Tag: Hyper-V

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Apr252018April 25, 2018April 25, 20180Commentby Thomas Maurer
Thomas Maurer Supercharging Hyper-V with quantum computing

Speaking at the Hyper-V Community + Hybrid Cloud Community Pre-Day in Germany

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Docker, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Powershell, Virtualization, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 1709, Windows Server 1803, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019, Work

I already announced that I will be speaking at the Cloud & Datacenter Conference 2018 in Germany again this year. One day before the conferences starts there is a Pre-Day with the Hyper-V Community and Hybrid Cloud Community, where I will have another session. This session will purely focus on the latest and greats in Hyper-V.

Hyper-V Community + Hybrid Cloud Community Pre-Day

Supercharging Hyper-V with quantum computing

Okay, I am not really talking about quantum computing, but hey there are some cool features in Hyper-V you should definitely know about! In this session Thomas Maurer will talk about 10 hidden Hyper-V features everyone should know about. This covers different features for Hyper-V on Windows Server as well as on Windows 10. Be prepared for a lot of Demos!

The Speaking at the Hyper-V Community + Hybrid Cloud Community Pre-Day will take place on 14th May in Hanau Germany (Close to Frankfurt). I hope to see you there!


Apr252018April 25, 2018April 26, 20180Commentby Thomas Maurer
CDC Germany 2017

Speaking at the Cloud and Datacenter Conference Germany 2018 in Hanau

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Docker, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Server Core, Virtualization, Windows Server, Windows Server 1709, Windows Server 1803, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server 2019

I already announce a couple of new conferences where I have the opportunity to speak. Today I can add another great conference to the list for this year. I will be speaking at the Cloud and Datacenter Conference Germany 2018 in Hanau. The CDC Germany 2018 will take place from 15-16 May with a Pre-Con day at the 14 May provided by the Hyper-V Community.

I already had the chance to speak at the CDC-Germany for a couple of years, and I can tell you it is worth attending. I will be speaking in two presentations and one Pre-Con presentation.

In my first session I will be speaking about Windows Server, converging the new features in Windows Server Semi-Annual Channel, as well as the next big LTSC release called Windows Server 2019. In my second session, I will be speaking about one of my other favorite topics right now, which is Azure Stack.

CDC-Germany

„My Name is Server, Windows Server“

In Fall 2017 Microsoft has updated Windows Server to the next Semi-Annual Channel release with new features and improvements and Microsoft will now release new SAC and LTSC releases. Join this session for the best of Windows Server, learn how the new Servicing Model of Windows Server works and what does it mean to use SAC or LTSC releases, and what new improvement and features Microsoft offers in the latest releases such as 1709 and 1803. You’ll get an overview about the new, exciting improvements that are in Windows Server and how they’ll improve your day-to-day job. In this presentation Thomas Maurer (Microsoft MVP) will guide you through the highly anticipated innovations including: Windows Server Containers Hyper-V features Nano Server Storage Networking Security Windows Server Containers And more!

CDC-Germany

Azure Stack - Your Cloud, Your Datacenter

Microsoft released Azure Stack as a Azure appliance for your datacenter. Learn what Azure Stack is, what challenges it solves, how you deploy, manage and operate a Azure Stack in your datacenter. Learn about the features and services you will get by offering Azure Stack to your customers and how you can build a true Hybrid Cloud experience. In this presentation Thomas Maurer (Microsoft MVP) will guide you through the highly anticipated innovations and experience during the Azure Stack Early Adaption Program and Azure Stack Technology Adoption Program (TAP).

If you want to learn about the latest and greatest Cloud and Datacenter topics in Germany, this is a must to attend. I hope to see you there!

 


Apr192018April 19, 2018April 19, 20180Commentby Thomas Maurer
Techorama 2018

Speaking about Azure Stack and Hyper-V at Techorama 2018 in Antwerp Belgium

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Docker, Events, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Nano Server, Server Core, Virtualization, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 1709, Windows Server 1803, Windows Server 2016, Work

Today I am happy to announce that I am one of the speakers at the Techorama 2018 conference in Antwerp Belgium. Techorama is a yearly international technology conference which takes place at Metropolis Antwerp. Techorama welcomes about 1500 attendees, a healthy mix between developers, IT Professionals, Data Professionals and SharePoint professionals. Their commitment is to create a unique conference experience with quality content and the best speaker line-up. Techorama will take place from the 22nd -24th of May 2018.

