Thursday, May 15, 2014

Simplified Management for Microsoft Free Hyper-V Server.

Whether you're a novice or an experienced administrator, you'll need management tools to simplify your daily tasks. VT Technology Management Utilities for Hyper-V (vtUtilities) are an easy to use all-in-one suit that provides out of the box solution for setting up and maintaining virtualization environments based on Microsoft Hyper-V Server.

vtUtilities are easy to download, deploy and use, don't require expensive hardware, eliminate the need for System Center, Virtual Machine Manager and RSAT, can be used to manage Hyper-V from Windows 7 and Windows 8 and support all recent versions of free/core Hyper-V Server (Hyper-V Server 2008, 2012, 2012 R2).

vtUtilities: GUI for Hyper-V


Easy to navigate GUI provides a view into the performance of the virtual environment, lets you start, stop, create and interact with virtual machines. With vtUtilities you can change and read VM's settings, see host and guests performance data, configure virtual networks and virtual hard disks, create snapshots, configure, start and monitor replication.

vtUtilities deliver GUI for:

  • Replication
  • Guest Migration
  • VHDX
  • Virtual Fibre Channel Adapters
  • Virtual Network Management including the management of virtual connections and bindings
  • Virtual Switch
  • File System Views and Operations

vtUtilities also implement GUI allowing connecting to the Virtual Machine Console.
This is an important factor when managing or troubleshooting virtualization environments on GUI-less hosts when local management utilizing command line interface (PowerShell) or remote management is difficult or even not feasible. 

Besides managing capabilities for virtual machines created using past versions of Hyper-V, vtUtilities deliver every essential solution to manage free Hyper-V Server 2012 R2:

  • Generation 2 Virtual Machines
  • Virtual Hard Disk and Storage Quality of Service
  • Hyper-V Replica Enhancements Including Support for Extended Replication
  • Hyper-V Virtual Networking Enhancements

Extended Replication Monitoring


Gen 2 VMs



Common Scenarios for Using vtUtilities:



vtUtilities can be installed locally on a Hyper-V Host and deliver GUI with functionality level similar to Microsoft Hyper-V Manager, while it can run on environments where Hyper-V Manager is not supported such as core installations of Windows Server and standalone free Hyper-V Server.

vtUtilities can be used for remote management of different versions of Hyper-V from a single application, adjusting to the features supported by managed version.  (Hyper-V on Windows Server 2008 R2  / 2012 / 2012 R2 as well as Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 / 2012 / 2012 R2). With vtUtilities you can manage Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 while still having a full access to Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2012

 vtUtilities allow local and remote management of Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and Hyper-V Server 2012/ 2012 R2 not only from Windows 8 / 8.1, but from Windows 7 as well (otherwise, proper server administration without System Center requires Windows 8 because the administration tools don't run on Windows 7).

Diagnostic and Troubleshooting with vtUtilities:


vtUtilities enable an easy access to Hyper-V event  logs and virtual machine jobs history.
Clicking on 'Hyper-V Events' button next to host drop-down box or using 'Tools|Hyper-V Event Log' menu will open a dialogue that allows further filtering and ordering of Hyper-V events as shown on screen below.
This functionality is available for local and remote Hyper-V hosts and is especially convenient for diagnostic on Core installation of Windows Server or standalone Hyper-V Server.




vtUtilities even further simplify diagnostic of Hyper-V environment by providing access to the virtual machine job execution history with a possibility to cancel asynchronous jobs on Windows 8 hosts as shown below:





Real Time Monitoring of Hyper-V Hosts and Guests with vtUtilities


Effectively monitor your virtual infrastructure by visualizing virtual machines health, performance, storage and memory usage. vtUtilities have a very small memory footprint and do not consume any resources on managed Hyper-V servers when they are not running.


Resource Monitoring



vtUtilities do not extend a potential attack surface on managed Hyper-V hosts and do not install or require any additional components


Installation



vtUtilities run only on 64-bit version of Windows.

Virtualization Platform: Microsoft Hyper-V

It is recommended that you download and read the latest version of the User Guide prior to installing vtUtilities.

Download and run vtUtilities bootstrapping executable that will guide you through the installation process. You will be able to start vtUtilities from a command console by typing ‘vtUtilities’ on the Windows Server core and the Hyper-V Server intstallations after that.

