RSS

Category Archives: Private cloud

Home LAB Setup guide – 04 Configuring Server 2012 VM as DC with DNS and DHCP using PowerShell

In the first part of this LAB setup guide, I described the hardware selection process.
In the second part, I described the hypervisor selection and installation.
In the third part, I described VM guest considerations and preparations.

In this post I cover quickly configuring a Server 2012 VM as DC with DNS and DHCP by using PowerShell.

The steps I do take less than 10 minutes in my test lab now. Here’s a short description:

  1. Create a VM that uses your previously made parent disk.
  2. Configure the server name and IP addressing and reboot the computer.
  3. Install AD DS (domain controller) including DNS forward lookup zone and reboot the computer.
  4. Configure AD and DNS : Enable AD Recycle Bin, Add DNS forwarder, add DNS reverse lookup zone, create DNS PTR record for DC.
  5. Install + configure DHCP : Install DHCP, Add scope, configure scope, authorize DHCP server in AD.

The scripts I’ve created for steps 2 to 5 can be found here and are based on the great work Stefan Stranger already did in his blog post Installing a new OpsMgr 2012 (SP1) environment the fast way. I added some stuff of my own so it would meet my needs and I tried to keep it as generic as possible so other people can re-use my code as well.

PS: In step 2, IP addressing is not in place yet. To get scripts tot the system, consider:

  • Putting the scripts in an ISO file that you can mount.
  • Opening Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection to VM and using “Clipboard”, “Type Clipboard Text”.
 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Home LAB Setup guide – 03 VM guest considerations and preparations

In the first part of this LAB setup guide, I described the hardware selection process.
In the second part I described the hypervisor selection and installation.

In this post I will describe the VM guest considerations and preparations.

VM guest considerations

Considerations for your VM guests:

  • Use legacy network adapter ? Could be necessary for by example PXE boot.
    • In most cases the regular network adapters will be the best choice.
  • How much memory to assign ? Should I use dynamic memory in Hyper-V  ? Should I overcommit using VMware ?
    • In most cases for your home lab it is probably best to use dynamic memory / overcommit. Some applications however might not work correctly, or you might not have the desired outcome.
  • How many virtual CPUs should I assign ?
  • Should I store my VMs on a single physical disk or on multiple physical disks ?
  • Should I use virtual disks or pass-through disks ?
    • For VMs that I use for testing, I use virtual disks because they provide more flexibility.
    • For my file server I choose to use pass-through disks so I can simply remove the disk from my server and place them in another system. I’m also afraid that should you encounter an issue when using a virtual disk, that the chance is greater that you lose everything because the virtual disk will break.
  • When I use virtual disks, should I use thin provisioned disks or thick provisioned disks ?
    • Thick provisioned disks are supposed to deliver better performance, but at the cost of more disk space. Also for a home LAB I doubt the performance loss is minimal and acceptable, so I would go with thin provisioned disks. Also when using SSD disks, space is costly and limited. Be sure to monitor disk space usage though.
  • Should I use differencing disks in Hyper-V / linked clones in VMWare ?
    • When you plan to use multiple VMs running the same operating system, you can save space by using differencing disks / linked clones. This also impacts the disk I/O however, so monitor it to see if it fits your needs. Since I use SSD disks and run multiple VMs with the same OS, I use differencing disks.

VM guest preparations

An home LAB is not complete without VM guests ofcourse. The basic methods for provisioning are:

  1. Using pre-prepped VMs that are provided by third parties like by example Microsoft and VMWare. For VMWare there is even a virtual appliance Marketplace.
  2. Installing VMs manually every time.
  3. Using 3rd party deployment tools to provision operating systems to VMs. By example System Center Configuration Manager.
  4. Deploying VMs from templates you create manually.

Often you’ll use a combination of the methods. In my case I’ll deploy many instances of the same guest OS versions for my test lab. I’ll often deploy various versions of Windows multiple times. Therefore I create my own templates for my test lab.

