Microsoft Cluster Interview Questions and Answers

>What is Clustering. Briefly define & explain it ? Clustering is a technology, which is used to provide High Availability for mission critical applications. We can configure cluster by installing MCS (Microsoft cluster service) component from Add remove programs, which can only available in Enterprise Edition and Data center edition. >Types of Clusters ? In Windows we can configure two types of clusters 1. NLB (network load balancing) cluster for balancing load between servers. This cluster will not provide any high availability. Usually preferable at edge servers like web or proxy. 2. Server Cluster: This provides High availability by configuring active-active or active-passive cluster. In 2 node active-passive cluster one node will be active and one node will be stand by. When active server fails the application will FAILOVER to stand by server automatically. When the original server backs we need to FAILBACK the application > What is Quorum ? A shared storage need to provide for all servers which keeps information about clustered application and session state and is useful in FAILOVER situation. This is very important if Quorum disk fails entire cluster will fails. >Why Quorum is necessary ? When network problems occur, they can interfere with communication between cluster nodes. A small set of nodes might be able to communicate together across a functioning part of a network, but might not be able to communicate with a different set of nodes in another part of the network. This can cause serious issues. In this split situation, at least one of the sets of nodes must stop running as a cluster. To prevent the issues that are caused by a split in the cluster, the cluster software requires that any set of nodes running as a cluster must use a voting algorithm to determine whether, at a given time, that set has quorum. Because a given cluster has a specific set of nodes and a specific quorum configuration, the cluster will know how many votes constitutes a majority (that is, a quorum). If the number drops below the majority, the cluster stops running. Nodes will still listen for the presence of other nodes, in case another node appears again on the network, but the nodes will not begin to function as a cluster until the quorum exists again. For example, in a five node cluster that is using a node majority, consider what happens if nodes 1, 2, and 3 can communicate with each other but not with nodes 4 and 5. Nodes 1, 2, and 3 constitute a majority, and they continue running as a cluster. Nodes 4 and 5 are a minority and stop running as a cluster, which prevents the problems of a split situation. If node 3 loses communication with other nodes, all nodes stop running as a cluster. However, all functioning nodes will continue to listen for communication, so that when the network begins working again, the cluster can form and begin to run. > Different types of Quorum in Windows server 2008 ? 1.Node Majority - Used when Odd number of nodes are in cluster. 2.Node and Disk Majority - Even number of nodes(but not a multi-site cluster) 3.Node and File Share Majority - Even number of nodes, multi-site cluster 4.Node and File Share Majority - Even number of nodes, no shared storage > Different types of Quorum in Windows server 2003 ? Standard Quorum : As mentioned above, a quorum is simply a configuration database for MSCS, and is stored in the quorum log file. A standard quorum uses a quorum log file that is located on a disk hosted on a shared storage interconnect that is accessible by all members of the cluster. Standard quorums are available in Windows NT 4.0 Enterprise Edition, Windows 2000 Advanced Server, Windows 2000 Datacenter Server, Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition and Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition. Majority Node Set Quorums : A majority node set (MNS) quorum is a single quorum resource from

a server cluster perspective. However, the data is actually stored by default on the system disk of each member of the cluster. The MNS resource takes care to ensure that the cluster configuration data stored on the MNS is kept consistent across the different disks. Majority node set quorums are available in Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition, and Windows Server 2003 Datacenter Edition. >Explain about each Quorum type ? Node Majority: Each node that is available and in communication can vote. The cluster functions only with a majority of the votes, that is, more than half. Node and Disk Majority: Each node plus a designated disk in the cluster storage (the disk witness) can vote, whenever they are available and in communication. The cluster functions only with a majority of the votes, that is, more than half. Node and File Share Majority: Each node plus a designated file share created by the administrator (the file share witness) can vote, whenever they are available and in communication. The cluster functions only with a majority of the votes, that is, more than half. No Majority: Disk Only: The cluster has quorum if one node is available and in communication with a specific disk in the cluster storage > How is the quorum information located on the system disk of each node kept in synch? The server cluster infrastructure ensures that all changes are replicated and updated on all members in a cluster. > Can this method be used to replicate application data as well? No, that is not possible in this version of clustering. Only Quorum information is replicated and maintained in a synchronized state by the clustering infrastructure. > Can I convert a standard cluster to an MNS cluster? Yes. You can use Cluster Administrator to create a new Majority Node Set resource and then, on the cluster properties sheet Quorum tab, change the quorum to that Majority Node Set resource. > What is the difference between a geographically dispersed cluster and an MNS cluster? A geographic cluster refers to a cluster that has nodes in multiple locations, while an MNS-based cluster refers to the type of quorum resources in use. A geographic cluster can use either a shared disk or MNS quorum resource, while an MNS-based cluster can be located in a single site, or span multiple sites. > What is the maximum number of nodes in an MNS cluster? Windows Server 2003 supports 8-node clusters for both Enterprise Edition and Datacenter Edition. > Do I need special hardware to use an MNS cluster? There is nothing inherent in the MNS architecture that requires any special hardware, other than what is required for a standard cluster (for example, there must be on the Microsoft Cluster HCL). However, some situations that use an MNS cluster may have unique requirements (such as geographic clusters), where data must be replicated in real time between sites. > Does a cluster aware application need to be rewritten to support MNS? No, using an MNS quorum requires no change to the application. However, some cluster aware applications expect a shared disk (for example SQL Server 2000), so while you do not need shared disks for the quorum, you do need shared disks for the application. > Does MNS get rid of the need for shared disks? It depends on the application. For example, clustered SQL Server 2000 requires shared disk for data. Remember, MNS only removes the need for a shared disk quorum. > What does a failover cluster do in Windows Server 2008 ? A failover cluster is a group of independent computers that work together to increase the availability of applications and services. The clustered servers (called nodes) are connected by physical cables and by software. If one of the cluster nodes fails, another node begins to provide service (a process known as failover). Users experience a minimum of disruptions in service. > What new functionality does failover clustering provide in Windows Server 2008 ? New validation feature. With this feature, you can check that your system, storage, and network

configuration is suitable for a cluster. Support for GUID partition table (GPT) disks in cluster storage. GPT disks can have partitions larger than two terabytes and have built-in redundancy in the way partition information is stored, unlike master boot record (MBR) disks. > What happens to a running Cluster if the quorum disk fails in Windows Server 2003 Cluster ? In Windows Server 2003, the Quorum disk resource is required for the Cluster to function. In your example, if the Quorum disk suddenly became unavailable to the cluster then both nodes would immediately fail and not be able to restart the clussvc. In that light, the Quorum disk was a single point of failure in a Microsoft Cluster implementation. However, it was usually a fairly quick workaround to get the cluster back up and operational. There are generally two solutions to that type of problem. 1. Detemrine why the Quorum disk failed and repair. 2. Reprovision a new LUN, present it to the cluster, assign it a drive letter and format. Then start one node with the /FQ switch and through cluadmin designate the new disk resource as the Quorum. Then stop and restart the clussvc normally and then bring online the second node. > What happens to a running Cluster if the quorum disk fails in Windows Server 2008 Cluster ? Cluster continue to work but failover will not happen in case of any other failure in the active node.

Windows Sever 2008/R2 Interview questions Part 1

Difference between 2003 and 2008 1) 2008 is combination of vista and windows 2003r2. Some new services are introduced in it 1. RODC one new domain controller introduced in it [Read-only Domain controllers.] 2. WDS (windows deployment services) instead of RIS in 2003 server 3. shadow copy for each and every folders 4.boot sequence is changed 5.installation is 32 bit whereas 2003 it is 16 as well as 32 bit, thats why installation of 2008 is faster 6.services are known as role in it 7. Group policy editor is a separate option in ads 2) The main difference between 2003 and 2008 is Virtualization, management. 2008 has more inbuilt components and updated third party drivers Microsoft introduces new feature with 2k8 that is Hyper-V Windows Server 2008 introduces Hyper-V (V for Virtualization) but only on 64bit versions. More and more companies are seeing this as a way of reducing hardware costs by running several virtual servers on one physical machine. If you like this exciting technology, make sure that you buy an edition of Windows Server 2008 that includes Hyper-V, then launch the Server Manager, add Roles. Windows server 2008 new features 1. Virtualization with Hyper V 2. Server Core provides the minimum installation required to carry out a specific server role, such as for a DHCP, DNS or print server. From a security standpoint, this is attractive. Fewer applications and services on the sever make for a smaller attack surface. In theory, there should also be less maintenance and management with fewer patches to install, and the whole server could take up as little as 3Gb of disk space according to Microsoft 3. IIS 7

