles and Features Wizard

  10. Click Next to open the Default Stores page.

  11. Specify alternatives to the default locations for virtual hard disk (VHD) and VM configuration files, if desired, and click Next. The Confirm Installation Selection page opens.

  12. Click Install to move to the Installation Progress page as the wizard installs the role.

  13. Click Close to close the wizard.

  14. Restart the server.

Installing the role modifies the Windows Server 2012 R2 startup procedure so that the newly installed hypervisor is able to address the system hardware directly and then load the OS as the primary partition on top of that.

Using Windows Powershell

You can also install the Hyper-V role by using the Install-WindowsFeature cmdlet, using the following syntax:

Install-WindowsFeature –Name Hyper-V
-ComputerName <name> -IncludeManagementTools -Restart

Once you have installed the Hyper-V role and restarted the computer, you can begin to create VMs and deploy OSs on them by using the Hyper-V Manager console, which you can access from the Tools menu in Server Manager.

Like most of the Windows Server 2012 R2 management tools, including Server Manager itself, you can use the Hyper-V Manager console to create and manage VMs on multiple servers, enabling administrators to exercise full control over their servers from a central location.

To run Hyper-V Manager on a server that does not have the Hyper-V role, you must install the Hyper-V Management Tools feature. These tools are also found in the Remote Server Administration Tools feature

Once you install and launch the Hyper-V Manager console, you can add servers to the display by right-clicking the Hyper-V Manager node in the left pane and selecting Connect To Server from the shortcut menu. The Select Computer dialog box appears, in which you can type or browse to the name of a Hyper-V server.

The Hyper-V Manager console lists all the VMs on the selected server, as shown in Figure 3-7, along with status information about each one.

The Hyper-V Manager console
Figure 3-7. The Hyper-V Manager console

After installing Hyper-V and configuring it using Hyper-V Manager, you are ready to create VMs and install the OS on each one. By using Hyper-V Manager, you can create new VMs and define the hardware resources that the system should allocate to them. In the settings for a particular VM, depending on the physical hardware available in the computer and the limitations of the guest OS, administrators can specify the number of processors and the amount of memory allotted to a VM, install virtual network adapters, and create virtual disks by using a variety of technologies, including storage area networks (SANs).

By default, Hyper-V stores the files that make up VMs in the folders you specified on the Default Stores page during the role installation. Each VM uses the following files:

In addition, a VM can use a saved-state (.vsv) file if the machine has been placed into a saved state.

To create a new VM, use the following procedure.

  1. In Server Manager, on the Tools menu, select Hyper-V Manager to open the Hyper-V Manager console.

  2. In the left pane, select a Hyper-V server.

  3. From the Action menu, select New, Virtual Machine. The New Virtual Machine Wizard starts, displaying the Before You Begin page.

  4. Click Next to open the Specify Name And Location page.

  5. In the Name text box, type a name for the VM, keeping in mind that the system will also use this name to create the VM files and folders. To create the VM files in a location other than the default, select the Store The Virtual Machine In A Different Location check box and type an alternate path in the Location text box. Then click Next. The Specify Generation page appears.

    More Information VM Generations

    For more information on the distinction between Generation 1 virtual machines and Generation 2 virtual machines, see “Creating Generation 1 and Generation 2 VMs” later in this chapter.

  6. Specify whether you want to create a Generation 1 or Generation 2 virtual machine and click Next. The Assign Memory page opens.

    More Information Memory

    For more information on how Hyper-V uses memory, see “Allocating memory” later in this chapter.

  7. In the Startup Memory text box, type the amount of memory you want the VM to use and click Next. The Configure Networking page opens, as shown in Figure 3-8.

    The Configure Networking page of the New Virtual Machine Wizard
    Figure 3-8. The Configure Networking page of the New Virtual Machine Wizard

  8. From the Connection drop-down list, select a virtual switch and click Next. The Connect Virtual Hard Disk page opens, as shown in Figure 3-9.

    The Connect Virtual Hard Disk page of the New Virtual Machine Wizard
    Figure 3-9. The Connect Virtual Hard Disk page of the New Virtual Machine Wizard

    More Information Networks

    For more information on virtual switches and networking VMs, see Objective 3.3, “Create and configure virtual networks,” later in this chapter.

  9. Leave the Create A Virtual Hard Disk option selected and type values for the following fields:

    More Information Storage

    By default, the wizard creates a VHD file that starts small and dynamically expands up to the maximum size you specify. For more information on Hyper-V storage, see Objective 3.2, “Create and configure virtual machine storage,” later in this chapter.

  10. Click Next. The Installation Options page opens.

  11. Leave the Install An Operating System Later Option selected and click Next. The Completing The New Virtual Machine Wizard page opens.

  12. Click Finish. The wizard creates the new VM and adds it to the list of VMs in Hyper-V Manager.

The VM that this procedure creates is the equivalent of a bare-metal computer. It has all the (virtual) hardware it needs to run, but it has no software.

Using Windows Powershell

To create a new VM by using Windows PowerShell, use the New-VM cmdlet with the following basic syntax:

New-VM –Name "VM name" –MemoryStartupBytes <memory>
–NewVHDSizeBytes <disk size>

For example, the following command creates a new VM called ServerA with 1 GB of memory and a new 60-GB VHD drive:

New-VM –Name "ServerA" –MemoryStartupBytes 1GB
–NewVHDSizeBytes 60GB

There are, of course, many more parameters for the New-VM cmdlet, which you can explore through the Get-Help cmdlet.

Each VM on a Hyper-V server consists of a collection of settings that specify the hardware resources in the machine and the configuration settings that control those resources. You can manage and modify those settings by using the Settings page for the particular VM.

Selecting a VM from the list in Hyper-V Manager displays a series of icons in the Actions pane. Clicking the Settings icon opens the Settings dialog box, shown in Figure 3-10, which is the primary configuration interface for that VM. Here, you can modify any of the settings that the New Virtual Machine Wizard configured for you.

The Settings dialog box for a VM
Figure 3-10. The Settings dialog box for a VM

In Windows Server 2012 R2, Hyper-V includes a new type of virtual machine, which it refers to as Generation 2. The VM type created by all previous versions is called Generation 1. When you create a new virtual machine in the Hyper-V manager, the New Virtual Machine Wizard includes a new page (shown in Figure 3-11) on which you specify whether you want to create a Generation 1 or Generation 2 VM. The New-VM cmdlet in Windows PowerShell also includes a new –Generation parameter.

The Specify Generation page in the New Virtual Machine Wizard
Figure 3-11. The Specify Generation page in the New Virtual Machine Wizard

Generation 1 VMs are designed to emulate the hardware found in a typical computer. To do this, they use drivers for specific devices, such as an AMI BIOS, an S3 graphics adapter, and an Intel chipset and network adapter. Generation 1 VMs that you create with Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V are completely compatible with all previous Hyper-V versions.

Generation 2 VMs use synthetic drivers and software-based devices instead; they provide advantages that include the following:

The end result is a Generation 2 virtual machine that deploys much faster than its Generation 1 counterparts and performs better as well. The limitations, however, are that Generation 2 VMs can only run the following guest operating systems:

Once you have created a VM, you can install an OS on it. Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 R2 supports all the following as OSs you can install in Generation 1 VMs:

Guest OSs

This is the official list of supported guest OSs at RTM. Other OSs might also function but have not been fully tested.

One of the advantages of installing software on VMs is that there are several ways to access the installation files. A VM, by default, has a DVD drive, which can itself be physical or virtual.

When you open the Settings dialog box for a Generation 1 VM and select the DVD drive in the Hardware list, you see the interface shown in Figure 3-12. In the Media section, you can select one of the following options for the drive:

  • None. The equivalent of a drive with no disk inserted

  • Image File. Points to a disk image file with a .iso extension stored on one of the host computer’s drives or on a shared network drive

  • Physical CD/DVD Drive. Links the virtual DVD drive to one of the physical DVD drives in the host computer

In a Generation 2 VM, the DVD drive supports only the None option and the Image File option, as shown in Figure 3-12. The ability to mount an image file to a virtual DVD drive is particularly useful for administrators who download OS files as disk images. Once you have mounted an installation disk, either physically or virtually, you can click Start in the Actions pane of Hyper-V Manager, which is the equivalent of turning on the VM.

Starting a VM causes the thumbnail in the Hyper-V Manager to go live, displaying the contents of the computer’s screen. To display the VM’s activity at full size, click Connect in the Actions pane to open a new window for the VM. You can then interact with the VM through that window, just as if you were sitting at a physical computer’s console.