Basic actions for template creation are:

  1. Installation of the operating system
  2. Installing the Hyper-V Integration Component (or VMWare tools).
  3. Adding roles and features I expect to be using in (the majority of) my VMs.
  4. Downloading and installing the latest updates.
  5. Performing sysprep to generalize the installation and choosing to turn off the system afterwards.
    DO NOT TURN ON THE SYSTEM, otherwise you need to run sysprep again.
  6. Saving the virtual disk files for future use.
  7. If you’re going to be using differencing disks, you will use this disk as the parent disk. Make sure you set it to read-only.

Using this approach I’ve created my own templates consuming 180GB and covering most of the operating systems I (can) encounter and want to test with:

Windows2003-Enterprise-R2-SP2-x64-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
Windows2003-Enterprise-R2-SP2-x86-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
Windows2008-SP2-x64-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx.vhdx
Windows2008-SP2-x86-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx.vhdx
Windows2008R2-SP1-x64-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
Windows2012-Datacenter-Core-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
Windows2012-Datacenter-GUI-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
Windows7-Enterprise-SP1-x64-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
Windows7-Enterprise-SP1-x86-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
Windows8-Enterprise-x64-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
Windows8-Enterprise-x86-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
WindowsVista-Enterprise-SP2-x64-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
WindowsVista-Enterprise-SP2-x86-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
WindowsXP-Pro-SP3-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx
WindowsXP-Pro-x64-ParentDisk-Readonly.vhdx

Storing backups and ISO files

When you have files that have lots of similar data, they are very suitable for deduplication. Also read this great blog post if you want to know how it works.. With for example ISO files and powered-off VMs you can save a lot of space. You should however not configure this for files that change on a regular basis like by example actively running VMs. With Server 2012, you can easily enable deduplication for volumes. Also keep in mind that these files do not require high IOPS, so you can store them on slower disks.

If you want to check how much space you can save without installing Server 2012 and its deduplication feature, you can also run the deduplication evalutation tool (ddpeval.exe) on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 2008 R2 or Windows Server 2012. You can even “hack” Windows 8 Pro to allow deduplication.

I was able to reduce the used disk space with 75% from 215 GB to 50 GB. This was with ISO files and the backups of the parent disks I created earlier (not the ones in use).

 

In the next post I will describe configuring Server 2012 VM as DC with DNS and DHCP using PowerShell.

 

Tags: , , ,

Home LAB Setup guide – 02 Hypervisor selection and installation

In the first part of this LAB setup guide, I described the hardware selection process. In this second part I will be describing the hypervisor selection and installation.

Hypervisor selection

First of all, you have to decide on which bare metal hypervisor(s) you wish to use. Personally I prefer Microsoft Hyper-V and VMWare ESXi. Alternatives include but are not limited to Citrix XenServer, Xen, KVM, Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization. I don’t have much experience with these hypervisors though.

Characteristics that could influence your choice of hypervisor:

  • Supported hardware.
  • Performance of the hypervisor.
  • Features of the hypervisor. By example when using Transparent Memory Page Sharing, it requires less memory when you run many highly identical systems on a host.
  • Footprint / attack surface.
  • Supported methods for running the OS. By example run from USB stick.
  • Price (many hypervisors have free versions available, compare features).
  • Support (for a home lab probably not that important).
  • Available documentation / study resources.
  • How active the community behind it is.
  • Supported VM / guest operating systems.
  • Ease-of-use.
  • Availabilty of downloadable virtual appliances (VMWare) or pre-prepped environments (Microsoft) without having to (try and) convert them.

Everyone needs to determine which hypervisor best meets their needs. Personally I mainly work with Microsoft software and decided to use Hyper-V 3.0 in Windows Server 2012. It’s convenient for me to be able to easily load pre-prepped environments that are provided by Microsoft (in Hyper-V format). I also run Client Hyper-V on my Windows 8 laptop, which makes it easier for me to take my VM’s with me. I do plan to keep up with VMWare developments as well though, so I will create a bootable USB flash drive to boot in VMWare from time to time.

