Microsoft Server 2012 R2 and Hyper-V and Virtual Machine Converter

The Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter

What is Microsoft Hyper-V?

Microsoft could not ignore the virtualization trend. Microsoft introduced Hyper-V as a virtualization platform in 2008, and it continued to release new Hyper-V versions with new Windows server versions. So far, there are a total of four versions, including Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008.

Hyper-V Overview



Introduction to Hyper V




Since Hyper-V’s debut, it has always been a Windows Server feature, which could be installed whenever a server administrator decided to do so. It’s also available as a separate product called Microsoft Hyper-V Server. Basically, Microsoft Hyper-V Server is a standalone and shortened version of Windows Server where Microsoft cut out everything irrelevant to virtualization, services and Graphical User Interface (GUI) to make the server as small as possible. Plus, without the bells and whistles, the server requires less maintenance time and it is less vulnerable, because, for example, fewer components mean less patching.

Designing Hyper V the Right Way

Hyper-V is a hybrid hypervisor, which is installed from OS (via Windows wizard of adding roles). However, during installation it redesigns the OS architecture and becomes just like a next layer on the physical hardware (refer to pic.1).

Windows Server Hypervisor Achitecture

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter

The Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter provides a Microsoft-supported, freely available, stand-alone solution for converting VMware-based virtual machines and virtual disks to Hyper-V-based virtual machines and virtual hard disks (VHDs)—including conversion from VMware to Hyper-V on Windows Server 2012. Because MVMC has a fully scriptable command-line interface (CLI), it integrates especially well with data center automation workflows such as those authored and run within Microsoft System Center 2012 - Orchestrator. It can also be invoked through Windows PowerShell.

MVMC simplifies low-cost, point-and-click migration of Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003 R2 with SP2, and Windows Server 2003 with SP2 guest operating systems from VMware to Hyper-V.

Migrating to Hyper-V Using the Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter Tool 

In More Detail

The Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter:

• Provides a quick, low-risk option for VMware customers to evaluate Hyper-V..
• Converts VMware virtual machines to Hyper-V virtual machines: The VM Conversion will convert VMware-hosted virtual machines and ensure that the entire configuration, such as memory, virtual processor, and other machine configurations, is also migrated from the initial source. The tool also adds virtual NICs to the deployed virtual machine on Hyper-V.
• Supports a clean migration to Hyper-V with uninstallation of VMware tools on the source virtual machine.
• Provides a wizard-driven GUI, making it simple to perform virtual machine conversion.
•  Installs integration services for Windows 2003 guests that are converted to Hyper-V virtual machines.
• Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 4.1 and 5.0 hosts, including those hosted on a vSphere cluster, to Hyper-V. The tool also supports migration of virtual machines to a Hyper-V host that is part of a failover cluster.

    Note  MVMC also supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 4.0 if the host is managed by vCenter 4.1 or vCenter 5.0. You have to connect to vCenter 4.1 or 5.0 through MVMC to convert virtual machines on vSphere 4.0.

• Supports offline conversions of VMware-based virtual hard disks (VMDK) to a Hyper-V-based virtual hard disk file format (.vhd file).
• Includes a fully scriptable command-line interface (CLI) for performing machine conversion and offline disk conversion, integrating with data center automation workflows such as those authored and executed within System Center 2012 - Orchestrator. The command line can also be invoked through Windows PowerShell.

This stand-alone tool has a low footprint, is easy to install, and is supported by Microsoft.

Convert virtual machines and disks from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts and Windows Azure or convert computers and disks to Hyper-V hosts. This page contains only setup files and a list of Windows PowerShell cmdlets that are related to MVMC. For a detailed document, see Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter 3.0 (http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dn873998.aspx) on Microsoft TechNet.  http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=42497

Data Deduplication in Virtualized Environments




Scaling MVMC: The Migration Automation Toolkit

The Migration Automation Toolkit (MAT) provides a powerful and scalable way for customers and partners to convert multiple VMware virtual machines simultaneously.  The MAT is a series of PowerShell scripts that take the powerful conversion engine of MVMC, and scale the solution to handle multiple migrations simultaneously, and in an automated fashion. The MAT can be run from a single coordinator machine, known as the ‘Control Server’ which orchestrates the multiple ongoing conversions. For even greater scale you can use multiple ‘Helper Nodes’ each running MVMC and managed by the ‘Control Server’. The ‘Helper Nodes’ can run within VMs themselves.

As the Migration Automation Toolkit is built using PowerShell, it can be modified and improved by the community. The download comes complete with documentation and guidance on how to use the MAT, along with the pre-requisites required for it to function correctly.


Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter Plug-in for VMware vSphere Client

The MVMC Plug-in for VMware vSphere Client:

• Extends the vSphere Client context menu to make it easier to convert the VMware-based virtual machine to a Hyper-V-based virtual machine.
• Is built upon the Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter.

Note This plug-in extends vSphere Client to facilitate conversions from a virtual machine context menu and without changing configurations on the VMware host. This plug-in cannot be used with the MVMC Automation Toolkit.

History of Hyper-V features up to Windows Server 2012 R2

Best Practices for Hyper-V Backups by Greg Shields

Backup strategies for Hyper-V

Veeam Availability Suite v8 features 

More Information:

Microsoft:

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh967435.aspx

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831531.aspx

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh831410(28v=ws.11)

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh833684.aspx

http://blogs.technet.com/b/uspartner_ts2team/

http://blogs.technet.com/b/chrisavis/archive/2013/08/14/vmware-or-microsoft-simplified-microsoft-hyper-v-server-2012-host-patching-greater-security-and-more-uptime.aspx

http://www.virtualizationsquared.com/learn/

http://www.microsoftvirtualacademy.com/training-courses/introduction-to-hyper-v-jump-start

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=40732

http://www.thomasmaurer.ch/2013/10/windows-server-2012-r2-hyper-v-component-architecture-poster-and-hyper-v-mini-posters/

Veeam:

http://hyperv.veeam.com/what-is-hyper-v-technology/

http://go.veeam.com/ten-hyper-v-things-to-know.html

https://www.youtube.com/user/YouVeeam/featured

http://hyperv.veeam.com/

http://www.veeam.com/blog/

http://www.veeam.com/webinars.html