DVD drive settings for a VM
Figure 3-12. DVD drive settings for a VM

When the VM boots from the disk you mounted, the OS installation proceeds just as if you were using a physical computer. During the installation process, you can work with the VHD drive just as you would a physical one, creating partitions of various sizes and selecting one for the OS. When the installation is complete, the VM restarts, and you can then log on and use it in the normal manner.

In some cases, certain Hyper-V guest OS features do not function properly using the OS’s own device drivers. Hyper-V, therefore, includes a software package called Guest Integration Services, which you can install on your VMs for compatibility purposes.

Some of the functions provided by the Guest Integration Services package are as follows:

The Windows Server 2012, Windows Server R2, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 operating systems have the latest Guest Integration Services software built in, so there is no need to install the package on VMs running those OSs as guests. Earlier versions of Windows have earlier versions of the Guest Integration Services package that need to be upgraded, however, and some Windows versions do not include the package at all.

Linux

For Linux guest OSs, you must download and install the latest release of Linux Integration Services Version 3.4 for Hyper-V from the Microsoft Download Center. As of this writing, the latest version is 3.4 and is available at http://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/download/details.aspx?id=34603.

To upgrade Guest Integration Services on a Windows guest OS, use the following procedure:

  1. In Server Manager, on the Tools menu, select Hyper-V Manager. The Hyper-V Manager console starts.

  2. In the left pane, select a Hyper-V server.

  3. In the Actions pane, start the VM on which you want to install Guest Integration Services and click Connect. A Virtual Machine Connection window opens.

  4. In the Virtual Machine Connection window, from the Action menu, select Insert Integration Services Setup Disk. Hyper-V mounts an image of the Guest Integration Services disk to a virtual disk drive and an Autoplay window appears.

  5. Click Install Hyper-V Integration Services. A message box appears, asking you to upgrade the existing installation.

  6. Click OK. The system installs the package and prompts you to restart the computer.

  7. Click Yes to restart the computer.

Once you have installed or upgraded Guest Integration Services, you can enable or disable each of the individual functions by opening the Settings dialog box for the VM and selecting the Integration Services page, as shown in Figure 3-13.

Integration Services settings for a VM
Figure 3-13. Integration Services settings for a VM

At this point, you are ready to configure and manage the VM just as if you were working on a physical server. This can include modifying the network configuration, enabling remote desktop, loading the appropriate roles and features, and installing applications.

In previous versions of Hyper-V, when you open a Virtual Machine Connection window in the Hyper-V Manager console, you receive mouse and keyboard connectivity plus a limited cut and paste functionality. To obtain any further access, such as audio or print functionality, you could establish a Remote Desktop Services connection to the VM, but this requires the computers to be connected to the same network, which is not always possible.

Starting in Windows Server 2012 R2, Hyper-V supports an enhanced session mode that enables the Virtual Machine Connection window to redirect any of the following local resources to VMs running Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows 8.1:

The enhanced session mode works by establishing a Remote Desktop Protocol connection between the host computer and the VM, but it does not require a standard network path because it uses VMBus instead. VMBus is a high-speed conduit between the various partitions running on a Hyper-V server.

Enhanced session mode is enabled by default in Windows 8.1, but in Windows Server 2012 R2, you must enable it on the Enhanced Session Mode Policy page of the Hyper-V Settings dialog box, as shown in Figure 3-14.

Enhanced Session Mode Policy settings
Figure 3-14. Enhanced Session Mode Policy settings

Dynamic memory enables Hyper-V to adjust the amount of RAM allocated to VMs, depending on their ongoing requirements. Some computer components can be virtualized. You can take some disk space and create a virtual hard drive, and you can take an image file and create a virtual DVD drive. You can also create virtual network interface adapters and other components, which appear like the real thing in a VM. System memory is different, however. There is no substitute for memory, so all Hyper-V can do is take the physical memory installed in the computer and allocate it among the various VMs.

When you create a VM, you specify how much memory to allocate to the VM. Obviously, the amount of memory available for use is based on the physical memory installed in the computer.

After you have created the VM, you can modify the amount of memory allocated to it by shutting down the VM, opening its Settings dialog box, and changing the Startup RAM setting on the Memory page, as shown in Figure 3-15. This enables you to experiment with various amounts of memory, and set the optimum performance level for the system.

Memory settings for a VM
Figure 3-15. Memory settings for a VM

In the first versions of Hyper-V, shutting down the VM was the only way to modify its memory allocation. In the Windows Server 2012 R2 version, however, you can use a feature called Dynamic Memory to automatically reallocate memory to the VM from a shared memory pool as its demands change. If a virtualized server starts to experience larger amounts of client traffic, for example, Hyper-V can increase the memory allocated to the system, and reduce it again when the traffic subsides.

To use Dynamic Memory, you must enable it by selecting the Enable Dynamic Memory check box on the VM’s Memory settings page and then configure the following settings:

RAM

You can reduce the Minimum RAM, increase the Maximum RAM, or change the Memory Buffer value or the Memory Weight value at any time, but to enable or disable Dynamic Memory, you must shut down the VM.

In addition to configuring the VM settings, the guest VM must be running Windows Vista or later or Windows Server 2003 SP2 or later and have Windows Server 2012 R2 Guest Integration Services installed to use Dynamic Memory.

Using Windows Powershell

To configure the memory settings for a VM, use the Set-VMMemory cmdlet by using the following basic syntax:

Set-VMMemory <VM name> -DynamicMemoryEnabled $true
-MinimumBytes <memory> -StartupBytes <memory>
-MaximumBytes <memory> -Priority <value> -Buffer <percentage>

For example, to configure the memory settings for the VM ServerA, enabling Dynamic Memory and configuring values for all of its settings, use the following command:

Set-VMMemory ServerA -DynamicMemoryEnabled $true
-MinimumBytes 64MB

Dynamic Memory was introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, but Windows Server 2012 R2 improves on the concept by adding the Minimum RAM setting. This makes it possible for Hyper-V to reduce the memory used by a VM to a level lower than that needed to start the system, reclaiming that memory for other uses.

The problem with having minimum RAM values that are lower than the startup RAM values is that it becomes possible to deplete the supply of physical memory with too many VMs running simultaneously at their minimum RAM values. If this occurs, a VM that has to restart might be unable to do so because there is not enough free memory to increase its memory allocation from its minimum RAM value to its startup RAM value.

To address this possibility, Hyper-V includes a feature called smart paging. If a VM has to restart and there is not enough memory available to allocate its startup RAM value, the system uses hard disk space to make up the difference and begins paging memory contents to disk.

Disk access rates are far slower than memory access rates, of course, so smart paging incurs a severe performance penalty, but the paging occurs only for as long as it takes to restart the VM and return it to its minimum RAM allocation.

Hyper-V only uses smart paging in specific conditions: when a VM must be restarted, there is no free memory available, and there are no other means available to free up the necessary memory.

You can select the Smart Paging File Location page in a VM’s Setting dialog box to specify a location for the paging file. Selecting the fastest possible hard drive is recommended.

Resource metering is a Windows PowerShell–based feature in Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V that enables administrators to document VM usage by using a variety of criteria. There are various reasons why organizations might want to track the use of VMs. For large corporations, it might be a matter of internal accounting and controlling ongoing expenses, such as wide area network (WAN) bandwidth. For service providers, it might be necessary to bill customers based on the VM resources they use.

Resource metering uses Windows PowerShell cmdlets to track a variety of performance metrics for individual VMs, including the following:

Resource metering statistics remain consistent, even when you transfer VMs between host systems by using Live Migration or move VHD files between VMs.

To use resource metering, you must first enable it for the specific VM that you want to monitor by using the Enable-VMResourceMetering cmdlet with the following syntax:

Enable-VMResourceMetering –VMName <name>

Once you have enabled metering, you can display a statistical report at any time by using the Measure-VM cmdlet with the following syntax:

Measure-VM –VMName <name>

In addition to metering resources for entire VMs, administrators can also create resource pools that enable them to monitor specific VM components, such as processors, memory, network adapters, and VHDs. You create a resource pool by using the New-VMResourcePool cmdlet and then enable metering for the pool by using Enable-VMResourceMetering.

By using techniques such as pipelining, administrators can use the resource metering cmdlets to gather data on VM performance and export it to applications or data files.

Thought experiment: Configuring virtual machine memory

In the following thought experiment, apply what you’ve learned about this objective to predict what steps you need to take. You can find answers to these questions in the Answers section at the end of this chapter.

Alice has a computer with 8 GB of memory installed and running Windows Server 2012 R2, which she has configured as a Hyper-V server. After creating eight VMs, each with a startup RAM value of 1,024 MB, Alice is having trouble getting all eight VMs to boot. What settings can she modify to resolve the problem without changing the startup RAM value?