I will be speaking in two sessions about Microsoft Azure Stack and Hyper-V

Techorama

Azure Stack - Your Cloud Your Datacenter

Microsoft released Azure Stack as a Azure appliance for your datacenter. Learn what Azure Stack is, what challenges it solves, how you deploy, manage and operate a Azure Stack in your datacenter. Learn about the features and services you will get by offering Azure Stack to your customers and how you can build a true Hybrid Cloud experience. In this presentation Thomas Maurer (Microsoft MVP) will guide you through the highly anticipated innovations and experience during the Azure Stack Early Adaption Program and Azure Stack Technology Adoption Program (TAP).

Techorama

10 hidden Hyper-V features you should know about!

In this session Thomas Maurer will talk about 10 hidden Hyper-V features everyone should know about. This covers different features for Hyper-V on Windows Server as well as on Windows 10. Be prepared for a lot of Demos!

Hopefully see you there!


Apr032018April 3, 2018April 3, 20180Commentby Thomas Maurer
Hyper-V HVC SSH Direct for Linux VMs

HVC – SSH Direct for Linux VMs on Hyper-V

Posted in Cloud, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Powershell, Virtualization, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 1803, Windows Server 2019, Work

If you are running Hyper-V on Windows 10 or on Windows Server 2016, you probably know about a feature called PowerShell Direct. I also mentioned that PowerShell Direct is one of the 10 hidden features in Hyper-V you should know about. PowerShell Direct lets you remote connect to a Windows Virtual Machine running on a Hyper-V host, without any network connection inside the VM. PowerShell Direct uses the Hyper-V VMBus to connect inside the Virtual Machine. Of course this feature is really handy if you need it for automation and configuration for Virtual Machines. As this is great for Windows virtual machines, it does not work with Virtual Machines running Linux. In the latest Windows 10, Windows Server 1803 (RS4) and Windows Server 2019 (RS5) Insider Preview builds, Microsoft enabled a tool called HVC. HVC is at tool which allows you to do some command line VM management. HVC SSH is basically SSH Direct of Linux VMs.

This allows to connect to a Linux VM using SSH over the Hyper-V VMBus. You are also able to copy file inside a virtual machines using scp.

How to connect to Linux VMs using SSH Direct

HVC SSH on Hyper-V

To connect to Linux VMs using SSH Direct (HVC) simply type hvc.exe into the command line or PowerShell. This will give you all the possible command options. Of course SSH has to big configured inside the Linux virtual machine.

To make this work, the SSH server inside the VM needs to be configured.

Final Thoughts

Pretty cool tool which will be available in the official releases of Windows 10 and Windows Server 1803, released this spring. Later this year this feature will also be included in Windows Server 2019. If you want to try it out today, give the Windows Insider Preview builds a spin.

Thanks to Ben Armstrong for pointing this out 😉


Mar202018March 20, 2018March 21, 20181Commentby Thomas Maurer
Windows Server 2019

Microsoft announces Windows Server 2019 and System Center 2019

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Nano Server, Server Core, System Center, Virtualization, Windows Server, Windows Server 2019, Work

Microsoft today announced the next Long-Term Servicing Channel (LTSC) release for Windows Server called Windows Server 2019. In a blog post today, Erin Chapple, Director of Program Management Windows Server, announced the Windows Server 2019, which will be available in the second half of calendar year 2018. You can try out a Windows Server Preview build through the Windows Server Insider Program today. Microsoft also mentions that System Center 2019 will be available to manage Windows Server 2019 infrastructures.

Windows Server 2019 is built on the foundation of Windows Server 2016 and focuses on a couple of key scenarios. Microsoft in four key areas, Hybrid Cloud, Security, Application Platform and Hyper-Converged Infrastructure (HCI).

