n my last article, I introduced Windows To Go, a new feature in Windows 8. Now, it’s time to get our hands dirty and install Windows To Go on a USB stick in a portable workspace.

Before we start, we will need to make sure we have a few things ready:

1. USB (2.0) stick >16GB (>32GB USB 3.0 is recommended for seamless performance)
2. Windows 8 ISO (or at least the install.wim file from inside the ISO)
3. A system with the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK) installed

The first thing we will need to do is make sure that the partitions on the disk are set up correctly. For this, we will need to run “diskpart” from a command prompt. When you see the diskpart command prompt, enter the following command:

list disk

This will show all the disks currently attached to the system. Identify your USB disk. (Make sure you do this correctly. We don’t want to trash the system disk!) Once identified, enter the following command, substituting X with the disk number of your USB disk:

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One of the great additions to Windows 8 is Hyper-V 3.0, also known as Client Hyper-V, allowing full 64-bit testing from your desktop. In this post I’ll talk a little bit about it and tell you how to enable it in Windows 8.

Remember that first time you tried to fire up a virtual test machine in Windows 7 Virtual PC only to discover that 64-bit operating systems were not supported? How disappointing!

Enable Hyper-V in Windows 8

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Folder Redirection in Group Policy allows a systems administrator to redirect certain folders from a user’s profile to a file server. In the last part of this series, I’ll discuss things that I’ve learned in implementing Folder Redirection and things you’ll need to consider before you implement.

After implementing this in several organizations, I’ve discovered several issues that may be of interest if you’re planning on implementing Folder Redirection.

Test, test, test

If you’ve read other Group Policy articles I’ve read, I harp on testing. Sorry, but way too many people make a change in a production environment before trying it out on test systems first.

Communicate to end users

If Folder Redirection is new for your users, make sure they know the change is coming. Most users will never notice until they accidentally delete a file or have a machine die and you become their hero. (more…)

Folder Redirection in Group Policy allows a systems administrator to redirect certain folders from a user’s profile to a file server. In part 4 of this series, I’ll discuss configuring Folder Redirection and the available configuration options in Group Policy.

Now that we have a server with a share configured, we’re ready to set up the Folder Redirection in Group Policy. Folder Redirection is User configuration. Because of that, you’ll need to either create a new Group Policy Object (GPO) or edit an existing GPO that is linked to an OU for your users. Go to User Configuration > Policies > Windows Settings > Folder Redirection.

GPMC in Windows 7 Showing Folder Redirection

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Folder Redirection in Group Policy allows a systems administrator to redirect certain folders from a user’s profile to a file server. In part 3 of this series, I’ll discuss the folder permissions we set on the file server along with justifications for those settings and alternatives.

At this point, you may have noticed that we didn’t give our users very many permissions on the Users folder. First and foremost, we made sure that one user can’t see inside of another user’s folder. It’s also pretty obvious that we don’t want to give users the ability to do things like take ownership, delete files/folders, or change permissions, but a few of the other missing permissions take a little more explanation.

First off, you don’t want users to have Create files/write data permissions or they can save files into the root of the shared folder. Since we’re redirecting folders, we only want the users to be able to create folders in the root Users folder, but not individual files. Once the user creates a folder named %username%, the CREATOR OWNER permission will take over (since it is a sub-folder of Users) and will give the account full control over the %username% folder and everything inside of it.

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Folder Redirection in Group Policy allows a systems administrator to redirect certain folders from a user’s profile to a file server. In part 2 of this series, I’ll discuss setting up the shared folder and permissions you’ll need on your file server.

Before you set up Group Policy for Folder Redirection, you need a properly configured file server. In my examples, I’ll be using Windows Server 2008 R2, but earlier versions will have the same settings, more or less.

The first decision you’ll need to make is on the share name. My preference is typically to use “Users” since we’ll be redirecting user folders. As an added step, you can make this a hidden share (by adding a $ to the end of the share name) if you think that is necessary for your file server. It is fairly easy for users to discover where their folders are being redirected. Personally, I’m not a big fan of hiding shares unless they are being used in DFS or there is another good reason to hide them; but, that is typically a personal (or organizational) preference.

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Folder Redirection in Group Policy allows a systems administrator to redirect certain folders from a user’s profile to a file server. In part 1 of this series, I’ll introduce Folder Redirection and show where to find it in the Group Policy Management Console

If you’re like me, you’ve probably gotten a frantic call from a customer because they have a computer that won’t boot and they have irreplaceable files on their local hard drive. Try adding clicking or grinding sounds coming from that computer along with no recent backup to the mixture. Sound familiar? That combination can add up to a very upset customer and possibly a very expensive bill if you have to get data restored from that failed hard drive.

The good news is that there is something you can start doing today to start combatting that problem: Folder Redirection in Group Policy. To get started with Folder Redirection, you’ll need to be running Active Directory (any functional level), have an available file server, and a management station running the Group Policy Management Console. As with most Group Policy, the latest version of the GPMC is preferred, but most of these settings are available in older versions.

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In the previous post in this Hyper-V cluster series, we configured cluster shared volumes, modified the cluster quorum type and created a cluster. In this post we’ll setup cluster shared volumes, add existing and new virtual machines, and test moving a VM between host nodes.

