Tag: Windows 7

KB2710870–No DHCPv4 Address After Restarting Hyper-V VM with Vista, Win7, W2008 or W2008 R2

Microsoft has posted a support article that deals with a situation where a DHCPv4 IP address cannot be obtained after you restart a Hyper-V virtual machine that is running Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2.

The description is:

The time zone on the virtual machine is set to a time zone other than Pacific Standard Time (PST). In this situation, you may experience a DHCP IP address acquisition issue in the following scenarios:

  • The guest operating system and the host operating system are set to use the same time zone other than PST, such as Eastern Standard Time (EST). The Hyper-V time synchronization service is enabled. In this situation, the DHCPv4 IP address cannot be obtained after you restart the guest operating system for the first time.
    Note This issue only occurs after you restart the virtual machine for the first time.
  • The guest operating system and the host operating system are set to use different time zones. For example, the guest operating system uses the PST time zone, and the host operating system uses the EST time zone. The Hyper-V time synchronization service is enabled. In this scenario, the DHCPv4 IP address cannot be obtained after you restart the guest operating system.
    Note This issue occurs every time that you restart the virtual machine.

A hotfix is available from Microsoft to fix the issue.

Altaro Giving Away 50 Free PC Backup Licenses To All Hyper-V Administrators!

I’ve gotten some very exciting news from Altaro, makers of Altaro Hyper-V Backup (that supports Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V).  Altaro wants to give away for free 50 copies of their desktop backup product, Oops!Backup, to each Hyper-V administrator that can prove that they run Hyper-V.  Here’s the press release:

Altaro Software, a fast-growing developer of backup solutions for Microsoft Hyper-V, today announced that it is giving every Microsoft Hyper-V administrator 50 free licenses of Oops!Backup, their desktop backup solution.

“Following the success of our Hyper-V Backup solution this year, we wanted to give something back to the Hyper-V community during the holiday season” commented David Vella, CEO of Altaro. “Hyper-V admins can give out these licenses to their colleagues, friends and family, for use at work or at home.”

Oops!Backup is a popular desktop backup solution that allows users to preview & restore versions of their files from different points in time.

Any network administrator who uses Microsoft Hyper-V is eligible for the free license keys, they simply need to visit the Altaro website, send in a screenshot of their Hyper-V Manager and expect an email with their respective keys.

To claim the 50 free licenses go here. Thanks Altaro!

Note: Giveaway expires on Monday December 24th. Licenses are Not-For-Resale (NFR) keys.

Expanded Supported Guest Operating Systems on WS2012 Hyper-V

The support for Windows Server 2012 guest OSs has been expanded by Microsoft.  On the server OS side the changes are mostly on the Linux side; OpenSuse and Ubuntu are now listed as supported. Previously they were not supported but they worked.

Guest operating system (server)

Maximum number of virtual processors

Notes

Windows Server 2012

64

Integration services do not require a separate installation because they are built-in.

Windows Server 2008 R2 with Service Pack 1 (SP 1)

64

Datacenter, Enterprise, Standard and Web editions. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

Windows Server 2008 R2

64

Datacenter, Enterprise, Standard and Web editions. Upgrade the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

Windows Server 2008 with Service Pack 2 (SP 2)

8

Datacenter, Enterprise, Standard and Web editions (32-bit and 64-bit). Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

Windows Home Server 2011

4

Edition information is not applicable. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

Windows Small Business Server 2011

Essentials edition – 2

Standard edition – 4

Essentials and Standard editions. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

Windows Server 2003 R2 with Service Pack 2 (SP2)

2

Standard, Web, Enterprise, and Datacenter editions (32-bit and 64-bit). Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2

2

Standard, Web, Enterprise, and Datacenter editions (32-bit and 64-bit). Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

CentOS 5.7 and 5.8

64

Download and install Linux Integration Services Version 3.4 for Hyper-V.

CentOS 6.0 – 6.3

64

Download and install Linux Integration Services Version 3.4 for Hyper-V.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.7 and 5.8

64

Download and install Linux Integration Services Version 3.4 for Hyper-V.

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.0 – 6.3

64

Download and install Linux Integration Services Version 3.4 for Hyper-V.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 SP2

64

Integration services do not require a separate installation because they are built-in.

Open SUSE 12.1

64

Integration services are built-in and do not require a separate download and installation.

Ubuntu 12.04

64

Integration services are built-in and do not require a separate download and installation.

