April 24, 2013
40 ways to fix your PC before you call an expert

CNET How To

If you know what a USB port looks like, chances are you’re regularly called upon as the ‘IT expert’ by friends and family whenever a computer goes bust or a window mysteriously disappears.

Below are some of the most useful tips I’ve gathered over many years of troubleshooting PCs and despairing at the number of browser toolbars unsuspecting pensioners install. And no, I’m not going to come around to “take a look”. Work your way through all of these first…

http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/desktops/40-ways-to-fix-your-pc-before-you-call-an-expert-50009237/

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(Notes: 1)
  
April 2, 2013
Getting Started Guide for Virtualization on a Budget Using Free Hyper-V Server 2012 

How to install, configure and manage free Hyper-V Server 2012 using VT Technology Management Utilities

https://vttechnology.com/Customer/Support/Hyper-V-Server-2012-Management
 

Introduction

This guide provides step-by-step instructions for installation and initial configuration of the Microsoft free bare-metal hypervisor a.k.a. Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012. It also shows how a new virtual machine can be created, managed and controlled from a local console session using VT Technology Management Utilities (vtUtilities). That being said, this guide should not be used as a performance tuning or Hyper-V ‘best practice’ document. We will simply show how Hyper-V Server 2012 can be installed, configured and used to create and run virtualized workload from the scratch in 15-20 minutes. We will use the following hardware and software:
  • Computer with:
    • 64-bit Intel or AMD CPU supporting hardware-assisted virtualization.
    • Directly attached storage (2 physical drives). This configuration is not optimal or recommended for most production workloads, so we will use it only for the illustrational purposes.
    • 2 network adapters.
    Similar hardware can be purchased on eBay for merely $200 or even cheaper.
  • Hyper-V Server 2012 installation media. Installation image can be downloaded from: http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/hyper-v-server/default.aspx.
  • vtUtilities
  • ISO image(s) for guest operating systems.

Download Hyper-V Server 2012, vtUtilities and guest OS ISO images. Prepare installation media for Hyper-V Server 2012 and follow step below to install, configure and manage Hyper-V Server 2012.

Hyper-V Server 2012 Installation

1. Insert Hyper-V Server 2012 installation media and boot host computer.

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2. Confirm your language preferences.

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3. Click ‘Install Now’

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4. Accept license terms

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5. Select ‘Custom’ installation.
                                
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6. Create new partition on each drive.We will use a first drive’s partition to install Hyper-V Server and second drive to store guest images.
Format second drive partition where guests will be stored first and select another drive partition to install Hyper-V Server.

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7. Complete Hyper-V Server installation.

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8. Provide Administrator password and logon.

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Minimal Configuration of Hyper-V Server

9. You will be presented with server configuration menu after logon. Select ‘1’ to join workgroup or domain. We selected to join TestWorkgroup for demo purposes.

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10. Rename computer by selecting configuration menu ‘2’. We named our host Win2012HyperV for this demo. You will need to reboot Hyper-V host after renaming it.

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11. (Optionally) enable Remote Desktop by selecting menu ‘7’.

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Installation of vtUtilities

12. Copy vtUtilities.exe to Hyper-V host local disk and run it from a command line. Select default settings and finalize installation.

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13. vtUtilities GUI will start upon installation completion.

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Hyper-V Host Configuration with vtUtilities

14. Use vtUtilities Virtual Network Manager to configure virtual network and optionally adjust protocol settings and bindings. Our demo host has 2 NIC adapters and we create ‘External’ virtual switch bound to one of these adapters without a possibility to interact with the management OS (we reserve second adapter for host management). These adapters can be connected to different networks each with its own routing and firewall rules.

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15. vtUtilities File System View GUI can be used to create folder on reserved disk volume that we provisioned during setup to store Virtual Machine images and configurations. You can use vtUtilities Tools|Options and Actions|Hyper-V Settings menu to change other host options, including Live Migration and Replica settings.

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Virtual Machine Provisioning and Management

16. Press {F7} in vtUtilities GUI to start New Virtual Machine Wizard. Select location that we created for guests configuration and images to store a new virtual machine.

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17. Configure virtual machine memory as appropriate for its OS and application services that it will run.

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18. Select virtual network connection that we have configured.

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19. Choose ‘Create a new virtual disk option’.

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20. Select location for ISO image or guest OS installation media

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21. Review new virtual machine configuration and click ‘Finish’ to create a new virtual machine.

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22. A new virtual machine will be shown in vtUtilities Guest List View.

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23. Select ‘Open Guest Console’ or double click on virtual machine in Guest List View to open Guest Console application and click ‘Start’ button.