4. Role based installation rather than configuring a full server install for a particular role by uninstalling unnecessary components (and installing needed extras), you simply specify the role the server is to play, and Windows will install whats necessary nothing more. 5. Read Only Domain Controllers (RODC) Its hardly news that branch offices often lack skilled IT staff to administer their servers, but they also face another, less talked about problem. While corporate data centers are often physically secured, servers at branch offices rarely have the same physical security protecting them. This makes them a convenient launch pad for attacks back to the main corporate servers. RODC provides a way to make an Active Directory database read-only. Thus, any mischief carried out at the branch office cannot propagate its way back to poison the Active Directory system as a whole. It also reduces traffic on WAN links. 6. Enhanced terminal services Terminal services has been beefed up in Server 2008 in a number of ways. TS RemoteApp enables remote users to access a centralized application (rather than an entire desktop) that appears to be running on the local computers hard drive. These apps can be accessed via a Web portal or directly by double-clicking on a correctly configured icon on the local machine. TS Gateway secures sessions, which are then tunnelled over https, so users dont need to use a VPN to use RemoteApps securely over the Internet. Local printing has also been made significantly easier. 7. Network Access Protection Microsofts system for ensuring that clients connecting to Server 2008 are patched, running a firewall and in compliance with corporate security policies and that those that are not can be remediated is useful. However, similar functionality has been and remains available from third parties. 8. Windows PowerShell Microsofts new (ish) command line shell and scripting language has proved popular with some server administrators, especially those used to working in Linux environments. Included in Server 2008, PowerShell can make some jobs quicker and easier to perform than going through the GUI. Although it might seem like a step backward in terms of user friendly operation, its one of those features that once youve gotten used to it; youll never want to give up. Restartable Active Directory Domain Services: You can now perform many actions, such as offline defragmentation of the database, simply by stopping Active Directory. This reduces the number of instances in which you must restart the server in Directory Services Restore Mode and thereby reduces the length of time the domain controller is unavailable to serve requests from Enhancements to Group Policy: Microsoft has added many new policy settings. In particular, these settings enhance the management of Windows Vista client computers. All policy management is now handled by means of the Group Policy Management Console (GPMC), which was an optional feature first added to Windows Server 2003 R2. In addition, Microsoft has added new auditing capabilities to Group Policy and added a searchable database for locating policy settings from within GPMC. In Windows Server 2008 R2, GPMC enables you to use a series of PowerShell cmdlets to automate many of the tasks (such as maintenance and linking of GPOs) that you would otherwise perform in the GUI. In addition, R2 adds new policy settings that enhance the management of Windows 7 computers. Windows Server 2008 R2 new features: Active Directory Recycle Bin Windows PowerShell 2.0 Active Directory Administrative Center (ADAC) Offline domain join Active Directory health check

Active Directory Web Services Active Directory Management Pack Windows Server Migration Tools Managed Service Accounts What is server core? How do you configure and manage a windows server 2008 core installation? The Server Core installation option is an option that you can use for installing Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2. A Server Core installation provides a minimal environment for running specific server roles, which reduces the maintenance and management requirements and the attack surface for those server roles. A server running a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008 supports the following server roles:

Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) DHCP Server DNS Server File Services Hyper-V Print Services Streaming Media Services Web Server (IIS) Active Directory Certificate Services Active Directory Domain Services Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) DHCP Server DNS Server File Services (including File Server Resource Manager) Hyper-V Print and Document Services Streaming Media Services Web Server (including a subset of ASP.NET)

A server running a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008 R2 supports the following server roles:

A Server Core installation does not include the traditional full graphical user interface. Once you have configured the server, you can manage it locally at a command prompt or remotely using a Terminal Server connection. You can also manage the server remotely using the Microsoft Management Console (MMC) or command-line tools that support remote use.

Benefits of a Server Core installation

The Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2 provides the following benefits:

Reduced maintenance. Because the Server Core installation option installs only what is required to have a manageable server for the supported roles, less maintenance is required than on a full installation of Windows Server 2008.

Reduced attack surface. Because Server Core installations are minimal, there are fewer applications running on the server, which decreases the attack surface.

Reduced management. Because fewer applications and services are installed on a server running the Server Core installation, there is less to manage. Less disk space required. A Server Core installation requires only about 3.5 gigabytes (GB) of disk space to install and approximately 3 GB for operations after the installation.

How do you promote a Server Core to DC? In order to install Active Directory DS on your server core machine you will need to perform the following tasks: 1. Configure an unattend text file, containing the instructions for the DCPROMO process. In this example you will create an additional DC for a domain called petrilab.local:

2. Configure the right server core settings After that you need to make sure the core machine is properly configured. 1. Perform any configuration setting that you require (tasks such as changing computer name, changing and configure IP address, subnet mask, default gateway, DNS address, firewall settings, configuring remote desktop and so on). 2. After changing the required server configuration, make sure that for the task of creating it as a DC you have the following requirements in place: A partition formatted with NTFS (you should, its a server) A network interface card, configure properly with the right driver A network cable plugged in The right IP address, subnet mask, default gateway The right DNS setting, in most cases, pointing to an existing internal DNS in your corporate network

And most importantly, do not forget: 3. Copy the unattend file to the server core machine Now you need to copy the unattend file from wherever youve stored it. You can run it from a network location but I prefer to have it locally on the core machine. You can use the NET USE command on server core to map to a network path and copy the file to the local drive. You can also use a regular server/workstation to graphically access the cores C$ drive (for example) and copy the file to that location. 4. Run the DCPROMO process Next you need to manually run DCPROMO. To run the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard in unattended mode, use the following command at a command prompt: Dcpromo /unattend Reboot the machine

In order to reboot the server core machine type the following text in the command prompt and press Enter. shutdown /r /t 0 What are RODCs? What are advantages? A read-only domain controller (RODC) is a new type of domain controller in the Windows Server 2008 operating system. With an RODC, organizations can easily deploy a domain controller in locations where physical security cannot be guaranteed. An RODC hosts read-only partitions of the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) database. Before the release of Windows Server 2008, if users had to authenticate with a domain controller over a wide area network (WAN), there was no real alternative. In many cases, this was not an efficient solution. Branch offices often cannot provide the adequate physical security that is required for a writable domain controller. Furthermore, branch offices often have poor network bandwidth when they are connected to a hub site. This can increase the amount of time that is required to log on. It can also hamper access to network resources. Beginning with Windows Server 2008, an organization can deploy an RODC to address these problems. As a result, users in this situation can receive the following benefits:

Improved security Faster logon times More efficient access to resources on the network

What does an RODC do? Inadequate physical security is the most common reason to consider deploying an RODC. An RODC provides a way to deploy a domain controller more securely in locations that require fast and reliable authentication services but cannot ensure physical security for a writable domain controller. However, your organization may also choose to deploy an RODC for special administrative requirements. For example, a line-of-business (LOB) application may run successfully only if it is installed on a domain controller. Or, the domain controller might be the only server in the branch office, and it may have to host server applications. In such cases, the LOB application owner must often log on to the domain controller interactively or use Terminal Services to configure and manage the application. This situation creates a security risk that may be unacceptable on a writable domain controller. An RODC provides a more secure mechanism for deploying a domain controller in this scenario. You can grant a non administrative domain user the right to log on to an RODC while minimizing the security risk to the Active Directory forest. You might also deploy an RODC in other scenarios where local storage of all domain user passwords is a primary threat, for example, in an extranet or application-facing role. How do you install an RODC? 1 Make sure you are a member of Domain Admin group 2. Ensure that the forest functional level is Windows Server 2003 or higher 3. Run adprep /rodcprep 3. Install a writable domain controller that runs Windows Server 2008 An RODC must replicate domain updates from a writable domain controller that runs Windows Server 2008. Before you install an RODC, be sure to install a writable domain controller that runs Windows Server 2008 in the same domain. The domain controller can run either a full installation or a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008. In Windows Server 2008, the writable domain controller does not have to hold the primary domain controller (PDC) emulator operations master role. 4. You can install an RODC on either a full installation of Windows Server 2008 or on a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008. Follow the below steps:

Click Start, type dcpromo, and then press ENTER to start the Active Directory Domain Services Installation Wizard. On the Choose a Deployment Configuration page, click Existing forest, click Add a domain controller to an existing domain On the Network Credentials page, type the name of a domain in the forest where you plan to install the RODC. If necessary, also type a user name and password for a member of the Domain Admins group, and then clickNext. Select the domain for the RODC, and then click Next. Click the Active Directory site for the RODC and click next Select the Read-only domain controller check box, as shown in the following illustration. By default, the DNS server check box is also selected. To run the DNS server on the RODC, another domain controller running Windows Server 2008 must be running in the domain and hosting the DNS domain zone. An Active Directory integrated zone on an RODC is always a read-only copy of the zone file. Updates are sent to a DNS server in a hub site instead of being made locally on the RODC.

To use the default folders that are specified for the Active Directory database, the log files, and SYSVOL, clickNext. Type and then confirm a Directory Services Restore Mode password, and then click Next. Confirm the information that appears on the Summary page, and then click Next to start the AD DS installation. You can select the Reboot on completion check box to make the rest of the installation complete automatically.

What is the minimum requirement to install Windows 2008 server?