Objective summary

  • Virtualization is a process that adds a layer of abstraction between actual, physical hardware and the system making use of it. Instead of having the server access the computer’s hardware directly, an intervening component called a hypervisor creates a VM environment, and the server OS runs in that environment.

  • Virtualization is the process of deploying and maintaining multiple instances of an OS, called VMs, on a single computer.

  • Microsoft Hyper-V is a hypervisor-based virtualization system for x64 computers starting with Windows Server 2008. The hypervisor is installed between the hardware and the OS and is the main component that manages the virtual computers.

  • For licensing purposes, Microsoft refers to each VM that you create on a Hyper-V server as a virtual instance. Each Windows Server 2012 R2 version includes licenses for a set number of virtual instances; you must purchase additional licenses to license additional instances.

  • To keep a small footprint and minimal overhead, Hyper-V Server contains only the Windows Hypervisor, Windows Server driver model, and virtualization components.

  • Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 R2 supports two types of VMs: Generation 1 and Generation 2. Generation 1 VMs are designed to emulate the hardware found in a typical computer and are compatible with previous versions of Hyper-V. Generation 2 VMs use synthetic drivers and software-based devices instead and can only run on the Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V.

  • Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V supports an enhanced session mode that enables the Virtual Machine Connection window to redirect a variety of local resources to VMs running Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows 8.1.

Objective review

Answer the following questions to test your knowledge of the information in this objective. You can find the answers to these questions and explanations of why each answer choice is correct or incorrect in the Answers section at the end of this chapter.

  1. Which of the following statements about Type I and Type II virtualization are true? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. In Type I virtualization, the hypervisor runs on top of a host OS.

    2. In Type I virtualization, the hypervisor runs directly on the computer hardware.

    3. In Type II virtualization, the hypervisor runs on top of a host OS.

    4. In Type II virtualization, the hypervisor runs directly on the computer hardware.

  2. Which of the following types of server virtualization provides the best performance for high-traffic servers in production environments?

    1. Type I virtualization

    2. Type II virtualization

    3. Presentation virtualization

    4. RemoteApp

  3. Which of the following Microsoft operating systems includes a license that enables you to license an unlimited number of virtual instances?

    1. Hyper-V Server

    2. Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter

    3. Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard

    4. Windows Server 2012 R2 Foundation

  4. Which of the following Hyper-V features make it possible for a VM to function with a minimum RAM value that is lower than the startup RAM value? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. Smart paging

    2. Dynamic Memory

    3. Memory Weight

    4. Guest Integration Services

  5. When you install the Hyper-V role on a server running Windows Server 2012 R2, the instance of the OS on which you installed the role is converted to what system element?

    1. The hypervisor

    2. The Virtual Machine Monitor

    3. The parent partition

    4. A child partition

  6. Which of the following statements about Generation 1 and Generation 2 virtual machines are true? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. You must create a Generation 1 VM before you can create a Generation 2 VM.

    2. Generation 2 VMs deploy faster than Generation 1 VMs.

    3. Generation 2 VMs only support Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2 as guest operating systems.

    4. Generation 2 VMs use the same device drivers as Generation 1 VMs.

Objective 3.2: Create and configure virtual machine storage

When you create a VM in Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V, you emulate all the components that you typically find in a physical computer. When you virtualize memory, as discussed in Objective 3.1, “Create and configure virtual machine settings,” you take a portion of the physical memory in the computer and dedicate it to a VM. The same is true with hard disk space. Hyper-V uses a specialized VHD format to package part of the space on a physical disk and make it appear to the VM as though it is a physical hard disk drive.

When you create a new Generation 1 VM in Hyper-V, the wizard creates a virtual storage subsystem that consists of two Integrated Drive Electronics (IDE) controllers and one Small Computer Systems Interface (SCSI) controller. The IDE controllers host the VM’s system drive and its DVD drive. Like their physical equivalents, each IDE controller can host two devices, so you can create two additional virtual drives and add them to the system.

The SCSI controller in the default Generation 1 VM configuration is unpopulated, and you can create additional drives and add them to that controller to provide the VM with additional storage. In a Generation 2 VM, the system and DVD drives are connected to the default SCSI controller and there is no IDE alternative.

In a VM of either generation, you can also create additional SCSI controllers and add drives to them. By creating multiple drives and controllers, Hyper-V makes it possible to construct virtual storage subsystems that emulate almost any physical storage solution you might devise.

Note

This objective covers how to:

Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V supports the original VHD disk image file and the new VHDX format. The original VHD format was created by a company called Connectix for its Virtual PC product. Microsoft later acquired the product and used the VHD format for all its subsequent virtualization products, including Hyper-V. There are three types of VHD files, as follows:

VHD images are limited to maximum size of 2 TB and are compatible with all versions of Hyper-V and Microsoft Type II hypervisor products, such as Virtual Server and Virtual PC. Windows Server 2012 introduced an updated version of the format, which uses a VHDX filename extension.

VHDX image files can be as large as 64 TB, and they also support 4-KB logical sector sizes to provide compatibility with new 4-KB native drives. VHDX files can also use larger block sizes (up to 256 MB), which enable administrators to fine-tune the performance level of a virtual storage subsystem to accommodate specific applications and data file types. However, VHDX files are not backward compatible and can only be read by Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 Hyper-V servers. If migrating your VMs from Windows Server 2012 R2 to an older version of Hyper-V is even a remote possibility, you should continue using the VHD file format.

Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V provides several ways to create virtual disk files. You can create them as part of a VM or create them at another time and add them to a VM. The graphical interface in Hyper-V Manager provides access to most of the VHD parameters, but the Windows PowerShell cmdlets included in Windows Server 2012 R2 provide the most granular control over the disk image format.

The New Virtual Machine Wizard includes a Connect Virtual Hard Disk page with which you can add a single disk to your new VM. The options for this disk are relatively limited and consist of the following:

The object of this wizard page is to create the disk on which you will install the VM’s OS or to select an existing disk on which an OS is already installed. The disk the wizard creates is always a dynamically expanding one connected to IDE Controller 0 on a Generation 1 VM or connected to the SCSI Controller on a Generation 2 VM.

VHDS

It has become a common practice for Microsoft to release evaluation copies of its products as preinstalled VHD files as an alternative to the traditional installable disk images. After downloading one of these files, you can create a VM on a Hyper-V server and select the Use An Existing Virtual Hard Disk option to mount the VHD as its system drive.

You can create a VHD file at any time without adding it to a VM by using the New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard in Hyper-V Manager. To create a new virtual disk, use the following procedure.

  1. In Server Manager, on the Tools menu, select Hyper-V Manager. The Hyper-V Manager console opens.

  2. In the left pane, select a Hyper-V server.

  3. From the Action menu, select New, Hard Disk to start the New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard, displaying the Before You Begin page.

  4. Click Next to open the Choose Disk Format page.

  5. Select one of the following disk format options:

  6. Click Next to open the Choose Disk Type page.

  7. Select one of the following disk type options:

  8. Click Next. The Specify Name And Location page opens.

  9. Specify a file name for the disk image in the Name text box and, if desired, specify a location for the file other than the server default. Click Next to open the Configure Disk page.

  10. For fixed and dynamically expanding disks, select and configure one of the following options:

  11. Click Next. The Completing The New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard page opens.

  12. Click Finish.

The wizard creates the new image disk and saves it to the specified location.

Using Windows Powershell

You can create new VHD files by using Windows PowerShell, which gives you more control than is available through the graphical interface. To create a new disk image, use the New-VHD cmdlet with the following basic syntax:

New-VHD –Path c:\filename.vhd|c:\filename.vhdx
–Fixed|-Dynamic|-Differencing –SizeBytes <size>
[-BlockSizeBytes <block size>]
[-LogicalSectorSizeBytes 512|4096] [-ParentPath <pathname>]

When using the cmdlet to create a disk image, the extension you specify for the filename determines the format (VHD or VHDX); also, you can specify the block size and the logical sector size for the image, two things you cannot do in the GUI. For example, the following command creates a 400-GB fixed VHDX image file with a logical sector size of 4 KB:

New-VHD –Path c:\diskfile.vhdx –Fixed
–SizeBytes 400GB -LogicalSectorSizeBytes 4096

Creating virtual disk image files as a separate process enables administrators to exercise more control over their capabilities, but after creating the VHD or VHDX files, you must add them to a VM for them to be useful.

To add a hard disk drive to a physical computer, you must connect it to a controller; the same is true with a VM in Hyper-V. When you open the Settings dialog box for a Generation 1 VM in its default configuration, you see three controllers labeled IDE Controller 0, IDE Controller 1, and SCSI Controller. These correspond to the controllers you might find in a typical physical server computer.

