70-646 : Affordable solution for testing CLUSTER, RD VIRTUALISATION, HYPER-V

KayouMT

Hi,

I'm trying to get familiarized, in lab, with some 2008R2 advanced topics. My lab machines are :
- DELL PowerEdge T310 server (with virtualization option and VMWARE ESXI 5.1 installed) for running 2008R2 VM servers.
- 1 P4 PC (100Mbps NIC) for running Openfiler SAN.
I tried to configure a 2008R2 cluster. I successfully configured the SAN and I was able to write on it via iSCSI target in 2008R2 VMs. But, If I run the Failover Cluster Mangement validation step, it does tell me that the storage is not adequate for clustering. The cluster did not recognize the SAN and the iSCSI target stops working. I suspect it is a "SCSI-3 reservation add-on" issue.

Anyway !
- Do someone know how I can make the Clustering work without adding any hardware equipment ?
- By the way, I'm asking the same question for RD Virtualization and for Hyper-V ?
Thanks in advance for any help !

NB : I have couple of other P4 and Dual Core PCs. But, the only machine where I can run my 2008R2 servers is the DELL PowerEdge.

Dunc the Punk

On my Train Signal videos they recommend virtualising you SAN. Ie run ESXi/Hyper-V within ESXi/Hyper-V.
Makes me think of 'Inception'.

Essendon

I had a similar setup a while back and worked with no problems, the only difference to your setup was that my SAN was a StarWind iSCSI one. This product's free version is a simple installation and when you create the LUN's, just choose the Clustering option when you see it.

There's a better way to it though - build another 2008 R2 VM and install Starwind on that VM. That way you do away with the need to create storage on an external box, faster/better storage in one box.

KayouMT

Thanks for your answers,

I did solved the SAN and Clustering issue by installing Miscrosoft's iSCSI target software on a ESXi VM
Download iSCSI Software Target from Official Microsoft Download Center

What does not work, so far, is running Hyper-V server on ESXi VM. If it works, a Hyper-V VM would be running on ESXi VM. That thing called nested VMs seems not to be allowed.

Essendon

You can nest ESXi inside of ESXi, but not Hyper-v. Pity though, but thats how it is.

KayouMT

Thanks for that information, Essendon.

I wanted to lab RD Virtualization. I have, unfortunately, only one virtualization-capable server. I'm already running ESXi on that server.

The only option for me would be to try to dual-boot the server : ESXi on one disk, Hyper-V on the other disk. Humm !!! I never see an ESXi host running on a dual-boot machine ?

joehalford01

I used a Server 2012 VM for the iSCSI target, its built into that version and works pretty well with the 2008 R2 iSCSI initiator. However, I gave up on labbing the Remote Desktop Virtualization. Too much hardware needed, I ran into the same issue with Quick and Live migration. Too bad...I'd like some hands on with it, but don't want to spend that kind of my money to pass one test.

ITMonkey

I dipped my toes into RD virtualization (Session Host, Connection Broker, Gateway, RemoteApp, VDI, etc) using my TechNet Standard Subscription and the step-by-step walk-through in the 70-643 Training Kit (edition 2 for Server 2008 R2). It is a good book for putting together one's first test lab, starting with a full and core server 2008 R2 (the full version naturally has the AD DS, DNS, DHCP, NAT and WDS roles installed on it. This same book provided little coverage about failover clusters, other than to mention the basic nomenclature and basics. The meat of the book involves RDS. After walking you through working test labs, you are ready to branch out independently and try new things on your own. A great "pull yourself by the bootstraps" technical book. It has quality where otherwise so many other Microsoft publications fall short of.

I read through a book containing test lab creation for fail-over scenarios. I did not lab using it because I my focus at the time was on something else. The book has a LARGE chapter where you make a single-machine (its only a test lab to learn set-up and configuration, so real redundancy is not needed, right?!) using Server 2008 and Hyper-V. I recall it using Windows Storage Server as it's iSCSI virtual server. The book is Mastering Microsoft Virtualization.

KayouMT

Hi ITMonkey,

Thank you for the information you gave about that 70-643 book. I do not have subscritption on Technet, but I did find some interesting RD labs by googling. I did them all except RD Virtualization. My real issue is : I have only one server on which I already deployed Vmware ESXi. Since Hyper-V cannot run on virtual Vmware machine, I cannot deploy it ; I do not have a second physical server for that.

If RD Virtualization and Hyper-V are not important topics for 70-646, there is no more concern about the question I'm asking.

ITMonkey

If you live in the USA, call your local library and ask them if they have online access to books. In particular, ask if they subscribe to Safari eBooks. Safari's huge collection of eBooks could be avaiable to you for the single price of a library card. (which is free for my county library) The 70-643 book is one of the thousands of IT-related eBooks -- I just checked.

KayouMT

Thanks for your helpful suggestions ITMonkey.

I have three good friends (Amazon, Technet, Microsoft Download Center) which gave me lot of information on Windows Server products. But, I'm not sure they could help me on my Hyper-V's hardware issue.

cyumus

I've ran Hyper-Vs nested on VMware Workstaion without any problems. You just need to make a minor change: Nesting Hyper-V with VMware Workstation 8 and ESXi 5 | Veeam Software Official Blog. It will help if your hardware has losts of RAM and fast hard drives too.