Talk about all the AD-related roles in Windows Server 2008/R2.

Active Directory Domain Services

Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), formerly known as Active Directory Directory Services, is the central location for configuration information, authentication requests, and information about all of the objects that are stored within your forest. Using Active Directory, you can efficiently manage users, computers, groups, printers, applications, and other directory-enabled objects from one secure, centralized location.

Benefits

Lower costs of managing Windows networks. Simplify identity management by providing a single view of all user information. Boost security with the ability to enable multiple types of security mechanisms within a single network. Improve compliance by using Active Directory as a primary source for audit data.

Active Directory Rights Management Services

Your organizations intellectual property needs to be safe and highly secure. Active Directory Rights Management Services, a component of Windows Server 2008, is available to help make sure that only those individuals who need to view a file can do so. AD RMS can protect a file by identifying the rights that a user has to the file. Rights can be configured to allow a user to open, modify, print, forward, or take other actions with the rights-managed information. With AD RMS, you can now safeguard data when it is distributed outside of your network.

Active Directory Federation Services

Active Directory Federation Services is a highly secure, highly extensible, and Internet-scalable identity access solution that allows organizations to authenticate users from partner organizations. Using AD FS in Windows Server 2008, you can simply and very securely grant external users access to your organizations domain resources. AD FS can also simplify integration between untrusted resources and domain resources within your own organization.

Active Directory Certificate Services

Most organizations use certificates to prove the identity of users or computers, as well as to encrypt data during transmission across unsecured network connections. Active Directory Certificate Services (AD CS) enhances security by binding the identity of a person, device, or service to their own private key. Storing the certificate and private key within Active Directory helps securely protect the identity, and Active Directory becomes the centralized location for retrieving the appropriate information when an application places a request.

Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services

Active Directory Lightweight Directory Service (AD LDS), formerly known as Active Directory Application Mode, can be used to provide directory services for directory-enabled applications. Instead of using your organizations AD DS database to store the directory-enabled application data, AD LDS can be used to store the data. AD LDS can be used in conjunction with AD DS so that you can have a central location for security accounts (AD DS) and another location to support the application configuration and directory data (AD LDS). Using AD LDS, you can reduce the overhead associated with Active Directory replication, you do not have to extend the Active Directory schema to support the application, and you can partition the directory structure so that the AD LDS service is only deployed to the servers that need to support the directory-enabled application. What are the new Domain and Forest Functional Levels in Windows Server 2008/R2? Domain Function Levels To activate a new domain function level, all DCs in the domain must be running the right operating system. After this requirement is met, the administrator can raise the domain functional lev el. Heres a list of the available domain function levels available in Windows Server 2008: Windows 2000 Native Mode This is the default function level for new Windows Server 2008 Active Directory domains. Supported Domain controllers Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008. Windows Server 2003 Mode To activate the new domain features, all domain controllers in the domain must be running Windows Server 2003. After this requirement is met, the administrator can raise the domain functional level to Windows Server 2003. Supported Domain controllers Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008. Windows Server 2008 Mode Supported Domain controllers Windows Server 2008. Windows 2008 Forest function levels

Forest functionality activates features across all the domains in your forest. To activate a new forest function level, all the domain in the forest must be running the right operating system and be set to the right domain function level. After this requirement is met, the administrator can raise the forest functional level. Heres a list of the available forest function levels available in Windows Server 2008: Windows 2000 forest function level This is the default setting for new Windows Server 2008 Active Directory forests. Supported Domain controllers in all domains in the forest Windows 2000, Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008. Windows Server 2003 forest function level To activate new forest-wide features, all domain controllers in the forest must be running Windows Server 2003. Supported Domain controllers in all domains in the forest Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2008. Windows Server 2008 forest function level To activate new forest-wide features, all domain controllers in the forest must be running Windows Server 2008. Supported Domain controllers in all domains in the forest Windows Server 2008. To activate the new domain features, all domain controllers in the domain must be running Windows Server 2008. After this requirement is met, the administrator can raise the domain functional level to Windows Server 2008. When a child domain is created in the domain tree, what type of trust relationship exists between the new child domain and the trees root domain? Transitive and two way. Which Windows Server 2008 tools make it easy to manage and configure a servers roles and features? The Server Manager window enables you to view the roles and features installed on a server and also to quickly access the tools used to manage these various roles and features. The Server Manager can be used to add and remove roles and features as needed What is WDS? How is WDS configured and managed on a server running Windows Server 2008? The Windows Deployment Services is the updated and redesigned version of Remote Installation Services (RIS). Windows Deployment Services enables you to deploy Windows operating systems, particularly Windows Vista. You can use it to set up new computers by using a network-based installation. This means that you do not have to install each operating system directly from a CD or DVD.

Benefits of Windows Deployment Services

Windows Deployment Services provides organizations with the following benefits:

Allows network-based installation of Windows operating systems, which reduces the complexity and cost when compared to manual installations. Deploys Windows images to computers without operating systems. Supports mixed environments that include Windows Vista, Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Windows Server 2003. Built on standard Windows Vista setup technologies including Windows PE, .wim files, and image-based setup.

Prerequisites for installing Windows Deployment Services

Your computing environment must meet the following technical requirements to install Windows Deployment Services:

Active Directory. A Windows Deployment Services server must be either a member of an Active Directory domain or a domain controller for an Active Directory domain. The Active Directory domain and forest versions are irrelevant; all domain and forest configurations support Windows Deployment Services.

DHCP. You must have a working Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server with an active scope on the network because Windows Deployment Services uses PXE, which relies on DHCP for IP addressing. DNS. You must have a working Dynamic Name Services (DNS) server on the network to run Windows Deployment Services. An NTFS partition. The server running Windows Deployment Services requires an NTFS file system volume for the image store. Credentials. To install the role, you must be a member of the Local Administrators group on the Windows Deployment Services server. To install an image, you must be a member of the Domain Users group. Windows Server 2003 SP1 or SP2 with RIS installed. RIS does not have to be configured, but must be installed.

Name some of the major changes in GPO in Windows Server 2008.

Cost savings through power options

In Windows Server 2008, all power options have been Group Policy enabled, providing a potentially significant cost savings. Controlling power options through Group Policy could save organizations a significant amount of money. You can modify specific power options through individual Group Policy settings or build a custom power plan that is deployable by using Group Policy.

Ability to block device installation

In Windows Server 2008, you can centrally restrict devices from being installed on computers in your organization. You will now be able to create policy settings to control access to devices such as USB drives, CD-RW drives, DVDRW drives, and other removable media.

Improved security settings

In Windows Server 2008, the firewall and IPsec Group Policy settings are combined to allow you to leverage the advantages of both technologies, while eliminating the need to create and maintain duplicate functionality. Some scenarios supported by these combined firewall and IPsec policy settings are secure server-to-server communications over the Internet, limiting access to domain resources based on trust relationships or health of a computer, and protecting data communication to a specific server to meet regulatory requirements for data privacy and security.

Expanded Internet Explorer settings management

In Windows Server 2008, you can open and edit Internet Explorer Group Policy settings without the risk of inadvertently altering the state of the policy setting based on the configuration of the administrative workstation. This change replaces earlier behavior in which some Internet Explorer policy settings would change based on the policy settings enabled on the administrative workstation used to view the settings

Printer assignment based on location

The ability to assign printers based on location in the organization or a geographic location is a new feature in Windows Server 2008. In Windows Server 2008, you can assign printers based on site location. When mobile users move to a different location, Group Policy can update their printers for the new location. Mobile users returning to their primary locations see their usual default printers.

Printer driver installation delegated to users

In Windows Server 2008, administrators can now delegate to users the ability to install printer drivers by using Group Policy. This feature helps to maintain security by limiting distribution of administrative credentials. What is the AD Recycle Bin? How do you use it?

Active Directory Recycle Bin helps minimize directory service downtime by enhancing your ability to preserve and restore accidentally deleted Active Directory objects without restoring Active Directory data from backups, restarting Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS), or rebooting domain controllers. When you enable Active Directory Recycle Bin, all link-valued and non-link-valued attributes of the deleted Active Directory objects are preserved and the objects are restored in their entirety to the same consistent logical state that they were in immediately before deletion. For example, restored user accounts automatically regain all group memberships and corresponding access rights that they had immediately before deletion, within and across domains. Active Directory Recycle Bin is functional for both AD DS and Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) environments. By default, Active Directory Recycle Bin in Windows Server 2008 R2 is disabled. To enable it, you must first raise the forest functional level of your AD DS or AD LDS environment to Windows Server 2008 R2, which in turn requires all forest domain controllers or all servers that host instances of AD LDS configuration sets to be running Windows Server 2008 R2.

