Here’s a video to show you how straight forward the installation of SBS 2008 RC0 is. After just a few click you should have a system up and running.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jy7wkmamMs
As usual, don’t forget all our other videos at http://www.youtube.com/saturnalliance.
Can you notice the difference?
For those of you who are long time readers of my blog (shame on you if you’re not!), you’ll know a while back I went through trials and tribulations virtualizing all my CIAOPS machines. Basically, this meant that I could now run the entire infrastructure on a single piece of hardware. I’ll be the first to admit that it wasn’t a perfect solution but it did save lots of space, kept the power bills down and made management much easier.
Then after recent escapades getting SBS 2008 working I was so impressed with Microsoft Hyper-V I thought that migrating my existing virtual machines to Hyper-V would give it a nice boost in performance and again allow me to reduce the total hardware I have to maintain.
The first step in the process I figured was simply to transfer the existing virtual PC’s to the new hardware still running Microsoft Virtual PC. Even though the host operating system is Windows 2008 64 bit and “doesn’t” support Microsoft Virtual PC it will run. So the idea was simply transfer the machines to new hardware as a starting point. I duly shut down the virtual PC’s on the original hardware and committed all the changes to hard disk and then copied the images off onto the new hardware.
What I found on the new Windows 2008 64 bit host system with Microsoft Virtual PC was that the images did load but once there were two or more images operating they ran really slow. Ok, I thought, if I’m already this far down the track I’ll go Hyper-V. Another great thing about Hyper-V is that they can use existing Microsoft Virtual PC hard disk images, will alleviates the need to re-create the machines from scratch. This is pretty impressive when you consider that the virtual machine images I was going to use had been originally created in a 32 bit application. It’s a nice and easy way to go to 64 bit in my books.
I knew the major issue with Hyper-V was going to be the network cards since they would be different from those already installed under Virtual PC. Problem is you can’t add the Hyper-V additions to better support the new environment until you remove the old Virtual PC additions. So I had to fire the machines back up in Virtual PC, remove the Virtual PC additions and then save the virtual PC image back to disk. Now, after restarting the virtual machines in Hyper-V I could install the Hyper-V additions (needs 2 reboots). After that the only thing I needed to do was re-activate the operating system. Migration complete – I love virtualization!
Now all the CIAOPS infrastructure (including this Sharepoint blog) is running on a single machine under Hyper-V. Combined with an improved broadband link I think the performance is markedly better. What do you think?
The great thing is that I can still use the host same machine for testing virtual SBS 2008 RC0 and at a later stage can do a migration from my existing SBS 2003 R2. I also like the way that Hyper-V allows you to take snapshot backups which is going to be a real bonus when it comes to putting on updates and testing. Rolling back to a previous snap shot is a sinch. I’ve still got plenty to learn about Hyper-V but if you haven’t looked at it I recommend you as I think it is going to be pretty big.
Now, I’ll admit that what I have in place probably could be improved even further but on a cost basis I am ecstatic with what I have been able to achieve and the additional flexibility it is going to provide. It also has been very beneficial to get exposure to Hyper-V which I am liking more and more every day. If Hyper-V keeps working this well I am very confident that we’ll be using for most customers in the future, it just makes so much sense on so many levels.
Finally, one of the big benefits so far is also that the issues I was having with my Sharepoint blog server seem to have gone away. Maybe it’s just like getting new hardware? All I know is that it runs a hell of lot faster now!
Video 46 posted
So after all the recent dramas of getting SBS 2008 working I decided to celebrate with a new You Tube video. This video is a first look at the new Small Business Server from Microsoft. I quickly run through what’s the same, what’s new and then examine the new SBS management console.
Hopefully over time I’ll be posting more videos about SBS 2008 including all the good old things that I have covered in previous videos on SBS 2003 such as creating users and computers. You’ll find the latest video here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcTmEYfjZek
Don’t forget all the other videos at http://www.youtube.com/saturnalliance.
The weather starting getting rough…
The tiny ship was tossed. If not for the courage of the fearless crew, virtual SBS would be lost.
