ptg6432687 This page intentionally left blank Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 6 Managing, Administering, and Maintaining a Hyper-V Host Server IN THIS CHAPTER . Becoming Familiar with the Hyper-V Administrative Console . Managing Windows Server 2008 Remotely . Managing Host Server, Virtual Switch, and Disk Settings . Using Common Practices for Securing and Managing a Hyper-V Host Server . Keeping Up with Service Packs and Updates . Backing up the Hyper-V Host and Guests . Managing Backups Using the Command-Line Utility Wbadmin.exe . Maintaining Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Systems . Performing Management Tasks with Server Manager Hyper-V host systems are the heart of an IT infrastructure that supports several other virtual guest sessions running on the hosts. These host servers need to be managed and main- tained to keep businesses application running optimally. Hyper-V host server management and maintenance help maximize investment in infrastructure and productivity. It also keep the IT infrastructure running effectively and effi- ciently to boost availability and reliability of the guest sessions. Windows Server 2008 and Hyper-V bring many new tools and features to help keep the servers managed and main- tained. These tools include the Hyper-V Administration console and Windows 2008 Server Manager that provide improved configuration and better auditing of servers through the isolation of roles and features. In addition, they provide better remote management and a slew of other capabilities. Server management entails many different tasks, including administering and supervising servers based on functional roles, proactively monitoring the network environment, keeping track of activity, and implementing solid change- control practices. These management functions for Windows 2008 and Hyper-V can be performed both locally and remotely. As system workloads, capacities, and usage change in the environment, Hyper-V host systems and guest sessions need to be maintained so that they operate as efficiently as possi- ble. Without such maintenance, the systems become more susceptible to causing slower response times and decreased Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 152 6 Managing, Administering, and Maintaining a Hyper-V Host Server reliability. Efforts to maintain those systems should be made periodically to avoid any inefficiency. This chapter covers best practices to maintain and manage a Windows 2008 environment. Becoming Familiar with the Hyper-V Administration Console After Hyper-V has been installed on a Windows 2008 host server, the Hyper-V Administration console is added to the Administrative Tools on the server. The Hyper-V Administration console has several configuration options and settings available to be configured that can be applied to a single guest session or applied to all guest sessions on the server. Launching the Hyper-V Administration Console To open the Hyper-V Administration console, there are two ways to access the configura- tion options. One way is to the use the Server Manager tool and administer the host server through Server Manager. The other option is to launch the freestanding Microsoft Management Console (MMC) to perform administrative tasks for the host system. NOTE The functions and settings between the Server Manager console and the standalone MMC application are the same. Administrators who manage several server roles tend to use the Server Manager console because they have access to more than just the Virtualization role to manage. They can also manage DNS, Terminal Services, Network Policy Server, and other roles that might apply to their job. For those who do nothing but administer Windows virtualization systems, they might choose the freestanding Hyper-V Administration console application for administering and managing just Windows virtual server systems. Using the Server Manager Tool to Manage Hyper-V Systems For administrators who want to manage their Hyper-V systems from a centralized console, the Server Manager tool provides a common administrative interface for all the server roles installed on a particular system. To start the Server Manager tool to view and edit Hyper-V settings, complete the following steps: 1. Click Start and then click Run. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 153 Becoming Familiar with the Hyper-V Administration Console 2. In the Run dialog box, enter ServerManager.msc, and click OK. This will start the Server Manager application if it is not already running on the system. 3. Expand the Roles section of the tree by clicking the plus sign (+). 4. Expand the Hyper-V branch of the tree, and expand the Virtualization Services branch of the tree, as shown in Figure 6.1. 6 Using the Hyper-V MMC Tool to Manage Hyper-V Systems Administrators who want to manage their Hyper-V systems from a dedicated console just for Hyper-V administration should use the Hyper-V Administration tool. To start the Hyper-V Administration tool, follow these steps: 1. Click Start, All Programs, Administrative Tools, and then choose Hyper-V Manager for the tool to launch. 2. Click Microsoft Hyper-V Servers to see the virtual servers to which you are connected. 3. Click the name of one of the virtual servers listed to see the virtual machines and actions available for the confirmation of the server system. By default, the Hyper-V MMC will have the local virtual server system listed, as shown in Figure 6.2. FIGURE 6.1 Windows 2008 Server Manager console. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 154 FIGURE 6.2 Hyper-V Manager console. NOTE If you want to run the Hyper-V Manager from a command line, you can enter the following: c:\Program Files\Hyper-V\vmconnect.exe You ca n a lso l a u n ch th e H y per- V M a nager a n d not e a spec i f i c Hyp e r - V host s e r v e r you want to manage from the command line plus start monitoring a specific guest session by entering the following: c:\Program Files\Hyper-V\vmconnect.exe {hostname} “Guest Name” In this case, {hostname} is the name of the Hyper-V host, and “Guest Name” (within quotes) is the name of the guest session you want to launch to monitor. Connecting to a Different Virtual Server System If you want to administer or manage a different virtual server system, you need to log on and connect to another server. To connect to a different virtual server, complete these steps: 1. From within the Hyper-V Manager console, click the Microsoft Hyper-V Servers option in the leftmost pane. 2. Select Action, Connect to Server. 6 Managing, Administering, and Maintaining a Hyper-V Host Server Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 155 Managing Windows Server 2008 Remotely 6 3. Select Another Computer and either enter the name of the server and click OK or click Browse to search Active Directory for the name of the server you want to remotely monitor and administer. 4. When the server appears in the Hyper-V Manager Console, click to select the server to see the actions available for administering and managing that server. Managing Windows Server 2008 Remotely Windows 2008’s built-in feature set allows it to be easily managed remotely. This capabil- ity eases administration time, expenses, and energy by allowing administrators to manage systems from remote locations, instead of having to be physically at the system. For orga- nizations that deploy Hyper-V on Server Core that has no graphical user interface (GUI) to install the Hyper-V Manager tool, the administration must be done remotely. Remote administration in this section covers both the process of remotely accessing a full Hyper-V host server to take control of the Hyper-V host servers console session and the process of remotely accessing a Hyper-V host server that does not have the administration tools installed on the local host system. Remote Server Administration Tools The remote server administration tools in Windows Server 2008 include a number of tools to manage Windows 2008 remotely. This set of tools replaced the Adminpack.msi set of tools that shipped with earlier versions of Windows. There are different tools for the roles (see Table 6.1) and for the features (see Table 6.2). TABLE 6.1 Remote Server Administration Tools for Roles Tool Description Active Directory Certificate Services tools Active Directory Certificate Services tools include the Certification Authority, Certificate Templates, Enterprise PKI, and Online Responder Management snap-ins. Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) tools Active Directory Domain Services tools include Active Directory Users and Computers, Active Directory Domains and Trusts, Active Directory Sites and Services, and other snap-ins and command-line tools for remotely managing Active Directory Domain Services. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 156 6 Managing, Administering, and Maintaining a Hyper-V Host Server TABLE 6.1 Remote Server Administration Tools for Roles Tool Description Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services (AD LDS) tools Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services tools include Active Directory Sites and Services, ADSI Edit, Schema Manager, and other snap-ins and command-line tools for managing Active Directory Lightweight Directory Services. Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) tools Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) tools include the Active Directory Rights Management Services (AD RMS) snap-in. DHCP Server tools DHCP Server tools include the DHCP snap-in. DNS Server tools DNS Server tools include the DNS Manager snap-in and dnscmd.exe command-line tool. Fax Server tools Fax Server tools include the Fax Service Manager snap-in. File Services tools File Services tools include Distributed File System tools, File Server Resource Manager tools, and Services for Network File System tools. Distributed File System tools include the DFS Management snap-in, and the dfsradmin.exe, dfscmd.exe, dfsdiag.exe, and dfsutil.exe command- line tools. File Server Resource Manager tools includes the File Server Resource Manager snap-in, and the file- scrn.exe and storrept.exe command-line tools. Services for Network File System tools includes the Network File System snap-in and the nfsad- min.exe, showmount.exe, and rpcinfo.exe command-line tools. Hyper-V Server tools Hyper-V Server tools is the component that allows a system to log on and access a Hyper-V host server for the purpose of administering and manag- ing the host server for both host and guest session configuration. Network Policy and Access Services tools Network Policy and Access Services tools include the Routing and Remote Access and Health Registration Authority snap-ins. Print Services tools Print Services tools include the Print Management snap-in. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 157 Managing Windows Server 2008 Remotely 6 The tools are installed as a feature. You can install all the tools or only the specific ones that you need. Even if the Hyper-V Server role is not installed on a server system, you can still install the Hyper-V Server tool to remotely manage a remote Hyper-V host. This TABLE 6.1 Remote Server Administration Tools for Roles Tool Description Ter m i nal S e r vice s t o ols Ter m i nal S e r vice s t o ols i n c l ude t h e TS Re m o t eApp Manager, TS Gateway Manager, and TS Licensing Manager snap-ins. Universal Description, Discovery, and Integration (UDDI) Services tools UDDI Services tools include the UDDI Services snap-in. Web Server (IIS) tools Web Server (IIS) tools include the Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager and IIS Manager snap-ins. Windows Deployment Services tools Windows Deployment Services tools include the Windows Deployment Services snap-in, wdsutil.exe command-line tool, and Remote Install extension for the Active Directory Users and Computers snap-in. TABLE 6.2 Remote Server Administration Tools for Features Tool Description BitLocker Drive Encryption tools BitLocker Drive Encryption tools include the manage-bde.wsf script. BITS Server Extensions tools BITS Server Extensions tools include the Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager and IIS Manager snap-ins. Failover Clustering tools Failover Clustering tools include the Failover Cluster Manager snap-in and the cluster.exe command-line tool. Network Load Balancing tools Network Load Balancing tools include the Network Load Balancing Manager snap-in and the nlb.exe and wlbs.exe command-line tools. SMTP Server tools SMTP Server tools include the Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 Manager snap-in. WINS Server tools Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) Server tools include the WINS snap-in. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 158 6 Managing, Administering, and Maintaining a Hyper-V Host Server allows an administrator to load up the various administrative tools on a single system and manage several different host systems from a central location. To install the remote server administration tools, follow these steps: 1. Launch Server Manager. 2. Select the Features folder. 3. Click the Add Features link. 4. Locate the Remote Server Administration Tools feature. 5. Select the desired tools (such as the Hyper-V tools), as shown in Figure 6.3. 6. Click Next to accept the selected tools. 7. Click Install to install the selected tools. 8. Click Close to exit the wizard. 9. Close the Server Manager window. FIGURE 6.3 Installing the Hyper-V tools. Download at www.wowebook.com ptg6432687 159 Managing Windows Server 2008 Remotely 6 After the tools are installed, you can manage remote computers by selecting the Connect to Another Computer command from the Action menu. This tool can be used to remotely administer a Hyper-V host even if the Hyper-V does not have the administrative tools loaded on the system itself, such as in the case of a Hyper-V host running on Windows 2008 Server Core. Remote Desktop A common method to remotely access a host system has been to use Windows Terminal Services, which effectively enables an administrator to take control of the keyboard and mouse of a remote system and perform tasks just as if the administrator were on the remote system. Unlike running the Remote Server Administration tool that enables an administrator to manage a host system that may not have the Administration tool on the host server itself (for example, Server Core), Terminal Services takes control of the host system and thus all administration tools need to be on the host system being accessed. With Windows Server 2008, although Microsoft still provides Terminal Services as a add-in to the server for remote access, they have enhanced Remote Desktop on server systems for remote administration and management. Instead of installing the full Terminal Services server role that is intended to provide many users access to a single host server for thin client application and desktop virtualization, the Remote Desktop uses the same security and technology, but is focused at allowing an administrator to take control of the console of the host system. This drastically minimizes the overhead of the host system because it does not need a licensing server to track guest session connections, and it doesn’t need to load up application publishing components or gateway components. Remote Desktop merely enables an administrator to remotely take control of the console of a host system. To install Remote Desktop on a host server, complete the following steps: 1. Launch Server Manager. 2. Click the Server Manager (hostname) in the leftmost pane 3. In the Server Summary section under Computer Information in the rightmost pane, there is a Configure Remote Desktop option on the far right of the screen. Click that option. 4. On the System Properties page that displays, click the Remote tab. 5. Choose the Allow Connections Only from Computers Running Remote Desktop with Network Level Authentication (More Secure), as shown in Figure 6.4. 6. You will get a warning that notes that a Firewall exception will need to be enabled on the server to allow remote access to this host system. Click OK. 7. Click OK when prompted. The server is now configured for remote desktop access. Download at www.wowebook.com . snap-in. DHCP Server tools DHCP Server tools include the DHCP snap-in. DNS Server tools DNS Server tools include the DNS Manager snap-in and dnscmd.exe command-line tool. Fax Server tools Fax Server. command-line tools. Hyper -V Server tools Hyper -V Server tools is the component that allows a system to log on and access a Hyper -V host server for the purpose of administering and manag- ing. accessing a full Hyper -V host server to take control of the Hyper -V host servers console session and the process of remotely accessing a Hyper -V host server that does not have the administration