Hyper-V Q & A with John Savill

Q: Are Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000 guest OSs supported on Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V?

A: Windows NT 4 and Windows 2000 are no longer supported by Microsoft, and so can't be supported on Hyper-V. Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V actually dropped integration service support for Windows 2000, which means it's no longer possible to use synthetic devices (such as network and storage) and there are no services to integrate with Hyper-V.

The net effect is the performance would be poor compared to an OS using synthetic devices, because emulated devices would have to be used. The recommendation would be to run Windows 2000 virtual machines (VMs) on a Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V server, which still has integration service support for Windows 2000.

Another (unsupported) option to try could be taking the integration services from Hyper-V 2008 R2 and installing on the Windows 2000 VM, then running on the Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V. This would give some synthetic device support and some integration with Hyper-V but would be completely unsupported by Microsoft. Longer term recommendation would be to migrate to a newer, supported OS as soon as possible.

For Windows NT 4, there really is no support. The legacy processor compatibility mode that helped NT 4 run on Hyper-V is gone in Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V, and emulated devices would definitely have to be used. However, the performance might meet what you need so this could be worth a try.

Q: When upgrading a Hyper-V host from Windows 2008 R2 to Windows 2012, can I save the state of a running VM and resume it after the upgrade?

A: No, you can't save the state of a running virtual machine (VM). The save state format of Windows Server 2008 R2 is not compatible with Windows Server 2012, in the same way the save state format of Windows 2008 wasn't compatible with Windows Server 2008 R2. 

You should shut down all VMs on a host prior to performing an upgrade of the Hyper-V host. Note that if you have online snapshots of a VM which also uses saved state as part of the snapshot, and then these snapshots will work after the upgrade to Server 2012.

Q: How can I attach USB devices to a Hyper-V virtual machine?

A: There are two scenarios for USB devices to be accessed in a virtual machine (VM):

1.      As part of a user's session on a VM

2.      Always available to the VM; for example, a USB dongle that must be available for a piece of software or service to function

Hyper-V doesn't allow the pass-through of a USB-attached device on a host to a VM. This would break the desired abstraction of the VM from the hardware, and therefore stop VM mobility. However this doesn't mean there are no solutions.

For the first scenario, a USB device available as part of a user's session on a VM, the solution is to use the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) capability to pass a locally attached USB device on the user's local device directly through to the remote VM. With Windows Server 2012 and RemoteFX technology, it's possible to redirect almost any USB device over RDP.

The second scenario, a USB device to always be connected to a VM even when a user isn't logged on, requires the use of third-party solutions that enable USB over IP. The solutions work by having a physical server that has all the USB devices connected to it and runs a service that enables the USB devices to be accessed remotely over IP.

The VMs then run a piece of client software that connects to the USB device over IP, and it looks to the VM like a local USB device. The benefit to these types of solutions is the VM can still be moved between hosts without losing connectivity to the USB device. There are many solutions available; among them are two I have seen used by my customers:

• Silex SX-2000U2 
• Digi Anywhere USB 

These questions are answered by John Savill, from WindowsITPro, Millions Thanks to him.

Windows 7 Security and managing UAC Prompts.

Windows 7 migrations are in full swing or completed.  As part of this desktop refresh, many companies have removed local administrative rights on the endpoint and are using the Windows 7 built-in security features.  Have these met your expectations?  Are your end users calling IT support to get assistance with prompts for UAC passwords?

Darren Mar-Elia, Microsoft Group Policy MVP, will walk us through the components of the Windows built-in security features and in which situations they work the best.  He’ll also introduce other methods for enhancing endpoint security within Windows 7 as related to managing UAC dialog boxes and best practices for managing administrator rights.

Next, Viewfinity will show you how to suppress the UAC dialog box and manage rights and privileges on Windows endpoints and servers. Using a fully automated process to identify common privilege needs across the entire user base, you can aggregate privilege needs and create a single policy for a collective group of users.  No longer will the removal of administrator rights be disruptive to your end users or a burden on IT.

Register Now!

Curtsey: Windows IT Pro

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Upgrading to SharePoint 2013 from MOSS 2007.

As we all know SharePoint 2013 is bundled with all new features which give extendibility to the existing business processes.  Notably, the SharePoint platform is also be improved with some great new features. The new version promises updates to Claims-Based Authentication, Business Connectivity Services (BCS), eDiscovery, Business Intelligence and Workflows, among other features.

You’ll also notice several new Service Applications bundled with SharePoint, such as App Management, Machine Translation and the Work Management Service Application

The SharePoint user interface is also getting a design makeover, with cues from Microsoft’s Metro UI design principles

And there are a couple critical points here, which we need to consider before we plan to upgrade to SharePoint 2013.

1.      There is no direct upgrade path from SharePoint 2007 to 2013. You must have a current version (SharePoint 2010 Foundation or Server) in place before upgrading to the next version. Is your organization still using a 2007 version of SharePoint (WSS or MOSS)? Or perhaps even using SharePoint Portal Server 2003 (v. 2.0)? Well, you’re not alone. If you’re considering SharePoint 2013, now may be the perfect time to start migrating from your older installation to SharePoint 2010. That way you’ll be prepared for a smooth transition to the new software.

2.      The underlying server components for SharePoint 2013 are also being upgraded. Earlier this year Microsoft released its new database server, SQL Server 2012. And Windows Server 2012 is anticipated for public release before the end of this year. So, if you want to be ready when SharePoint 2013 rolls out, this is an ideal time to start considering migrating to the newest versions of Windows Server and SQL Server while you’re at it.

So, in a sense, upgrading to SharePoint 2013 is also going to be kind of a big deal. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be a big hassle.

If you need any assistance with the SharePoint 2013 upgrade or its plan, do let me know. It would be my pleasure to help you out with that.

 

Expiration Policy or Information Policy Management: Aborted

Few days back I have noticed that in our environment the Expiration Policy started successfully, however aborted after few min. This was happening for few days. There were no Event logs, no service drop alert.

The depth was left to be searched, yes correct the USL logs. In ULS logs we found some of the references form Information Policy Management service failed due the access blocked on the site.

ULS logs entry: Error message

10/23/2012 23:03:18.48             OWSTIMER.EXE (0x2D7C)                       0x22B4  DLC Server                                Information Policy Management        5016     Critical  Expiration Service for site https://SharePointServer.com/sites/SharePointSitecollection failed. Access to this Web site has been blocked.  Please contact the administrator to resolve this problem

Why this happen

While processing the information Policy Management configured on some of the lib., the expiration policy service don’t find reference of the site because its access is blocked. Hence aborted or terminates its execution.

Resolution: 

Go to central admin -> Applications Mgt. tab -> Site collection quotas and locks -> Check if the site is locked and change status to not locked and see next time if expiration policy works or not.

If you have any questions/queries, do let me know, I would be try my level best to answer those.