Each IDE controller can support two devices and the default VM configuration uses one channel on IDE Controller 0 for the system hard disk and one channel on IDE controller 1 for the system’s DVD drive. If you did not create a virtual disk as part of the new Virtual Machine Wizard—that is, if you chose the Attach A Virtual Hard Disk Later option—then you must add a hard disk image to IDE Controller 0 to use as a system drive. A Generation 1 VM cannot boot from the SCSI controller.

To add an existing virtual system drive to a VM, use the following procedure.

  1. In Server Manager, on the Tools menu, select Hyper-V Manager to open the Hyper-V Manager console.

  2. In the left pane, select a Hyper-V server.

  3. Select a VM and, in the Actions pane, select Settings. The Settings dialog box for the VM appears.

  4. Select IDE Controller 0, as shown in Figure 3-16.

    The IDE Controller interface in the Settings dialog box
    Figure 3-16. The IDE Controller interface in the Settings dialog box

  5. In the IDE Controller box, select Hard Drive and click Add. The Hard Drive page opens, as shown in Figure 3-17.

    The Hard Drive interface in the Settings dialog box
    Figure 3-17. The Hard Drive interface in the Settings dialog box

  6. In the Controller drop-down and the Location drop-down, select the IDE controller and the channel you want to use for the hard disk.

  7. With the Virtual Hard Disk option selected, click Browse and select the disk image file you want to add.

  8. Click OK to close the Settings dialog box.

Although you cannot use a SCSI drive as the system disk in a Generation 1 VM, you can add virtual data disks to the SCSI controller. In Generation 2 VMs, you must create a SCSI system disk to boot the machine. . Unlike the IDE connectors, which support only two devices each, a SCSI connector in Hyper-V can support up to 64 drives. You can also add multiple SCSI controllers to a VM, providing almost unlimited scalability for your virtual storage subsystem.

A 1differencing disk enables you to preserve an existing virtual disk image file in its original state while mounting it in an operating system and even modifying its contents. For example, when building a laboratory setup, you can create a baseline system by installing a clean copy of an OS on a new virtual disk and configuring the environment to fit your needs. Then you can create a new child-differencing disk using your baseline image as the parent. All subsequent changes you make to the system will then be written to the differencing disk while the parent remains untouched. You can experiment on the test system as you wish, knowing that you can revert to your baseline configuration by just creating a new differencing disk.

You can create multiple differencing disks that point to the same parent image, enabling you to populate a lab network with as many VMs as you need, which saves disk space and eliminates the need to repeatedly install the OS.

To create a cloned version of a baseline installation with a differencing disk, use the following procedure.

  1. Install and configure the baseline VM. Create a new VM with a new disk image file and install a guest OS on it. Configure the OS as needed and install any roles, features, applications, or services you need.

  2. Generalize the parent image. Open an elevated command prompt on the baseline system and run the Sysprep.exe utility with the appropriate parameters for your requirements. Sysprep configures the system to assign itself a new, unique security ID (SID) the next time the computer starts. This enables you to create multiple cloned systems from a single disk image.

  3. Create a parent disk image. Once you have generalized the baseline installation, you no longer need the original VM. You can delete everything except the VHD or VHDX file containing the disk image. This will become your parent image. Open the Properties sheet for the image file and set the read-only flag to ensure that the baseline does not change.

  4. Create a differencing disk. By using the New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard or the New-VHD cmdlet for Windows PowerShell, create a new differencing disk pointing to the baseline image you created and prepared earlier as the parent image.

  5. Create a cloned VM. Create a new VM and, on the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, attach the differencing disk you just created to it by using the Use An Existing Virtual Hard Disk option.

You can then proceed to create additional cloned VMs with differencing disks that all use the same parent. Each one can function independently and the parent disk will remain unchanged.

When you create a differencing drive by using the New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard, selecting the Differencing option on the Choose Disk Type page causes the Configure Disk page to appear as shown in Figure 3-18. In the Location text box, specify the name of the file that you want to use as the parent image.

In the same way, if you create the differencing disk by using Windows PowerShell, you must run the New-VHD cmdlet with the –Differencing parameter and the –ParentPath parameter, specifying the location of the parent disk.

The Configure Disk page in the New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard
Figure 3-18. The Configure Disk page in the New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard

This objective has thus far been concerned primarily with VHDs, areas of space on a physical disk drive allocated for use by VMs. However, it is also possible for VMs to access physical disks directly.

A pass-through disk is a type of virtual disk that points to a physical disk drive installed on the host computer. When you add a hard drive to any of the controllers in a VM, you have the option of selecting a physical hard disk as opposed to a virtual one.

To add a physical hard disk to a VM, the VM must have exclusive access to it. This means that you must first take the disk offline in the parent OS by using the Disk Management snap-in, as shown in Figure 3-19, or the Diskpart.exe utility. Once the disk is offline, it will be available for selection in the Physical Hard Disk drop-down list.

An offline disk in the Disk Management snap-in
Figure 3-19. An offline disk in the Disk Management snap-in

Windows Server 2012 R2 and Hyper-V provide several ways for administrators to manage and manipulate VHD images without mounting them in a VM. Once you have created a VHD, whether you have attached it to a VM or not, you can manage it by using the Edit Virtual Hard Disk Wizard in Hyper-V Manager. To edit an existing VHD or VHDX file, use the following procedure.

  1. In Server Manager, on the Tools menu, select Hyper-V Manager to open the Hyper-V Manager console.

  2. In the left pane, select a Hyper-V server.

  3. In the Actions pane, select Edit Disk. The Edit Virtual Hard Disk Wizard starts, displaying the Before You Begin page.

  4. Click Next to open the Locate Disk page.

  5. Type or browse to the name of the VHD or VHDX file you want to open and click Next. The Choose Action page appears.

  6. Select one of the following functions:

  7. Click Next to open the Completing The Edit Virtual Hard Disk Wizard page.

  8. Complete any new pages presented by the wizard as a result of your selection and click Finish.

The options that appear on the wizard’s Choose Action page depend on the current status of the image file you select. For example, the Merge option only appears if you choose a differencing disk, and the Shrink option does not appear unless there is free space in the file that the wizard can delete.

In addition to these disk-editing functions provided by Hyper-V Manager, it is possible to use the Disk Management snap-in on the Hyper-V host to mount a VHD or VHDX file as a drive and access its contents, just as if it were a physical disk.

To mount a VHD file, use the following procedure.

  1. In Server Manager, on the Tools menu, select Computer Management to open the Computer Management console.

  2. In the left pane, select Disk Management. The Disk Management snap-in opens.

  3. From the Action menu, select Attach VHD. The Attach Virtual Hard Disk dialog box appears.

  4. In the Location text box, type or browse to the image disk file you want to attach and click OK. The disk appears in the Disk Management interface.

  5. Close the Computer Management console.

At this point, you can work with the virtual disk and its contents using any standard tools, just as you would a physical hard disk drive. To detach the VHD, you use the same procedure and select Detach VHD from the Action menu.

In Hyper-V, a checkpoint is a captured image of the state, data, and hardware configuration of a VM at a particular moment in time. Creating checkpoints is a convenient way for administrators to revert a VM to a previous state at will. For example, if you create a checkpoint just before applying a system update, and the update is somehow problematic, you can apply the checkpoint and return the VM to the state in which it was before you applied the update.

Exam Tip

Prior to Windows Server 2012 R2, the checkpoints in Hyper-V were known as snapshots. Checkpoints function in exactly the same way as snapshots; only the name is changed. You can expect to see either term on the 70-410 exam.

Creating a checkpoint is as simple as selecting a running VM in Hyper-V Manager and selecting Checkpoint from the Actions pane. The system creates a checkpoint file with an AVHD or AVHDX extension, in the same folder as the VHD file, and adds the checkpoint to the Hyper-V Manager display, as shown in Figure 3-20.

A checkpoint in Hyper-V Manager
Figure 3-20. A checkpoint in Hyper-V Manager

Checkpoints are a useful tool for administrators implementing a test environment in Hyper-V, but they are not recommended for heavy use in production environments. In addition to consuming disk space, the presence of checkpoints can reduce the overall performance of a VM’s disk subsystem. Administrators also should not use checkpoints on VMs containing databases—such as those created by SQL Server, Exchange, or Windows domain controllers—because the checkpointing process does not account for the current state of the database, and corruption might occur.

Because it is common for there to be more than one virtual hard disk hosted by a single physical hard disk, it is possible for one virtual disk to monopolize the input/output capacity of a physical disk, causing the other virtual disks to slow down. To help prevent this, Windows Server 2012 R2 enables you to control the Quality of Service (QoS) for a given virtual hard disk.

