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, Windows®,
Overview
This document provides information about the Hyper-V role in Microsoft
Windows Server 2008 R2 for Dell PowerEdge systems. Unless stated
otherwise, the information in this document applies to all service packs of the
operating system.
Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V is an operating system that includes a
hypervisor-based virtualization solution.
Windows Server 2008 R2 With Hyper-V Features
The key enhancements of Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V as
compared to Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V are:
•Live migration
•Dynamic virtual machine storage
•Enhanced processor support
•Enhanced networking support
From Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 onwards, there are two additional
enhancements:
•Dynamic Memory—Allows the memory on a host machine to be pooled
and dynamically distributed to virtual machines as necessary. Based on
current workloads on a virtual machine, memory is dynamically added or
removed. Dynamic memory allocation is done without service interruption.
•RemoteFX—Introduces a new set of remote user experience capabilities
that enable a media-rich user environment for virtual desktops,
session-based desktops, and remote applications. RemoteFX enables a rich
desktop experience for virtual machine users through a 3D adapter and
USB redirection. The 3D scenarios in virtual desktops provide a virtualized
graphics processing unit (GPU) within the virtual machine. RemoteFX
provides intelligent capture and compression that adapts for the best user
experience in both virtual and session-based desktops.
Important Information3
Supported Hardware
This section provides information about the hardware requirements for
PowerEdge systems to support Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V.
NOTE: For the latest information on supported hardware for Hyper-V, see
dell.com/microsoft/virtualization.
Table 1. Supported Dell Systems With Processor and Socket Details
System ModelProcessorSocket Remark
PowerEdge R910 Intel4
PowerEdge R900Intel4
PowerEdge R810Intel4
PowerEdge R710Intel2
PowerEdge R610Intel2
PowerEdge R510Intel2
PowerEdge R410Intel2
PowerEdge R310 Intel1
PowerEdge R300Intel1Only with Intel Xeon
PowerEdge R210Intel1
PowerEdge R210 IIIntel1
PowerEdge R200Intel1Only with Xeon
PowerEdge R905AMD4
PowerEdge R815 AMD4
PowerEdge R805AMD2
PowerEdge R715 AMD2
PowerEdge R515 AMD2
PowerEdge R415 AMD2
PowerEdge T710Intel2
PowerEdge T610Intel2
PowerEdge T410Intel2
4Important Information
Table 1. Supported Dell Systems With Processor and Socket Details (continued)
System ModelProcessorSocket Remark
PowerEdge T310 Intel1
PowerEdge T300Intel1Only with Xeon
PowerEdge T110Intel1
PowerEdge T100Intel1Only with Xeon
PowerEdge T605AMD2
PowerEdge T105AMD1
PowerEdge M710Intel2
PowerEdge M610Intel2
PowerEdge M600Intel2
PowerEdge M905AMD4
PowerEdge M805AMD4
PowerEdge M605AMD2
PowerEdge 6850
PowerEdge 6800
1
1
Intel4
Intel4
PowerEdge 2950 I/II/IIIIntel2
PowerEdge 2900 I/II/IIIIntel2
PowerEdge 1955Intel2
PowerEdge 1950 I/II/IIIIntel2
PowerEdge 1900Intel2
PowerEdge 860Intel1Only with Xeon
PowerEdge 840Intel1Only with Xeon
Important Information5
Table 1. Supported Dell Systems With Processor and Socket Details (continued)
System ModelProcessorSocket Remark
PowerEdge 6950AMD4
PowerEdge 2970AMD2
PowerEdge SC440Intel1Only with Xeon
PowerEdge SC1430Intel1Only with Xeon
PowerEdge SC1435AMD2
1
The PowerEdge 6800 and PowerEdge 6850 systems with Intel processors, identified by
processor ID F48, support Hyper-V. To view the processor ID information, press <F2> during boot to
access the system BIOS and then navigate to CPU Information.
NOTE: Download the latest BIOS version from support.dell.com.
NOTE: All PowerEdge 11th-generation systems and later support Hyper-V.
Enabling Hardware Features to Support Hyper-V
The following processor features are required to configure Hyper-V:
•Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T)
•Data Execution Prevention (DEP)
NOTE: By default, DEP is enabled in the BIOS of all Dell systems.
•Hardware-assisted virtualization
(Intel-VT or AMD-V)
NOTE: By default, hardware-assisted virtualization is enabled on the
PowerEdge
T105 system.
To enable hardware-assisted virtualization on Dell systems:
1 Press <F2> at the POST screen to go to the BIOS setup.
2 Navigate to the CPU Information section.
3 Press <Enter> and navigate to Virtualization Technology.
4 Select Enabled by toggling the left and right arrow keys.
5 Save the selection and exit the BIOS setup.
6Important Information
Hyper-V Resources
For information about:
•Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper V, see
•What's new in Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2, see
technet.microsoft.com.
•Installing the Hyper-V role on the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating
system and the Windows Server 2008 R2 Server Core operating system, see
the
Hyper-V Getting Started Guide
•Upgrading Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V to Windows Server 2008 R2
with Hyper-V, see the Microsoft knowledge base article
support.microsoft.com
The following are additional documents about Hyper-V at
technet.microsoft.com:
•
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Getting Started Guide
•
Server Core Getting Started Guide
•
Hyper-V: Using Live Migration with Cluster Shared Volumes in
Windows Server 2008 R2
•
Hyper-V: Using Hyper-V and Failover Clustering
•
Hyper-V Planning and Deployment Guide
•
Hyper-V Getting Started Guide
•
Getting to Know Hyper-V: A Walkthrough from Initial Setup to
Common Scenarios
•
Hyper-V: Using Live Migration with Cluster Shared Volumes in
Windows Server 2008 R2
•
Configuring Virtual Networks
•
Configuring Disks and Storage
.
at
microsoft.com/hyper-v.
technet.microsoft.com
957256
.
at
Important Information7
Known Issues and Resolutions
NOTE: This section contains the issues that are specific to Hyper-V. For issues
specific to Windows Server 2008 R2, see the Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 for Dell PowerEdge Systems Important Information Guide at dell.com/ostechsheets.