Note that Linux (physical or virtual) requires numa=off in the grub file if you have more than 7 CPUs or 30 GB RAM in the (virtual) machine. That’s a Linux thing, not a Hyper-V or virtualisation thing.

The client OS list now is:

Guest operating system (client)

Maximum number of virtual processors

Notes

Windows 8

32

Integration services do not require a separate installation because they are built-in.

Windows 7 with Service Pack 1 (SP 1)

4

Ultimate, Enterprise, and Professional editions (32-bit and 64-bit). Upgrade the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

Windows 7

4

Ultimate, Enterprise, and Professional editions (32-bit and 64-bit). Upgrade the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (SP2)

2

Business, Enterprise, and Ultimate, including N and KN editions. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

Windows XP with Service Pack 3 (SP3)

2

Professional. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

Windows XP x64 Edition with Service Pack 2 (SP 2)

2

Professional. Install the integration services after you set up the operating system in the virtual machine.

You can see the supported list of guest OSs for the legacy versions of Hyper-V (2008, 2008 R2) here.

Microsoft In Trouble With EU Over Browser Chooser – And Why It’s Irrelevant

You might have heard that the EU is upset with Microsoft because the Browser Chooser that MSFT agreed would be included in Windows 7 for European Union customers was not active in Windows 7 SP1.  Strangely enough, I (a Chrome browser user) noticed this in my last few builds.

The EU forced Microsoft into introducing the Browser Chooser in Windows 7 for local markets.  This would prevent Microsoft from abusing a then monopoly position and enable other browsers to enter the market.  Fair enough I thought, and it worked well.  When you logged into a new PC, you could pick your default browser.  Some joked that IE was the browser you used to download your preferred browser. 

Then the news broke this week that the EU is investigating an issue where this browser chooser was not working in Windows 7 SP1.  And further, the EU could fine Microsoft up to 10% of their earnings over the 18 or so months period: $7 or $8 billion!

Interesting, because although IE still leads worldwide, I’d been hearing over the months that IE had lost the top position in Europe.  What do the stats say?

According to StatCounter, IE is #3 in Europe:

image

According to GetClicky. IE has continued to decline globally, despite the lack of the browser chooser:

image

According to W3Counter, IE also continues to decline globally, despite the lack of a browser chooser:

image

In other words, with a browser chooser or not, IE continues to lose market share even if Microsoft owns some 95% of the “PC” market.  We could question Microsoft’s monopoly position (IDC reckon they’ll sell 350 million PCs in 2012) too: Apple have 4% or so of the “PC” market, are set to sell 116 million iPhones ad 54 million iPads, almost exclusively using Safari.

Do we really need a Browser Chooser on Windows?  People have figured out what browser they want and IE is sliding.

And where is the EU mandated chooser for IOS devices?

It will be interesting to see what happens with Windows RT where IE and Office run on the desktop and no other programs can be installed there.  I wonder if the decision to include the limited desktop at all in Windows RT will backfire?  But that’s a whole other story and the lawyers/Eurocrats will decide that one (I’m not saying that this is good at all).

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SYSRET 64-bit OS Privilege Escalation Vulnerability On Intel CPU Hardware

CERT reported that:

Some 64-bit operating systems and virtualization software running on Intel CPU hardware are vulnerable to a local privilege escalation attack. The vulnerability may be exploited for local privilege escalation or a guest-to-host virtual machine escape.

That last bit is the piece that should concern you. Microsoft responded with one of this month’s Patch Tuesday updates (thanks to Patrick Lownds for the link).  MS12-042 fixes this issue and is distributed through the normal Windows Updates catalogue.

An elevation of privilege vulnerability exists in the way that the Windows User Mode Scheduler handles system requests. An attacker who successfully exploited this vulnerability could run arbitrary code in kernel mode. An attacker could then install programs; view, change, or delete data; or create new accounts with full administrative rights.

Mitigating factors for user mode scheduler memory corruption vulnerability:

  • An attacker must have valid logon credentials and be able to log on locally to exploit this vulnerability. The vulnerability could not be exploited remotely or by anonymous users.
  • This vulnerability only affects Intel x64-based versions of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.
  • Systems with AMD or ARM-based CPUs are not affected by this vulnerability.

Update your servers, including Hyper-V hosts with this update.  System Center 2012 VMM will automate this for you if you have it and configured the updates feature.