QoS management in Hyper-V takes the form of controls that enables you to specify the minimum and maximum input/output operations per second (IOPS) for a disk. To configure storage QoS, open the Settings dialog box for a VM, expand a hard drive component, and select Advanced Features to display the Advanced Features page shown in Figure 3-21.

Storage Quality of Service controls in Hyper-V Manager
Figure 3-21. Storage Quality of Service controls in Hyper-V Manager

After selecting the Enable Quality of Service Management check box, you can specify Minimum IOPS values and Maximum IOPS values for the disk in 8 KB increments.

At its most basic level, a storage area network (SAN) is simply a network dedicated to high-speed connections between servers and storage devices. Instead of installing disk drives into servers or connecting them by using an external SCSI bus, a SAN consists of one or more drive arrays equipped with network interface adapters, which you connect to your servers by using standard twisted pair or fiber optic network cables. A SAN-connected server, therefore, typically has at least two network adapters, one for the standard local area network (LAN) connection and one for the SAN, as shown in Figure 3-22.

A server connected to a SAN
Figure 3-22. A server connected to a SAN

The advantages of SANs are many. By connecting the storage devices to a network instead of to the servers themselves, you avoid the limitations imposed by the maximum number of devices you can connect directly to a computer. SANs also provide added flexibility in their communications capabilities. Because any device on a SAN can conceivably communicate with any other device on the same SAN, high-speed data transfers can occur in any of the following ways:

Although a SAN is not in itself a high-availability technology, you can make it one by connecting redundant servers to the same network, as shown in Figure 3-23, enabling them to access the same data storage devices. If one server should fail, another can assume its roles by accessing the same data. This is called server clustering.

Multiple servers connected to a SAN
Figure 3-23. Multiple servers connected to a SAN

Because they use standard networking technologies, SANs can also greatly extend the distances between servers and storage devices. You can design a SAN that spans different rooms, different floors, or even different buildings, just as you would a standard computer network.

Servers and storage devices cannot exchange SCSI commands over a SAN connection the way they do when the devices are directly connected using a SCSI cable. To communicate over a SAN, servers and storage devices map their SCSI communications onto another protocol, such as Fibre Channel.

Fibre Channel is a versatile SAN communications technology supporting various network media, transmission speeds, topologies, and upper-level protocols. Its primary disadvantage is that it requires specialized hardware that can be extremely expensive.

More Information Fibre Channel

The nonstandard spelling of the word fibre in Fibre Channel is deliberate, to distinguish the term from fiber optic. Fibre Channel can run on either twisted-pair copper cables or it can run on optical cables, whereas the spelling fiber always refers to an optical medium.

Installing a traditional Fibre Channel SAN entails building an entirely new network with its own special medium, switches, and network interface adapters. In addition to the hardware costs, which can easily be 10 times those of a traditional Ethernet network, there are also installation and maintenance expenses to consider. Fibre Channel is a rather esoteric technology, with relatively few experts in the field. To install and maintain a Fibre Channel SAN, an organization must either hire experienced staff or train existing personnel on the new technology. However, there is also a variant called Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) that uses standard Ethernet hardware and is therefore much less expensive.

The specialized networking technologies used to build Fibre Channel SANs have, in the past, made it difficult to use them with virtualized servers. However, since the Windows Server 2012 implementation, Hyper-V has supported the creation of virtual Fibre Channel adapters.

A Hyper-V Fibre Channel adapter is essentially a pass-through device that enables a VM to access a physical Fibre Channel adapter installed in the computer, and through that, to access the external resources connected to the SAN. With this capability, applications running on VMs can access data files stored on SAN devices and administrators can use VMs to create server clusters with shared storage subsystems.

To support virtual Fibre Channel connectivity, the physical Fibre Channel host bus adapter(s) in the host computer must have drivers that explicitly support virtual Fibre Channel. This support is relatively rare, but more manufacturers are expected to update their drivers to provide the necessary support. Your SAN must also be able to address its connected resources by using logical unit numbers (LUNs).

Assuming you have the appropriate hardware and software installed on the host computer, you implement the Fibre Channel capabilities in Hyper-V by first creating a virtual SAN by using the Virtual SAN Manager, accessible from Hyper-V Manager. When you create the virtual SAN, the World Wide Node Names (WWNNs) and World Wide Port Names (WWPNs) of your host bus adapter appear, as shown in Figure 3-24.

WWNNs and WWPNs in a virtual SAN
Figure 3-24. WWNNs and WWPNs in a virtual SAN

The next step is to add a Fibre Channel adapter to a VM from the Add Hardware page in the Settings dialog box. When you do this, the virtual SAN you created earlier is available on the Fibre Channel Adapter page, shown in Figure 3-25. Hyper-V virtualizes the SAN and makes the WWNNs and WWPNs available to the VM.

A Fibre Channel adapter in a VM
Figure 3-25. A Fibre Channel adapter in a VM
Thought experiment: Creating a VHD

In the following thought experiment, apply what you’ve learned about this objective to predict what steps you need to take. You can find answers to these questions in the Answers section at the end of this chapter.

Ed wants to create a new VHD file on his Hyper-V server by using Windows PowerShell. He runs the Get-Disk cmdlet and receives the following results:

Number

Friendly

Name

  

Operational Status

Total Size

Partition Style

0

WDC

WD5003ABYX-18WERA0

  

Online

465.76 GB

MBR

1

WDC

WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0

  

Online

931.51 GB

GPT

What command should Ed use to create a new 500-GB fixed VHD for his Server A VM, in the Windows Server 2012 R2 format, using data from the 465-GB drive on his computer, and a 4,096-byte sector size?

Objective summary

  • Hyper-V uses a specialized VHD format to package part of the space on a physical disk and make it appear to the VM as though it is a physical hard disk drive.

  • A dynamic hard disk image is an image file with a specified maximum size, which starts small and expands as needed to accommodate the data the system writes to it.

  • A differencing hard disk image is a child image file associated with a specific parent image. The system writes all changes made to the operating system to the child image, to facilitate a rollback at a later time.

  • VHDX image files in Windows Server 2012 R2 can be as large as 64 TB, and they also support 4-KB logical sector sizes to provide compatibility with new 4-KB native drives.

  • A pass-through disk is a type of virtual disk that points to a physical disk drive installed on the host computer.

  • In Hyper-V, a checkpoint is a captured image of the state, data, and hardware configuration of a VM at a particular moment in time.

  • QoS management in Hyper-V takes the form of controls that enable you to specify the minimum and maximum input/output operations per second (IOPS) for a disk.

  • The specialized networking technologies used to build Fibre Channel SANs have, in the past, made it difficult to use them with virtualized servers. However, Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V supports the creation of virtual Fibre Channel adapters.

Objective review

Answer the following questions to test your knowledge of the information in this objective. You can find the answers to these questions and explanations of why each answer choice is correct or incorrect in the Answers section at the end of this chapter.

  1. Which of the following statements about VHDX files is not true?

    1. VHDX files can be as large as 64 TB.

    2. VHDX files can only be opened by computers running Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2.

    3. VHDX files support larger block sizes than VHD files.

    4. VHDX files support 4-KB logical sectors.

  2. Which of the following must be true about a pass-through disk?

    1. A pass-through disk must be offline in the guest OS that will access it.

    2. A pass-through disk must be offline in the parent partition of the Hyper-V server.

    3. A pass-through disk can only be connected to a SCSI controller.

    4. A pass-through disk must be added to a VM with the Disk Management snap-in.

  3. The Merge function only appears in the Edit Virtual Hard Disk Wizard under which of the following conditions?

    1. When you select a VHDX file for editing

    2. When you select two or more disks for editing

    3. When you select a disk with free space available in it

    4. When you select a differencing disk for editing

  4. Which of the following are valid reasons not to take checkpoints of VMs? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. Checkpoints can consume a large amount of disk space.

    2. Each checkpoint requires a separate copy of the VM’s memory allocation.

    3. Each checkpoint can take several hours to create.

    4. The existence of checkpoints slows down VM performance.

  5. Which of the following is not required to add a Fibre Channel adapter to a Hyper-V VM?

    1. You must create a Fibre Channel virtual SAN.

    2. You must have a physical Fibre Channel adapter installed in the host computer.

    3. You must have a Fibre Channel adapter driver that supports virtual networking.

    4. You must have a SCSI cable connecting the Fibre Channel adapter to the storage devices.

Objective 3.3: Create and configure virtual networks

Networking is a critical part of creating a VM infrastructure. Depending on your network plan, the VMs you create on a Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V server can require communication with other VMs, with the computers on your physical network, and with the Internet.