Check out our How to install, configure and manage free Hyper-v Server 2012/2012 R2 using VT Technology Management Utilities 

and Hyper-V Management and Diagnostic From a Single Environment 

Licensing



We provide a 7-day free trial to registered customers
A single host license costs $119.99

 VT Technology Management Utilities for Hyper-V -  vtUtilities 

VT Technology Management Utilities Demo




How to use vtUtilities to manage Microsoft Hyper-V 





Wednesday, May 14, 2014

TechEd 2014. Windows Server / Hyper-V Sessions

The best of TechEd and MMS at TechEd North America in Houston, TX ( 05/12/2014 - 05/15/2014 )
Microsoft announced new services and updates, promoting "cloud-first, mobile-first" strategy.
Most of the announcements are Azure - related, such as:

  • Antimalware for Azure 
  • Azure Site Recovery
  • Azure Nerworking Enhancements
  • Azure RemoteApp
  • Azure Files

Some other announcements include:

  • Simplified Cloud Storage
  • Private Connections to the Cloud
  • Office for iPad Remote Management from Windows Intune
  • Office 365 Data Encryption
  • Agile Software Development
  • Optimized .Net for the Cloud
  • Advanced Mobile Development


 TechEd North America Content Catalog





Additional Information:


Holiday Season for the IT Industry: TechEd 2014  Brad Anderson
Microsoft helps enterprises embrace mobile-first, cloud-first world  TechNet
TechEd 2014 North America Announcement Summary Yung Chou Blog
Backup and DR sessions at TechEd North America 2014
TechEd on Channel 9 
Microsoft TechEd 2014: The move from Windows Server to Azure
Roundup of Microsoft Azure related announcements from TechEd 2014  MSDN
TechEd 2014: Microsoft Pushes Its Public Cloud  WindowsITPro
Microsoft serves up an Azure feast but IT pros aren't eating it up  TechTarget
TechEd: Microsoft Previews Azure RemoteApp, Azure Files and Delivers ExpressRoute  RedmondMagazine
TechEd 2014 is underway with LOTS of exciting new stuff announced!  msdn
Microsoft TechEd: Adams, Fort Knox, Project K and more codenames to know  ZDnet
Windows 7 and 8.1 now usable in Azure virtual machines, but for developers only  ZDnet
Huge Bag of New Azure Features Announced at TechEd Yesterday  msdn
News from Microsoft TechEd 2014 - Key Hybrid Cloud Announcements technet


Azure: VM Security Extensions, ExpressRoute GA, Reserved IPs, Internal Load Balancing, Multi Site-to-Site VPNs, Storage Import/Export GA, New SMB File Service, API Management, Hybrid Connection Service, Redis Cache, Remote Apps and more…  ScottGu's Blog

Download All Videos and Slides from TechEd 2014 North America  TechNet



Teched Session Videos











Tuesday, May 6, 2014

Blogroll

A categorized listing of 215 Microsoft Twitter Accounts representing official Microsoft products, teams, projects and initiatives along with widely recognized influential personal Twitter Accounts of individuals who work at Microsoft. This list includes accounts that tweet in multiple languages and in multiple regions around the world:  Official Microsoft Twitter Accounts - A comprehensive reference

Official Microsoft Twitter Accounts

Check out these SAB member blogs

This is an unofficial directory (Hyper-V, Windows Server mostly) to help you stay informed.
Work in progress.

Mitch Tulloch / @mitchtulloch / MVP
mtit.com
WindowsNetworking.com
WServerNews

Hans Vredevoort / @hvredevoort / MVP
hyper-v.nu

Leandro Carvalho / @LeandroEduardo / MVP
Leandro Carvalho - MVP Virtual Machine

Carsten Rachfahl / +Carsten Rachfahl  / @hypervserver  / MVP
Rachfahl IT-Solutions

Michael Pietroforte / +Michael Pietroforte  / +4sysops  / @4sysops / MVP
4sysops

James van den Berg / @JamesvandenBerg  / MVP
Microsoft Cystem Center

Romeo Mlinar / +Romeo Mlinar  / @RomeoMlinar / MVP
Admin Troubles by Romeo Mlinar

