Windows Server 2008 R2 : Becoming Familiar with the Hyper-V Administrative Console

Launching the Hyper-V Administrative Console

There are two ways to open the Hyper-V Administrative console and access the server’s configuration options. One way is to use the Server Manager tool and administer the host server through Server Manager, and the other option is to launch the freestanding Hyper-V Manager Microsoft Management Console (MMC) to perform administrative tasks for the host system.

Using the Server Manager Tool to Manage Hyper-V Systems

For administrators who want to manage their Hyper-V systems from a centralized console, the Server Manager tool provides a common administrative interface for all the server roles installed on a particular system. To start the Server Manager tool to view and edit Hyper-V Settings, do the following:

Using the Hyper-V MMC Tool to Manage Hyper-V Systems

For administrators who want to manage their Hyper-V systems from a dedicated console just for Hyper-V administration, the Hyper-V tool should be used. To start the Hyper-V administration tool, do the following:

1.	Click Start, All Programs, Administrative Tools, and then choose Hyper-V Manager for the tool to launch.
2.	Click on Hyper-V Manager to see the virtual servers to which you are connected.
3.	Click on the name of one of the virtual hosts and then select one of the virtual machines listed to see snapshots, details, and actions available for the guest system. By default, the Hyper-V MMC will have the local virtual server system listed, as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Virtualization Management Console.

Connecting to a Remote Hyper-V Host

If you want to administer or manage a remote Hyper-V host system, you can connect to that server using the Hyper-V Manager. To connect to a remote virtual server, do the following:

Navigating and Configuring Host Server Settings

Regardless of whether you have chosen to use Server Manager or the MMC tool, the configuration options and settings are the same. When you click on the virtual server system you want to administer, action settings become available. These action settings allow you to configure the host server settings for the system you have chosen to administer.

Hyper-V Settings

When you select the Hyper-V Settings action item in the Actions pane, you have access to configure default paths and remote control keyboard settings. Specifics on these settings are as follows:

• Default Paths— This option enables you to set the drive path for the location where virtual hard disk files and virtual machine configuration files are stored. This might be on the local C: volume of the server system or could be stored on an external SAN or storage system.

• Keyboard Behavior— This option specifies where special Windows key combinations (for example, Alt+Tab and the Windows key) are sent. These keys can always be sent to the virtual machine, the host machine, or the virtual machine only when it is running in full screen.

• Mouse Release Key— By default, the key combination that releases the guest session so the administrator can gain keyboard control back to the host console is Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow. The Remote Control/Release Key option allows for the selection of other key options.

• User Credentials— Hyper-V uses default credentials, by default. This means it will use the logged-on credentials to connect to any virtual machine. The administrator might choose to require credentials when connecting to a virtual machine. This is necessary when using smart card authentication to connect to a virtual machine.

Virtual Network Manager

By selecting the Virtual Network Manager action item, you have access to configure the virtual network switches, as shown in Figure 2. Here is where you configure the local area network (LAN) and WAN connections available for the guest sessions of the virtual server host.

Figure 2. Virtual network switch management.

Specific to these settings are as follows:

• Add New Virtual Network— This configuration option allows for the addition of a new external, internal, or private network segment available to the guest sessions. An external network binds to the physical network so the virtual machines can access the physical network, just like any other host on the network. An internal network segment would be a connection that is solely within the virtual server system, where you might want to set up a virtual LAN so that the virtual server guests within a system can talk to each other and the host, but not with the physical network. A private network segment can only be used by the virtual machines that run on that host. They are completely isolated and cannot even communicate directly with the host server.

  Note

  A new feature in Windows Server 2008 R2 is the option to “Allow Management Operating System to Share This Network Adapter” in external networks. By deselecting this option, you isolate the management operating system from communications between virtual machines and other computers on a physical network.

  
  

  Here, the administrator can also choose to configure virtual LAN identification (VLAN ID) for the management operating system. This enables the administrator to tag the virtual network for a specified VLAN.

• Existing virtual networks— If the system you are managing already has virtual networks configured, they will be listed individually in the left pane of the Virtual Network Manager dialog box. By selecting an existing virtual network switch, you can change the name of the virtual network; change the internal, private, or external connection that the network has access to; or remove the network altogether.

• MAC Address Range— Every virtual network adapter must have a unique Media Access Control (MAC) address to communicate on an Ethernet network. The administrator can define the range of MAC addresses that can be assigned dynamically to these adapters.

Edit Disk

The Edit Disk option in the Virtual Network Manager action item menu enables you to modify an existing virtual hard disk (VHD) image. Specifically, the options are as follows:

• Compact— This option enables you to shrink a virtual hard disk to remove portions of the disk image file that are unused. This is commonly used when a disk image will be archived and stored, and having the smallest disk image file possible is preferred.

• Convert— This option enables you to convert a dynamic virtual hard disk file to a fixed-size virtual hard disk by copying the contents to a new file.

• Expand— This option enables you grow the size of a dynamic disk image. For example, you might have initially created the disk image to only be 8GB maximum in size, and now that you’ve added a lot of applications to the guest image, you are running out of space in the VHD file. By expanding the image file, you effectively have the ability to add more applications and data to the guest session without having to re-create the guest session all over again.

Inspect Disk

The Inspect Disk option in the Virtual Network Manager action item menu enables you to view the settings of an existing virtual image file. For the example shown in Figure 3, the disk image is currently 4MB in size, can dynamically grow up to the maximum limit of 2040GB, and is located on the local hard drive in the directory C:\vpcs.

Figure 3. Virtual Hard Disk Properties shown in the Inspect Disk option.

Stop Service

The Stop Service option in the Hyper-V Manager Actions pane provides for the ability to stop the Hyper-V Virtual Machine Management on the Hyper-V host machine being managed. You might choose to stop the service if you needed to perform maintenance or begin the shutdown process of an administered system.

New Configuration Wizard

One of the wizards listed in the Hyper-V Manager Actions pane allows for the creation of new virtual machines, hard disks, and floppy disks. Specifics of this configuration option are as follows:

• New – Virtual Machine— This option enables you to create a new virtual guest session. The whole purpose of running Windows virtualization is to run virtual guest sessions, and this option is the one that enables you to create new guest sessions.

• New – Hard Disk— This option enables you to create a new virtual hard disk (VHD) image. When you create a new virtual machine in the first option, this includes creating a hard disk image for the operating system; however, some servers will need additional virtual hard disks. This wizard walks you through the configuration of a new virtual hard disk image.

• New – Floppy Disk— This option enables you to take an existing floppy disk and create a virtual floppy disk image from the physical disk. This might be used to create an image of a bootable floppy disk that would later be used in configuring or managing a guest image, or used to create a floppy disk image of a disk that has drivers or utilities on it that will be used in a virtual guest session.