When you build a network out of physical computers, you install a network interface adapter in each one and connect it to a hardware switch. The same principle is true in a Hyper-V environment, except that you use virtual components instead of physical ones. Each VM you create has at least one virtual network adapter and you can connect that adapter to a virtual switch. This enables you to connect the VMs on your Hyper-V server in various network configurations that either include or exclude the systems on your physical network.

You can create multiple virtual switches on a Hyper-V server and multiple network adapters in each VM. This enables you to create a flexible networking environment that is suitable for anything from a laboratory or classroom network to a production environment. In addition, Windows Server 2012 R2 has added the ability to create extensions for virtual switches so that software developers can enhance their capabilities.

Note

This objective covers how to:

A virtual switch, like its physical counterpart, is a device that functions at Layer 2 of the Open Systems Interconnect (OSI) reference model. A switch has a series of ports, each of which is connected to a computer’s network interface adapter. Any computer connected to the switch can transmit data to any other computer connected to the same switch.

Unlike physical switches, the virtual switches created by Hyper-V can have an unlimited number of ports, so administrators don’t have to be concerned about connecting switches together or about uplinks and crossover circuits.

The Windows Server 2012 R2 Add Roles and Features Wizard provides the opportunity to create virtual switches when you install the Hyper-V role. When you install Hyper-V on a server running Windows Server 2012 R2, the Create Virtual Switches page provides you with the opportunity to create a virtual switch for each of the physical network adapters installed in the host computer. These switches enable VMs to participate on the networks to which the physical adapters are connected.

When you create a virtual switch, the networking configuration in the host OS on the parent partition changes. The new virtual switch appears in the Network Connections window, and if you examine its properties, you can see that the switch is bound to the operating system’s TCP/IP client, as shown in Figure 3-26.

Meanwhile, Hyper-V also changes the properties of original network connection representing the physical network interface adapter in the computer. The physical network adapter is now bound only to the virtual switch, as shown in Figure 3-27.

As a result, the computer’s physical network configuration, in which its network adapter is connected to an external physical switch, is overlaid by the virtual network configuration created by Hyper-V. In this virtual configuration, the virtual switch is connected to the physical switch and the network adapter in the host OS is connected to the virtual switch. The internal virtual network and the external physical network are joined into a single LAN, just as if you connected two physical switches.

A virtual switch and its properties, displayed in the host OS
Figure 3-26. A virtual switch and its properties, displayed in the host OS
A network interface adapter in the host OS, bound to a virtual switch
Figure 3-27. A network interface adapter in the host OS, bound to a virtual switch

Once Hyper-V has created the virtual switch and made these configuration changes, any new VMs that administrators choose to connect to the virtual switch become part of this conjoined network, as do any physical computers connected to the physical network through an external switch.

This type of virtual switch is, in Hyper-V terminology, an external network switch because it provides connections external to the Hyper-V environment. This is typically the preferred arrangement for a production network in which Hyper-V VMs provide and consume services for the entire network.

For example, a VM connected to this switch will automatically obtain an IP address from a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server on the physical network, if there is one. As an alternative, you could configure a VM as a DHCP server and let it provide addresses to all of the systems on the network, virtual or physical.

Perhaps more important, this arrangement can also enable your VMs to access the Internet by using the router and DNS servers on the external network. The VMs can then download OS updates from servers on the Internet, just as external machines often do.

There are situations in which this type of virtual switch is inappropriate. If you are creating a laboratory network for product testing or a classroom network, you might not want it to be accessible to or from the external network. In these cases, you must create a different type of virtual switch by using the Virtual Switch Manager in Hyper-V Manager.

Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 R2 supports three types of switches, which you must create in the Virtual Switch Manager before you can connect VMs to them.

To create a new virtual switch, use the following procedure.

  1. In Server Manager, on the Tools menu, select Hyper-V Manager to open the Hyper-V Manager console.

  2. In the left pane, select a Hyper-V server.

  3. From the Actions pane, select Virtual Switch Manager. The Virtual Switch Manager dialog box for the Hyper-V server opens, as shown in Figure 3-28.

    The Virtual Switch Manager dialog box
    Figure 3-28. The Virtual Switch Manager dialog box

  4. In the Create Virtual Switch section, select one of the following switch types:

  5. Click Create Virtual Switch to open the Virtual Switch Properties page.

  6. Configure the following options, if desired:

  7. Click OK. The new virtual switch appears in the left pane, in the list of virtual switches.

You can create additional virtual switches as needed. You can create only one external switch for each physical network adapter in the computer, but you can create multiple internal or private switches to create as many virtual networks as you need.

Using Windows Powershell

To create a new virtual switch by using Windows PowerShell, use the New-VMSwitch cmdlet with the following basic syntax:

New-VMSwitch <switch name> -NetAdapterName <adapter name>
[-SwitchType Internal|Private]

For example, to create an external switch called LAN Switch, you would use the following command:

New-VMSwitch "LAN Switch" –NetAdapterName "Ethernet"

Every network interface adapter has a Media Access Control (MAC) address—sometimes called a hardware address—that uniquely identifies the device on the network. On physical network adapters, the MAC is assigned by the manufacturer and permanently entered in the adapter’s firmware. The MAC address is a 6-byte hexadecimal value, the first three bytes of which are an organizationally unique identifier (OUI) that specifies the manufacturer, and the last three bytes of which identify the adapter itself.

The MAC address is essential to the operation of a LAN, so the virtual network adapters on a Hyper-V server need to have them. The server has at least one real MAC address, provided in its physical network adapter, but Hyper-V cannot use that one address for all the virtual adapters connecting VMs to the network.

Instead, Hyper-V creates a pool of MAC addresses during the installation of the role and it assigns addresses from this pool to VMs as you create them. To view or modify the MAC address pool for the Hyper-V server, you open the Virtual Switch Manager and, under Global Network Settings, select MAC Address Range, as shown in Figure 3-29.

The MAC Address Range in the Virtual Switch Manager
Figure 3-29. The MAC Address Range in the Virtual Switch Manager

The first three bytes of the MAC address range are always 00-15-5D, which is an OUI registered by Microsoft. The fourth and fifth bytes of the MAC address are the last two bytes of the IP address assigned to the server’s physical network adapter, converted to hexadecimal notation. The sixth and last byte of the MAC address contains the range of values from 00 to FF, which provides 256 possible addresses.

The Hyper-V server assigns the MAC addresses to the network adapters in VMs as administrators create the adapters. The adapters retain their MAC addresses permanently or until the adapter is removed from the VM. The server reclaims any unused addresses and reuses them.

The default pool of 256 addresses is expected to be sufficient for most Hyper-V VM configurations, but if it is not, you can modify the Minimum and Maximum values to enlarge the pool. To prevent address duplication, you should change the second-to-last byte only, making it into a range of addresses like the last byte.

For example, the range illustrated in the figure provides 256 addresses with the following values:

00-15-1D-02-12-00 to 00-15-1D-02-12-FF

Modifying only the least significant digit, as in the following values, increases the pool from 256 to 4,096:

00-15-1D-02-10-00 to 00-15-1D-02-1F-FF

MAC Addresses

When you modify the MAC address pool and you have other Hyper-V servers on your network, you must be careful not to create an overlap situation in which duplicate MAC addresses can occur or networking problems can result.

Once you have created virtual switches in Hyper-V Manager, you can connect VMs to them by creating and configuring virtual network adapters. When you create a new VM, the default configuration includes one virtual network adapter. The New Virtual Machine Wizard includes a Configure Networking page, on which you can select one of the virtual switches you have created.

If you have created only the default external virtual switch when installing Hyper-V, then connecting a VM to that switch joins the system to the physical network. If you want to create additional network adapters in your VMs, you must use the following procedure.

  1. In Server Manager, on the Tools menu, select Hyper-V Manager to open the Hyper-V Manager console.

  2. In the left pane, select a Hyper-V server.

  3. In the Virtual Machines list, select a VM and, in the Actions pane, click Settings. The Settings dialog box for the VM appears.

  4. In the Add Hardware list, select Network Adapter and click Add. A new adapter appears in the Hardware list, as shown in Figure 3-307.

    A new network adapter in the Settings dialog box
    Figure 3-30. A new network adapter in the Settings dialog box

  5. In the Virtual Switch drop-down list, select the switch to which you want to connect the network adapter.

  6. If your host computer is connected to a physical switching infrastructure that uses VLANs to create separate subnets, you can select the Enable Virtual LAN Identification check box and enter a VLAN identifier to associate the network adapter with a particular VLAN on your physical network.

  7. To control the amount of network bandwidth allocated to the network adapter, select the Enable Bandwidth Management check box and supply values for the Minimum Bandwidth and Maximum Bandwidth settings.

  8. Click OK. The settings are saved to the VM configuration.

You can create up to 12 network adapters on a Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V server: eight synthetic and four emulated.

