GPPC Connections 2011 | November 6-8 | Las Vegas, NV Doing Better Demos: How to Get the Most from the Microsoft Demo Platform and Tools Lyle Curry Sr

GPPC Connections 2011 | November 6-8 | Las Vegas, NV

Doing Better Demos: How to Get the Most from the Microsoft Demo Platform and

ToolsLyle Curry

Sr. Product Marketing ManagerMicrosoft Dynamics ERP

Connections 2011 | Nov 6-8 | Las Vegas, NV

Session Objectives and Takeaways

• Understanding Hyper-V in a Demo Scenario– Hyper-V – Why Hyper-V now and what is it?– Hardware – What it consumes and how to boot– Virtual environment optimization and licensing

considerations


AdvantagesSimple deploymentSimple use & management‘Optimized’ for desktop

DisadvantagesPerformanceOnly runs x86 guest imagesLimited to 3.5GB RAM per VMNo VM hosting option

VPC

Virtualization Optionsfor Dynamics demo systems

AdvantagesPerformance potentialHosts x64 guest imagesDedicate as much RAM as neededBetter hardware utilization

DisadvantagesHigher degree of complexity Not ‘optimized’ for desktopNo native support for wireless networks

Hyper-V


What is Hyper-V?

• An x64 standards based virtualization technology included in Windows Server 2008 R2– Standard, Enterprise or Datacenter– Full or Server Core

• Turning it on is a matter of selecting the Hyper-V Role– Also available as a separate standalone SKU – Microsoft

Hyper-V Server• A thin layer of software between the hardware & the host

OS – This layer is called Windows Hypervisor

• Provides ability to run multiple OS environments (guests) on a host computer at the same time


Windows Server 2008 R2

VSPWindows Kernel

Hyper-V Architecture

Applications Applications Applications

Non-Hypervisor Aware OS

Windows Server 2003, 2008

Windows Kernel VSC

VMBus Emulation

“Designed for Windows” Server Hardware

Windows hypervisor

Xen-Enabled Linux Kernel

Linux VSC

Hypercall Adapter

Parent Partition Child Partitions

VM Service

WMI Provider

VM Worker Processes

OSISV / IHV / OEM

Microsoft Hyper-VMicrosoft / XenSource

User Mode

Kernel Mode

Ring -1

IHV Drivers

VMBus

VMBus

Applications


Hardware Requirements

Minimum Requirementso 4 GB RAM / 60 GB of free hard disk spaceo RECOMMENDED: 8GB RAM

• 300-400MB for the hypervisor• 32MB for the first 1GB of RAM assigned to each guest OS• 8MB of RAM for each additional 1GB of RAM assigned to each guest OS

o Laptops with 8GB of RAM meeting Virtualization requirements for Hyper-V are less than $1200

Use a 2nd Hard Disk – Internal or Externalo If External use eSATA and SSD for best performanceo If Internal use a minimum 7,200 RPMo Hard disk must be formatted NTFS (FAT has 2GB file size limit)

Run Virtual Images with a minimum of 1.5 or 2GB of RAM


Virtual PC vs. Hyper-V on Demo Laptop

VPC on Demo Laptop

• Use existing hardware• Just point to file and run• Link to local HD within VM• Support for Wireless

Networks• Support for 32 Bit Guests

Hyper-V on Demo Laptop

• Only new high end hardware

• Import directory structure and set networking

• No access to local Disks within VM

• No native support for Wireless Networks

• Support for 32 and 64 Bit Guests– This is why we do it!


Licensing Model

• New licensing Model– Evaluation copy with 180 day activation period

• 10 day’s to activate via the internet or phone (trial period)• 180 day evaluation period• When time runs out you can re-arm up to 3 times

– Best Practice - customize your VM during first evaluation period and then “rearm” the VM in order to reset both the activation grace period and the trial expiration. Use the “slgmgr.vbs –rearm” command followed by a system shut down. This will allow you to use the VM with a fresh evaluation period whenever

it is needed.