Microsoft Updates The Free Security Essentials Antivirus

According to Neowin, Microsoft has released a new version of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE), their free antivirus protection for PCs.  It supports:

  • Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3)
  • Windows Vista (Service Pack 1, or Service Pack 2)
  • Windows 7

Yes, Windows XP and Windows Vista are both still supported for this new development, even though they are both in extended support.  You can understand this exception when you consider the reason for MSE’s existence.  It exists to help prevent the spread of malware on PCs that otherwise would not be protected:

  • People who get free 90 days of AV with an OEM PC but never buy the subscription
  • People who can’t afford to or won’t buy AV

One of the best stories we have of MSE locally was when we did a community launch event for Windows 7 in Belfast.  We talked about MSE and how it could help defend against Conficker which was all the rage with unpatched PCs at the time (and unfortunately still is thanks to negligent [IMO] admins/managers).  Irish DPE, Dave Northey, saw a photographer was taking photos on behalf of the venue and asked for a copy of some of the photos.  The photographer came over at the end of the event with a USB stick.  Dave joked that he hoped that Conficker wasn’t on the stick – MSE was on Dave’s laptop and screamed about finding Conficker on the photographer’s USB device Smile

You might ask about support for Windows 8.  Good question.  Windows 8 comes with Defender built in (more later).  Defender in Windows 8 is not the Defender of old.  It actually is anti-spyware and antivirus, meaning that you don’t need to download/install MSE on it.

Built-in AV, eh?  Imagine what Symantec’s lawyers, the EU, and so on will think of that!  Many of us are presented with a browser chooser when we setup Windows 7 for the first time.  I wouldn’t be surprised if we see something similar for AV.  Personally, I’d stick with Windows 8 Defender, but there’s nothing to stop you from choosing an alternative.  I wouldn’t be surprised if OEMs continue to ship subsidised trial copies of AV and retail stores continue to push AV boxes on customers with their PC/laptop/tablet purchase.  You still have a choice, but at least with Windows 8, you have protection by default.

Rebuilt the UX31E Ultrabook

I rebuilt my Asus ultra-slim laptop over the weekend.  I’ve never been the biggest fan of OEM builds because of the 3rd party stuff that gets included.  On went Windows 7 Ultimate with the intention of migrating from my Latitude which will probably be rebuilt with some Hyper-V version (it has more RAM and eSATA).

After dealing with the drivers (conveniently placed on the hard disk by Asus) and putting on the usuals (thanks to ninite) I installed a few bits of the Asus software, including power stuff and a boot accelerator.

Some info:

  • The power stuff customises the power options.  The battery saving one boosts Windows 7 battery life to around 7 hours.
  • The machine starts in around 2 seconds from cold, then hits the boot loader.
  • A cold boot & logon takes 24 seconds, with things like Office 2010 installed.
  • Wake from sleep (open the lid) is less than 1 second.  The hardest bit here is finding the gap between the lid and the keyboard because the machine is so thin.

All this will only get better with Windows 8.  I already see that on my old netbook and the DevPrev release from last September.

Glad I didn’t toss the Asus packaging yet – I found two dongles:

  • A USB one for adding a NIC
  • A micro VGA converter for connecting a VGA lead. 

Some manufacturers have native VGA and NIC ports in the chassis but have to sacrifice thickness to fit them in.

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Put My Money Where My Keyboard Is – Bought An Ultrabook

Back in December 2011, I blogged about the variety of Intel-based Ultrabooks on the market and how they offer a cool, slim, light, and still powerful Windows based alternative to the MacBook Air.  I had hands-on with the cracking (that’s good) Toshiba Z830 and Sony VPCZ21M9E.

Yesterday, as I returned from the Hyper-v.nu event in Amsterdam, I made my way into the electronics store near the E terminal, often a place with bargains (compared to Irish costs).  And there I found the i5 version of the Asus UX31E (also comes in i7).  After a quick double check online of the spec on airport’s the free Wi-Fi, I decided to buy it for the price (under €1,000).

It’s a 128 GB SSD, 4 GB RAM, HDMI out, USB 3.0, 7 hour battery life, very slim machine.  It is silent.  It boots up so quickly.  It wakes from sleep instantly.  The chassis is brushed aluminium and it looks very classy.

My main reason to get it was to get a light normal usage machine.  It’ll fit beautifully in my camera bag without adding bulk to prevent the bag being carried onto a flight.  With USB 3.0 I can strap on an external drive for additional data (photos) and do Windows To Go for Windows 8 beta and RC when they come out.  RTM will go on immediately to further extend battery life.