To enable Active Directory Recycle Bin using the Enable-ADOptionalFeature cmdlet

1. 1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, right-click Active Directory Module for Windows PowerShell, and At the Active Directory module for Windows PowerShell command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER: Enable-ADOptionalFeature -Identity <ADOptionalFeature> -Scope <ADOptionalFeatureScope> -Target <ADEntity> For example, to enable Active Directory Recycle Bin for contoso.com, type the following command, and then press ENTER: Enable-ADOptionalFeature Identity CN=Recycle Bin Feature,CN=Optional Features,CN=Directory Service,CN=Windows NT,CN=Services,CN=Configuration,DC=contoso,DC=com Scope ForestOrConfigurationSet Target contoso.com What are AD Snapshots? How do you use them? A snapshot is a shadow copycreated by the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS)of the volumes that contain the Active Directory database and log files. With Active Directory snapshots, you can view the data inside such a snapshot on a domain controller without the need to start the server in Directory Services Restore Mode. Windows Server 2008 has a new feature allowing administrators to create snapshots of the Active Directory database for offline use. With AD snapshots you can mount a backup of AD DS under a different set of ports and have readonly access to your backups through LDAP. There are quite a few scenarios for using AD snapshots. For example, if someone has changed properties of AD objects and you need to revert to their previous values, you can mount a copy of a previous snapshot to an alternate port and easily export the required attributes for every object that was changed. These values can then be imported into the running instance of AD DS. You can also restore deleted objects or simply view objects for diagnostic purposes. It does not allow you to move or copy items or information from the snapshot to the live database. In order to do that you will need to manually export the relevant objects or attributes from the snapshot, and manually import them back to the live AD database. Steps for using Snapshot: 1. Create a snapshot: then click Run as administrator.

open CMD.exe, Ntdsutil, activate instance ntds, snapshot, create, list all.

2. Mounting an Active Directory snapshot: Before connecting to the snapshot we need to mount it. By looking at the results of the List All command in above step, identify the snapshot that you wish to mount, and note the number next to it. Type Ntdsutil, Snapshot, List all, Mount 2. The snapshot gets mounted to c:\$SNAP_200901250030_VOLUMEC$. Now you can refer this path to see the objects in these snapshots.

3. Connecting an Active Directory snapshot: In order to connect to the AD snapshot youve mounted you will need to use t he DSAMAIN command. DSAMAIN is a command-line tool that is built into Windows Server 2008. It is available if you have the Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) or Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) server role installed.

After using DSAMAIN to expose the information inside the AD snapshot, you can use any GUI tool that can connect to the specified port, tools such as Active Directory Users and Computers (DSA.msc), ADSIEDIT.msc, LDP.exe or others. You can also connect to it by using command line tools such as LDIFDE or CSVDE, tools that allow you to export information from that database. dsamain -dbpath c:\$SNAP_200901250030_VOLUMEC$\Windows\NTDS\ntds.dit -ldapport 10289

The above command will allow you to access the database using port 10289. Now you can use LDP.exe tool to connect to this mounted instance.

4. Disconnecting from the Active Directory snapshot: In order to disconnect from the AD snapshot all you need to do is to type CTRL+C at the DSAMAIN command prompt window. Youll get a message indicating that the DS shut down successfully.

5. Unmounting the snapshot: Run command, Ntdsutil, Snapshot, List all, Unmount 2.

What is Offline Domain Join? How do you use it? You can use offline domain join to join computers to a domain without contacting a domain controller over the network. You can join computers to the domain when they first start up after an operating system installation. No additional restart is necessary to complete the domain join. This helps reduce the time and effort required to complete a large-scale computer deployment in places such as datacenters. For example, an organization might need to deploy many virtual machines within a datacenter. Offine domain join makes it possible for the virtual machines to be joined to the domain when they initially start following the operating system installation. No additional restart is required to complete the domain join. This can significantly reduce the overall time required for wide-scale virtual machine deployments. A domain join establishes a trust relationship between a computer running a Windows operating system and an Active Directory domain. This operation requires state changes to AD DS and state changes on the computer that is joining the domain. To complete a domain join in the past using previous Windows operating systems, the computer that joined the domain had to be running and it had to have network connectivity to contact a domain controller. Offline domain join provides the following advantages over the previous requirements:

The Active Directory state changes are completed without any network traffic to the computer. The computer state changes are completed without any network traffic to a domain controller. Each set of changes can be completed at a different time. You can use fine-grained password policies to specify multiple password policies within a single domain. You can

What are Fine-Grained Passwords? How do you use them? use fine-grained password policies to apply different restrictions for password and account lockout policies to different sets of users in a domain. For example, you can apply stricter settings to privileged accounts and less strict settings to the accounts of other users. In other cases, you might want to apply a special password policy for accounts whose passwords are synchronized with other data sources. Talk about Restartable Active Directory Domain Services in Windows Server 2008/R2. What is this feature good for? Restartable AD DS is a feature in Windows Server 2008 that you can use to perform routine maintenance tasks on a domain controller, such as applying updates or performing offline defragmentation, without restarting the server. While AD DS is running, a domain controller running Windows Server 2008 behaves the same way as a domain controller running Microsoft Windows 2000 Server or Windows Server 2003. While AD DS is stopped, you can continue to log on to the domain by using a domain account if other domain controllers are available to service the logon request. You can also log on to the domain with a domain account while the domain controller is started in Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) if other domain controllers are available to service the logon request. If no other domain controller is available, you can log on to the domain controller where AD DS is stopped in Directory Services Restore Mode (DSRM) only by using the DSRM Administrator account and password by default, as in Windows 2000 Server Active Directory or Windows Server 2003 Active Directory.

Benefits of restartable AD DS
Restartable AD DS reduces the time that is required to perform offline operations such as offline defragmentation. It also improves the availability of other services that run on a domain controller by keeping them running when AD DS is stopped. In combination with the Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008, restartable AD DS reduces the overall servicing requirements of a domain controller. In Windows 2000 Server Active Directory and Windows Server 2003 Active Directory, you must restart the domain controller in DSRM when you perform offline defragmentation of the database or apply security updates. In contrast, you can stop Windows Server 2008 AD DS as you stop other services that are running locally on the server. This makes it possible to perform offline AD DS operations more quickly than you could with Windows 2000 Server and Windows Server 2003. You can use Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins, or the Net.exe command-line tool, to stop or restart Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) in the Windows Server 2008 operating system. You can stop AD DS to perform tasks, such as offline defragmentation of the AD DS database, without restarting the domain controller. Other services that run on the server, but that do not depend on AD DS to function, are available to service client requests while AD DS is stopped. An example of such a service is Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP).

1.

What is Virtualization?

Virtualization is a general and ambiguous term that typically means to run multiple instances of something inside something that was intended to only run a single instance.

Virtualization in general pure sense means the creation of a virtual (rather than actual) version of something! When most people talk about virtualization, they are usually referring to server virtualization. With server virtualization, you can run multiple operating systems inside a single physical server. For example, with a server virtualization product you could run, say, 5 Windows Server and 5 Linux servers on one physical server with all servers functioning as if they are on their own hardware. In another example, you could run 1 Linux Workstation and 1 Windows Workstation on your office PC, each in their own environment, by using a server virtualization product. 2. What are the inherent benefits of virtualization?

There are some well accepted and inherit benefits to using Virtualization. Here are some of them: * Reduce the number of physical servers * Reduce the infrastructure needed for your data center (power, cooling, battery backup, network switch ports, KVM ports and space) * Reduce administrative overhead because servers can be administered from a single console * Ability to bring up new servers quickly (it could take days or weeks to put in a new physical server but it could take just a few minutes to create a new virtual server from a template) * Hardware Independence of virtual servers a virtual server can run on any host server, regardless of the host hardware * Because of hardware independence, you receive reduce your disaster recovery cost, complexity, and recovery time * A greener datacenter & server environment due to the consolidation * Overall, lower TCO of servers 3. What is a Hypervisor?

You can think of a Hypervisor as the kernel or the core of a virtualization platform. The Hypervisor is also called the Virtual Machine Monitor. The Hypervisor has access to the physical host hardware. Of the total amount of disk space taken for a virtualization platform (like Hyper-V or VMware ESX), the Hypervisor is, by far, the smallest part. A Type 1 Hypervisor runs on the bare metal of the hardware. Examples of a Type 1 Hypervisor are Hyper-V and ESX Server. A Type 2 Hypervisor is hosted by an operating system. Examples of a Type 2 Hypervisor are VMware Server and Microsoft Virtual Server. 4. What is ESX Server?

ESX Server is VMwares flagship enterprise server virtualization platform. It comes in two versions ESX Server and ESXi Server where the latter has no service console and is the thinnest version available. ESX Server has many optional features like VMotion and VMHA (both discussed below) and some built-in features like the VMFS file system. Most end users purchase VMware ESX Server with some set of

optional features in a package called VMware Infrastructure. ESX Server is managed by the VMware Infrastructure Client. Its centralized management platform is called Virtual Center. 5. What is Hyper-V?

Hyper-V is Microsofts flagship enterprise server virtualization platform. Hyper-V is a feature of Windows Server 2008 and it is required to be run on system with a 64-bit CPU. Its Hypervisor is about 100k, the Hyper-V role is about 100Mb, and Windows Server 2008, fully installed is multiple GB. The centralized management platform for Hyper-V is System Center Virtual Machine Manager. 6. What are a host, guest, and virtual machine?

