Performing physical-to-virtual (P2V) and virtual-to-virtual (V2V) migrations

Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) has an intelligent placement feature that allows the VMM admin to place VMs on host servers to best suit the needs of the work load or performance of the VM in question.

Ideal placement is suggested based on a star rating for the hosts. There are some scenarios -where intelligent placement comes into play. This includes: New VM (from a template, from a disk, or from a VM), New P2V, New V2V, Migrate VM (quick, Live, storage, or network-based migration), or deploying a VM from the library. There are also some factors that impact intelligent placement:

VM settings: Processor Count, Memory Amount, Virtual Disks on IDE Controller, High Availability, Virtual Disk size

VMM can also reserve host settings which can impact intelligent placement. Those settings are: CPU percentage, memory (in MB), disk space (in MB), maximum disk I/O per second, and network capacity percentage.

If the standard star rating doesn’t suit your needs you can customize the rating system. There are a few ways VMM allows for customization of the rating system:

Resource maximization (preferred hosts with the most resources or hosts that meet the VMs’ needs) Load balancing (spreading VMs over as many hosts as possible to prevent overwhelming any one host).

A second way is to customize the main VM resources; CPU, memory, disk I/O, and network utilization. A third way is to specify the VM load for the CPU, disk or network.

You may have some servers that you need to convert to VMs. Could it be that where they are, they are being under-utilized? There are a few things that can be done in this instance. This is where Physical to Virtual (P2V) and Virtual to Virtual (V2V) migrations come in.

P2V is the process that VMM uses to convert the contents of a physical server into virtual machine. There are two methods of doing P2V migrations; offline and online.

V2V is the process of converting VMware ESX VM files to VHD files. You can do this either online or offline too.

Performing online /offline P2V

Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) has a wizard that takes you through the process of doing a P2V migration. You will need to supply the name of the physical server you want to migrate, an administrative account, password and domain name. Next you will need to specify the VM name to which the physical server will be copied to, who the owner is, and a description. After all this is done, VMM will install a P2V agent on the physical server and begin the P2V process. The following table outlines what OSes are supported:

Source: Mastering Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2, Sybex (Note: parts of this list may be out of date)

If an OS is not in the list, it is not supported.

For offline P2V, the process is similar, however, in the offline P2V wizard you will need to specify IP information. The offline process will create a WinPE image. VMM will deploy the image to the specified system, alter the boot order and restart the server. WinPE will start up and begin the copying process to the VMM server.

Performing online /offline V2V migrations

VMM has a V2V wizard that can convert VMware files to VHDs. First VMM must control a VMware environment. The VMware Tools must be uninstalled and the VM must be turned off. Next, run the VMM V2V wizard and supply all requested information and settings for the new VM. Note that V2V needs the VMware file type VMDK in a support format. There is no online method for V2V.

Performing import/export migration

If you find yourself needing to move VMs between servers, aside from migrations, you can export and import VMs.

Exporting a VM can be done through Hyper-V Manager. When you export a VM you get the following dialogue box. All you need to do is to specify where the VM will be saved. A copy will be made. Note also that the VM must be turned off before exporting.

When importing a VM you will be presented with the following dialogue box:

Specify where the VM is located and the import settings.

Move or restore the virtual machine (use the existing unique ID): This option imports the original VM retaining its original ID.

Copy the virtual machine (create a new unique ID): This option imports the VM assigning it a new ID.

Duplicate all files so the same Virtual machine can be imported again: This option will create a new VM in the same location as the original.

Manage non-Hyper-V aware virtualization hosts

If you have a VMware environment and want to manage it along with your Windows environment then VMM is the answer. VMM has the capability to manage VMware hosts. In order for VMM to manage VMware hosts, VMM must first manage vCenter. Only through vCenter can VMM see the hosts that vCenter is controlling. Adding an ESX host is done the same way as adding a Hyper-V host. vCenter and ESX have a secure mode, so additional information will be needed; the certificate from the ESX host and the public key. You can also enable full management of an ESX host. To achieve this, you will need to provide the local host credentials for each ESX host you intend to manage.

There are some instances when VMM will not be able to manage a host. For example, a host may not be able to run Hyper-V, or when dealing with Server 2003. In these cases, VMM will install Virtual Server 2005 in order to manage the host. Once the host has Virtual Server 2005 on it, VMM will also deploy an agent to it.

Create roles and configure authorization rights

This section revolves around Authorization Manager. Authorization Manager (AzMan) is the best way to control user rights when it comes to Hyper-V. AzMan is accessed through the AzMan.msc management console. Hyper-V relies on XML files to store the user rights. The default AzMan store is called InitialStore.xml. Azman allows the admin to assign role-based access to users and then assign delegations and rights. AzMan allows you to create a scope which targets VMs and then roles which target users or groups. AzMan allows for greater control of delegating right to users and groups. With this kind of control, you can delegate rights with finer control.

Configuring delegation of rights

User policies for SSP are a set of rules that define what a user or group can do within SSP. For instance quotas can be assigned as to how many VM can be created, what permissions or restrictions there are for the user or group. There are three types of user policies that can be used:

· Single self-service policy use a domain group with the required users in the group.

· Multiple self-service policies, each that have their own domain group but smaller number of users in each group.

· One self-service policy per self-service user

When dealing with templates, there are three types you can create in VMM:

· from a virtual disk in the library

· from an existing VM

· from an existing template

To create a template from a virtual disk in the library, open the library view, choose New Template in the Library Actions menu. Follow the wizard that opens. You will configure Template Identity, Hardware settings, and Gust Operating System settings. Additional properties can be set after the template is created: Cost center, Tag, ten custom properties and a quota for self-service users.

