Dell - Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Support and Configuration

AvDag Staale @ september 28, 2008 20:27 ::

:: 7467 Visninger

Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Support and Configuration

The purpose of this document is to identify the Dell™ servers supporting Hyper-V™ and provide steps to configure the servers for virtualization. It further explains how to enable Hyper-V in Windows Server® 2008.

Windows Server 2008 x64 editions will contain a beta version of Hyper-V, Microsoft’s Hypervisor-based virtualization software. Hyper-V is available only in x64 editions of Windows Server 2008. Hyper-V requires that all processors on the server be x64. Hyper-V also requires that hardware-assisted virtualization (Intel® VT or AMD-V) and Data Execution Prevention (NX feature on Intel or XD feature on AMD) be supported by the processors, and these processor features should be enabled in the server BIOS.

Dell will provide limited support for the beta version of Hyper-V included in Windows Server 2008 x64 installed on Dell servers. This includes adding and removing the Hyper-V role and limited configuration of the role. The Hyper-V Beta release is currently supported on the following Dell Servers:

· PowerEdge™ 6800*
· PowerEdge 6850*
· PowerEdge 1950
· PowerEdge 2900
· PowerEdge 2950
· PowerEdge 1900
· PowerEdge 1955
· PowerEdge 6950
· PowerEdge SC1435
· PowerEdge 2970
· PowerEdge T105
· PowerEdge R200**
· PowerEdge R900
· PowerEdge M600
· PowerEdge M605

* The PowerEdge 6800/6850 supported Single-core Intel Xeon® MP processors (Cranford and Potomac) and Dual-core Intel Xeon MP (Paxville and Tulsa) processors. However, the Cranford and Potomac processors do not support Intel VT hardware-assisted virtualization. So the PowerEdge 6800 and PowerEdge 6850 must be configured with either Paxville or Tulsa Dual-core Intel Xeon processors to be capable of running Hyper-V.

**The PowerEdge R200 server must be configured with Intel Xeon processors in order to run Hyper-V. This server can also be configured with Intel Celeron®, Intel Pentium® Dual-Core, and Intel Core™ 2 Duo processors – none of which supports Intel VT hardware-assisted virtualization.

Enabling Hardware Features on Dell PowerEdge Servers

The Hyper-V role is only available in x64 Editions of Windows Server 2008, thus requiring x64 processors. Data Execution Prevention (XD for AMD processors or NX for Intel processors) is a requirement for Hyper-V and this feature is enabled by default on Dell servers (current server BIOS does not allow this feature to be disabled).

Hyper-V requires Hardware assisted virtualization support in the processors. By default, this feature is disabled on Dell servers and so must be enabled in the system BIOS before you enable the Hyper-V role. The feature can be enabled by pressing F2 at the POST screen to go into the server BIOS Setup and navigating to the CPU Information page as seen below:

Enabling Hyper-V Role on Windows Server 2008

To install the Hyper-V role on a full installation of Windows Server 2008, follow the steps below:

1. Ensure that the required hardware features are enabled in the server BIOS
2. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition OS using an account with administrator rights
3. Start Server Manager by using Start | Administrative Tools | Server Manager
4. From Server Manager, click Add Roles to launch the Add Roles Wizard
5. Choose the Hyper-V role (see screenshot below)
6. Follow the on-screen instructions of the wizard until the Create Virtual Networks page is reached
7. In order to allow virtual machines to communicate on the network, at least one virtual network bound to one physical network adapter must be created. Virtual networks can also be created, modified, and deleted at any time using the Virtual Network Manager. It is considered a best practice to have at least one physical network adapter that does not have a virtual network associated with it to be used for host server management.
8. Continue through the rest of the pages of the wizard
9. Restart the system when prompted at the end of the Add Roles Wizard

A Hyper-V Manager MMC console may be used either locally or remotely to manage the virtual environment on this server.

To install the Hyper-V role on a server core installation of Windows Server 2008, the Optional Component Setup tool ocsetup.exe is used by following the steps below:

1. Ensure that the required hardware features are enabled in the BIOS
2. Log on to the Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition OS using an account with administrator rights
3. From the command prompt type the following command:
start /w ocsetup Microsoft-Hyper-V
4. Reboot when prompted

Now a remote Hyper-V Manager MMC console may be used to create and manage virtual machines on this Server Core server.

More Information
More information about installation and configuration of Hyper-V can be found in the following links:
· http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/virtualization/install.mspx
· http://download.microsoft.com/download/e/4/8/e48d5cff-53d2-4eed-85bf-4af50e25b78c/relnotes.htm

THIS WHITE PAPER IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY, AND MAY CONTAIN TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS AND TECHNICAL INACCURACIES. THE CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS, WITHOUT EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.

Emne(r): Hyper-V

Handlinger: E-mail | Permalink | Kommentarer (0) |

Dell - Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Support and Configuration

Registrer rangering

Kommentarer

Registrer kommentar