Differencing Disks and the New Licensing Model

• Sometimes Microsoft or our ISV partners would ship a differencing disk as a supplement\enhancement to the original VM

• Since all VM’s must be activated by the user shipping differencing disks will no longer be a viable option

• Users can still take advantage of differencing disks after they receive and activate their VM. You can still have multiple versions for each prospect


INSTALLING HYPER-V ON A DEMO LAPTOP


AdvantagesLower hardware costsCentralized image / managementRedundancyPerformance

DisadvantagesDependent on internet accessPotential latencyNetworked (patch & antivirus)

Hosted

Hyper-V Deployment Optionsfor Dynamics demo systems

AdvantagesFull controlSelf containedOffline access

DisadvantagesHigher degree of complexity More costly hardwareComplexities of running dual boot or running WS08 as your “productivity” OS

Native on Notebook


Boot Configurations Options

• Win2K8-R2 as Host (running as your desktop)– Win2K8 as desktop machine– Hyper-V available along with desktop

• Win7 as Host + Boot to VHD for Win2K8-R2– Win7 as Client OS– Boot to VHD of Win2K8-R2 HV

• When in HV you can’t switch back to Win7• Can run multiple VM’s one being Win7 on your

corporate network and including all of your applications


Running a Windows Server 2008 R2as Your Primary OS

• With Hypervisor running you can utilize as demo platform– You can turn off Hypervisor thru boot menu– Power Management and performance benefits

• Drawbacks to running Hyper-V and trying to utilize your laptop for non-demo tasks– 3D Graphics issues– Lack of support for certain applications and drivers– Difficult to achieve full “Workstation” capabilities– Application compatibility issues may arise– No support for Bluetooth on Windows Server


Dual Boot Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2

• Option 1: Full install of Windows Server 2008 R2– Must maintain two partions

• Option 2: Boot to VHD– No need to partition HD – File must not reside on BitLocker

enabled partition– Allows for out of the box simplicity

• Box-in-a-Box Mode (running VM’s from a VM almost no performance penalty)

• Experts can do heavy lifting for you• Little if any Configuration needed• Minimal Hyper-V knowledge needed to get started

– Requirements• Fixed Disk VHD (will convert dynamic automatically)• Must have enough space for maximum size of dynamic disk on drive• Image must be SysPrepped for initial boot


How do I enable Boot to VHD?• Copy the sysprep’d VHD file

to your computer• Modify the boot menu to

point to your VHD file• Re-boot to the new entry• Run through “mini-setup”• Install necessary drivers

– If you have 64-Bit Windows 7 already installed then you will have the drivers you need already available

• Activate OS• Finish and configuration

changes you want to make


Modify the Boot Menu for Boot to VHD

• Launch an elevated (Run as Administrator) Command Prompt and run the following, replacing “Boot_From_VHD” with a name of your choice:– bcdedit /copy {current} /d “Boot_From_VHD”

• Copy the CSLID that is displayed and run the following, replacing [C:]\vhdname.vhd with the path and name of your VHD:– bcdedit /set {CLSID} device vhd=[C:]\vhdname.vhd– bcdedit /set {CLSID} osdevice vhd=[C:]\vhdname.vhd– bcdedit /set {CLSID} detecthal on

• Reboot and you will see the additional boot option for the VHD you just added.


Boot Menu for Boot to VHD


DEMO - BOOT TO VHD


TOUR OF HYPER-V


Hyper-V Use Questions

• How do I install software on a Hyper-V VM?• How do I share data with my host computer like in

Virtual PC?• How do I cut and paste between my host computer

and my VM?• How do I access devices that are connected to my

host computer?