A host system (host operating system) would be the primary & first installed operating system. If you are using a bare metal Virtualization platform like Hyper-V or ESX, there really isnt a host operating system besides the Hypervisor. If you are using a Type-2 Hypervisor like VMware Server or Virtual Server, the host operating system is whatever operating system those applications are installed into. A guest system (guest operating system) is a virtual guest or virtual machine (VM) that is installed under the host operating system. The guests are the VMs that you run in your virtualization platform. Some admins also call the host & guest the parent and child. 7. Whats the idea behind Type 1 and Type 2 methods of virtualization? * Type 1 (or native, bare metal) hypervisors run directly on the hosts hardware to control the hardware and to manage guest operating systems. A guest operating system thus runs on another level above the hypervisor. This model represents the classic implementation of virtual machine architectures; the original hypervisors were the test tool, SIMMON, and CP/CMS, both developed at IBM in the 1960s. CP/CMS was the ancestor of IBMs z/VM. A modern equivalent of this is the Citrix XenServer, VMware ESX/ESXi, and Microsoft Hyper-V hypervisor. * Type 2 (or hosted) hypervisors run within a conventional operating system environment. With the hypervisor layer as a distinct second software level, guest operating systems run at the third level above the hardware. KVM and VirtualBox are examples of Type 2 hypervisors. 8. What products are available for Server Virtualization? Bare Metal Hypervisor / Native / Type 1:

* VMware ESX Server * Microsoft Hyper-V * Citrix/Xen Server Hosted in an OS / Type 2: * VMware Server * Microsoft Virtual Server * Parallels Server 9. What products are available for desktop virtualization? Host in an OS / Type 2 / intended for workstations: * VMware Workstation * Microsoft Virtual PC * Parallels Workstation * VMware Fusion for Mac OS * Parallels Desktop for Mac OS 10. Hyper-V vs. VMware: Which is cheaper? Ans: Microsoft claims that Hyper-V is cheaper than VMware . But there are several hidden costs that, depending on the user scenario, may make VMware the more cost-effective option, analysts and users say. Microsoft touts Hyper-V as a lower-priced virtualization option than VMwares ESXi, but for straight server consolidation, its unclear whether Hyper-V is that much cheaper than VMware because of Hyper-Vs system requirements and lower consolidation ratios. Management features aside, VMware boasts higher consolidation ratios than does Hyper-V and can run on older CPU models, while Hyper-V runs only on the latest and most expensive CPUs with virtualization-assist technology, 11. What are the system requirements for Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2? Ans: Following are the system requirements for Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2: Supported Operating Systems: * Windows Server 2008 R2 Standard * Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise

* Windows Server 2008 R2 Datacenter * Windows Web Server R2 2008 Processor : x64 compatible processor with Intel VT or AMD-V technology enabled. Hardware Data Execution Prevention (DEP), specifically Intel XD bit (execute disable bit) or AMD NX bit (no execute bit), must be available and enabled. Minimum CPU speed: 1.4 GHz; Recommended: 2 GHz or faster. RAM: Minimum: 1 GB RAM; Recommended: 2 GB RAM or greater (additional RAM is required for each running guest operating system); Maximum 1 TB. Available disk space: Minimum: 8 GB; Recommended: 20 GB or greater (additional disk space needed for each guest operating system). DVD ROM drive Display: Super VGA (800 600) or higher resolution monitor. Other: Keyboard and Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device. 12. What Key Features of Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2? Ans: Dynamic Memory New in Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 with SP1, Dynamic Memory enables customers to better utilize New in Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 with SP1, Dynamic Memory enables customers to better utilize the memory resources of Hyper-V hosts by balancing how memory is distributed between running virtual machines. Memory can be dynamically reallocated between different virtual machines in response to the changing workloads of these machines. Dynamic Memory thus enables more efficient use of memory while maintaining consistent workload performance and scalability. Implementing Dynamic Memory means that higher levels of server consolidation can be achieved with minimal impact on performance. Dynamic Memory also means larger numbers of virtual desktops per Hyper-V host for VDI scenarios. The net result for both scenarios is more efficient use of expensive server hardware resources, which can translate into easier management and lower costs. Live Migration

Microsoft Hyper-V Server includes live migration feature, which allows you to move a virtual machine between Microsoft Hyper-V Server includes live migration feature, which allows you to move a virtual machine between two virtualization host servers without any interruption of service. With it you can move running VMs from one Hyper-V physical host to another without any disruption of service or perceived downtime. Moving running VMs without downtime using Hyper-V live migration: * Provides better agility. Data centers with multiple Hyper-V physical hosts can move running VMs to the best physical computer for performance, scaling, or optimal consolidation without affecting users. * Reduces costs and increases productivity. Data centers with multiple Hyper-V physical hosts can service those systems in a controlled fashion, scheduling maintenance during regular business hours. Live migration makes it possible to keep VMs online, even during maintenance, increasing productivity for users and server administrators. Data centers can now also reduce power consumption by dynamically increasing consolidation ratios and powering off un-used physical hosts during lower demand times. Cluster Shared Volumes Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 uses Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) storage to simplify and enhance shared Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 uses Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) storage to simplify and enhance shared storage usage. CSV enables multiple Windows Servers to access SAN storage using a single consistent namespace for all volumes on all hosts. Multiple hosts can access the same Logical Unit Number (LUN) on SAN storage. CSV enables faster live migration and easier storage management for Hyper-V when used in a cluster configuration. Processor Compatibility Mode for live migration This feature allows live migration across different CPU versions within the same processor family, (e.g.Intel Core 2-to-Intel Pentium 4 or AMD Opteron-to-AMD Athlon) enabling migration across a broader range of Hyper -V host hardware. VHD format To move a virtual machine from Hyper-V Server to a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V environment To move a virtual machine from Hyper-V Server to a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V environment (or vice versa), simply export the virtual machine and import it on the other host using the standard management tools. Bit Locker support

Hyper-V Server can take advantage of Bit Locker technology to encrypt a Hyper-V Server so that Hyper-V Server can take advantage of Bit Locker technology to encrypt a Hyper-V Server so that even if it is stolen and the hard disks are removed, the data is still safe because its encrypted. This is particularly useful for branch offices or environments where physical security is a concern. Live Backup support Hyper-V Server includes native support for Volume Shadow Services so that it can provide Live Backup of Hyper-V Server includes native support for Volume Shadow Services so that it can provide Live Backup of running virtual machines without downtime. Flexible hardware support Microsoft Hyper-V Server leverages the Windows Server driver model and is compatible with a wide variety of Microsoft Hyper-V Server leverages the Windows Server driver model and is compatible with a wide variety of server hardware and driver support for newer peripherals such as 10 GB/E. Flexible Storage Hyper-V Server offers flexible storage support, such as Hyper-V Server offers flexible storage support, such as: * Direct Attach Storage (DAS): SATA, eSATA, PATA, SAS, SCSI, USB, Firewire * Storage Area Networks (SANs): iSCSI, Fiber Channel, SAS Virtual Machine Snapshots Hyper-V Server (Parent Partition) provides Hyper-V Server (Parent Partition) provides: * Support for systems with up to 8 physical processors * Support for up to 64 logical processors * Support for systems with up to 1 TB of physical memory * Support for up to 384 virtual machines

Hyper-V Server virtual machines provide: * 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) virtual machines * Up to 4 virtual processors per virtual machine 13. What types of network connections does Hyper-V allow? A: Easily establish RS-232/422/485 connections over Ethernet networks. 14. What are virtual machine snapshots? Virtual machine snapshots capture the state, data, and hardware configuration of a running virtual machine. 15. What is the difference between ESX Server and VMware Server? While both ESX Server and VMware Server are server virtualization products, the difference is that VMware ESX installs and runs on the bare metal of a physical server where as VMware Server needs a base operating system. In other words, VMware ESX has a type 1 hypervisor where as VMware Server has a type 2 hypervisor. You will obtain must better performance from ESX Server as it has much less overhead. ESX Server also has many features available such as VMFS, VMotion, VMHA, and DRS. On the other hand, ESX Server is also a commercial product that must be purchased where as VMware Server is a free product. VMware Server is an excellent option to choose to slowly migrate to server consolidation at a low cost. VMware Server is also an excellent way to learn about virtualization as well as a way to run multiple operating systems on your desktop PC, at no cost. 16. What is the difference between Hyper-V and Virtual Server? Like the difference between ESX Server and VMware Server, Hyper-V and Virtual server have similar differences. Hyper-V is a type-1 hypervisor where Virtual Server is a type 2 hypervisor. Virtual Server requires that you first host a Windows operating system to load it. Hyper-V is meant to be a higher performance commercial virtualization platform with a centralized management platform and 3rd party add-ons. Virtual Server, on the other hand, is a free virtualization platform meant for the desktop or for small-scale server virtualization solutions. 17. What is the difference between emulation, native virtualization, and paravirtualization? Emulation is where software is used to simulate hardware for a guest operating system to run in. This has been used in the past but is difficult to do and offers low performance.

