My experience with Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 or 2012 R2

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My experience with Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 or 2012 R2

You can download Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 from here:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcente...er-2012-r2

The stand-alone Hyper-V Server variant does not require an existing installation of Windows Server 2012 nor Windows Server 2012 R2. Microsoft Hyper-V server is built with components of Windows and has a Windows Server Core user experience.

See what version you're running by using systeminfo.exe
OS Name: Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 R2

From what I could tell Hyper-V Server 2012 R2 takes up about 8 GB of HDD space upon installation.


Configuring Server
Hyper-V Server does not contain a graphical user interface.

First off you configure Hyper-V Server by using the Server Configuration tool (Sconfig.cmd) this automatically runs when you log in.

You can also use an ordinary command prompt for operations that are not available in the Server Configuration tool and Powershell.

Managing your server
Because there is no user interface, Hyper-V Server is designed to be managed remotely in the following ways:

• Using Hyper-V Manager from Remote Server Administration Tools or any other computer that includes Hyper-V Manager.
  
• Using Windows PowerShell locally or remotely.
  
• Remotely by using Server Manager
  
• Remotely by using Remote Desktop Services (RDP)
  
• Remotely by using Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins
  

Manage with Server Manager

Server Manager is a management console in Windows Server and Remote Server Administration Tools to manage local and remote Windows-based servers. No physical access to the servers is required, and you do not need to enable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

You can do everything through server manager, you can right click the host and launch Hyper-V manager also through Server Manager

To enable your local server to be managed by Server Manager that is running on a remote server, run the this PowerShell command:

Code:

Configure-SMRemoting.exe –Enable

Although Server Manager was available in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008, Server Manager was completely redesigned for Windows Server 2012 to support remote, multiserver management, and to help increase the number of servers an administrator can manage.

You must use the version of Server Manager in Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2012 or that is available as part of the Remote Server Administration Tools. Older versions of Server Manager will not work.

Important:

• If you want to manage a Hyper-V 2012 server you must use Windows 8, Windows 8.1, Windows Server 2012 or Windows Server 2012 R2.
  
• If you want to manage a Hyper-V 2012 R2 server you must use Windows 8.1 or Windows Server 2012 R2.
  

To download these tools, see :
-Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8.1 (2012 R2)
-Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8 (2012)


To connect using Server Manager

Download and install Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8, once installed open Server Manager from searching in Metro.

Right click All Servers and select Add Servers, go to the DNS tab and enter the FQDN of the server to add it.

Under the right hand pane right click the server and select Manage As ... and enter details: servername\username then the password.

Fixing Errors
Error: Online - Verify WinRM 3.0 service is installed, running, and required firewall ports are open

Fix: Run this on the Hyper-V server.
C:\temp>winrm quickconfig
WinRM service is already running on this machine.
WinRM is not set up to allow remote access to this machine for management.
The following changes must be made:

Configure LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy to grant administrative rights remotely to local users.

Make these changes [y/n]? y

WinRM has been updated for remote management.

Configured LocalAccountTokenFilterPolicy to grant administrative rights remotely to local users.

Still not working..

Check what profile you're firewall is using:

Code:

netsh advfirewall show currentprofile

Results:
Public Profile Settings:
----------------------------------------------------------------------
State ON

Check the Firewall Rule for WinRM.
netsh advfirewall firewall show rule name="Windows Remote Management (HTTP-In)

Profiles: Public
RemoteIP: LocalSubnet
LocalPort: 5985


Do a telnet test from your client PC:
telnet server01 5985
Connecting To server01...Could not open connection to the host, on port 5985: Connect failed

Adding a new firewall rule sorted that:

Code:

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Allow WinRM 5985 Inbound" dir=in action=allow profile=public localport=5985 protocol=TCP remoteip=any

Manage with Microsoft Management Console

To use an MMC snap-in to manage a computer running Hyper-V Server that is not a domain member.

If the Hyper-V Server is not a member of a domain, type the following command at a command prompt on the client computer. This establishes alternate credentials that you can use to connect to the computer running Hyper-V Server.

Code:

cmdkey /add:server01 /user:server01\username /pass:password

CMDKEY: Credential added successfully.


If the firewall on the computer running Hyper-V Server is not already configured to allow MMC snap-ins to connect, follow the steps in To configure Windows Firewall to allow MMC snap-ins to connect.

On a different computer, start an MMC snap-in, such as Computer Management.

In the left pane, right-click the top of the tree, and then click Connect to another computer. In the Another computer text box, type the name of the computer running Hyper-V Server, and then click OK. You can now use the MMC snap-in to manage the computer running Hyper-V Server the same way that you would manage any computer running the Windows Server operating system.


Windows Firewall on the Hyper-V server

Check the state of the firewall:

Code:

netsh advfirewall show currentprofile

Shows a list of available rules, and their current state, (run this in powershell so it's not cut off)

Code:

netsh advfirewall firewall show rule all

Open 3389 so that you can RDP:

Code:

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="RDP" dir=in action=allow protocol=TCP localport=3389

Disable the firewall : for testing

Code:

netsh advfirewall set allprofiles state off

Run all of these in Powershell on the server:

Code:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup “Windows Remote Management”

Code:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup “Remote Event Log Management”

Code:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup “Remote Volume Management”

Code:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup “Performance Logs and Alerts”

Code:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup “Windows Firewall Remote Management"

Code:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "File and Printer Sharing"

Code:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Scheduled Tasks Management"

Code:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI)"

Set disk thing to start automatically.

Code:

Set-Service VDS -StartupType Automatic

Also do this on the client in an elevated Powershell: (not actually sure if this is needed..)

Code:

Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup “Remote Volume Management”

Additional Hint & Tips
- Open a powershell window by typing: powershell
- Managing a Hyper-V server remotely over the internet is not possible unless you use something like a VPN.