Selecting the Network Adapter option on the Add Hardware page creates what is known in Hyper-V terminology as a synthetic network adapter. Hyper-V supports two types of network and storage adapters: synthetic and emulated (sometimes called legacy).

A synthetic adapter is a purely virtual device that does not correspond to a real-world product. Synthetic devices in a VM running on a child partition communicate with the parent partition by using a high-speed conduit called the VMBus.

The virtual switches you create in Hyper-V reside in the parent partition and are part of a component called the network Virtualization Service Provider (VSP). The synthetic network adapter in the child partition is a Virtualization Service Client (VSC). The VSP and the VSC are both connected to the VMBus, which provides interpartition communications, as shown in Figure 3-31. The VSP, in the parent partition, provides the VSC, in the child partition, with access to the physical hardware in the host computer; that is, the physical network interface adapter.

Synthetic network adapters communicate by using the VMBus
Figure 3-31. Synthetic network adapters communicate by using the VMBus

Because they have access to the hardware through the VMBus, synthetic adapters provide a much higher level of performance than the alternative, emulated adapters. Synthetic adapters are implemented as part of the Guest Integration Services package that runs on supported guest OSs. The main drawback of synthetic network adapters is that they are not operational until the OS is loaded on the VM.

An emulated adapter—sometimes called a legacy adapter—is a standard network adapter driver that communicates with the parent partition by making calls directly to the hypervisor, which is external to the partitions, as shown in Figure 3-32. This communication method is substantially slower than the VMBus used by the synthetic network adapters and is therefore less desirable.

Emulated network adapters communicate by using the hypervisor
Figure 3-32. Emulated network adapters communicate by using the hypervisor

To install an emulated adapter, you use the same procedure described earlier, except that you select Legacy Network Adapter from the Add Hardware list. Unlike synthetic adapters, emulated adapters load their drivers before the OS, so it is possible to boot the VM by using the Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE) and then deploy an OS over the network.

This is one of two scenarios in which using an emulated adapter is preferable to using a synthetic adapter. The other is when you are installing an OS on your VMs that does not have a Guest Integration Services package available for it.

Some physical network interface adapters have features that are designed to improve performance by offloading certain functions from the system processor to components built into the adapter itself. Hyper-V includes support for some of these features, as long as the hardware in the physical network adapter supports them properly.

When you expand a network adapter in the Settings dialog box of a VM, you gain access to the Hardware Acceleration page. On this page, you can configure the following hardware acceleration settings:

The Advanced Features page provides additional options for supporting network adapter capabilities, as follows:

As explained in objective 1.2, “Configuring Servers,” NIC teaming is a Windows feature that enables administrators to join multiple network adapters into a single entity for performance enhancement or fault tolerance purposes. Hyper-V virtual machines can also take advantage of NIC teaming, but they are limited to teams of only two, as opposed to the host operating system, which can have teams of up to 64 NICs.

To use NIC teaming in Hyper-V, you must complete three basic tasks, as follows:

  1. Create the NIC team in the Windows Server 2012 R2 host operating system.

  2. In Hyper-V Manager, create an external virtual switch using the NIC team.

  3. Configure the network adapter in a virtual machine to connect to the virtual switch representing the NIC team.

NIC teams must consist of physical network interface adapters, so before you can use a NIC team in a virtual machine, you must create it in the host operating system. After installing two NICs in the computer, you can create a NIC team with Server Manager in the usual manner, using the settings shown in Figure 3-33. Creating the team installs the Microsoft Network Adapter Multiplexor Driver, which appears as one of the components of the network connection representing the team.

The NIC Teaming dialog box
Figure 3-33. The NIC Teaming dialog box

Once you have created the NIC team, you can open the Virtual Switch Manager and create a new virtual switch by selecting the External network option and choosing Microsoft Network Adapter Multiplexor Driver from the drop-down list, as shown in Figure 3-34.

The Virtual Switch Properties settings for a NIC team switch
Figure 3-34. The Virtual Switch Properties settings for a NIC team switch

To configure a virtual machine to use a NIC team, you must use the Settings dialog box to modify the properties for a virtual network adapter, configuring it to use the team switch you created in the previous section, as shown in Figure 3-35.

The Network Adapter settings for a NIC team adapter
Figure 3-35. The Network Adapter settings for a NIC team adapter

Finally, you must open the Advanced Features page for the network adapter and select the Enable The Network Adapter To Be Part Of A Team In The Guest Operating System check box. At this point, the NIC team is operational for the virtual machine. You can unplug one of the network cables and the system will maintain its connection to the network.

Hyper-V makes it possible to extend nearly any existing physical network configuration into its virtual space or create a completely separated and isolated network within the Hyper-V environment.

The basic default configuration of a Hyper-V VM connects its network adapter to an external virtual switch, thus attaching the guest OS on the VM to the outside network. The VM can then take advantage of services running on the outside network and send traffic through routers to other networks, including the Internet.

This type of arrangement can enable administrators to consolidate many physical servers into VMs on a single Hyper-V server, providing them all with access to the entire network. There is no distinction here between the physical network and the virtual one in the Hyper-V space.

Keep in mind that a Hyper-V server can have multiple physical network adapters installed in it, which might be connected to different networks to separate traffic or they might be connected to the same network to increase available bandwidth. You might also have adapters dedicated to SAN connections for shared storage and server clustering.

Microsoft recommends the use of at least two physical network adapters in a Hyper-V server, with one adapter servicing the parent partition and the other connected to the child partitions. When you have more than two physical adapters in the server, you can create separate external virtual network switches for the physical adapters and connect each one to a separate VM.

For testing and evaluation purposes or for classroom situations, administrators might want to create isolated network environments. By creating internal or private virtual switches, you can create a network that exists only within the Hyper-V space, with or without the parent partition included.

An isolated network such as this has limitations, however. If you want to install the guest OSs by using Windows Deployment Services or configure the VMs by using DHCP, you must install and configure those services on your private network. The guest OSs also do not have access to the Internet, which prevents them from downloading OS updates. In this case, you must deploy appropriate substitutes on the private network.

One way to provide your systems with updates is to install two network adapters on each of your VMs, connecting one to a private switch and one to an external switch. This enables the VMs to access the Internet and the private network.

Another method for creating an isolated network is to use VLANs. This is particularly helpful if you have VMs on different Hyper-V servers that you want to add to the isolated network. By connecting the network adapters to an external switch and configuring them with the same VLAN identifier, you can create a network within a network, which isolates the VLAN from other computers. You can, for example, deploy a DHCP server on your VLAN without it interfering with the other DHCP servers in your production environment.

Thought experiment: Configuring Hyper-V networking

In the following thought experiment, apply what you’ve learned about this objective to predict what steps you need to take. You can find answers to these questions in the Answers section at the end of this chapter.

Ralph has a Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V server with one physical network adapter and one external virtual switch connected to that adapter. This arrangement enables the VMs on the server to automatically download OS updates from the Internet. However, Ralph wants to use the VMs on the Hyper-V server on an isolated test network on which he can evaluate new software products. The test network must have its own DHCP server that does not interfere with the DHCP server on the production network.

How can Ralph create the test network he needs for his VMs without changing the configuration that provides the machines with Internet access?

Objective summary

  • Networking is a critical part of creating a VM infrastructure. Depending on your network plan, the VMs you create on a Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V server can require communication with other VMs, with the computers on your physical network, and with the Internet.

  • A virtual switch, like its physical counterpart, is a device that functions at Layer 2 of the OSI reference model. A switch has a series of ports, each of which is connected to a computer’s network interface adapter. Any computer connected to the switch can transmit data to any other computer connected to the same switch.

  • Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 R2 supports three types of switches: external, internal, and private, which you must create in the virtual Switch Manager before you can connect VMs to them.

  • Every network interface adapter has a MAC address—sometimes called a hardware address—that uniquely identifies the device on the network.

  • Once you have created virtual switches in Hyper-V Manager, you can connect VMs to them by creating and configuring virtual network adapters.

  • Selecting the Network Adapter option on the Add Hardware page creates what is known in Hyper-V terminology as a synthetic network adapter. Hyper-V supports two types of network and storage adapters: synthetic and emulated (sometimes called legacy).

  • NIC teaming is a Windows feature that enables administrators to join multiple network adapters into a single entity for performance enhancement or fault tolerance purposes.

Objective review

Answer the following questions to test your knowledge of the information in this objective. You can find the answers to these questions and explanations of why each answer choice is correct or incorrect in the Answers section at the end of this chapter.

  1. Which of the following are valid reasons for using an emulated network adapter rather than a synthetic one? (Choose all that apply.)