To create a template from an existing VM, right click a stopped VM, and select New Template. You will get a warning message. Creating a template in this manner will destroy the source VM. A wizard will follow. You will configure Template Identity, Hardware settings, Gust Operating System settings, Select Library Server, and Select Path (which is the path on the library where you will the place template).

To create a template from an existing template, you will right click a template in the library. Follow the wizard that opens. You will configure Template Identity, Hardware settings, and Gust Operating System settings.

Templates are managed through the library.

Libraries are an integral part of VMM. Libraries are file shares that reside preferably on a file server. If you find that you need to replicate them you can use DFSR and DFSN. Although there are some things that you will need to take into consideration, namely VMM is not DFS aware and there are other known issues. Backing up the library shares on a regular basis is also good practice. Another way of dealing with libraries is to make library file shares highly available through clustering. You can also create custom library groups for easier management. So what can you store in the library? Just about anything from VMs that are not being used to templates, scripts, and ISOs.

In this section I will cover managing and monitoring Virtual Machines.

Solve performance and resource issues

Performance and Resource Optimization (PRO) is a feature that is activated when you integrate Operations Manager (OpsMgr) and VMM. PRO is designed to allow OpsMgr to monitor the VMM environment should any issues arise, and report back with PRO tips, possible solutions to correct the problem, or indicate a bottle neck was detected.

To enable PRO you will need:

· OpsMgr 2007 SP1 or 2007 R2, VMM 2008 R2

· OpsMgr agents must be deployed to all Windows systems in the VMM managed environment

· The VMM server, library and SSP, if installed, must also be managed by OpsMgr

· ESX hosts are monitored by proxy through VMM

· The VMM management pack for OpsMgr must be installed

· The SQL and IIS management packs for OpsMgr must also be installed

· A cross trust relationship must be configured between OpsMgr and VMM for security. If not, the integration may not function.

· The OpsMgr console must be installed on the VMM server. Note both the OpsMgr and VMM consoles can’t reside on the VMM server at the same time

· PRO can be enabled at three levels: Cluster, Host group, and the VMM server itself

This is a general overview. A more detailed explanation can be found on Technet.

Event triggers are configured in OpsMgr management packs. They launch alerts or PRO tips based on an event. For example, if a host is placed in maintenance mode, an alert will be triggered and alert the VMM admin and vise-versa.

Allocating resources is similar in VMM as in Hyper-V Manager. VMs all have the same resources, CPU, memory, network, and disks. All these resources are configured in the settings of the VMs. This was covered in a previous post.

When it comes to troubleshooting issues one of the first places to look is the Performance Monitor. You can create new collector sets and add counters related to disk, memory or paging. The Resource Monitor is another location to look when troubleshooting is needed. The Resource Monitor lets you get more detailed information as to how resources are being used, what processes are being used and what resources they are using.

Create and Deploy Virtual Machines

VMM is the über-management software for virtual machine management. It has more options and capabilities than Hyper-V Manager. Creating VMs in VMM is done the same basic way as in Hyper-V Manager.

What is cloning? Cloning is the process of creating a new VM from an existing one. The source VM can be in either the VMM library or on an existing host. When a new clone is created, it retains the source’s original information: AD info, SID, name, and MAC. The source VM isn’t deleted. For a VM to be cloned, it first must be powered off or in a saved state. Be careful of having both VMs running at the same time because they might try to communicate on the same network; if they reside on the same network. For the best outcome, place the clone in the library. The clone can then be used as a backup.

Deploying VMs in VMM is a lot faster and easier than in Hyper-V Manager. Due to the fact that VMM is a datacenter level product, rapid deployment is essential. VMM makes use of host groups which are merely containers for quick provisioning. VMM also relies on an intelligent placement star rating system to help determine which hosts are best suited to host the desired VM. Since VMM can manage clusters, VMM can place VMs in clusters, making them highly available. In best practices, you would use the library to store templates, VHDs, scripts, etc. for quick deployment.

Creating VMs in Hyper-V Manager is pretty straight forward. Under the Actions click New and then Virtual Machine. A wizard will launch. The wizard will have you choose all the settings needed to create a new VM such as: location to store the VM, disk type, disk size, network to connect to, load an ISO, etc. Any additional settings you wish to make will be available in the VM settings after the VM is created.

The Self -Service Portal (SSP) is designed to allow an individual user the ability to manage and create their own VMs without involving the VMM admins too much. The VMs that self-service users create can be isolated to not impact a production environment. One of the best uses of the SSP is to allow developers to build their own VMs and to test software against them. There is no impact on the production in case something goes wrong with the software. VMM admins first setup the SSP, create the users or groups that have access to it, and set limits, if any, as to what the SSP user can do.

SSP requires IIS to function as SSP is web-based.

The IIS requirements are:

IIS 6 and above
IIS 6 Metabase Compatibility
IIS 6 WMI Compatibility
Static Content
Default Document
Directory Browsing
HTTP Errors
ASP.NET
.NET Extensibility
ISAPI Extensions
ISAPI Filters
Request Filtering

VMM admins can grant SSP users the following VM permissions:

One other item to note, VMM can place quotas on SSP users. What this means is that SSP users can do only certain operations within the quota limit.

Using Powershell is another method for creating and deploying VMs. Now, I am not a programmer, but I will give this section my best shot. First thing to note is that VMM runs on top of Powershell. Everything you do in the GUI has an associated Powershell script or action. With that said, when you create a new VM in VMM you will see an option at the end of the wizard to view the Powershell script that will run to create the new VM. Just about everything has something similar to this. Being able to view the Powershell script also gives you the capability to copy and store the code for reuse. You can then edit/modify the code for other purposes. Once VMM is installed, the associated Powershell scripts will be available. The best advice I can give for this topic is to get familiar with the commandlets, what they do and how they work.