So, continuing on with what appears to be my never ending quest to get a virtual SBS 2008 machine working I had finally gotten a 64 bit guest environment working via Windows Server 2008 64 bit and Hyper-V. Phew. During the last episode I had just started installing SBS 2008.
Everything was looking good until the installation tells me I don’t have a network card. I check the Windows configuration manager and I do have a network card but the driver won’t start. Now if I had read John’s comment to my previous post I would have been aware that I needed to set up the virtual machine for SBS with a legacy network card. Unfortunately I didn’t do that, I did however find a work around. I mounted the virtual machine additions CD image, updated all the other missing drivers from that CD image, deleted and re-installed the network card from device manager and got it working. I’ll have to remember that legacy card option for the next virtual SBS 2008 server I run up. Thanks for the heads up John.
Finally after many trials and tribulations I have SBS 2008 standard installed. Here’s a few initial observations:
1. During the installation there aren’t a lot of options. Most of the configuration seems to come after you get SBS running. In that way you just have to let SBS 2008 install the default way. Now it is my understanding that you can provide an answer file to change these default options but it certainly seems “dumbed down”.
2. The connect to the Internet wizard is much more router and DHCP aware which is a good thing. The connection to the Internet is now simply connecting to the Internet. Email and remote access is in a different wizard.
3. The layout of the SBS console if very different but so far I like it. It is well organized and pretty logical I think. It is going to remove a lot of confusion for “non-IT” types. It is also interesting that it is moving further and further away from the technical to simply point and click. Again, “dumbing down” in my books.
I still have a lot more to play with, especially when it comes to Sharepoint on SBS 2008 and I’ll be posting my findings and thoughts in upcoming entries. Now that I have SBS 2008 running what can I do with it? I wonder ….
Just sit right back…
and you’ll hear a tale. A tale of a fateful trip. That started from this tropic port aboard this 64 bit ship..” as the classic TV theme goes. Well almost.
So to recap, I have been trying to install SBS 2008 into a virtual environment. Problem is because SBS 2008 is only 64 bit I need something that supports a 64 bit guest operating system. However, I firstly need to purchase hardware that supports 64 bit and then install a 64 bit host operating system.
Hardware purchase, tick.
64 bit host operating system, tick.
64 bit virtual environment software, tick.
My initial choice for 64 bit virtual environment was Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. Which I discovered doesn’t support host 64 bit operating systems. Strike one. Next option VM Ware Server. I install the current version (1.06). Problem is it doesn’t have signed drivers and Vista 64 bit wants signed drivers. Long story short the current version of VM Ware server doesn’t run on Vista 64 bit. Strike two. So now I try VM Ware server 2.0 Beta 2. Program installs but I can’t actually log onto the VM Server. What the …? I google here, I google there, turns out you have to enable the administrator account, (disabled by default under Vista), assign it a password and use that to log in. Ok, ok so I’m in. Now I create a VM machine and boot it but I can’t connect to the VM console. I get a message about being unable to connect because a secure connection can’t be established. I google here, I google there, turns out this a problem on Vista 64 bit. Damm! I try IE and Firefox to connect still no good. I google here, I google there but finally decide it’s a lost cause. Strike three.
Next option, Virtual box from Sun. Turns out that doesn’t support guest 64 bit operating systems either. . I know I can make this work, I ain’t beat yet.
Thinking, thinking….ok let’s try Windows 2008 and Hyper V as the virtual environment. This means an installation of Windows 2008 server 64 bit to remove the base Vista 64 bit I started with on my hardware. Luckily, I created a small system partition and had my data on another partition so all I needed to do was reformat and reinstall on the small system partition while my data remained intact. Hey, I’m not just a pretty face you know! Now my 64 bit machine doesn’t have a mouse, keyboard and monitor since I was using remote desktop. So I stretch my existing keyboard, mouse and monitor across, boot to the Windows 2008 Server 64 bit system DVD and install Windows Server 2008.