Marcel Zehner / +Marcel Zehner  / @marcelzehner / MVP
marcelzehner.ch

Cameron Fuller / @cfullerMVP / MVP
blogs.catapultsystems.com

Alessandro Cardoso / @edvaldocardoso / MVP
Virtualization & Management Blog

Thomas Maurer / +Thomas Maurer / @ThomasMaurer / MVP
Cloud & Virtualization Blog

Sander Berkouwer / +Sander Berkouwer  / @SanderBerkouwer / MVP
The things that are better left unspoken 
4sysops 

Aidan Finn / @joe_elway / MVP
Aidan Finn, IT Pro 
Petri 

Nirmal Balachandran / +Nirmal Balachandran  / @nirmaltv / +NirmalTV.COM / MVP
nirmaltv.com

Wong Chon Kit / +Chon Kit Wong  / @WongChonKit / MVP
Tech Notes

Nathan Lasnoski / +Nathan Lasnocki / @nlasnoski / MVP
Concurrency Blog

Richard Hay / +Richard Hay  / +WindowsObserver  / @WinObs / MVP
WindowsObserver

Kevin Greene / @kgreeneit / MVP
Kevin Greene's IT Blog

Jeffery Hicks / +Jeffery Hicks  / @JeffHicks / MVP
The Lonely Administrator
Altaro blog for Hyper-V & Windows Administrators

Ed Horley / @ehorley / MVP
howfanky 

Pete Zerger / +Pete Zerger  / @pzerger / MVP
Pete Zerger's Blog

Christopher Keyaert  / @keyaertc  / MVP
vNext.be

Jaap Wesselius / @jaapwess  / +Jaap Wesselius  / MVP
JaapWesselius.com

György Balássy / @gyorgybalassy  /  MVP
Codes from the field

Philip Elder / @MPECSinc / MVP
MPECSinc

Shantanu Kaushik / @shan2129 / MVP
RtoubleShoot Windows

Jorge's Quest For Knowledge




Daniel Petri / @p3daniel

Petri IT Knoweledgebase

Richard Hicks / Richard Hicks / @richardhicks
ISAserver.org
Richard Hicks' DirectAccsess Blog

Petri

Russell Smith / +Russell Smith / @smithrussell
Petri IT Knoweledgebase


Pierre Roman / +Pierre Roman  / @pierreroman
CANITPRO

Anthony Bartolo / +Anthony Bartolo  / @WirelessLife
CANITPRO

Mitch Garvis / @mgarvis
CANITPRO


Stefan Roth / @scomfaq
SCOMfaq.ch


Justin Cooney / +Justin Cooney  / @JWCooney
Justin Cooney- Programming Tips


Ben Gelens / @bgelens / +Ben Gelens 
MS SEC BY BEN

Andy Syrewicze / @asyrewicze
Andy Syrewicze Blog

Per-Torben Sørensen  /  @PerTorben
 Per-Torben Sørensen

Marcos Nogueira  /  @mdnoga
blog.marcosnogueira.org

Rob McShinsky / @VirtuallyAware
VirtuallyAware.com

Robert Borges / @RobertBorges_us
Robert Borges Blog

Mustafa Abul-Ela / +Mustafa Abul-Ela
Corner {CoreGeeks}


Steven Bink / +Steven Bink  / @sbink
Bink.nu 


David Acevedo / +David Acevedo / @DavidiAcevedo
NETDAVIDIC

Paul Thurrott / +Paul Thurrott  / @thurrott
Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows

Rod Trent / +Rod Trent  / @rodtrent
myITforum.com / +myITforum.com  / @myITforum
WindowsITPro / +WindowsITPro  / @WindowsITPro

Henk Hoogendoorn / @HenkHoogendoorn
Henk's Blog

Niklas Akerlund / +Niklas Åkerlund  / @vNiklas
vNiklas Virtualization Blog

Max Trinidad / @MaxTrinidad
Max Trinidad - The PowerShell Front

Fazar Susanto / @FazarSusanto
Fazar

Rodolphe Petrowsky / +Rodolphe Petrowsky  / @RPetrowsky
myITcafe.com

Florian Klaffenbach / +Florian Klaffenbach  / @FloKlaffenbach
Flo's Datacenter Report