Hypervisor installation

  • Before installing the hypervisor, make sure that virtualization related settings are enabled. The names of these settings may differ. Examples are Intel VT (Virtualization Technology), AMD-V and Hardware DEP (Data Execution Prevention), EM64T, Execute Disable Bit. During installation you will get prompted normally though if you have forgotten to enable these.
  • There are often many options with regards to the installation. By example do a GUI install or a scripted/CLI install. Or install/run from normal harddisk or flash drive. With Server 2012 Hyper-V you can choose to run it in Windows Server 2012 core or in the GUI version. I chose to use the Server 2012 GUI Hyper-V installation because I’m not sure if my raid management software will work from within the core version.
  • Installation of the hypervisor is normally pretty straight forward. But before you install, read the documentation.
  • After you’re done installing, you still need to configure the settings to meet your requirements. Preferrably you’ve already created and documented your own design.
  • Don’t forget to configure hardware monitoring if possible. In my case I’ve configured my raid controller management software to send e-mails when storage related issues are detected.
  • Think about and implement a strategy for backing up and recovering your hypervisor. There are numerous programs for backing up and most are free for personal use. I have no personal experience with specific products, but VeeAm has a good reputation and I’ll be trying if for my lab. Also if you’re a Microsoft Certified Professional, you can get a free NFR license for Veeam Backup & Replication v6.5 for Hyper-V. The same is true if you’re a VMWare Certified Professional (VCP).

In the next post I will describe the VM guest preparations, installations and storage strategy.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Home LAB Setup guide – 01 Hardware selection

As you will probably know by now, I’m really into ICT. I mainly focus on virtualization and Microsoft technoIogies. As such, I try to:

  • Keep up with new ICT developments
  • Improve my knowledge and skills for both old and new ICT technologies
  • Get certified in many different areas of ICT.

A proper lab environment is a prerequisite to do so. Because of virtualization however, this has become so much easier (and cheaper) than before.

In the next couple of blog posts I will try to document the steps I’m taking to build my lab. Today I’m staring the series with the hardware selection. The important part of the hardware I use for my environment is as follows:

  • Mainboard: Gigabyte GA-H77M-D3H
  • CPU: Intel Core i5 3570 quadcore
  • Memory: 32GB
  • SATA controller : IBM M1015 (flashed to LSI9211-8i)
  • VM storage: 2 * 512GB SSD Samsung 830 series
  • Non VM storage: 2 * 2TB SATA

To me it was important that my machine would be able to run both Microsoft Hyper-V 3.0 as well as VMware ESXi 5.1 properly. Both have hardware requirements, but VMware ESXi 5.1 is generally more restrictive with regards to supported hardware. Very simply put, it means that the mainboard, CPU, network and storage controller need to be compatible with the features you require.

Normally you would check supported hardware on the official hardware compatibility list (HCL) of the vendor, but these are generally aimed at real server hardware and do not support/contain consumer hardware. So before buying hardware, check on forums to see what combinations of hardware are working for other people and choose the one that matches your desires best. You can also google for ESXi whitebox.

Furthermore, I plan to run many systems at the same time, hence the 32GB of memory and the 2 fast 512GB SSD disks. Besides the fast, but small SSD you generally also need more storage to store other files like by example operating system images and tools.

The next post is about the Hypervisor selection and installation.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

SCOM2012 – Determine OpsMgr Components File Versions Using PowerShell in SCOM2012 Agent Task

In a previous blog post I explained how to use PowerShell remoting to determine OpsMgr Components File Versions.

As an alternative you can also use a local PowerShell script. And what is even easier in my opinion, is creating an agent task. This means you can run the the script against multiple targets and show its result all from within the SCOM 2012 console.

The local PowerShell script can be found here. A management pack containing the agent task and the PowerShell script can be found here.

Based on internet info,these are the version numbers:
SCOM 2012 Cumulative Update 1 / Update Rollup 1 version = 7.0.8560.1021
SCOM 2012 Cumulative Update 2 / Update Rollup 2 version = 7.0.8560.1027
SCOM 2012 Cumulative Update 3 / Update Rollup 3 version = 7.0.8560.1036
SCOM 2012 SP1 beta = 7.0.8925.0

Thanks go out to Derek Har for his blog post that helped me to embed the PowerShell script in the SCOM 2012 management pack.

To give you an idea what the output looks like in SCOM 2012, here are some screenshots:

Bjorn_Tasks_Powershell-Get-SCOMfileversions_01

Bjorn_Tasks_Powershell-Get-SCOMfileversions_01

Bjorn_Tasks_Powershell-Get-SCOMfileversions_02

Bjorn_Tasks_Powershell-Get-SCOMfileversions_02

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

SCOM2012 – Determine OpsMgr Components File Versions Using PowerShell Remoting

We’re currently working hard on our SCOM 2012 environment. One of the things that need to be done, is upgrading the environment to the latest version, which is currently Update Rollup 3.