Windows Server 2019 – Hybrid Cloud Improvements

Project Honolulu Server Overview

As of today Hybrid Cloud is more real than ever. With Windows Server 2019 Microsoft is focusing to improve the customer experience in a hybrid cloud world. Taking advantage of public cloud innovation such as Artificial Intelligence and IoT, and connecting them with on-premise services is a huge enabler for customers. At Microsoft Ignite 2017, Microsoft showed of the Technical Preview of Project Honolulu, a web-based management console for Windows Server. One of the goals of Project Honolulu is to connect Windows Server deployments with Azure services. Together with Windows Server 2019 and Project Honolulu, you can easily integrate services like Azure Backup, Azure File Sync, Azure Site Recovery and much more.

Windows Server 2019 – Security

Security was already one of the big investments in Windows Server 2016. Microsoft does not stop there. With Windows Server 2019 Microsoft brings various security improvements like Shielded Virtual Machine support for Linux VMs and Encrypted Virtual Networks. One of my favorite improvements is the possibility to integrate with Windows Defender Advanced Thread Protection (ATP). ATP was first available for Windows 10 and provides preventative protection, detects attacks and zero-day exploits among other capabilities, into the operating system. This gives customers access to deep kernel and memory sensors, improving performance and anti-tampering, and enabling response actions on server machines.

Windows Server 2019 – Application Platform

Ubuntu on Windows Server using WSL

One of the key focus of Microsoft for Windows Server, was always on the developer experience. Microsoft brings a couple of improvements to make it the best application platform out there. Microsoft invests in a couple of scenarios such as bringing the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) to Windows Server. Another key investment area are Windows Server Containers and Windows Server Container images. In Windows Server 2019, Microsoft reduces the Server Core base container image to a third of its current size of 5 GB. This will reduce download time of the image by 72%, further optimizing the development time and performance. Another key improvement in terms of Container support is the integration and support for Container orchestrators like Kubernetes.

Windows Server 2019 – Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI)

The 4th improvement area is the Hyper-converged infrastructure (HCI). With Windows Server 2016 Microsoft released a new feature called Storage Spaces Direct. Together with Hyper-V and other Microsoft technologies, this was great to build you own infrastructure for your virtualization workloads. Windows Server 2019 will bring a lot of improvements for Storage Spaces Direct, Hyper-V and other related technologies. Microsoft is adding scale, performance, and reliability to the platform. Microsoft also partnered with hardware vendors to provide an affordable and yet extremely robust HCI solution with validated design.

What else?

  • Windows Server will be GA (generally available) in the second half of calendar year 2018.
  • Windows Server will be a LTSC release. LTSC will be the recommended version of Windows Server for most infrastructure scenarios and workloads like SQL Server, SharePoint and Windows Server Software-Defined Datacenter solutions.
  • With the LTSC release of Windows Server 2019, Microsoft will allow customers to use the Server with Desktop Experience as well as Windows Server Core. With the Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) release, Microsoft only provides the Windows Server Core option.
  • There will be another Semi-Annual Channel (SAC) release at the same time as Windows Server 2019 focusing on Container innovations. The SAC releases will be supported as before for 18 months, while the LTSC releases follow the normal 5+5 year support.
  • Licensing will use the same model as Windows Server 2016 today, Microsoft mentions that it is likely that they will increase the pricing for Windows Sevrer Client Access Licensing (CAL), but will share more details later.

With that we can all be very excited for the next LTSC version of Windows Server. Until then the next SAC release of Windows Server, called Windows Server 1803, will be available this spring. The Windows Server, version 1803 will focus on container improvements. If you want to try out, Windows Server 2019 or Windows Server 1803, you can join the Windows Server Insider Program.


Jan222018January 22, 2018January 22, 20180Commentby Thomas Maurer
ExpertsLiveCafe

Speaking at Experts Live Cafe January 2018 Edition in Bern

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Docker, Events, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Powershell, Server Core, Virtualization, Web, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 1709, Windows Server 1803, Windows Server 2016, Work

I am happy to announce and remind you that I will be speaking at the Experts Live Cafe in Bern this Friday. The Experts Live Cafe is a Swiss IT Pro Meetup run by the Microsoft MVPs Stefan Johner and Stefan Roth. Experts Live is a non-profit organization that has a mission to enable sharing of knowledge and experience about Microsoft technologies worldwide. The ExpertsLive Cafes are user group meetups which are designed to bring IT professionals closer together.

