Ultilising Hyper V in Server 2008

Lorddalron · 8 Apr 2012 at 12:55

Hi guys.
Im the next few weeks im going to be picking up my 1st home server (HP N40L) as im going to be trying to gain Microsoft certification from home in my spare time.
Ive no experience with server configuration etc and im slowly coming to grips with all the new software that is out then, and in particular, Hyper V in Server 2008 R2.

Will this software basically allow me to create virtual users on the server to replicate that of a small business/home setup? I only have the one computer in my house so im looking to get familiar adding multiple uses and configuring them etc etc.

asim18 · 8 Apr 2012 at 18:24

HyperV isn't virtual users. It's Virtual machines.

It lets you create several installations of Server 2008 on a single physical machine. So you can have several self contained operating systems on one physical machine, all running together at the same time.

The main benefit is having your server roles separated into several self contained operating systems to avoid conflicts.

To create multiple users like a business server you simply need to set up a domain controller server with the active directory role.

Lorddalron · 8 Apr 2012 at 23:49

asim18 said:
HyperV isn't virtual users. It's Virtual machines.

It lets you create several installations of Server 2008 on a single physical machine. So you can have several self contained operating systems on one physical machine, all running together at the same time.

The main benefit is having your server roles separated into several self contained operating systems to avoid conflicts.

To create multiple users like a business server you simply need to set up a domain controller server with the active directory role.

Ah ok, Thanks for that. Told you i was knew to all this

asim18 · 9 Apr 2012 at 00:28

This thread might be of use to you: http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=18258403

Mr-White · 9 Apr 2012 at 11:11

What Microsoft certifications are you looking at doing ?

MW

Lorddalron · 9 Apr 2012 at 11:41

Im looking to start with MCTS in server admin via 70-640/642+643 exams, then move on to exchange server.

Ive just read through the link provided by Asim and now im wondering whether or not the max of 8gb in the HP N40L will be enough.

Mr-White · 9 Apr 2012 at 11:59

Lorddalron said:
Ive just read through the link provided by Asim and now im wondering whether or not the max of 8gb in the HP N40L will be enough.

Depends how many VMs you want to run and what they'll be running. I ran 4 server 2008 VMS on a Q9550, 4gb although they weren't running that quick.

What IT experience/certs do you already have ?

MW

Lorddalron · 9 Apr 2012 at 12:06

Im pretty much as the start mate. I have my GNVQ in ICT and Btec National diploma and im about 6 weeks away from finishing my Cisco CCENT course. I plan to take the ICND1 exam some time in July.

I obviously misunderstood what VMware and Hyper V is all about but basically i want to install a server at home with server2k8r2 and learn everything there is to learn about it.

asim18 · 9 Apr 2012 at 18:34

Lorddalron said:
Ive just read through the link provided by Asim and now im wondering whether or not the max of 8gb in the HP N40L will be enough.

Yeah. As Mr-White said, depends what you run on it, and how picky you are about slowness.

My server only has 4GB ram and it, I'm running a simple DC, DNS, ADDS, IIS and TS on the same box and it runs fine for home/testing use.

Lorddalron · 9 Apr 2012 at 21:15

asim18 said:
Yeah. As Mr-White said, depends what you run on it, and how picky you are about slowness.

My server only has 4GB ram and it, I'm running a simple DC, DNS, ADDS, IIS and TS on the same box and it runs fine for home/testing use.

As long as its not crazy slow im happy with maxing it out at 8gb.

Lorddalron · 9 Apr 2012 at 22:53

So in a nutshell. Using Hyper V enables me to run additional "Virtual" serves on my the main server, i,e DCHP Server, DNS server, Active directory etc?

Saundie · 10 Apr 2012 at 08:02

Hyper-V enables you to run additional instances of other operating systems, completely distinct from the host OS. You are not restricted to running Server 2008 in these Virtual Machines; you can install any OS you like (although only certain OSes are officially supported on Hyper-V - mostly editions of Windows Server). You could use it to segregate the roles you mentioned onto separate Virtual Machines, if your environment requires that you separate them out.

It really depends on what your needs are. For the labs that you will set up as part of your studies towards Microsoft certification, you will need to be able to have multiple instances of Server 2008 R2 running, which is where virtualisation is helpful. Without it, you would have to have at least three or four physical machines. As I mentioned before, you can install other OSes in Hyper-V, which means you can have a virtual Windows 7 client for testing Group Policy etc.

PistolPete · 10 Apr 2012 at 08:53

With RAM being dead cheap these days, just throw as much as you can in.

My HyperV server was running a Q8400 with 8GB RAM, running 5x Windows 2003 servers and a Linux box. I had to ration each VM's RAM allocation. As it was DDR2 getting 16GB (4x4GB) was about £4-500 so I got a used i7 950, new board and new 24GB RAM for under £400 and it runs like a dream with 9 VM's at the moment.

Lorddalron · 10 Apr 2012 at 09:50

Saundie said:
It really depends on what your needs are. For the labs that you will set up as part of your studies towards Microsoft certification, you will need to be able to have multiple instances of Server 2008 R2 running, which is where virtualisation is helpful. Without it, you would have to have at least three or four physical machines. As I mentioned before, you can install other OSes in Hyper-V, which means you can have a virtual Windows 7 client for testing Group Policy etc.

Cheers for that. Help me understand the role of Hyper V now.

PistolPete said:
With RAM being dead cheap these days, just throw as much as you can in.

My HyperV server was running a Q8400 with 8GB RAM, running 5x Windows 2003 servers and a Linux box. I had to ration each VM's RAM allocation. As it was DDR2 getting 16GB (4x4GB) was about £4-500 so I got a used i7 950, new board and new 24GB RAM for under £400 and it runs like a dream with 9 VM's at the moment.

8gb will be my max im afraid. As long as it doesn't run as slow as my work system id be happy

Liquidfox · 11 Apr 2012 at 09:38

I wouldn't want to run 3-4 Server 2008 machines concurrently on 8GB, that's less than 2GB per machine including your host.

Your host machine cannot be used for anything other than hosting HyperV machines officially, but this does mean the license used for this can be used again for one of your virtual machines meaning you only need 4 licenses if you were to run a host and 4 virtual servers.

Ringiho · 11 Apr 2012 at 14:20

If you are using Hyper-V make sure you use Dynamic Memory! Will help out a little at least

Lorddalron · 11 Apr 2012 at 18:57

Thanks fellas. Thinking of going for a ML110 G7 now so i have more flexibility with Ram which would be best in the long run.