Native virtualization (or full virtualization) is where a type-2 hypervisor is used to partially allow access to the hardware and partially to simulate hardware in order to allow you to load a full operating system. This is used by emulation packages like VMware Server, Workstation, Virtual PC, and Virtual Server. Paravirtualization is where the guest operating systems run on the hypervisor, allowing for higher performance and efficiency. For more technical information and videos on this topic, visit VMwares Technology Preview for Transparent Virtualization. Examples of paravirtualization are Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware ESX Server. 18. What are the different types of virtualization? Server Virtualization consolidating multiple physical servers into virtual servers that run on a single physical server. Application Virtualization an application runs on another host from where it is installed in a variety of ways. It could be done by application streaming, desktop virtualization or VDI, or a VM package (like VMware ACE creates with a player). Microsoft Softgrid is an example of Application virtualization. Presentation Virtualization This is what Citrix Met frame (and the ICA protocol) as well as Microsoft Terminal Services (and RDP) are able to create. With presentation virtualization, an application actually runs on another host and all that you see on the client is the screen from where it is run. Network Virtualization with network virtualization, the network is carved up and can be used for multiple purposes such as running a protocol analyzer inside an Ethernet switch. Components of a virtual network could include NICs, switches, VLANs, network storage devices, virtual network containers, and network media. Storage Virtualization with storage virtualization, the disk/data storage for your data is consolidated to and managed by a virtual storage system. The servers connected to the storage system arent aware of where the data really is. Storage virtualization is sometimes described as abstracting the logical storage from the physical storage. 19. Why do I care that VMware ESX uses the VMFS? VMwares VMFS was created just for VMware virtualization. VMFS is a high performance cluster file system allowing multiple systems to access the file system at the same time. VMFS is what gives you the necessary foundation to perform VMotion and VMHA. With VMFS you can dynamically increase a volume, support distributed journaling, and the addition of a virtual disk on the fly. 20. How do I backup my virtual guest operating systems?

There are multiple ways to backup your virtual guest operating systems. As long as your critical data is sent offsite and follows your backup rotation, you are doing well. One option would be to run a a backup client inside each guest operating system, just like you do your physical servers. If you are using a bare metal virtualization platform (like ESX Server), the greatest challenge is sometimes gaining access to your data. For example, with ESX Server, your data is stored inside ESX Servers VMFS file system. That file system cannot be accessed by a typical Windows or Linux backup client. For that reason, there are specialized virtualization backup products like Vizioncores vRanger an EsXpress. While VMware does offer VCB (see below), it is not a full featured backup product. 21. What are VMware VMotion & Storage VMotion (SVMotion)? With VMotion, VM guests are able to move from one ESX Server to another with no downtime for the users. What is required is a shared SAN storage system between the ESX Servers and a VMotion license. Storage VMotion (or SVMotion) is similar to VMotion in the sense that it moves VM guests without any downtime. However, what SVMotion also offers is the capability to move the storage for that guest at the same time that it moves the guest. Thus, you could move a VM guest from one ESX servers local storage to another ESX servers local storage with no downtime for the end users of that VM guest. 22. What is VMware HA? One of the most amazing capabilities of VMware ESX is VMHA. With 2 ESX Servers, a SAN for shared storage, Virtual Center, and a VMHA license, if a single ESX Server fails, the virtual guests on that server will move over to the other server and restart, within seconds. This feature works regardless of the operating system used or if the applications support it. Figure 1: Image Source: VMware.com 23. What is VMware VCB? VMware Consolidated Backup (or VCB) is a group of Windows command line utilities, installed on a Windows system, that has SAN connectivity to the ESX Server VMFS file system. With VCB, you can perform file level or image level backups and restores of the VM guests, back to the VCB server. From there, you will have to find a way to get those VCB backup files off of the VCB server and integrated into your normal backup process. Many backup vendors integrate with VCB to make that task easier. Contrary

to what it sounds like VCB IS NOT a traditional backup application because it doesnt do anything to get the data off the system and onto external media nor does it have a GUI interface. 24. What is Virtual Center? Both VMware Virtual Center and Microsoft System Center are centralized management applications for their respective virtualization platform. Virtual Center is a required piece of many of the advanced VMware ESX Server features but it must be purchased separately. Virtual Center runs on a Windows server and it could use SQL as a backend. 25. What is System Center Virtual Machine Manager? Microsoft System Center is Microsofts centralized management platform for just about every Micr osoft enterprise function (from data center to desktop, as Microsoft says). More specifically, Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager is the centralized management platform for virtualization. Microsoft calls it their comprehensive virtualization management tool. It can perform virtual machine monitoring, configuration, provisioning, and administration. The latest version, VMM 2008, can manage Microsoft Hyper-V, Virtual Server 2005, and VMware ESX Server platforms. 26. What is a partition? In virtualization terminology, a partition is what is managed by a hypervisor. That partition could have a virtual guest operating system inside of it, or the partition could be empty. 27. What are: virtual processor, virtual RAM, virtual NIC, & virtual disk? From working with servers and PCs, you are familiar with common components like CPU, RAM, Disk, network, and so on. When using server virtualization, each guest operating system will have its own virtual components such as the virtual CPU, virtual memory (RAM), virtual disk, virtual network, and so on. Inside the guest operating system, the OS will see these devices as physical devices and you may or may not have the vendors virtualization driver loaded for that device. These virtual devices are configured in the virtual guest configuration for that VM, in the management interface for your virtualization software. 28. Why do I need to care about the hardware requirements of VMware ESX and Microsoft Hyper-V?

Type 1 virtualization platforms that run on the bare metal of your server hardware will have specific hardware requirements because they are not typical applications that run inside an underlying (host) operating system. Because of this, type-1 virtualization platforms will have strict hardware requirements. For example, Hyper-V must run on 64 bit hardware and VMware ESX Server only support certain disk storage systems and network interface cards. For more information on the hardware requirements of these two virtualization platforms, please see: * Microsoft Hyper-V Hardware Requirements * VMware ESX Server Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) 29. What is a snapshot? A snapshot is a point in time image of a virtual guest operating system (VM). That snapshot contains an image of the VMs disk, RAM, and devices at the time the snapshot was taken. With the snapshot, you can return the VM to that point in time, whenever you choose. All changes made after the snapshot was taken may be based on that snapshot information (incremental changes). You can take snapshots of your VMs, no matter what guest OS you have and the snapshot functionality can be used for features like performing image level backups of the VMs without ever shutting them down. Do not confuse Virtual Machine Snapshots with Microsofts VSS (Microsofts Volume Shadow Copy Service). Snapshots can be taken in just about every virtualization platform available. For more information on Hyper-V snapshots, see Virtual PC Guys Weblog: Managing Snapshots with Hyper-V 30. What is Quick Migration? Quick Migration is a feature of Microsofts Hyper-V virtualization platform. With Quick Migration, you can move running virtual machines from one host to another host server with minimal downtime. This feature is comparable to VMwares VMotion except Quick Migration, in its current incarnation, is not as quick as VMotion (VMotion is about 1 second vs Quick Migration of about 5-20 second) 31. Why wont my virtualization product boot from my OS CD to load my new guest OS? Many times, admins have complained that they could not access or could not boot a virtual CDROM that was inserted or an ISO file that was mapped. And so many times, the cause of this issue is just a simply click. To access a virtual CDROM, that CDROM must be connected. If you look at the graphic below, you can see how the device is both connected and connected at power on. Connected devices are connected after the VM boots where as

connected at power on devices, are connected before the VM boots. To boot a new OS CD, that CDROM needs to be connected at power on. 32. What do I need to know about licensing and Virtualization? Concerning licensing and virtualization the most important thing to know is that any guest operating system must have a license, just as any physical server or workstation does. Thus, if you run Microsoft Virtual Server on Windows Server 2003 and 3 guest operating systems are running (Windows XP, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Vista), you must have 4 Microsoft operating system licenses Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, and Windows Server 2008. As Linux is typically open source, you can generally have as many Linux guest operating systems as you want without paying any licensing fees. Just make sure you following the license agreement for your operating system. For more information on virtualization & guest operating system licensing, see: * Microsoft Virtualization Licensing and Distribution Terms * Unlimited Virtualization Rights with Windows Server Datacenter Edition * Licensing Microsoft Server Products with Virtual Machine Technologies White Paper * Licensing Server Products with Virtual Machine Technologies * Multicore and Hyperthreaded Processor Licensing 33. What is a P2V conversion? Virtualization is most frequently used for server consolidation. This is where physical servers are converted into virtual servers. This physical to virtual conversion process is commonly called P2V conversion. This process can be done manually but it is easier if you use a P2V conversion application. While this P2V (or Virtual machine Import) functionality may be built into the management interface for your virtualization product, there are also standalone P2V products such as VMware Converter (diagram shown below) and Vizioncores vConverter. These P2V products connect to the physical server, copy all data from that physical server into a virtual disk on the virtual server, replace the drivers in the guest operating system with virtual drivers, and start the new virtual machine. In some cases, there is no downtime for end users of that server. Similar to a P2V conversion, a V2V (virtual to virtual) conversion is where a virtual guest machine from one virtualization platform is converted to another virtualization platform. 34. What is VDI?

