Windows Server 2008

How to enable Windows Server Backup support for the Hyper-V VSS Writer

To be able use VSS based backups of Hyper-V VMs using Windows Server Backup, we need to add the following registry keys to register the Hyper-V VSS Writer with Windows Server Backup. WindowsServerBackup key is not created when we install the Windows Server Backup feature. We have to create this key manually.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT
\CurrentVersion\WindowsServerBackup\Application Support\{66841CD4-6DED-4F4B-8F17-FD23F8DDC3DE}

When the keys listed above created, we also need to create a String Value with the following parameters / settings:

Name: Application Identifier
Type: REG_SZ
Value: Hyper-V

When backing up virtual machines, we must select all volumes where VM related files is present, because Windows Server Backup only supports volume based backups.

For more information about Hyper-V virtual machine backups, take a look on the KB958662.

Understanding Microsoft Virtualization - Free eBook

This is the book for IT professionals who want to learn more about the latest Microsoft virtualization technologies, including Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5, Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization, and Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure. The book also examines other virtualization-enabling technologies from Microsoft including Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services, Roaming User Profiles, Folder Redirection, and Offline Files.

Download (14.4MB PDF)

Hyper-V Remote Management Configuration Utility

HVRemote reduces the manual configuration steps needed for Hyper-V Remote Management down to one or two commands.

It can configure Full installations and Server Core Installations of Windows Server 2008 with the Hyper-V role enabled, plus configure Microsoft Hyper-V Server. It runs across all locales and it doesn’t matter if the server is domain or workgroup joined.

It can configure Vista SP1 and Server 2008 configured with the Hyper-V Remote Management tools. Again, doesn’t matter if the client is domain or workgroup joined.

Basic commands (see documentation for more information)

To grant or remove a user access permissions:

• hvremote /add:domain\user or
• hvremote /remove:domain\user

To display current settings: hvremote /show
Get some help: hvremote /?
Add firewall exception for MMC: hvremote /mmc:enable (Client Option)
Allow anonymous access to Distributed COM: hvremote /AnonDCOM:grant (Client Option)

Download HVRemote @ Source

Administrative Templates (ADMX) for Windows Server 2008

Few days ago Microsoft released a Administrative Templates (ADMX) for Windows Server 2008. Windows Server 2008Administrative templates provide Group Policy setting information for the items that appear under Administrative Templates. Group Policy tools use Administrative template files to populate policy settings in the user interface.

Administrative template files in Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista are divided into ADMX (language-neutral) and ADML (language-specific) files. ADML files are XML-based ADM language files that are stored in a language-specific folder. By default, the %Systemroot%\PolicyDefinitions folder on a local computer stores all ADMX files, and ADML files for all languages that are enabled on the computer.  Download At Source: www.microsoft.com 

Standalone Hyper-V

Microsoft Finally details Standalone Hyper-V. Monday, at a Microsoft Virtualization event in Bellevue, Washington, Microsoft annonced  a few interesting virtualization news. The company showed off some live migration features of Windows Server 2008 R2 (R2 should be released next year)…

Full story at source: http://app-v.ca/

Microsoft Virtualization Launch

On September 8th, 2008 Microsoft will launch its new virtualization products.
Attend this free summit on Microsoft® Virtualization Products and Practices and INCREASE your productivity!

Find out how Windows Server 2008® with Hyper-V™, Microsoft System Center - including Virtual Machine Manager 2008 - and Microsoft Desktop and Application Virtualization allow you to deploy, manage and get VIRTUAL now like never before.

SBS 2008 Released to Manufacturing

Windows Small Business Server 2008 software has been finalized! 3 Days ago both SBS Standard and Premium are being released to manufacturing, so it will be widely available by November 12 launch. 

Microsoft Virtualization and Licensing Announcements

Few days ago Microsoft announced some significant changes to its licensing and support policies for applications in hardware virtualization environments. There are two key parts of the announcement worth highlighting for Exchange customers:

1. Microsoft now supports Exchange Server 2007 SP1 running Hyper-V or hypervisors validated under the Microsoft Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP).
2. Microsoft is waiving its 90-day license reassignment policy to enable customers who virtualize Exchange to move their licenses between servers within a data farm as often as necessary.

As part of the updated support policies, we have published an article called Microsoft Support Policies and Recommendations for Exchange Servers in Hardware Virtualization Environments. This article includes Microsoft’s support policy and recommendations for running Exchange Server 2003 in a Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 environment. It replaces Microsoft Knowledge Base article 320220, which previously detailed the policy and recommendations for this environment. In addition, this article includes Microsoft’s support policy and Microsoft’s recommendations for running Exchange Server 2007 SP1 in a hardware virtualization environment.

Microsoft Support Policies and Recommendations for Exchange Servers in Hardware Virtualization Environments is a must-read for anyone considering a virtualized Exchange environment.

Diskeeper Helps Customers Get Virtual with Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Virtualization

Diskeeper announced that its flagship Diskeeper 2008 automatic defragmenter achieved Certified for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V status from Microsoft. Diskeeper 2008 is one of the first three applications, out of 175 applications currently certified for Windows Server 2008, to earn the Hyper V designation.

How to Sequence Adobe Acrobat Reader 9.0

If you try to sequence Adobe Acrobat Reader 9 (I’ve tried to do this in SoftGrid 4.5 RC) you will get a error and inside error report you will find “Code: 0×0000000000000000” and a lot of other, not very usefull information about this error.

Full Story At Source, App-V.ca