Hyper-V R2 Cluster Post-Deployment Tips

by Alex Khassanov,, CMS Consulting Senior Virtualization Consultant MCITP: EA,MCTS:SCVMM, MCTS:Hyper-V, MCTS:Sharepoint, MCSE, MCT, CCSP, CCA

In the fall of 2009 I was lucky enough to implement a whole array of R2 Microsoft products shortly after the official release. The project included a three-node Failover Cluster based on Windows 2008 R2 running Hyper-V R2 on each cluster node, SCVMM 2007 R2 in VM and SCOM 2007 R2 in VM. This is the second part of the article which provides organizations a set of deployment and post-deployment tips on Hyper-V 2008 R2 clusters, as well as tips on deploying System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). If you have any questions, I can be reached at alexk@cms.ca.

1. Create a test plan. I found it’s easier and more productive to split “thinking” and “clicking” tasks. The test plan should include at least the following:

• There are 3 management tools available: Hyper-V Manager, Failover Cluster Manager, and SCVMM. Use SCVMM as a primary tool. The other tolls should be used only when SCVMM cannot be.
• Create Windows 2008 R2 template using SCVMM
• Create a VM
• Modify setting of existing VM
• Make a VM Highly Available
• Move a VM from one host to another using Live Migration, Quick Migration.
• Test storage migration (VHD file migration from one LUN to another)
• Test planned failover using Failover Cluster Manager
• Test an unplanned failover by stopping Cluster Service
• Test an unplanned failover by disconnecting a host in the cluster which has VM running
•  Configuration of a single Virtual Machine Manager Library
  • Populate and use repository for ISO images
  • Populate and use VM offline storage
  • Populate and use VM Profile and Template storage
• Test Physical to Virtual (P2V) migration using SCVMM
• Test Virtual to Virtual (V2V) migration (Virtual Server or VMware) using SCVMM
•  Test SCVMM Self-Service Portal
  • Test access restriction to portal
  • Test VM management
  • Test VM deployment
• Test Maintenance Mode in SCVMM

2. Once the plan is ready, test all the steps and document the results.

Interested in having CMS demonstrate Hyper-V R2?

For a better understanding of the capabilities offered when leveraging Hyper-V, CMS Consulting delivers effective demonstrations to all levels of the organization.  Contact CMS Consulting today to arrange a demonstration and empower your organization in the decision making process.