Install ISV

software

Load Prospect

data

Add Prospect

logo


Hyper-V Use TipsFunctional Map

Action Microsoft Virtualization Technology

Microsoft VPC 2007 sp1 Hyper-V

Reverting back to a previous “version” of your demonstration VM

Undo Disks Snapshots

Creating unique demonstration environments while minimizing disk space usage

Differencing Disks Differencing Disks

Launching into your pre-loaded demo environment (“cooking show” technique)

Saved State Saved

Committing changes to a VM i.e. closing a VPC image and

permanently saving ‘Undo’ disk content

Commit changes to virtual hard disk (check box)

Applying Snapshots

Merge the contents of a differencing virtual hard disk into the corresponding parent VHD

Merge Merge

Install ISV software or copy prospect data or logos into the image

Shared Folders or

Copy/Paste

Create ISO & Mount ISOor

Network VM & RDP


Virtual Machine Files• Hyper-V Files Types

– .XML files – Configuration of VM– .BIN files – Memory of VM– .VSV files – Saved State – .VHD files – Hard drives of the VM– .AVHD files – Differencing disks used for Snapshots

• Saved State is like Hibernate• Pause is like sleep• You can control file location through default settings and file

location of export package that will be imported• Controlling file location is more of a management efficiency

thing as opposed to a performance thing with Hyper-V


Import/Export• Export Directory contains all files related to a VM• Duplicate all Files checkbox

– Keeps import directory intact for additional imports

• Once a set of exported files are imported the same set cannot be re-imported

• Move or Restore vs Copy– Copy will allow multiple copies to be loaded in the Hyper-V console

• This will impact things like MAC Address

– Move will have conflicts with any other version of the same VM on the same host• This is what you should normally use• Step One – Acquire the exported VM that you want to use• Step Two – Make sure required Hyper-V networks are in place• Step Three – Copy the files to the location that you want to run the VM from• Step Four – Import using Move


Best Practices for Import/Export

• Keep a copy of your import files so you don’t have to re-download all the files again later

• Make sure that you have the files you will import in the location that you want them in before you import

• Make sure that you have the networks created that will be required by the import before you perform the import– Naming does matter – it must be exact

• After import you can only move the location of the main VHD file without a full export

• Take advantage of snapshot export feature in Windows Server 2008 R2


DEMO - IMPORT AND EXPORT


Networking• Three types of Networks

– Private• Between VM’s only – on a single host

– Internal• Between VM’s and Host on Single host

– External• Link VM to Network Adapter

• Wireless– Not supported directly by Hyper-V– To make work:

• Install Desktop Experience and Wireless Lan Service on Host• Configure ICS, RRAS or Network Bridging with Wireless

adapter and Hyper-V Internal Network


Best Practices for Networking• Use Internal Network in normal demo situations

– Make sure you configure the automatically created “Loopback Adapter” on the host with the proper IP Address information

– Avoid pointing to DNS if at all possible• This will help to mitigate potential network issues on the host (for example

contoso.com is a real domain on the Internet)

– Use host file modification on the host if you want to point to resources in the VM from the host

• Use Private Networks when you want to run duplicate IP Address’s (for example the same VM running multiple times on the same machine)

• Use External Networks only when necessary– Potential problems include issues with duplicate domains on the

same network– Avoid using Wireless External Networks if wired is available

• Increase VMBus buffer size on Hyper-V network adapters to increase performance – detailed in the following blog post:http://blogs.technet.com/winserverperformance/archive/2010/02/02/increase-vmbus-buffer-sizes-to-increase-network-throughput-to-guest-vms.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/winserverperformance/archive/2010/02/02/increase-vmbus-buffer-sizes-to-increase-network-throughput-to-guest-vms.aspx




DEMO - WIRELESS NETWORKING


Sharing Data Between Your VM and Your Host

• In Hyper-V a VM is truly a separate computer• You share data between computers the same way

you do when the computers are not virtual– “Sneaker Net”