Ben Gelens / @bgelens
MS Sec by Ben

Michael Rueefli / @drmiru 
miru.ch

John Savill / @NTFAQGuy
WindowsITPro
SavillTech's Blog

Raj Kumar / @rajweb6 / FB / +Raj Kumar
thetechnosolution / FB

Marlon Ribunal / @MarlonRibunal / +Marlon Ribunal
SQl, Code, Coffee, etc

Adrian Hall / @splunk_ahall
Splunk

Carl Gray / +OxfordSBSGuy / @oxfordsbsguy
Oxford SBS Guy

Lefteris Karafilis / @ekarafilis
Lefteris Karafilis IT Solutions

Gil Gross /
Gil Gross on Microsoft

Dan Perelman / @DanPerelman
Baud Labs

Arran Wicher / +Arran Wicher  / @AWicher
Wicher

Michael Brown / @MGBLEEDS
MGBLeeds

Mohd Hamizi / @pdawacko_77 
Just a random "Microsoft Server / Client Tech" info..

Simon Waight / @simonwaight
siliconvalve

Ben Seitz / @benseitz / +Ben Seitz
Ben Seitz III

Jan R / @HertogJanR / +Jan R
Sysadmins of the North


Virtualize Your IT Infrastructure

Amdreas Molin / @andreas_molin
A guide to Microsoft Products
Intense School@Intenseschool / 
Intense School 

Server Geeks / FB
servergeeks

Eli the Computer Guy@ELICOMPUTERGUY
Geek Brain Dump

Cari.net Blog


MSDN / TechNet Blogs

  

Thomas W Shinder / +Tom Shinder  / @tshinder
Building Clouds


Jim Britt / @JimBrittPhotos
Building Clouds /@Building_Clouds

Charles Joy / @OrchestratorGuy
Building Clouds

Yung Chou / @yungchou
Yung Chou on Hybrid Cloud
dotnet

Blain Barton / +Blain Barton  / @blainbar
Blain Barton's Blog

Chris E. Avis / +Chris Avis  / @chrisavis
Chris E. Avis's Blog

Dan Stolts / +Dan Stolts ITProGuru  / @ITProGuru
ITProGuru Blog

Jennelle Crothers / @jkc137
Techbunny

Keith Mayer / +Keith Mayer  / @KeithMayer
IT Pros ROCK!

Bob Hunt / @bobhms
The IT Pro Exchange

Brian Lewis / @BrianLewis_
My Thoughts on IT

Matthew Hester / @matthewhester
Matt Hester's WebLog

Tommy Patterson / @Tommy_Patterson
Virtually Cloud 9

Kevin Remde / @KevinRemde
Full of I.T.

Harold Wong / @haroldwong
Harold Wong's Blog

Jose Barreto / +Jose Barreto  / @JoseBarreto
Jose Barreto's Blog

Brad Anderson  / @InTheCloudMsft
In The Cloud

Scott Guthrie / +Scott Guthrie  / @scottgu
ScottGu's Blog:

Ben Armstrong / @VirtualPCGuy
Ben Armstrong's Virtualization Blog:

Keith Combs / @Keith_Combs /
Keith Combs' Blahg:

Tony Soper / +Tony Soper / @tony_soper
tonyso

Taylor Brown / @HyperV_taylorb
Taylor Brown's Blog:

Ashley McGlone / +Ashley McGlone  / @GoateePFE
Goatee PFE

Bruce Adamczak / @BruceAdamczak
Bruce Adamczak

Nathan Mercer / @Nathan Mercer
Nathan Mercer's Blog

Rhoderick Milne / +Rhoderick Milne (Exchange) / @RhoderickMilne
250 Hello

Bruce Langworthy / @BruceLangworthy
Windows Storage Team

Jeffrey Snover / @jsnover
Jeffrey Snover's Blog

Scott M. Johnson / @SuperSquatchy
Windows Storage Server

Amit Dobhal
AmitD

Samuel Betts / @elbetzio
Build on SharePoint

Habibar Rahman Sheikh
ServerGeeks

Toby Meyer / +Toby Meyer / @Toby_Meyer
itToby