Enable Hyper-V on Windows Server 2012 RC

I finally got around to setting up a Windows 2012 Server in my home lab. Here is a simple step-by-step on enabling the new Hyper-V roll.

Step 1) From the new Server Manager "Dashboard" Click the "Add Roles and Features" Link

Step 2) Review the "Before you Begin" Screen and Click "Next"

Step 3) On the Installation Type screen Select "Role-Based or feature-based Installation" and Click "Next"


 














Step 4) On the Server Selection Scree, Select your local Server from the Server Pool (I only have one server)


















Step 5) A Pop-Up Screen will come up asking you to Add the RSAT (Remote Server Administration Tools) and Hyper-V Management Tools. Click "Add Features" to Continue.

Step 6) On the Server Roles Screen, Confirm that "Hyper-V" is Selected and Click "Next"

Step 7) The Hyper-V specific options are Next. Review the start screen and Click "Next" to continue.

Step 8) On the Virtual Switches Screen, Select the NIC you want to use as the Virtual Switch and Click "Next"

Step 9) On the Migration Screen, Select your desired Live Migration settings (This is a new feature) Note the warning message about migration settings in a cluster. Click "Next" to continue.

Step 10) On the Default Stores Screen, Select the Default locations for VM Hard Disk and Configuration Files. (I have local storage only but this could be shared storage) Click "Next" to Continue.

Step 11) On the Confirmation Screen, you have the Option to tick a box to Restart the host if a restart is required. You will get a Pop-Up Message if you select this Option, Click "OK" to continue.

Step 12) Once Hyper-V has been enabled, and the Server has Rebooted, you will see the Hyper-V Roles Installed on the Server Manager Dashboard.

Congrats!! Hyper-V is now enabled. Below are a couple screenshots of the new Hyper-V Settings Options. Notice some of the new settings, like Physical GPU's for RemoteFX, Live Migration options, and Storage Migrations settings. I will be playing around with these shortly. More to come. Cheers.

How to use Dell OpenManage to Verify BIOS requirements for Hyper-V

Background: The Hyper-V Roll on Windows Server 2008 R2 requires certain Hardware settings to be enabled in the host system BIOS, such as Intel VT and DEP. More information can be found at: Hyper-VHardware Requirements  However, with Dell PowerEdge Servers, it is possible to utilize the OpenManage tool to configure and verify BIOS settings, without having to reboot the server. Here’s how….

Step 1) On the Server you wish to enable Hyper-V, go to Start-->All Programs-->Dell OpenManage Applications and launch the “Server Administrator” tool (This will open a browser)

*You will need an account that is part of the Local Admin group of the server in order to have access to the Open Manage Console

Step 2) Once the OpenManage Home page loads, you will want to navigate to the System-->BIOS menu on the left hand side. Follow up by clicking on the “Setup” Tab on the top Menu Bar

Step 3) From the Setup Menu you can verify that the following options are ENABLED:

Processor Virtualization Technology

Processor Logical Processor (HyperThreading)

Processor Execute Disabled

Step 4) If options are not configured properly (i.e. Disabled) you can simply click on the current setting on the right, and OpenManage will direct you to a screen where you can change the settings. Be sure to click the “Apply Changes” button before exiting the menu.

Step 5) You can now “Log Out” and close the browser. At this point you should be good to go. Proceed to Server Manager to enable the Hyper-V roll.  For instructions on installing Hyper-V check out: Hyper-VGetting Started Guide