Two great blog posts are available to assist you in the upgrade process:

Unfortunately SCOM 2012 at this moment only shows the major version 7.0.8560.0 when using get-scommanagementserver or get-scomagent. For agents you can use this PowerShell command:
get-scomagent | ft computername, version, patchlist -auto
The patchlist is however not available for managementservers, which means another approach is necessary to get an overview of the upgrade status of your SCOM environment.

Since OpsMgr 2012 Update Rollup 3 is available through WSUS now for the first time, you could leverage existing WSUS reports. Depending on your environment, not all systems might be in WSUS or the systems might be using different WSUS servers.

The script I made, is based on Stefan Stranger’s blog post. The script basically works like this:

  1. It queries the SCOM 2012 environment for management servers and agents.
  2. It connects to each management server and agent using PowerShell remoting, locally checks file versions against the desired versions and returns the results.

The script can be found here:
http://bjornhouben-web.sharepoint.com/Lists/Scripts

Since I’m still pretty new to PowerShell scripting, any feedback is welcome so I can improve

[EDIT 22-04-2016]

Added the script as HTML in the blog itself

[EDIT 22-04-2016]

 

<########################################################################################

Name : Determine SCOM Components File Versions Using PowerShell Remoting.ps1

Date : December 10th 2012

Author : Bjorn Houben

Blog        :   http://blog.bjornhouben.com

Website : http://www.bjornhouben.com

Linkedin : http://nl.linkedin.com/in/bjornhouben

Purpose :   Unfortunately SCOM 2012 now only shows the major version 7.0.8560.0 when using get-scommanagementserver or get-scomagent.

                This script will show the file versions of the SCOM 2012 components: Management Server, Gateway Server, Console, Web Console, Agent and reporting tools.

                Using PowerShell remoting, this script will query your SCOM environment for management servers and agents and will then check their local file versions.

                

Assumptions : To query SCOM, you are running the script from a system that meets all of these requirements:

                 1. The “Operations Manager Shell” is installed.

                 2. You can connect to the management server for queries.

                 3. Your account has sufficient permissions to query the management server.

                To query the file versions on remote systems:

                 1. PowerShell remoting must be enabled and configured correctly.

                 2. Connectivity to the remote systems must be available.

                 3. The account used for PowerShell remoting must have sufficient permissions.

Known issues:

Limitations :

Notes   : This script was inspired by Stefan Stranger’s blog post about installing update rollup 3:

                http://blogs.technet.com/b/stefan_stranger/archive/2012/10/22/opsmgr-2012-update-rollup-3-ships-and-my-experience-installing-it.aspx

                To determine the changed files, I used the commands provided in this blog post:

                Get-ItemProperty -Path “$env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Server\*.dll” | select -ExpandProperty VersionInfo | where {$_.FileVersion -eq “7.0.8560.1036”} | Format-List FileName, FileVersion

                Get-ItemProperty -Path “c:\\Program Files\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Reporting\Tools\*.*” | select -ExpandProperty VersionInfo | where {$_.FileVersion -eq $SCOM2012_Update_version} | Format-List FileName, FileVersion

                Get-ItemProperty -Path “$env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Console\*.dll” | select -ExpandProperty VersionInfo | where {$_.FileVersion -eq $SCOM2012_Update_version} | Format-List FileName, FileVersion

                Get-ItemProperty -Path “$env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\WebConsole\WebHost\bin\*.dll” | select -ExpandProperty VersionInfo | where {$_.FileVersion -eq $SCOM2012_Update_version} | Format-List FileName, FileVersion

                Get-ItemProperty -Path “$env:ProgramFiles\System Center Operations Manager\Gateway\*.dll” | select -ExpandProperty VersionInfo | where {$_.FileVersion -eq $SCOM2012_Update_version} | Format-List FileName, FileVersion

                Get-ItemProperty -Path “$env:ProgramFiles\System Center Operations Manager\Agent\*.dll” | select -ExpandProperty VersionInfo | where {$_.FileVersion -eq $SCOM2012_Update_version} | Format-List FileName, FileVersion

Disclaimer : This script is provided AS IS without warranty of any kind. I disclaim all implied warranties including, without limitation,

    any implied warranties of merchantability or of fitness for a particular purpose. The entire risk arising out of the use or

    performance of the sample scripts and documentation remains with you. In no event shall I be liable for any damages whatsoever

    (including, without limitation, damages for loss of business profits, business interruption, loss of business information,

    or other pecuniary loss) arising out of the use of or inability to use the script or documentation.