• Create a virtual DVD/CD (iso image) of your data and mount it

• Create a virtual floppy disk image and mount it• Use a USB drive (not directly supported by Hyper-V but can

be accessed via a Terminal Services RDP session• Mount a VHD Drive via SCSI

– Use Networking• Access remote hard disks via network sharing• Share local hard drives from the host via Terminal Services

(RDP)


Terminal Services as a key feature for making Hyper-V work for you

• Terminal Services will help you by:– Providing a better user interface experience than the

Hyper-V console– Allowing for sound– Providing for USB and other device sharing with your host– Providing for drive sharing– Proving copy\paste functionality with the host

• Key to using Terminal Services is getting the networking right


DEMO - SHARING DATA AND DEVICES VIA TERMINAL SERVICES


SnapShots

• Snapshots are the new Undo Drive• Differencing Disks are created by Hyper-V to do

Snapshots• Limit of 50 (hard drive space will be a limiting

factor) in tree structure to provide multiple ‘Undo’ points

• SnapShots can be in separate location from Data Root

• Export of a snapshot brings all back into single directory structure with no snapshot

• Export of the main VM will include all snapshots


Best Practice with SnapShots• Snapshots are very useful for demo purposes even

though they are discouraged in production VM environments

• Take a snapshot of a VM before first boot• Use snapshot branching to create “different demo

images” for multiple customer engagements• Boot your image and fully warm it up and then

create a snapshot in order get right where you want to be in a demo

• Use of too many snapshots will have a performance impact


Disk Drives

• Diff Disks– Works the same way as with VPC– Great way of handling images for multiple deals– Very little performance penalty– Can be merged into new parent image

• SCSI Hot Add/Remove within VM– Any VHD– Allows for creation of a ‘Utility’ disk that can be mounted

into any VM without re-booting VM


DEMO – SCSI HOT ADD & REMOVE


Best Practices for Virtual Hardware Optimization

• In Hyper-V use IDE drives vs. SCSI for best performance. • Use SCSI for hot drive add/remove

– In Virtual Server some used the emulated SCSI for performance reasons but this is not helpful in Hyper-V

• Use the Legacy Network Adapter for booting from the network

• Make sure to use Integration Components for your VM’s– These are native to the latest OS’s– All Microsoft produced VM’s will contain these

• Use Terminal Services to gain access to USB devices


Hyper-V Performance Tips• Hardware

– 8GB RAM / 100GB free hard disk space– Enough memory to eliminate swapping

• If needed put pagefile on different drive– External HD configuration similar to Virtual PC

• Hard Drive separation is biggest performance gain although not as much as with Virtual PC

– Maintain a Clean Host Hard Drive and Defrag Often– Hardware Virtualization is required and must be enabled in the BIOS

• Many similar performance suggestions as with Virtual PC– High Performance Power plan (Most Power Management Disabled with

Hyper-V)– Make sure to run from AC Power at all times– Clean defrag’d host drive

• Limit Applications/Services on your Host – Outlook, SQL, Scheduled Virus Scans, etc.– Anti-virus precautions (exclude Hyper-V files from Anti-Virus)

• Unlike VPC, Hyper-V can not run NTFS compressed VHD’s


Best Practices for Hardware Optimization

• Multiple drives will help most if you have very unbalanced performance on your laptop (drives with vastly different speeds or limited memory)

• Multiple drives will help if you are running multiple VM’s• Use fast drives with Hyper-V because separation of files

between drives is tricky and your best I/O performance improvement will come from raw drive performance

• Use eSATA if possible for the performance. USB 3.0 is still very new but looks promising


Performance Research: Results

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

T2 Pass 1 T2 Pass 2 T2 Pass 3

Time (

sec)

Script Run

Script Test T2, Drive and Interface Performance

eSATA Expresscard (3.0 Gb/s), 7200 RPM diskUltraBay SATA (1.5 Gb/s), 7200 RPM diskUSB Bus (.480 Gb/s), 7200 RPM diskeSATA Expresscard (3.0 Gb/s), 10k RPM diskUSB Bus (.480 Gb/s), 10k RPM diskeSATA Expresscard (3.0 Gb/s), SSDUltraBay SATA (1.5 Gb/s), SSDUSB Bus (.480 Gb/s), SSD


