Hyper V is one of the most popular of Microsoft. It is the stand alone product launched by Microsoft based on the Virtualization Technology. In previous FAQ’s we have already seen some of the important aspects of the Hyper-V Server. Here are some more to get acquainted with.

Q. What distribution channels will Microsoft Hyper-V Server be available in?

A. Hyper-V Server2008 R2 is available as a free download.

Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server require a special OEM Pre-installation Kit (OPK)?

A. No. Hyper-V Server doesn’t require a special OPK, but it is 100 percent compatible with it.

Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server require a product key?

A. No Microsoft Hyper-V Server doesn’t require a product key.

Q. Will Microsoft Hyper-V Server be available in multiple languages?

A. Yes. Microsoft Hyper-V Server is available in the following languages:

• English (EN-US)
• German (DE-DE)
• Japanese (JA-JP)
• French (FR-FR)
• Spanish (ES-ES)
• Chinese Hong-Kong (ZH-HK)
• Chinese Simplified (ZH-CN)
• Korean (KO-KR)
• Portuguese (Brazil) (PT-BR)
• Chinese Traditional (ZH-TW)
• Italian (IT-IT)
• Russian (RU-RU)

Q. Are you saying that Microsoft Hyper-V Server includes all twelve languages? How does one choose the language?

A. Yes. Microsoft Hyper-V Server includes all twelve languages. The first screen a user is presented with is to choose the language they wish to install Microsoft Hyper-V Server.

Q. Is it possible to “upgrade” a Microsoft Hyper-V Server to Windows Server 2008?

A. No. Microsoft Hyper-V Server and Windows Server 2008 are different products. To migrate from a Microsoft Hyper-V Server environment to a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V environment, export the virtual machines from Hyper-V Server, install Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition, enable the Hyper-V role and import the virtual machines.

Q. Can I upgrade my Hyper-V Server 2008 RTM/SP2 host to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2?

A. Host upgrades of Hyper-V Server installations from Hyper-V Server RTM/SP2 to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 are NOT supported by Microsoft. Host upgrades from Hyper-V Server 2008 to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 are not blocked by the installer but upgrades are untested and not recommended.

Q. I have a number of virtual machines that I created using Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V or Hyper-V Server 2008 RTM. Can I move these virtual machines to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2?

A. The following methods of moving a VM from WS2008 and Hyper-V Server RTM to Hyper-V Server R2 will be supported:

• Exporting a VM from a machine running WS2008/Hyper-V Server 2008 and importing to a machine running Hyper-V Server 2008 R2.
• Backing up a VM from WS2008/Hyper-V Server 2008 and restoring it on WS2008 R2 Hyper-V.

At the end of each operation above, the VM configurations that were created in WS2008/Hyper-V Server will still be registered in Hyper-V Server 2008.

Unsupported features when upgrading to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2:

• Saved states
  • If you keep a VM in saved state through the upgrade/export to a Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 host, the VM will be registered and will appear to be in the saved state. However, the VM will not be able to restore from the saved state. You will need to discard the saved state and then cold start the virtual machine.
• Online Snapshots
  • You will be able to apply the snapshot and thus get the configuration and storage data associated with that snapshot. However, you will not be able to restore from the associated saved state. You will need to discard the saved state and restart the VM.

Q. What sorts of upgrades are permitted? Can I go from Microsoft Hyper-V Server to a full installation of Windows Server 2008? Will I be able to upgrade to a future version of Microsoft Hyper-V Server?

A. Microsoft Hyper-V Server is a separate stand-alone product. Customers cannot upgrade from a previous version of Windows Server to Microsoft Hyper-V Server. Customers cannot upgrade from Microsoft Hyper-V Server to Windows Server 2008 as they are different products. To migrate from a Microsoft Hyper-V Server environment to a Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V environment, export the virtual machines from Hyper-V Server, install Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition, enable the Hyper-V role and import the virtual machines.

In previous posts we have already discussed some crucial aspects of Hyper-V and also provided some information about the most frequently asked questions. Here is the new series of questions containing a little more information about Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization technology.

Q. What types of physical storage does Microsoft Hyper-V Server support?

A. Hyper-V offers flexible storage support such as:

• Direct Attach Storage (DAS): SATA, eSATA, PATA, SAS, SCSI, USB, FIrewire
• Storage Area Networks (SANs): iSCSI, Fiber Channel, SAS

Q. Are virtual machines created with Microsoft Hyper-V Server compatible with virtual machines created with Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V?

A. Yes, virtual machines created with Microsoft Hyper-V Server compatible with virtual machines created with Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.

Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server include Live Backup support through Volume Shadow Services?

A. Yes, Hyper-V Server includes support for Live Backup when used with a suitable backup solution such as System Center Data Protection Manager.

Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server include virtual machine snapshots?

A. Yes.

Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server include any local UI?

A. Hyper-V Server includes a minimal, easy to use command-line based UI for system configuration. This allows a user to easily configure system settings such as:

• Changing the computer name
• Joining the server to a domain
• Configuring DHCP/Static IP Address Settings
• Enabling Remote Desktop
• Enabling Failover Clustering
• Configuring Remote Administration settings

Q. Can you create virtual machines and manage them locally?

A. Virtual machine creation, configuration and management are accomplished remotely.

Q. How do you manage Microsoft Hyper-V Server?

A. Hyper-V Server can be managed in a number of ways:

• Remotely from Windows Server 2008 (x86/x64) using the Hyper-V Manager MMC
• Remotely from Windows Vista SP1 (x86 /x64) using the Hyper-V Manager MMC
• Remotely from System Center Virtual Machine Manager

Q. Can you use PowerShell locally with Microsoft Hyper-V Server?

A. Yes. PowerShell is now included with Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. PowerShell can be enabled from the SCONFIG menu.

Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server require Client Access Licenses (CALs)?

A. No.

Q. Can I run applications in the Microsoft Hyper-V Server parent partition?

A. No. The Microsoft Hyper-V Server parent partition is specifically for system management.