Cluster Shared Volume setup

We’re almost ready to make virtual machines highly available. The last step is to enable Cluster Shared Volumes and assign a volume as a cluster shared volume. With the cluster object selected, click the link in the main pane Enable Cluster Shared Volumes. You will receive an informational message indicating that the storage is only meant to be used for virtual machines.

Hyper-V Cluster – CSV Warning

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In the previous post we discussed what quorum means, connected to the SAN using iSCSI Initiator, and setup disks in disk management. In this article, we’ll verify the configuration and create the cluster.

Verify Cluster Components in place

The Failover Clustering management console provides a list of links in the main display area. One of those is Validate a Configuration. This will give a nice report to assist with tying up any loose ends you may not have thought of. This step is not required, but I highly recommend completing it. A good rule of thumb is to address every error and warning until running the validation wizard yields a green check mark indicating success. One of the more common items to address is matching service packs and updates on each host.

Begin by validating your configuration

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In my last post, I covered Windows Server 2008 software versions to use with Hyper-V clustering. I also covered host server setup and discussed cluster shared volumes. This post will cover what you need to know about quorums and configuring your disks.

Quorum

Quorum is an important concept to understand in clustering. For a cluster to be active, it needs some method of keeping track of which node is the current owner of the cluster object. How this is achieved depends on the number of nodes that will be in your cluster. If you have an odd number of nodes, the default quorum configuration Node Majority will work just fine. If you have an even number of nodes, quorum configuration Node and Disk Majority should be used.

For a cluster to be up, it has to have quorum. Quorum can only be achieved when greater than 50% of the quorum members are actively participating.

Node Majority – Let’s say you have only two nodes. With Node Majority, when both servers are active, everything will work fine. But as soon as one server goes offline, the percentage of participants is not greater than 50% and the cluster will then become unavailable.

In contrast, what if you have three nodes? In that case, if one host is down, you still would have 66% of the participants and the cluster is still available.

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In the previous posts in this series, I discussed how a SAN, Gigabit switching, and host servers are the three pieces needed to do Hyper-V clustering. This article will continue that discussion by covering host setup, and cluster shared volumes.

Windows Server 2008 version

The first item to consider is which Windows Server 2008 licensing to use. If you take a look at Microsoft ’s comparison of editions for R2, you’ll see that Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter editions each come with a different number of virtual machine instances included. Standard edition does not support Failover Clustering, so make sure you have Enterprise or Datacenter. Enterprise includes rights to run up to 4 virtual machines. Datacenter includes rights to run an unlimited number of virtual machines.

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In the two previous posts of this series, I discussed the SAN and switch requirements needed for clustering Hyper-V hosts. In this post, I’ll be discussing the host servers which are the third piece of the puzzle.

Host servers that will be clustered need to meet all of the same base requirements as Hyper-V hosts that will not be clustered. There are also some additional hardware and software considerations.

Dynamic Memory

Windows Server 2008 R2 (Hyper-V version 2) introduced dynamic memory. This allows an admin to assign a startup and maximum memory allocation for a virtual machine rather than a static number. When the VM is started, the minimum amount of memory is allocated and reserved. Anytime the amount of memory used by the VM encroaches upon the currently allocated memory, additional memory is added to the VM. At a later time, this memory could then be returned to the pool for dynamic assignment to another VM.

Hyper-V – Dynamic Memory Configuration

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In this article you will become aware of some options regarding how you can access your Windows servers by using an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad device.

Let’s face facts: the Apple iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad were not designed for enterprise networks. The devices certainly were not intended to be integrated in Active Directory networks.

Nevertheless, Apple hardware is growing increasingly ubiquitous these days. The bottom line is that many Active Directory administrators carry iPhones instead of Android- or Windows Phone-based mobile phones.

Thus, we encounter the question: what iOS apps exist that can facilitate our management of Active Directory from our iPhones or iPads?

Before we list those apps, we need to understand some relevant Apple terminology. In Apple development nomenclature, an iOS device is a piece of Apple hardware that runs the iOS operating system. Examples of iOS-based devices include the iPhone, the iPod touch, and the iPad.

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In the last article I discussed how a SAN was required as one of the pieces of the Hyper-V cluster environment. This article will outline the three main switching scenarios. Each of the three should be on its own subnet.

Gigabit or faster SAN switching

The choice of which switch to use relies on which SAN solution was used as well as the number of hosts and virtual machines the switching solution will support.

Hyper-V cluster – Switch diagram

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In this first post in the Hyper-V clustering beginner’s guide series, I’ll discuss what a storage area network (SAN) is and how it’s used in a Hyper-V cluster.

Pieces of the puzzle – Hyper-V hosts, switching, and a SAN

At a very high level, Hyper-V clustering is fairly straightforward. You have two host servers that form a Hyper-V cluster. Host servers store and access virtual machine files located on a SAN. Connection to the SAN is done using iSCSI protocol to make drives on the SAN appear as local drives to Windows Server. Because the virtual machines (VMs) are clustered, they can be moved between servers and provide high availability.

The SAN

The storage area network, or SAN, is a centralized location for storage of virtual machine files. The SAN is needed because Hyper-V hosts require a place to store virtual machine files that can be shared between multiple hosts. In the event of a host server failure, another Hyper-V host, utilizing cluster technology, can resume operation of virtual machines by assuming control of the virtual drive where the virtual machine’s files are stored. The SAN has to be setup and fully functional before creation of clustered virtual machines.

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