To improve  :

Copyright   :   I believe in sharing knowledge, so this script and its use is subject to : http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

History     : December 10 2012 : Created script

########################################################################################>

#Load the OperationsManager PowerShell module

Import-Module OperationsManager

#Get managementservers and agents

$ManagementServers = Get-SCOMManagementServer

$Agents = Get-SCOMagent

#Declare function for PowerShell remoting

Function get-remotefileversions($computername)

{

    #Invoke-command is used to perform commands on remote machines using PowerShell remoting. The ScriptBlock defines what will be executed on each local machine.

    invoke-command -computername $computername -ScriptBlock{

        

        #Get the local hostname

        $hostname = $env:COMPUTERNAME

        #Declare the function to get fileversions

        Function get-fileversion($description,$file)

        {

            #Declare the desiredversion.            

            #SCOM 2012 Update Rollup 3 version = “7.0.8560.1036”

            #SCOM 2012 SP1 beta version = “7.0.8925.0”            

            $desiredversion = “7.0.8560.1036”

    

            IF((test-path $file) -ne $true) #If file is not present, no file version check will be performed

            {

                #write-host “Not present;$file”

            }

            ELSE #If file is present, file version check will be performend

            {

                #write-host “Present;$file”

                #Get the fileversion

                $fileversion = (Get-ItemProperty -Path $file | select -ExpandProperty VersionInfo).FileVersion

                

                #Define the outputformat

                $output = $hostname;$fileversion;$description;$file

                IF($fileversion -eq $desiredversion) #If fileversion matches desired version, do not show in output

                {

                    #write-host $output

                }

                ELSE #If fileversion does not match desired version, show in output

                {

                    #Show only non compliant versions

                    $output | write-host

                }

            }

        }

        #Define the files to check

        

        #Files for SCOM 2012 Management Server

        get-fileversion “Management Server” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Server\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.DataAccessService.OperationsManager.dll”

        get-fileversion “Management Server” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Server\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Modules.PowerShell.dll”

        get-fileversion “Management Server” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Server\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.RuntimeService.dll”

        get-fileversion “Management Server” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Server\MomIISModules.dll”

        #Files for SCOM 2012 Console

        get-fileversion “Console” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Console\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Presentation.Controls.dll”

        get-fileversion “Console” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Console\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Presentation.Core.dll”

        get-fileversion “Console” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Console\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Presentation.DataProviders.Library.dll”

        get-fileversion “Console” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.UI.ConsoleFramework.dll”

        get-fileversion “Console” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Microsoft.Mom.UI.Components.dll”

        #Files for SCOM 2012 Web Console

        get-fileversion “Web Console” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\WebConsole\WebHost\bin\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Presentation.Core.DLL”

        get-fileversion “Web Console” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\WebConsole\WebHost\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Presentation.DataProviders.Library.dll”

        get-fileversion “Web Console” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\WebConsole\WebHost\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Presentation.Security.Cryptography.dll”

        #Files for SCOM 2012 Gateway

        get-fileversion “Gateway” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center Operations Manager\Gateway\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Modules.PowerShell.dll”

        get-fileversion “Gateway” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center Operations Manager\Gateway\MomIISModules.dll”

        get-fileversion “Gateway” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center Operations Manager\Gateway\MOMScriptAPI.dll”

        #Files for SCOM 2012 Reporting

        get-fileversion “Reporting” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Reporting\Tools\OpsMgrTraceTMFVer.Dll”

        get-fileversion “Reporting” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Reporting\Tools\TraceFmtSM.exe”

        get-fileversion “Reporting” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center 2012\Operations Manager\Reporting\Tools\TraceLogSM.exe”