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24. You will be able to use vtUtilities Guest Console application to install and/or configure guest OS.

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25. Alternatively you can use ‘Connect to Virtual Machine’ or double click to guest thumbnail image to open Guest Connection View embedded into vtUtilities GUI.

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26. You can use vtUtilities GUI to modify virtual machine settings, create snapshots, configure, start and monitor replication.

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March 28, 2013
Microsoft Drawbridge

Microsoft Drawbridge

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March 25, 2013
Hyper-V vs VMware

Hyper-V vs VMware

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March 25, 2013
Hyper-V Replica

Hyper-V Replica

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March 24, 2013
Exams - MCSA, MCSE, MCPD, MCST, MCITP

Exams - MCSA, MCSE, MCPD, MCST, MCITP

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March 18, 2013
New build is available.

vtUtilities  build 3.0.0.85

This release includes bug fixes, updated functionality for managed hosts discovery and persistence as well Guest Console View mouse support for virtual machines without integration services installed.

Managed Hosts Discovery and Persistence
  • A list of the managed Hyper-V hosts is currently saved between sessions.
  • Managed hosts can be added by typing host name or address directly into Guest List View drop down box. Multiple hosts can be added as a semicolon separated list via ‘Define View’ dialog (‘View|Select…’). ‘Define View’ dialog also supports discovery of all currently running Hyper-V hosts via Active Directory.
  • Managed hosts can be removed by using ‘Define View’ dialog.
Guest Console View Enhancements
  • This build includes fixes for mouse functionality in Guest Console View for virtual machines that have integration services installed as well as mouse support for virtual machines without integration services. In later case mouse will be captured in Guest Console View and can be released using a hot key configured via Options (Tools|Options) dialog.
  • Mouse support for virtual machines without integration services works only for interactive console sessions and does not work via RDP.

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Filed under: virtualization vtUtilities Hyper-V windows server 
March 5, 2013
VT Technology Management Utilities Features

vtUtilities Features.
•Local GUI to Manage Hyper-V on Server Core and Free Hyper-V Server.
•Manage Hyper-V on Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2008 from a Single Environment.
•Virtual Network Management.
•Maximize Virtualization Infrastructure Performance.
•Support for Multiple Parent Virtual NICs.
•Support for Hyper-V Virtual Switch New Security Features.
•Real Time Monitoring of Hyper-V Host and Guests.
•Diagnostic and Troubleshooting.
•File System View.

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February 19, 2013
New build is available.

 

This release includes bug fixes and a new User Interface to manage advanced Hyper-V Virtual Switch features.

Support for Multiple Parent Virtual NICs
  • Virtual Network Manager GUI was enhanced to support multiple virtual switch ports bound to the management operating system virtual NICs. This functionality is available only for hosts running Hyper-V 3.0 and can be accessed via the Virtual Network Manager ‘Ports’ button on each Virtual Network Properties view.
  • Parent Virtual NICs can be created for any virtual network (switch) using the ‘Add’ button on its Port dialog box. This operation can effectively change the type of the virtual network, i.e. parent Virtual NIC added to the Private network will change it to Internal etc.
  • Virtual switch ports, corresponding to parent Virtual NICs ports, can be deleted using the Port’s dialog box ‘Delete’ button. This operation can also change the type of the underlying virtual network, i.e. Internal virtual network can become Private, or External virtual network can stop sharing its physical adapter with the management operating system.
  • When ‘Access host through VLAN’ is checked in Virtual Network Properties all parent Virtual NIC ports will use the same VLAN ID defined in the Virtual Network Properties view.
Support for Hyper-V Virtual Switch New Security Features
  • Port Access Control Lists (ACLs) can be defined for Virtual Switch ports bound to virtual machines and the management operating system virtual NICs. This functionality is available only for hosts running Hyper-V 3.0 and can be accessed via the Virtual Network Manager ‘Ports’ dialog for each Virtual Network Properties view (use ACL button to edit port’s Access Control List).
  • ACL entries specifying which packets are allowed or denied on the way into or out of the VM or the management operating system can be added, edited or deleted for each applicable port. Multiple ACL rules can be configured per virtual switch port. IPv4, IPv6 addresses or ranges as well as MAC addresses can be used to designate endpoint addresses on local or remote interfaces along with actions ‘Allow’, ‘Deny’ or ‘Meter’. Meter action can be used only with IP addresses.

Refer to TechNet Library for more information about the new Hyper-V Virtual Switch functionality.

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February 19, 2013
From our customer:

From our customer:

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