AnilDesai.net

Cloud Computing, Virtualization, .NET / SQL Server Development; Consultant / Author / Speaker

Archive for May, 2008

Understanding Hyper-V Snapshots

May 27

Posted by Anil Desai in Management, Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtualization | No Comments

Microsoft’s Hyper-V includes a new model for creating point-in-time views of your VMs and for quickly and easily rolling back to them.  The new architecture is much improved over the "undo disks" model used by Microsoft Virtual Server and Virtual PC.  My SearchServerVirtualization.com article, Taking Snapshots with Hyper-V explains the details.  From the introduction:

Have you ever wished you could go back in time and remember how your virtual machines (VMs) used to look? You know, like before you installed that pre-production beta patch on a mission-critical application? Or before you accidentally overwrote the passwords in a login table by leaving off the WHERE clause of an SQL UPDATE statement?

As the father of more VMs than I can count, I often feel the same way. Fortunately, Microsoft’s Hyper-V provides a useful method of creating and applying point-in-time views of the status of your VMs: the aptly-titled snapshots feature. This easy-to-use tool can create VM snapshots from the Hyper-V Management Console.

See the full article for an in-depth discussion of the benefits of snapshots and how you can use them to help manage your VMs.

Hyper-V RC1 Now Available

May 20

Posted by Anil Desai in Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtualization | No Comments

Microsoft recently made available the Release Candidate 1 (RC1) update for x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008.  To get the latest bits (in a Microsoft update installer package), go to Update for Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition (KB950049) at the Microsoft Download Center.  If you’re performing remote administration from a 32-bit edition of Windows Server 2008, you can also download the RC1 update for 32-bit machines (remember that Hyper-V itself runs only on x64 machines that have virtualization CPU extensions). 

To get more details on what is new and what has changed, see the Release Notes for the RC1 Release of Hyper-V document.  The associated Knowledge Base Article 950049 also describes issues for updating, including the incompatibility of snapshots made in previous beta/RC releases of the product.  You also want to upgrade VMs to the latest version of Integration Services (included with the update). 

Hyper-V and Clustering

May 16

Posted by Anil Desai in Backup / Disaster Recovery, Microsoft Hyper-V | No Comments

A few days ago, I did a presentation on Microsoft’s Hyper-V at the DevTeach Conference in Toronto.  One of the areas I didn’t really get to expand upon is clustering for virtualization servers.  In brief, there are two main approaches – host clustering and guest clustering.  In the Microsoft world, Hyper-V relies on the tried-and-true Microsoft Cluster Services.  So the question remains: How do you set this up?  To get step-by-step details (18 pages of it!), see the free downloadable document: Step-by-Step Guide for Testing Hyper-V and Failover Clustering.  The document walks you through the required steps and is also a great way to learn more about Hyper-V administration for high-availability.

SysInternals ZoomIt

May 16

Posted by Anil Desai in Fun Stuff, IT Tips | No Comments

You never know what you’re going to pick up from conference presentations…  While I’m certainly not the first to pick up on this great utility the Windows SysInternals group has released a handy utility called ZoomIt v1.8.  This utility allows you to use a keyboard shortcut (Ctrl-1, by default) to automatically zoom in on the screen.  You can then use the mouse to pan around and the left mouse button to annotate the screen.  Best of all, it runs as a simple executable (which is 44KB in size) – no need for startup programs, installers, and other annoying software stuff.

Obviously, this can be useful for presenters.  When showing code samples or UI elements on a projector (even at relatively low resolutions), it can be helpful to expand upon a section of the screen.  I have also found it useful on my own computer.  I run two monitors: One is running at 1680 x 1050 (horizontal), and the other is running in a vertical 1280 x 1024.  It can be useful to zoom in on sections of web pages with small fonts.  I’m sure it will be more useful as I get older, as well.  Along with DisplayFusion (which I wrote about in a previous post titled Managing Multiple Monitors on Windows Vista) , it really provides some useful capabilities.  Good luck, and feel free to post your reviews/hints here!