        #Files for SCOM 2012 Agent

        get-fileversion “Agent” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center Operations Manager\Agent\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Modules.PowerShell.dll”

        get-fileversion “Agent” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center Operations Manager\Agent\MomIISModules.dll”

        get-fileversion “Agent” $env:ProgramFiles\System Center Operations Manager\Agent\MOMScriptAPI.dll”

        get-fileversion “Agent” ${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}\System Center Operations Manager\Agent\Microsoft.EnterpriseManagement.Modules.PowerShell.dll”

        get-fileversion “Agent” ${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}\System Center Operations Manager\Agent\MomIISModules.dll”

        get-fileversion “Agent” ${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}System Center Operations Manager\Agent\MOMScriptAPI.dll”

        }

}

#Run the get-remotefileversions function for all Management Servers

Foreach($ManagementServer in $ManagementServers)

{

    get-remotefileversions $managementserver.NetworkName

}

#Run the get-remotefileversions function for all agents

Foreach($Agent in $Agents)

{

    get-remotefileversions $agent.NetworkName

}

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

SCOM2012 – Quick test lab setup OpsMgr 2012 SP1 Beta using prepared VHD

Since I’m currently working with System Center Operations Manager 2012 (also often referred to as SCOM 2012 or OpsMgr 2012), I needed a testing environment.

Because time is precious, I want to minimize the time and effort needed to set it up. This is what I did:

  1. Install and configure Hyper-V on my Windows 8 laptop.
  2. Deploy a VM with Server 2012 Datacenter edition.
    Configure a static IP address.
    Configure AD DS / domain controller role.
    Configure DHCP server role.
    Configure DNS server role (if desirable, include DNS forwarder for internet DNS queries).
  3. Download and extract the pre-configured SCOM 2012 SP1 beta VHD (running Server 2012 Datacenter edition). System Center 2012 SP1 adds Windows Server 2012  SQL Server 2012 Support.
  4. Create a new VM for SCOM and configure it to use the downloaded pre-configured VHD.
    Configure it with sufficient virtual CPUs and memory  for the DB and the SCOM components.
  5. Start the SCOM VM, and follow the onscreen instructions. NOTE: First time configuration took about 1-2 hours, but this might be related to my hardware. Still it might be smart to plan the installation.
  6. Convert the Server 2012 Datacenter edition from ServerDatacenterEval to ServerDatacenter by running an elevated CMD as administrator and issuing the following command:
    DISM /online /Set-Edition:ServerDatacenter> ProductKey:<productkey> /AcceptEula
    Reboot.
  7. Replace the SCOM 2012 evaluation license with your own license using Operations Manager Shell:
    Set-SCOMLicense -ProductId “yourlicensekey“
    Reboot
    Check the license using the Operations Manager Shell:
    Get-SCOMManagementGroup | ft skuforlicense, version, timeofexpiration –a
  8. Shut down your SCOM 2012 VM.
  9. Shut down your AD DS / domain controller VM.
  10. Create a snapshot and/or export of both VM’s so you can more easily revert to a good starting point.

Also be sure to read Stefan Stranger’s blog post that goes into more detail with regards to the domain controller and automating the task for setting it up. It also includes screenshots to give you a better idea of the process.

PS: I love how Microsoft provides these pre-configured VHD’s. This has been great in the past, but now with client Hyper-V 3.0 in Windows 8 it saves me even more time because I don’t have to boot to Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2012 for Hyper-V.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

VMware – Free e-learning courses and free tool (vCenter Operations Manager Foundation) available

In the last week, a couple of cool VMware related things have been made available for free:

  1. vCenter Operations Manager Foundation is the entry-level edition of the vCenter Operations
    Management Suite that will help you manage the health and performance of your vSphere environment. It is now included for free with all vSphere editions. For more information about the complete suite, read the VMware vCenter Operations Management Suite Edition Comparison. Eric Sloof from NTPRO.NL also created a video showing of this tool.
  2. E-learning vSphere Data Protection and Recovery Fundamentals
  3. E-learning VMware vCloud Director Fundamentals

I didn’t have time yet to check these out myself. If you’re already using this tool or have already completed a course, please let me know if you liked it.

To keep track of free e-learning courses, bookmark mylearn.vmware.com.

 

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,