    1. You want to install the guest OS by using a Windows Deployment Services server.

    2. There is no Guest Integration Services package available for the guest OS you plan to use.

    3. The manufacturer of your physical network adapter has not yet provided a synthetic network adapter driver.

    4. The emulated network adapter provides better performance.

  2. Which of the following statements is not true about synthetic network adapters?

    1. Synthetic adapters communicate with the parent partition by using the VMBus.

    2. Synthetic adapters require the Guest Integration Services package to be installed on the guest OS.

    3. Synthetic adapters provide faster performance than emulated adapters.

    4. Synthetic adapters can start the child VM by using a PXE network boot.

  3. What is the maximum number of ports supported by a Hyper-V virtual switch?

    1. 8

    2. 256

    3. 4,096

    4. Unlimited

  4. Which of the following virtual switch types does not enable guest OSs to communicate with the parent partition?

    1. External

    2. Internal

    3. Private

    4. Isolated

  5. How many dynamically assigned MAC addresses can a Hyper-V server provide by default?

    1. 8

    2. 256

    3. 4,096

    4. Unlimited

Answers

This section contains the solutions to the thought experiments and answers to the objective review questions in this chapter.

Objective 3.1: Thought experiment

Alice can enable Dynamic Memory on each of the eight VMs and set the minimum RAM value on each to 512 MB. This will enable each VM to start with 1,024 MB of memory and then reduce its footprint, allowing the next machine to start.

Objective 3.1: Review

  1. Correct answers: B, C

    1. Incorrect: In Type I virtualization, the hypervisor does not run on top of a host OS.

    2. Correct: A Type I hypervisor runs directly on the computer hardware.

    3. Correct: A Type II hypervisor runs on top of a host OS.

    4. Incorrect: In Type II virtualization, the hypervisor does not run directly on the computer hardware.

  2. Correct answer: A

    1. Correct: Type I virtualization provides the best performance because the hypervisor runs directly on the computer hardware and does not have the overhead of a host OS.

    2. Incorrect: Type II virtualization provides poorer performance than Type I because of the need to share processor time with the host OS.

    3. Incorrect: Presentation virtualization is the term used to describe the Remote Desktop Services functionality in Windows. It is not designed for virtualizing servers.

    4. Incorrect: RemoteApp is a technology for virtualizing individual applications and deploying them by using Remote Desktop Services.

  3. Correct answer: B

    1. Incorrect: Hyper-V Server does not include a license for any virtual instances.

    2. Correct: Windows Server 2012 R2 Datacenter edition includes a license that enables you to create an unlimited number of virtual instances.

    3. Incorrect: Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard edition includes a license that enables you to create two virtual instances.

    4. Incorrect: Windows Server 2012 R2 Foundation edition does not include support for Hyper-V.

  4. Correct answers: A, B, D

    1. Correct: Smart paging enables a VM to restart even if the amount of RAM specified as the startup value is unavailable. Smart paging causes the system to use disk space as a temporary substitute for memory during a system restart.

    2. Correct: Dynamic Memory enables you to specify a minimum RAM value that is smaller than the startup RAM value, but Smart paging enables the system to function with those parameters.

    3. Incorrect: Windows Memory Weight controls the allocation of memory among VMs, but it does not affect the ability of a system to start.

    4. Correct: Guest Integration Services is required for a guest OS to use Dynamic Memory.

  5. Correct answer: C

    1. Incorrect: The instance of the OS on which you install Hyper-V does not become the hypervisor.

    2. Incorrect: The instance of the OS on which you install Hyper-V does not become the VMM.

    3. Correct: The instance of the OS on which you install the Hyper-V role becomes the parent partition.

    4. Incorrect: The instance of the OS on which you install the Hyper-V role does not become the child partition.

  6. Correct answer: B

    1. Incorrect: You can create a new Generation 1 or Generation 2 virtual machine at any time.

    2. Correct: Because they use improved and synthetic drivers, Generation 2 VMs deploy faster than Generation 1 VMs.

    3. Incorrect: Generation 2 VMs can run Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1 as a guest operating system.

    4. Incorrect: Generation 2 VMs use improved and synthetic drivers, as compared to the legacy drivers in Generation 1 VMs.

Objective 3.2: Thought experiment

Ed should use the following Windows PowerShell command to create the VHD.

New-VHD –Path c:\servera.vhdx –Fixed –SizeBytes 500GB -LogicalSectorSizeBytes 4096 –
SourceDisk 0

  1. Correct answer: B

    1. Incorrect: VHDX files can be as large as 64 TB, whereas VHD files are limited to 2 TB.

    2. Correct: Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows 8, and Windows 8.1 can all open VHDX files.

    3. Incorrect: VHDX files support block sizes as large as 256 MB.

    4. Incorrect: VHDX files can support the 4,096-byte block sizes found on some newer drives.

  2. Correct answer: B

    1. Incorrect: A pass-through disk must be online in the guest OS that will access it.

    2. Correct: A pass-through disk must be offline in the parent container so that the guest OS can have exclusive access to it.

    3. Incorrect: A pass-through disk can be connected to any type of controller.

    4. Incorrect: You do not use the Disk Management snap-in to add a pass-through disk to a VM; you use Hyper-V Manager.

  3. Correct answer: D

    1. Incorrect: You can merge VHD or VHDX disks.

    2. Incorrect: You can only select one disk for editing.

    3. Incorrect: There is no free space requirement when merging a disk.

    4. Correct: The Merge function appears only when you select a differencing disk for editing. The object of the function is to combine the data in the differencing disk with that of the parent.

  4. Correct answers: A, D

    1. Correct: Checkpoints consume disk space that could be better used for other purposes.

    2. Incorrect: Checkpoints do not require a duplicate memory allocation.

    3. Incorrect: Under typical conditions, checkpoints do not take several hours to create.

    4. Correct: The Hyper-V server must locate and process checkpoints each time it accesses a VM’s disk drives, slowing down its performance.

  5. Correct answer: D

    1. Incorrect: You must create a Fibre Channel SAN before you can add a Fibre Channel adapter to a VM.

    2. Incorrect: You must have a physical Fibre Channel adapter before you can create virtual Fibre Channel components.

    3. Incorrect: The driver for your physical Fibre Channel adapter must support virtual networking.

    4. Correct: SCSI cables are not required for Fibre Channel installations.

Ralph can create an isolated test environment without changing the virtual switch configuration by selecting the Enable Virtual LAN Identification check box on the network adapter in each VM and specifying the same VLAN identifier for each VM he wants on the test network.

  1. Correct answers: A, B

    1. Correct: A Windows Deployment Server installation requires the network adapter to support PXE, which emulated adapters do, but synthetic adapters do not.

    2. Correct: Synthetic adapter drivers are installed as part of the Guest Integration Services package; if there is no package for the guest OS, then there are no synthetic drivers.

    3. Incorrect: Synthetic adapter drivers are not provided by hardware manufacturers.

    4. Incorrect: Synthetic adapters provide better performance than emulated adapters.

  2. Correct answer: D

    1. Incorrect: Synthetic adapters use the faster VMBus for communications with the parent partition; emulated adapters must use calls to the hypervisor.

    2. Incorrect: Synthetic adapter drivers are installed as part of the Guest Integration Services package on the guest OS.

    3. Incorrect: Because of their more efficient communication with the parent partition, synthetic adapters perform better than emulated adapters.

    4. Correct: Synthetic network adapters load with the Guest Integration Services on the guest OS, which prevents them from supporting PXE.

  3. Correct answer: D

    1. Incorrect: Switches limited to eight connections would be insufficient for many Hyper-V installations.

    2. Incorrect: Hyper-V switches are not limited to 256 connections.

    3. Incorrect: Hyper-V switches are not limited to 4,096 connections.

    4. Correct: Hyper-V virtual switches can support an unlimited number of connections.

  4. Correct answer: C

    1. Incorrect: External switches enable the guest OSs to communicate with the outside network and the parent partition.

    2. Incorrect: Internal switches enable the guest OSs to communicate with the parent partition but not with the outside network.

    3. Correct: Private switches enable the guest OSs to communicate with one another but not with the outside network or the parent partition.

    4. Incorrect: Isolated is not a technical term referring to a type of virtual switch.

  5. Correct answer: B

    1. Incorrect: A pool of eight MAC addresses would be insufficient for many Hyper-V installations.

    2. Correct: A Hyper-V server provides a pool of 256 MAC addresses by default. You can create more by modifying the default address range.

    3. Incorrect: Hyper-V, by default, dedicates only one byte of the MAC address to a dynamic value, which is not enough to support 4,096 addresses.

    4. Incorrect: Hyper-V creates a finite pool of MAC addresses by specifying minimum and maximum address values.