VMware describes Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) as delivering desktops from the data center. In other words, VDI is where enterprise desktop computers are virtualized, moved to the data center, then presented over the LAN or WAN to the end users. Once VDI is used, typically the end user devices are replaced with thin-client devices. While VMware has a VDI product called VDM (Virtual Desktop Manager), VDI is not a product exclusive to VMware. Other VDI vendors include Citrix XenDesktop & Kidaro (now owned by Microsoft). With VDI, virtual desktops are served by enterprise virtualization servers running products like VMware ESX, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Xen Server. With the addition of the VDI products, these desktops can be dynamically created, pooled & shared, or even accessed from a GUI menu, over a web page. The graphic below, shows some examples of how VDI could be used and how it works. 35. What is SoftGrid? Microsoft purchased Soft grid and has renamed it Microsoft Application Virtualization. With this software, you are able to virtualize your applications and deliver them over the network. With application virtualization, your software applications are never installed on the end user devices so there are never any software conflicts. Because of this, software testing is reduced, time to set up end user computers is reduced, and software troubleshooting is reduced. Overall, application virtualization is going to save time and money. Microsoft Application Virtualization competes with XenApp and VMwares ThinApp. 36. What are the best free virtualization options? In my opinion, the best free virtualization options are: * For testing, development, and production server virtualization solutions for SMBs, I recommend VMware Server or Microsoft Virtual Server * For desktop virtualization on your own PC, I recommend Microsoft Virtual PC * And for Linux hosts Xen and KVM 37. What is VM Sprawl? Because creating new virtualized servers is so quick and easy, many organizations have a problem with VM Sprawl. With VM Sprawl, the number of virtual machines (VM) running in a virtualized infrastructure increases over time, simply because of the ease of creating new VMs, not because those VMs are absolutely necessary for the business.

Concerns with VM sprawl are the overuse of the infrastructure if it is not needed and the cost of licenses for virtual machines that may not have been required. To prevent VM sprawl, you should more carefully analyze the need for all new VMs and ensure that you are able to justify the cost of the infrastructure and the licenses for all new VMs created. 38. How many virtual machines can you run on one host? As with many server performance questions, the answer to this question is it depends. You can run as many VMs on a single host as your hypervisor supports (usually that is a lot) and as you have server resources for (RAM, CPU, Disk, and Network). Typically, on a desktop PC, you can run 1-3 VMs and on a Server you can run 10-50 VMs depending on the application demands. 39. What is ThinApp? VMware bought a company (Thinstall) who offered an application virtualization product. VMware renamed that productThinApp. Similar in concept to Microsofts SoftGrid (now Microsoft Application Virtualization), ThinApp allows you to virtualize your applications and deliver them from servers in the data center. This prevents application conflicts, allows for easy end user device replacements, allows for easy software deployment and, overall, saves time and money. 40. Why is centralized storage so important for enterprise virtualization products? Centralized storage (such as an iSCSI or FC SAN) is very critical to many optional virtualization features. For example, with VMware High Availability (VMHA), VMs are stored in a centralized shared data store. If an ESX Server goes down, those VMs are automatically restarted on another ESX host because that host can access them overt the centralized shared storage (SAN). Thus, while centralized storage isnt required to use enterprise virtualization features, many of the advanced or optional virtualization features dont work without it. 41. What are the best online resources for Virtualization knowledge? In my opinion, the best resource is our site, VirtualizationAdmin.com. However, there are also a number of other valuable Internet resources for virtualization information. They are: * Virtualization.info * VM Blog * VMware.com * VMware VMTN Blog * Run Virtual

* Microsoft.com Virtualization * SearchVMware.com * VMwareVideos.com * Petri IT Knowledgebase Virtualization 42. What are the best training options for learning about Virtualization? As virtualization is relatively new and there is a large following building for its use, there is a huge demand for virtualization training. Here are a few of my recommendations: * VMware Education offers a strong classroom and online training program as well as a certification program (see FAQ #37 about the VCP & VCDX certifications) * Train Signal offers a 3+ virtualization related videos covering Microsoft and VMware video training. One of their best sellers is the VMware ESX Server video product. * Dell Virtualization Training covering VMware products * Citrix/Xen Education covering XenServer & related products 43. What is a VMware VCP & a VCDX? Until recently VMwares virtualization certification was the VMware Certified Professional (VCP). Recently, VMware announced a more advanced certification the VCDX. To become a VCP you must complete an official VMware training course (online or in the classroom), then pass a certification test at a local training center. The VCDX builds on the VCP. To become a VCDX, you must first be a VCP and then you are required to pass 2 more advanced tests and present a VMware Infrastructure Design plan to a certification board. You can learn more about the VCP and VCDX certifications at the VMware Certification Portal. 45. What is a virtual data store? A data store, as it is used by VMware, is a storage container for files. The data store could be on a local server hard drive or across the network on a FC or iSCSI SAN. Inside the data store, you will find the virtual machines, VM disks, VM configurations, and any other files you place in the data store (such as ISO files to install a VM). Datastores are using in VMware ESX Server (viewed with the VI Client) and in the new VMware Server 2.0. Here is what a data store looks like as see from VMware ESX & the VI Client: 46. Why should I try virtualization on my desktop PC?

While virtualization is still a new concept to some admins, it has been adopted by so many more. In my opinion, understanding virtualization isnt hard, it allows you so much flexibility and power, and you need less hardware. When it comes to desktop virtualization you could, for example, run a Windows Server with Exchange 2007 and Linux Server running Apache, all inside your laptop or desktop computer amazing! Plus, there are free desktop virtualization products like Microsoft Virtual PC which are easily installed. So, if you havent tried virtualization, I encourage you to try it out today by downloading Microsoft Virtual PC or VMware Server. 47. What is the Open Virtual Machine Format? With various competing virtualization products a problem arose where different every virtualization software vendor had their own standard for packaging and distributing virtual machines. With the ability to share virtual machines over the Internet and between virtualization platforms becoming more and more important, VMware helped to create the Open Virtualization Format (OVF). The OVF is a platform independent, efficient, extensible, and open packaging and distribution format for virtual machines. With OVF, you are able to download VMs directly from the Internet and immediately import & start that VM. Plus, there only needs to be a single file format stored on sites where VMs are downloaded. 48. Can I virtualized all my servers or should some servers or applications not be virtualized? In my opinion, just about every server or application can be virtualized. What you need to consider is that 1) is there any specialized hardware that is required for that application which may not be supported when virtualized 2) will your virtualized servers have the resources to perform as well as the original physical server did? Virtualized servers can support just about any amount of CPU, RAM, Disk, and Network bandwidth that is required by an application. Additionally, virtualized servers can support special peripherals such as USB, Serial (COM), and Parallel (LPT) ports for special application needs. Of greatest concern is the virtualization of high performance applications such as SQL and Exchange. However, I have even virtualized these applications without end users noticing. Typically, the only servers that I do not virtualize are DNS servers (which are usually Windows AD Servers) as a DNS server will be needed by the virtualized servers to function. 49. What are the drawbacks to virtualization? In the end, I dont believe that there are any drawbacks to virtualization as virtualization will save money and make server administration easier. However, just like any critical new piece of your infrastructure, server virtualization must be done right, from the beginning. You will need to spend time learning and training to learn about virtualization.

Likely, if you choose an enterprise virtualization product, you will need to spend money on virtualization software. It may also be necessary to purchase servers with more RAM (or upgrade existing unneeded servers) to be virtualization host servers (however you will be able to get rid of many servers with less RAM once they are virtualized). If you do not already have one, you will likely need an iSCSI or Fibre Channel (FC) storage area network (SAN) to support some of the enterprise virtualization features. Also, keep in mind that as servers are more consolidated, if a single server goes down, you could loose as many as 50 virtual guest servers. With the servers being so consolidated, all your eggs are in one basket (or a few baskets), as they say. Because of this, you will need to choose servers that are as redundant and reliable as possible as your virtualization hosts. Still, all of this investment in time, hardware, and software will be worth it, in the end, as you will realize so many benefits (see FAQ #2). 50. How do I manage my virtualized servers? Management of your virtual servers is easier than with traditional physical servers because you will have a more centralized interface for those consolidated servers. The application that you use to manage your servers will vary based on what virtualization application you use. For example, with VMware ESX Server, you will manage your servers (ie: power status, configuration, remote control) from either the VMware Virtual Infrastructure Client (VI Client) or the VMware Infrastructure Web Access interface (via a web browser). You could also manage your ESX Server via the command line using SSH. With Microsoft Hyper-V, you would manage your server using the Hyper-V Manager MMC. 51. How much do virtualization products cost? Virtualization products range in price from free to thousands of dollars. You would have to check each manufacturers website to verify the current prices as prices could change. However, based on todays pricing, here are current prices for virtualization products: * VMware ESX Server range in price from $500 to $6000 depending on the number of features and the level of service/support you choose * Microsoft Hyper-V $999 for Windows Server 2008 Standard with Hyper-V * Citrix/Xen Server $780 for XensServer Standard * VMware Server FREE * Microsoft Virtual Server FREE * VMware Workstation $189 * Microsoft Virtual PC FREE 52. Will Microsoft overtake VMware as the market virtualization leader?

