Tag Archives: Hyper-V

Quick Migration of Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V to Windows Server 2012 or 2016

Here are the proven and tested steps for migrating from Windows Server 2008 R2 to Windows Server 2012 or 2016.  Note:  You cannot IMPORT a VM from 2008 R2 into 2012 or 2016, so you have to do the whole process manually.  That’s the reason for this post.

  1. log into the existing 2008 R2 virtual machine and note the following
    1. memory and CPU config
    2. IP addressing information (you need all the IP information, static IP’s etc.)
  2. Shut down the 2008 R2 virtual machine
  3. copy the VHD from the 2008 R2 virtual machine to the new host.
  4. On the new host open Hyper-V manager
    1. Edit disk
    2. select the VHD
    3. CONVERT to VHDX
    4. this will take a while
  5. When that completes, create a new VM
    1. DO NOT attach the hard drive.  Select “add a HD later”.  (I have seen issues with attaching the hard drive as part of the setup here, so I skip it and do it separate)
    2. Generation 1 VM
    3. set the memory and CPU configs
    4. complete the VM creation
    5. edit the VM and attach the VHDX file as IDE 0 master
  6. Using the Hyper-V remote control interface (by double clicking on a VM)
  7. Start the new VM
  8. boot into windows
  9. while on the desktop, after ~15-60 seconds you might see a “REBOOT” notification after changes are made to the OS.  If you get this notification, go ahead and reboot.  Otherwise, continue on.
  10. at this point in the Hyper-V manager, you need to double click on the VM and remotely control it through the Hyper-V manager
  11. while you are logged into the VM as administrator and at the desktop, insert the Hyper-V integration tools disc and upgrade the Hyper-V tools
  12. reboot when that completes
  13. log in again to the machine through the Hyper-V remote control interface
  14. edit the network adapter properties and set it exactly as it was before.
    1. Note:  During this whole process your OLD NIC will be hidden (because it’s gone now) and you will be given a new NIC and it will be in DHCP mode from the start.
    2. you will need to edit that new NIC and put in the correct static TCP/IP information if applicable to your setup.
    3. ALL OTHER settings (machine name, IIS, DNS, etc.) will retain fine.  Just edit the NIC and config the NIC the same way it was on the old VM

 

All done!

Quick change of Hyper-V UID – for Register in place VM

If you want to quickly create copies of one Hyper-V Virtual Machine, here is an easy process:

1) change the XML UID by editing the XML file within the Exported VM directory.
2) change the name to the new machine name (this is the XXXXX tag)
3) change the global_id
4) change the logical_id (to the new global ID)
5) save the file
6) rename the XML file to match the global ID
7) import – register in place (use the existing unique ID)
8) adjust any settings on the VM
9) start the VM

Inconsistent ping / inconsistent network connectivity on Hyper-V virtual machine

I recently came across this issue on one of my virtual server machines, where I just setup a brand new Windows Server W2K12R2 Update 1 virtual machine. It is currently in DHCP status soon to be set as a static IP.

With the client VM machine running (and while multiple other VM’s are running w/o any problems), I was experiencing the following:
1) inconsistent ping of the VM
2) inability to remote desktop into the machine (sometimes I could connect, sometimes I would not be able to)
3) DNS resolution issues with that VM

Here is my setup:
Windows Server 2012 R2, Update 1. Hyper-V 6.3.9600.xxxxx
Client: Windows Server 2012, R2, Update 1. Standard Server. Virtual Machine version 5, generation 2.

Network: High quality CAT6/Gigabit setup.

Here is what it looks like when I do a continuous ping of the virtual machine:

pings

After doing a LOT of troubleshooting / testing / trial & error, here is the fix:

This new VM has a “DYNAMIC” MAC address.  All the other VM clients on that server have STATIC MAC addresses.

I shut down the VM, adjusted the network settings (under ADVANCED) to a STATIC MAC.

Start the VM.

Login (via remote desktop while sitting on the Hyper-V server itself)

Do a continuous ping, and the issue is fixed!

Next, via Remote desktop into the hyper-v server and controlling the machine that way (not remote desktop connecting into the VM itself…) I switched the machine to a static IP, which was different than the DHCP assigned one.

Reboot machine (for the heck of it)

on my desktop, IPCONFIG /FLUSHDNS

(at this point depending on how your network is configured you may need to wait a bit for the DNS changes (IP change) to catch up so that your ping works…)

then try pinging the IP address (not machine name):  Works

try pinging the machine name: Works  (see above, you may need to wait a bit for your network to catch the DNS changes)

=

The above fix (changing to Static IP) alleviates the need to fiddle with the VM’s Hardware Acceleration settings, such as VMQ (Virtual Machine Queue) or the Enable IPsec task offloading.  On my Hyper-V server both of these are “CHECKED/ON”.