Helping you with Hyper-V• Newly created White Paper

– ‘Best Practices for Running Hyper-V on Demo Laptops’

• DemoMate Click-Thru’s for common config of Hyper-V

• Using Boot to VHD with a pre-configured VM in order to get up and running quickly

• All content will be available from PartnerSource– https://mbs.microsoft.com/Cms/Templates/document/

General.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID={0A99BDB7-ADC6-44D5-B1EA-6392B7E89B65}&NRORIGINALURL=/partnersource/deployment/methodology/vpc/nav2009r2&NRCACHEHINT=Guest&wa=wsignin1.0

• Links for more help:– http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/

articles/hyper-v-portal.aspx– http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/

https://mbs.microsoft.com/Cms/Templates/document/General.aspx?NRMODE=Published&NRNODEGUID=%7B0A99BDB7-ADC6-44D5-B1EA-6392B7E89B65%7D&NRORIGINALURL=/partnersource/deployment/methodology/vpc/nav2009r2&NRCACHEHINT=Guest&wa=wsignin1.0






http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/hyper-v-portal.aspx


http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/

http://blogs.msdn.com/virtual_pc_guy/


More Hyper-V Resources

• The Hyper-V Getting Started Guide• The Getting to Know Hyper-V Video• Virtual Machine Processor Compatibility Mo

de• The Hyper-V Portal

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc732470(WS.10).aspx

http://www.microsoft.com/showcase/en/us/details/806bb329-55a0-4be2-89d2-bb5e8d7dd808

http://download.microsoft.com/download/F/2/1/F2146213-4AC0-4C50-B69A-12428FF0B077/VM%20processor%20compatibility%20mode.doc

http://download.microsoft.com/download/F/2/1/F2146213-4AC0-4C50-B69A-12428FF0B077/VM%20processor%20compatibility%20mode.doc



THANK YOU!


Key Hyper-V Terms• Differencing disk. A virtual disk (VHD) that is based on a Base Virtual Disk. It is essentially a VHD

that records the differences between the current state and the virtual disk that it is based on.• Dynamically expanding virtual hard disk. A virtual hard disk that grows in size each time it is

modified.• Guest operating system. The operating system in the virtual machine in Hyper-V.• Host. The operating system on the physical computer where Hyper-V is installed and that “hosts” the

virtual machines through Hyper-V.• Hypervisor. The layer of software that exists above the hardware and below the management

operating system. It creates partitions to provide isolated execution environments and manages each partition's access to hardware resources.

• Integration services. A collection of services and software drivers that maximize performance and provide a better user experience within a virtual machine. Integration services are only available for supported guest operating systems.

• Legacy network adapter. A virtual network adapter that emulates a specific physical network adapter, the multiport DEC 21140 10/100TX 100 MB.

• Parent disk. The virtual disk (VHD) file that is being used to serve as a base to other virtual disks. This is used when creating differencing disks.

• Parent partition. The partition used to store the management operating system.• Snapshot. A capture of the full current state of a Virtual Machine, including settings, working RAM,

hard disk, etc. Snapshots can be “Applied” to return to that saved state at any time.• Virtual machine. The machine or computer that is emulated by Hyper-V.• Virtual network. A virtual version of a physical network switch. A virtual network can be configured

to provide access to local or external network resources for one or more virtual machines.


• How this is going to look– With some content on the slides– Here’s another bullet point too

• And another great thought will likely be put right here

• One more here to fill up more space

Just Testing Out


TO DIVIDE UP SECTIONSPresenters Use This Space

Documents

GPPC Connections 2011 | November 6-8 | Las Vegas, NV Doing Better Demos: How to Get the Most from the Microsoft Demo Platform and Tools Lyle Curry Sr