Well this is the billion dollar question, now isnt it? As Microsoft has a rep utation for taking over companies and integrating or renaming those companies products into their own, it is easy to speculate that Microsofts Hyper-V will overtake VMwares ESX Server in the virtualization top spot. However, VMware has, in my opinion, at least a 2-3 year technological lead in the number of features that it offers and its general development. More importantly, VMware has developed a huge enterprise, and more recently, a strong SMB customer base. VMware has 10 years of virtualization experience, every Fortune 500 company uses its products, 92% of the Fortune 1000 use ESX, VMware as 11 virtualization patents, and over 100,000 customers worldwide. On the other hand, as of this month, Microsoft just released their first enterprise virtualization product (Hyper-V) and that product is missing many of the features that it was originally advertised to have. While those features may come in the next version, even with those features, they will still be far behind VMware in the functionality of their Enterprise virtualization product and their customer base. 53. How much money can my company save with Server consolidation using virtualization? There is no doubt that your company can save significant money by consolidation servers using virtualization. If you havent reviewed Virtualization FAQ #2, you should first read all the inherent benefits of virtualization. When it comes to calculating the dollar savings from consolidating servers with virtualization, I recommend that you check out the following ROI calculators: * VMware ROI/TCO Calculator * Microsoft Integrated Virtualization ROI Tool * Intel Virtualization Calculator With these calculators, you can help justify your server consolidation project. In the end, I know that you will be very satisfied with your savings, both in recurring costs and in administrative time savings. 54. What is the difference between a fixed and a dynamic virtual hard disk? Some virtualization products (like MS Virtual Server and VMware Server) support two types of virtual hard drives fixed & dynamic. What is the difference between these two types of virtual hard drives? With both fixed and dynamic virtual hard drives, you set a maximum size that the virtual hard drive will appear to the guest virtual machine. What is different is that, with the fixed disk, the size of the disk is allocated when it is created. Thus, if you create a 100GB fixed virtual disk, 100GB in space is taken up on the host system when you create that disk. On the other hand, when you create a dynamic virtual disk, only a tiny amount of space is taken up when you create the disk. Over time, as the amount of space used in the dynamic virtual disk is increased, the amount of real disk used on the host is increased.

While a dynamic disk is better as it uses less real space on the host disk, it is also not as preferential for performance as a dynamic virtual disk easily gets fragmented. 55. Where can I download pre-built virtual machines? The quickest way to get started with virtualization is to download free pre-built virtual machines. These VMs already have an operating system installed and usually already have a application installed. For example, you can download Microsoft evaluation virtual machines (actually VHD files) with some of their latest enterprise applications (like Exchange Server 2007 or Windows Server 2008). Another excellent source with hundreds of VMs available for download is the VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace. At this site, companies and individuals have contributed VMs that anyone can download both for commercial evaluation of software or just for fun. You will, of course, need a virtualization product. I recommend the free VMware Server or Microsoft Virtual Server & PC. To download these, see Virtualization FAQ #44. 56. What are virtual machine additions and integration components? Just about every virtualization application offers some kind of additions or integration components that you install inside your virtual machine guests. These additions are usually device drivers that increase VM performance, enable features, or make the VMs easier to manage. With VMware products, these drivers are called the Virtual Machine Additions. With Microsoft Hyper -V, these drivers are called integration components. 57. What are some of the VMware ESX Server add-ons that I should consider? Depending on which level of the VMware Infrastructure Suite that you purchase, you may or may not get a variety of add-ons for ESX Server (such as SVMotion, VCB, VMHA, and DRS). But what other add-ons are available for VMware ESX Server and the VMware Infrastructure Suite? As ESX Server is a very mature product, there are many 3rd party products available for ESX Server. For an excellent list of these products, visit the VirtualizationAdmin.com Software Index.

10 Windows 7 commands every administrator should know

1: SYSTEM FILE CHECKER

Malicious software will often attempt to replace core system files with modified versions in an effort to take control of the system. The System File Checker can be used to verify the integrity of the Windows system files. If any of the files are found to be missing or corrupt, they will be replaced. You can run the System File Checker by using this command:
sfc /scannow 2: FILE SIGNATURE VERIFICATION

One way to verify the integrity of a system is to make sure that all the system files are digitally signed. You can accomplish this with the File Signature Verification tool. This tool is launched from the command line but uses a GUI interface. It will tell you which system files are signed and which arent. As a rule, all the system files should be digitally signed, although some hardware vendors dont sign driver files. The command used t o launch the File Signature Verification tool is:
sigverif 3: DRIVERQUERY

Incorrect device drivers can lead to any number of system problems. If you want to see which drivers are installed on a Windows 7 system, you can do so by running the driverquery tool. This simple command-line tool provides information about each driver that is being used. The command is:
driverquery

If you need a bit more information, you can append the -v switch. Another option is to append the -si switch, which causes the tool to display signature information for the drivers. Heres how they look:
driverquery -v driverquery -si 4: NSLOOKUP

The nslookup tool can help you to verify that DNS name resolution is working correctly. When you run nslookup against a host name, the tool will show you how the name was resolved, as well as which DNS server was used during the lookup. This tool can be extremely helpful when troubleshooting problems related to legacy DNS records that still exist but that are no longer correct. To use this tool, just enter the nslookup command, followed by the name of the host you want to resolve. For example:
nslookup dc1.contoso.com 5: PING

Ping is probably the simplest of all diagnostic commands. Its used to verify basic TCP/IP connectivity to a network host. To use it, simply enter the command, followed by the name or IP address of the host you want to test. For example:
ping 192.168.1.1

Keep in mind that this command will work only if Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) traffic is allowed to pass between the two machines. If at any point a firewall is blocking ICMP traffic, the ping will fail.
6: PATHPING

Ping does a good job of telling you whether two machines can communicate with one another over TCP/IP, but if a ping does fail, you wont receive any information regarding the nature of the failure. This is where the pathping utility comes in. Pathping is designed for environments in which one or more routers exist between hosts. It sends a series of packets to each router thats in the path to the destinat ion host in an effort to determine whether the router is performing slowly or dropping packets. At its simplest, the syntax for pathping is identical to that of the ping command (although there are some optional switches you can use). The command looks like this:
pathping 192.168.1.1 7: IPCONFIG

The ipconfig command is used to view or modify a computers IP addresses. For example, if you wanted to view a Windows 7 systems full IP configuration, you could use the following command:
ipconfig /all

Assuming that the system has acquired its IP address from a DHCP server, you can use the ipconfig command to release and then renew the IP address. Doing so involves using the following commands:
ipconfig /release ipconfig /renew

Another handy thing you can do with ipconfig is flush the DNS resolver cache. This can be helpful when a system is resolving DNS addresses incorrectly. You can flush the DNS cache by using this command:
ipconfig /flushdns 8: REPAIR-BDE

If a drive that is encrypted with BitLocker has problems, you can sometimes recover the data using a utility called repair-bde. To use this command, you will need a destination drive to which the recovered data can be written, as well as your BitLocker recovery key or recovery password. The basic syntax for this command is:
repair-bde <source> <destination> -rk | rp <source>

You must specify the source drive, the destination drive, and either the rk (recovery key) or the rp (recovery password) switch, along with the path to the recovery key or the recovery password. Here are two examples of how to use this utility:
repair-bde c: d: -rk e:\recovery.bek repair-bde c: d: -rp 111111-111111-111111-111111-111111-111111 9: TASKLIST

The tasklist command is designed to provide information about the tasks that are running on a Windows 7 system. At its most basic, you can enter the following command:
tasklist

The tasklist command has numerous optional switches, but there are a couple I want to mention. One is the -m switch, which causes tasklist to display all the DLL modules associated with a task. The other is the -svc switch, which lists the services that support each task. Heres how they look:
tasklist -m tasklist -svc 10: TASKKILL

The taskkill command terminates a task, either by name (which is referred to as the image name) or by process ID. The syntax for this command is simple. You must follow the taskkill command with -pid (process ID) or -im (image name) and the name or process ID of the task that you want to terminate. Here are two examples of how this command works:
taskkill -pid 4104 taskkill -im iexplore.exe