Ok, Windows Server 2008 is up, I enable remote desktop, remove the keyboard, mouse and monitor and access it remotely again. I add the role for Hyper V and reboot. Bugger, Hyper V console won’t load. Next stop Microsoft Update. Patching, patching, patching …. reboot, still no joy. Bugger x 2. So I search Microsoft.com and find that there is an update (not a critical or recommended update mind you for Hyper V on 64 bit Windows 2008 which I install and finally the Hyper V console is working. Phew. I go in and create a new virtual machine and start it up but am greeted by an error saying that the machine can’t start because Hyper V isn’t running. What the …?
So I’m googling and I’m googling and learn that you have to turn on the virtualization stuff in your PC’s BIOS since it is disabled by default in most cases. So I move the keyboard, mouse and monitor BACK to the 64 bit machine, reboot go into the BIOS and enable the virtualization stuff. I reboot the machine, move the keyboard, mouse and monitor BACK AGAIN to my original desktop and connect remotely.
That’s all for this entries exciting tale. Stay tuned to the next entry for … Just kidding, I couldn’t do that to anyone who has read this far. Bottom line is I now have it working and am in the process of installing a guest SBS 2008 system on a Hyper V virtual machine on a Windows 2008 64 bit host operating system. I’m sure this story is far from over so do stay tuned!
Not as easy as that
So, as John points out in a comment to my last post, I have discovered that Microsoft Virtual PC 2007 doesn’t support guest 64 bit operating systems even if it is running on a 64 bit system. Bugger! Ok, so I’ve learnt something today.
It seems that Sun has something called Virtual Box which appears to support 64 bit guest operating systems and seems to be all the rage with the Linux crowd. I think perhaps I’ll try VM Server which is also free and appears to be more supported at least in the Windows world.
So now I gotta get VM Server running on 64 bit Vista (which I must say runs really well so far) and then get SBS 2008 running on VM Server.
Hey, I’ve got plenty of time, I’ve only just completed the download of the second SBS 2008 ISO DVD. You do need something to do during these long downloads don’t you? Maybe like get a life as my mother would say!
A brave new world
I now have a new machine onto which I will be launching into the 64 bit world. The first step is to install Windows Vista Business x64 as the base operating system. Why? You well ask. Well, the plan is to run multiple Virtual PC’s and initially I think that I should start with the latest and greatest client operating system and see where that leads me. Now sure, I could have installed Windows XP, Windows Server 2003 or Windows Server 2008 but I’m really interested to see whether Windows Vista 64 bit is any better than normal Vista or XP. Besides, in my experience the only way to learn is to try it yourself, although I know that I’m bound to waste a heap of time going through the process.
Hopefully I won’t have too much trouble at least getting the base operating system running. After doing all the updates, the next step will be the installation of the 64 bit version of Microsoft Virtual PC 2007. Then I’ll be interested to see whether any of my existing Virtual PC images work or whether I have to create “dedicated” 64 bit versions from scratch (a real pain if that is the case). Then I’ll be installing SBS 2008 to give it a run through.
Hopefully along the way I’ll be able to give you a run down of my experiences in the 64 bit world and whether it does in fact make things run “better”. Time will tell.
Wish me luck as you wave me goodbye. Cheerio, here I go on my way….
Awh ma gawd!
Just have a look at what we found when we opened up a prospect’s server recently to take a look:
Notice something outta place? Maybe that hard disk lying on the bottom of the case is a hint? What about the fact that two hard disks actually in the case are disconnected? Now, that’s not all folks. It is an SBS 2003 R2 server with only 1GB of RAM! Apart from SBS 2003 and Anti virus, the server is also running in this 1GB of RAM, a virtual machine that had a linux distro to do the anti-spam (not very well either – hello Intelligent Message Filter).
Strangely enough (well, not really), the old IT person moved interstate and now won’t return any of the client’s phone calls. Strange that eh?
This is the battle we face everyday trying to convince potential customers:
A. All IT companies aren’t trying to rip them off.
B. There is a big difference between IT providers. You get what you pay for basically.
However, I do understand this from a customers point of view. How the hell do they know if an IT person is good or bad? They don’t know IT, that is why they pay someone to do this. It seems today that businesses only understand the difference after they have been burnt! However, it really does give the rest of us that are trying to do the right thing a bad name. Thank goodness that I believe in karma (really nasty payback karma, but karma none the less).
CIAOPS 