SQL Server Performance Monitoring & Optimization: Austin Code Camp Presentation

May 16

Posted by Anil Desai in Databases / SQL Server, Presentations | No Comments

If you’re a developer that’s located in the Austin area, I highly recommend you consider attending Austin Code Camp 2008.  This free conference takes place on Saturday, May 17th, and is designed for attendees to learn about a wide variety of development-related topics without marketing hype or fluff.  Here’s the "official" description for the event:

The Austin .Net User Group is sponsoring the third Austin Code Camp. A code camp is a one day technical conference that has indepth sessions that are code focused. The sessions are given by members of the local development community for members of the local development community. If you are doing something interesting in the .Net framework, you should consider submitting a session. This is a no pressure event where you can try presenting to a group of developers that are truely interested in hearing what you have to say. (They are coming to hear you on a Saturday, need we say more about their dedication?) If you are interested in presenting then submit a session

Who can attend?: The camp is open to all individuals who are interested in learning or talking about software development on the Microsoft .Net Platform. Professional developers, Hobbiest, Students are all welcome.

Past events have been very well attended, and did I mention that it’s completely free?  You can download the complete and final schedule of sessions, if you’re planning to attend.  I’ll be presenting on SQL Server Performance Monitoring & Optimization – a demonstration-based session that shows how to optimize server and query performance.

Hyper-V vs. The Competition

May 12

Posted by Anil Desai in Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtualization | No Comments

I was recently asked to write an article that presents the case for Microsoft’s Hyper-V.  The article, Virtualization Face-Off: The Case for Hyper-V, includes some considerations that I believe will help the success of Hyper-V.  From the introduction:

It’s not always easy to defend an underdog, especially when they’re going up against the might of a large corporation that dominates its marketplace. And it’s not often that Microsoft is considered the underdog. Microsoft’s upcoming Hyper-V and associated management tools will take on VMware and the rest of the market and in doing so will very likely change users’ expectations for virtualization products.

Of course, this is bound to be a heated topic.  Feel free to voice your questions and comments here.

Understanding Hyper-V Partitions and Device Drivers

May 5

Posted by Anil Desai in Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtualization | No Comments

My recent SearchServerVirtualization.com article, Understanding Hyper-V partitions and device drivers, attempts to demystify some of the terminology related to Microsoft’s new virtualization platform.  From the article’s introduction:

As is the case with many other technologies, the virtualization space is filled with a mystifying array of terminology. Familiar definitions, such as guest, host, physical and virtual, interact within constellations of other, more product-specific terms. Microsoft’s Hyper-V has its own language that includes terms such as synthetic and emulated drivers; root, parent, and child partitions; and a smattering of others necessary for understanding and working with Microsoft’s upcoming virtualization platform. In this tip, I’ll explain the terms that are relevant to how device drivers work in Hyper-V, which should help with installation of the product, managing performance and troubleshooting any issues that might arise.

Be sure to check out the full article for all of the details.

Understanding Hyper-V Partitions and Device Drivers

May 5

Posted by Anil Desai in Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtualization | No Comments

I recently wrote a new article that helps explain the architecture of Hyper-V.   From the introduction:

As is the case with many other technologies, the virtualization space is filled with a mystifying array of terminology. Familiar definitions, such as guest, host, physical and virtual, interact within constellations of other, more product-specific terms. Microsoft’s Hyper-V has its own language that includes terms such as synthetic and emulated drivers; root, parent, and child partitions; and a smattering of others necessary for understanding and working with Microsoft’s upcoming virtualization platform. In this tip, I’ll explain the terms that are relevant to how device drivers work in Hyper-V, which should help with installation of the product, managing performance and troubleshooting any issues that might arise.

You can find the entire article at SearchServerVirtualization.com: Understanding Hyper-V partitions and device drivers.