Virtual Machine (VM) Connection May Be Lost When Connected to a SCSI Hard Drive
Description In Hyper-V, a VM can either use an IDE or SCSI hard drive to connect
to a virtual disk.
If you connect a Windows Server 2003 VM with a SCSI adapter to a
disk located on an iSCSI target, you may experience connectivity
issues with the VM. The issue occurs if you connect through the Pas s through Disk option and the network connection to the target is
subsequently lost.
The internal connection between the VM and the SCSI disk is not
restored even after you reconnect the target. If you try to restore the
connection by opening the disk management console, an error message
is displayed, prompting you to initialize the disk.
SolutionTo workaround this issue, restart the VM.
Unable to Create Hyper-V VMs
Description Hardware-assisted virtualization is a pre-requisite for installing
Hyper-V. The Hyper-V Role Configuration wizard allows you to
install the Hyper-V role even if the Hardware Assisted Virtualization
(Intel-VT or AMD-V) capability is disabled in the system BIOS.
When you attempt to create or start a virtual machine, you may
receive the following error message:
Virtual machine failed to initialize.
SolutionTo resolve this issue, enable the Virtualization Technology feature
in the BIOS and reboot the system. The Hyper-V hypervisor
loads successfully.
8Important Information
Guest Operating Systems Installed Using the Dell Recovery Media Prompts
for Activation
Description
NOTE: The activation process described in this section applies only
to guest operating system installations performed with the Dell
recovery media.
You must enter a virtual PID key when you install a guest operating
system in a virtualized environment.
SolutionTo activate the Windows Server 2008 R2 guest operating system
using the Dell recovery media:
1
Boot into the guest operating system and choose the option to enter
a new product key.
2
Enter the virtual key available on the right side of the Certificate of
Authenticity (COA) sticker on your system.
The virtual key is different from the product key which is also
present on the COA sticker.
3
Activate the Windows Server 2008 R2 guest operating system using
the regular Microsoft activation channels—manually with the
telephone or automatically through the Internet (if your virtual
machine has direct access to the Internet).
For more information on Windows Server 2008 R2 activation, see
microsoft.com/windowsserver2008
Preventing Loss of VM Configurations While Upgrading Windows Server 2008 R2 Edition
Description
SolutionTo prevent the loss of the virtual machine configuration, use
CAUTION: Upgrading Windows Server 2008 R2 editions
may cause loss of the virtual machine configurations for
the existing Hyper-V virtual machines.
Upgrading the host operating system in a parent partition
from one Windows Server 2008 R2 edition to another is
supported by Dell.
the Export/Import functionality in the Hyper-V Manager to
export the existing virtual machines prior to the upgrade.
After the upgrade is complete, import the virtual machines
along with the configurations.
.
Important Information9
Hyper-V Guest Operating System Installation Through DRAC/iDRAC May Fail
DescriptionIf you are installing either Windows Vista, Windows Server
2008, or Windows Server 2008 R2 guest operating system on a
system running Hyper-V with an operating system ISO image
remotely attached to the Dell Remote Access Controller
(DRAC) 4 or DRAC 5 virtual media, the installation may fail
displaying the following message:
A required CD/DVD drive device driver is
missing. If you have a driver floppy disk,
CD, DVD, or USB flash drive, please insert
it now.
SolutionTo resolve this issue, download the firmware version 1.61 for
DRAC 4 and 1.4.0 or later for DRAC 5 from support.dell.com.
Remote Network Connection May be Lost When Creating a Hyper-V Virtual Network
DescriptionWhen you bind an external virtual network to a physical network
adapter, the remote network connections may be lost temporarily
during the virtual network creation process. The issue occurs if the
remote network connection to the Hyper-V host uses the physical
network adapter to which the new virtual network is bound.
SolutionThis feature is working as designed. In most cases, the remote
connection is automatically re-established. To resolve this issue, it is
recommended that you dedicate a specific network adapter in the
parent partition strictly for managing the system. You must not bind
the management network adapter to any Hyper-V virtual network.
Also, you must make remote connections, if any, to the parent
partition through the IP address of this management adapter.
10Important Information
Hyper-V Virtual Machine Does Not Support TOE
Description Windows Server 2008 R2 is expected to support the ability to utilize
the TCP Offload Engine (TOE) on child partitions for supported
guest operating systems. This feature is still undergoing testing and
must be enabled with caution.
SolutionThis is a known issue and will be fixed in a future Microsoft release.
To workaround this issue, note down the IP address and enable
remote desktop of the system before enabling the Remote-FX 3D
feature. When the console is disconnected, use the IP address of the
system to reconnect through the remote desktop option from a client.
DRAC Virtual Console is Disconnected if RemoteFX 3D is Enabled
Description When you connect to a system using the Dell DRAC virtual console
from a client and try to enable the 3D option in Remote-FX feature
with Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, the console gets disconnected.
SolutionThis is a known issue and will be fixed in a future Microsoft release.
To workaround this issue, note down the IP address and enable
remote desktop of the system before enabling the Remote-FX 3D
feature. When the console is disconnected, use the IP address of the
system to reconnect through the remote desktop option from a client.