NIC Teaming driver........................................................................................................................ 20
Appendix A: known issues and workarounds........................................................................................ 23
ProLiant servers with Windows Server 2008 ..................................................................................... 23
Windows Server 2008 ProLiant Support Pack (PSP) ........................................................................... 24
For more information ...................................................................................................................... 26
Call to action .................................................................................................................................... 26
Abstract
This integration note describes the level of support available for Microsoft® Windows® Server 2008
on HP ProLiant servers. The purpose of this paper is to assist customers during installation of the
Windows Server 2008 operating system (OS). For more information, visit the HP website:
www.hp.com/go/ws2008.
Key topics addressed in this paper:
• Supported configurations of ProLiant servers
• Recommended system configuration and server platforms
• Supported software, storage options, and network adapters
• Procedures for new installations
• Known issues with workarounds
Microsoft provides Windows Server 2008 in the following editions:
• X86 edition
• X64 edition for systems with of the following processors:
®
– Intel Xeon
– Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD64) Opteron
• Web edition
Processors with Intel Extended Memory 64 Technology (EM64T)
TM
Series Processors
NOTE
To obtain a trial version of the Windows Server 2008 OS visit
Microsoft’s website:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/trialsoftware.aspx .
Introduction to Windows Server 2008
Windows Server 2008 builds on a solid foundation based on the strength and success of preceding
Windows server OSs while adding new functionality to the base OS. Designed to power the next
generation of network applications and web services, Windows Server 2008 will help administrators
manage and deliver a rich, more secure user experience that will help save time and reduce IT
infrastructure costs.
IMPORTANT
Windows Server 2008 uses DVD media and requires a server
configured with either a USB DVD-ROM or an IDE DVD-ROM for
local installations. For customers without IDE DVD-capable servers,
copy the Windows Server 2008 media to a network share.
Current iLO firmware contains support for virtual DVD media;
however, the installation is much slower than local installations.
3
Server Core Installations
Windows Server 2008 offers server core as a minimum installation option providing a reduced, more
secure OS footprint. Administrators utilize the command line to install select roles and features on a
server-core-based server.
For additional information about command line, see the Microsoft website:
The Server Core installation is not available for Itanium-based
systems.
Server Roles
Server roles allow an administrator to customize a server during the OS installation. After Windows
Server 2008 completes the initial setup tasks (partition creation and file copy), the system reboots and
presents the administrator with the GUI-based Initial Configuration Tasks wizard. From this wizard, an
administrator may set the system password, set up TCP/IP, join a domain, and add server roles to the
system. Administrators may utilize Server Manager in Windows Server 2008 for adding server roles
and features after initial server installation.
For more information on server roles, as well as other changes, refer to the Microsoft website:
Windows Server 2008 introduces a new type of domain controller (DC), the read-only domain
controller (RODC). This DC hosts read-only partitions of the Active Directory Domain Services (ADDS)
database. An RODC provides a secure solution for DC deployments to remote sites that require fast
and reliable authentication but do not necessarily have adequate physical security for the deployed
servers.
Additional information is available on the Microsoft website:
Microsoft has updated the TCP/IP stack in Windows Server 2008. For more information on the next
generation TCP/IP stack in Windows Server 2008, visit the Microsoft website:
NDIS 6.0 is the next major version of the Network Driver Interface Specification. HP has updated the
Windows Server 2008-capable network adapter drivers to meet the NDIS 6.0 requirements. A list of
supported network adapters may be found in Table 5. For more information on NDIS 6.0, visit the
Microsoft website:
Windows Server 2008 provides support for the next generation TCP/IP protocol stack known as
Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6). Administrators should be aware that IPv6 support is enabled by
default in a Windows Server 2008 installation. It cannot be uninstalled but may be disabled. For
more information on IPv6, visit the Microsoft website:
Windows Hardware Error Architecture is a new feature added to Windows Server 2008 that
provides a common infrastructure for hardware errors on Windows platforms.
The initial implementation of WHEA focuses on platform hardware devices, including processor,
memory, cache, and system interconnects such as PCI, PCI-X, and PCI Express. Peripheral device
errors remain under the control of their respective device drivers.
WHEA provides several benefits:
• A generic error source discovery mechanism
• A common hardware error record format and error handling flow
• A persistence mechanism for preserving error records
• A hardware error event tracking model based on Event Tracing for Windows (ETW)
Not all HP servers that support Windows Server 2008 will be WHEA compatible.
WHEA-capable ProLiant servers. HP has updated the following deliverables in support of WHEA:
Table 2 lists the
• System ROMs for specific ProLiant server platforms planned for WHEA support (see
• iLO firmware (version 1.42 or later)
• iLO 2 Management Controller Driver for Windows Server 2008 [hpqilo2.sys, Version 1.5 (or later)]
Table 2)
5
WHEA support is enabled for the following servers. (See
Windows Server 2008 should load and run on any HP server listed in “Recommended system
platform” section of this document when the server meets the recommended hardware configuration
established by Microsoft.
Carefully review this document for the recommended system configuration and possible issues that
might be encountered. Do not use this paper as the sole source of information. In addition to the
websites mentioned throughout this paper, visit the Windows Server 2008 support page:
www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/default.mspx.
6
Recommended system configuration
The recommended system configurations listed in this section are established by Microsoft for
Windows Server 2008 base OS installations.
Table 1.Recommended system configuration as established by Microsoft
Component Requirement
Processor
RAM per processor
Maximum RAM 32 bit
systems
Maximum RAM 64 bit
systems
Monitor SVGA resolution (800x600) or higher
Optical storage DVD drive
Available disk space
NOTE
• Available disk space refers to the free disk space on the
partition to contain the system files. Additional space is
required to copy the Windows Server 2008 CD contents to
the hard disk during installation.
• Refer to the Microsoft website for any system requirement
updates:
www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/sysreqs.mspx.
• Computers with more than 16 GB of RAM will require more
disk space for paging and dump files.
• Minimum: 1 GHz
• Recommended: 2 GHz
• Minimum: 512 MB
• Recommended: 2 GB
• Optimal: 2 GB (Full) 1GB (Server Core)
• 4 GB (standard edition)
• 64 GB (Enterprise/Datacenter Editions)
• 32 GB (standard edition)
• 2 TB (Enterprise/Datacenter)
• Minimum: 10 GB
• Recommended: 40 GB
7
Recommended ProLiant server platforms
Table 2 lists the ProLiant servers, ROM version, and ROM date that support Windows Server 2008.
Refer to the following web resources to assist in determining the ROM version and family of the
supported ProLiant server.