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Software Assurance: Protect Your Investment & More

This is one of those subjects that can create great debate: is Software Assurance (SA) for Microsoft licensing a real benefit that is worth the expense?  Those who bought it during the XP days may feel like they got burned.  They went a very long time without any upgrades for their desktop OS, and when Vista came along, they decided to wait for Windows 7.  In their opinion, it was money down the toilet.  On the face of it, it’s hard to argue with that point.

However, SA is more than just upgrade rights (even if that is the big reason) and after XP, Microsoft did add more value to SA.  If upgrade rights is the feature you’re most interested in then pay attention.

We happen to be in one of those sweet spots when paying for SA (some software programs such as Open Value Subscription or System Center Management Suite include it automatically)  is of most value.  We know for certain that a whole new family of System Center 2012 is a few month away, and Windows 8 isn’t all that far off in 2012.  Office, Exchange, SharePoint and Lync “Wave 15” will probably go into beta this year meaning new versions in late 2012 or 2013, all within that window.  SQL 2012 is on the way too.  Pretty much anything you buy right now has a new version on the way. 

If you are spending on MSFT licensing now to solve meet business need, then protect that investment by ensuring that you can avail of the features of the newer versions.  And if you’re selling, explain that to your customer (plus the other stuff I’ll cover) and you’ll not only protect their best interests, but you may find yourself selling more services days to do upgrade projects.

Server Virtualisation & Software Assurance

As I’m partial towards virtualisation, let’s have a look at why SA is critical here.  Let’s start off with not caring what virtualisation you use; you should be licensing your Windows Server VMs by the host using Enterprise (less likely – maximum of 4 per host, even for 1 second) or Datacenter (more likely – unlimited rights per host) of Windows Server. 

With SA attached to your per-host licensing, you have rights to upgrade the OS’s of any of the VM guest OSs as and when you need.  You also can deploy 1 or more new VMs with the new version of the Windows Server OS.  Consider the alternative: you don’t attach SA to the host licensing.  You need to do one upgrade or you need to deploy 1 new VM with a new Windows Server OS version.  What can you do?

  • Buy a copy of Windows Server Standard New Version: I have news for you – you have limited mobility rights with that license.  It can move once every 90 days if it’s a volume license and never if it’s OEM.  That’s why we license per host, to cover the maximum number of VMs that can ever be on that host.  It means we don’t need to buy individual licenses per host.
  • Upgrade the Host OS version: There are no upgrade licenses.  To deploy that single VM with a new version of Windows Server, you’d have to re-buy all the per-host licensing if you didn’t buy SA.
  • Be clever & attach SA: With SA attached to the per host licensing of Windows Server, all current and new VMs have rights to whatever is the newest Windows Server version + downgrade rights.  It’s quite simply, the most cost efficient way of licensing Windows Server in a virtualised world, not matter what virtualisation you use.

For you Hyper-V customers, you really want the rights to upgrade your hypervisor because Windows Server 8 Hyper-V is an upgrade you won’t want to miss out on.  It’s is something special, and that applies to the small business and the big enterprise.

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI)

You cannot legally just install any old license of Windows XP or Windows 7 in virtual machines for VDI.  You have two choices:

  • VDA: For dumb terminals or those without SA on the desktop, you can buy this special license to license the VDI VMs for Windows.
  • Desktop OS + SA: One of the benefits of SA on the desktop is rights to deploy a Windows instance in VDI.  Some medium-large organisations use VDI as a piece of the puzzle for application availability/collaboration, rather than as a replacement for the PC.  This license is of benefit to them.

Hidden Value

Things like application whitelisting, disk encryption, removable device encryption, and VPN are typically bought as point solutions.  Each must be separately purchased, deployed, and managed, and offer no integration.   Wouldn’t it be amazing if their was one product that did all of that stuff?  Wouldn’t it make life easier for purchasing (vendor consolidation) and for systems management?

*Ahem* Windows 7 Enterprise (and Ultimate, to be honest) can do all of that stuff.  You have rights to deploy and use Windows 7 Enterprise on your PCs/laptops when you license their desktop OS with SA.  Not only do you get upgrade rights, but you get to consolidate all of those point solutions into one OS integrated package.  This model looks set to continue with Windows 8; Windows-To-Go looks like it will be an Ultimate/Enterprise only feature.

The money you would have spent on point solutions instead goes into SA, which offers all the functionality you need plus all the other SA benefits.  As a customer, that’s a blessing.  As a reseller, that means you become the consultant for all of those systems and therefore lock in that customer and limit opportunity for your rivals.