I will be covering one of two sessions about this months Experts Live Cafe and talk about Windows Server.

ExpertsLive Cafe

What is next for Windows Server

In Fall 2017 Microsoft has updated Windows Server to the next Semi-Annual Channel release with new features and improvements and Microsoft will now release new SAC and LTSC releases. Join this session for the best of Windows Server, learn how the new Servicing Model of Windows Server works and what does it mean to use SAC or LTSC releases, and what new improvement and features Microsoft offers in the latest releases such as 1709 and 1803. You’ll get an overview about the new, exciting improvements that are in Windows Server and how they’ll improve your day-to-day job.

There should be still some free seats, so hopefully see you there!

 


Jan172018January 17, 2018January 17, 20180Commentby Thomas Maurer
Windows Server Insider Preview Build 17074

Sneak Peak of Windows Server 1803 (RS4) – Windows Server Insider Preview Build 17074

Posted in Cloud, Containers, Docker, Hyper-V, IT, Microsoft, Microsoft Azure, Microsoft Azure Stack, Nano Server, Powershell, Server Core, Virtualization, Web, Windows, Windows 10, Windows Server, Windows Server 1803, Work

Yesterday, Microsoft announced a new Windows Server Insider Preview Build (17074) which will be released as the next Semi-Annual Channel release for Windows Server. This release will likely be called Windows Server 1803 (Codename: Restone 4), which is aligned to the Windows Client releases.

Microsoft talked about improvements in the next Windows Server releases and the investments in Containers and Storage Spaces Direct at Microsoft Ignite 2017, and we already got some early Windows Server Insider Preview builds to see what is coming next. The official list is not to big right now, but we can expect Microsoft to add and announce more features in the comment weeks and months.

What is new in Windows Server 1803 (RS4)

  • Storage Spaces Direct (S2D)
    • Microsoft adds Data Deduplication support Storage Spaces Direct and ReFS
    • Microsoft removed the requirement for SCSI Enclosure Service (SES) on the hardware, which enables more hardware to work with S2D
    • Storage Spaces Direct adds support for Persistent Memory (Storage Class Memory), which brings very fast and very low latency storage to S2D. The prices for this devices is still pretty high, but we can expect this to change in the future and we can also see them as a great use as caching devices.
    • Storage Spaces Direct now also supports Direct-connect SATA devices to AHCI controller, which also make more hardware work with S2D
    • CSV Cache is now enabled by default, which delivers an in-memory write-through cache that can dramatically boost VM performance, depending on your workload.
  • Failover Clustering
    • Azure enlightened Failover Cluster – This is a very exciting feature if you run Windows Server Failover Clusters in Microsoft Azure. This feature will let the Windows Server cluster know if there is Azure host maintenance going on and will exclude the specific cluster node from placing workloads on it.

      By making high availability software running inside of an Azure IaaS VM be aware of maintenance events of the host, it can help deliver the highest levels of availability for your applications.

  • Container
    • Microsoft promised to add more Container feature and provide updated Windows Server Container Images. One feature which made it already into this and early Preview builds is a long waited feature which caused some confusion before. Developers can now use localhost or loopback (127.0.0.1) to access services running in containers on the host.
  • Other Improvements

As mentioned before we can expect Microsoft to add and announce new feature for the next Windows Server release in the next couple of weeks and months.

How to download the Windows Server Insider Preview

You can download the Windows Server Insider Previews from the Windows Server Insider Preview download page. If you are not yet an Insider, check out how to get one on the Windows Insider for Business portal.

Careful, this is pre-release software and it is not supported in production.

Test and Provide Feedback to Windows Server

For Microsoft it is very important that they get feedback about the latest releases. To send feedback use the Feedback Hub application in Windows 10, and choose the Server category with the right subcategory for your feedback.

 

 

 



  • About

    Thomas Maurer

    My Name is Thomas Maurer. Microsoft MVP. Work as a Solutions Architect and Technology Lead for itnetX, a consulting and engineering company located in Switzerland. I am focused on Microsoft Technologies, especially Microsoft Cloud & Datacenter solutions based Microsoft System Center, Microsoft Virtualization and Microsoft Azure.

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