All The Other Benefits

There’s lots more to SA than just what I’ve covered so far, as can be seen in this chart:

image

  • Step-Up Licensing: Be able to move from a lower edition to a higher one for a limited upgrade cost instead of a complete re-purchase
  • MDOP: Only SA customers can buy the Microsoft Desktop Optimization Pack
  • Planning Services: Get free consulting (paid for my MSFT) from a certified MSFT partner to plan some project, e.g. Windows deployment
  • License Mobility: I’m not so sure on this one, but I believe OEM that has SA attached can get mobility like volume licensing.  Talk to a licensing specialist.
  • Windows Thin PC: This is a cut down version of the desktop OS that you can use to turn PCs into RDP terminals
  • Office Roaming Use Rights: You can remotely access a virtual desktop and use Office/Project/Visio at no extra cost
  • TechNet: For trial and lab work
  • Microsoft Office Multi-Language Pack: Add extra languages to Office
  • Training Vouchers: The more SA you buy, the more free MOC training rights you get
  • E-Learning: Free online learning for your employees on MSFT software
  • Home Use Program: Using HUP, employees can buy software for use at home at a discount cost, including download rights
  • 24 * 7 Support: Get support calls.  This used to convert into support hours when you also bought a MS Premier support contract
  • Extended Hotfix Support: Get specific hotfix support from MSFT, beyond the norm
  • Spread Payments: Spread the cost of licensing over a number of years

The Ultrabook – A Windows Laptop To Match The MacBook Air

Let’s face it, the MacBook Air is a sexy wee thing compared to the usual Windows laptop.  It’s slim, it’s light, it’s got long battery life, and it’s airline carry on baggage friendly.  Yes you can run Windows 7 on one of those, but it’s a pricey way to go, and I guess there would be complexity issuesif you needed a h/w repair (I really don’t know).

Until recently we haven’t had a true Windows laptop alternative to compete with the MacBook Air.  That changed this year with Intel’s Ultrabook standard.  The one I’ve gotten to see is the Toshiba Z83X (disclaimer: at work we distribute Toshiba and Sony mobile devices).  This 13.3” machine comes with i3, i5 or i& CPUs, 128 GB SSD, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports and HDMI video output.  And, it is as thin and light as a MacBook Air.  It’s a native Windows machine, and it’s cheaper than a MacBook Air. 

Toshiba Z83X

Reviews have been good on that machine, giving a balance between power (claimed up to 7 hours), battery life, and price.

I like the look of the Acer Aspire S3 Ultrabook too.  The S3-951-6828 has an i5 CPU, 4 GB RAM, and a 240 GB SSD.  There is also a claim of up to 7 hours battery life, possibly enough to do a transatlantic hop without charging.

Reviews have been mixed on the S3, but it comes with a nice spec at a competitive price.

If you want to go nuts then have a look at the ASUS UX31 Zenbook.  This has an i7 CPU, 4 GB RAM, and a 256 GB SSD, but all this comes at a higher price.

The reviews has been flattering for this machine, but it is more expensive than the previous machines.

Most people have not heard of Ultrabooks yet.  And they haven’t sold all that well either.  Why?  Well, in Ireland, they are typically starting at around €1200 for an i5 machine with a 128 GB SSD.  Without any scientific searching, I can get a normal i5 laptop with a 500 GB traditional drive for under €600.  So the Ultrabook loses on price.

And when a person is paying €1200 or more for a laptop, then they’re probably looking at a MaxBook Air.  Apple products have a certain prestige that Windows machines do not.  It’s more of a fashion statement than anything else.  The person with more disposable cash wants the trendy item, and they see a Windows Ultrabook as being an overpriced laptop, even if the Ultrabook is the same, if not more, is more manageable in the business, and has more/cheaper software available for it.

I think the future for the Ultrabook is not good if the prices don’t come down.  That might happen after the new year (2012) when they are no longer as new as they once were.  I certainly would stump up the cash for one if the price came down so I could tuck it into my carry on camera bag and not have to hide a traditional laptop in my check-in bag (my camera bag is rather large and full with camera gear).

EDIT:

One of the guys in work gave me a demo Sony Vaio VPCZ21M9E to play with for a little while.  Carbon fibre body, i5 CPU, 4 GB RAM (expandable at order time to 8 GB), 128 GB SSD, 1.2 KG weight, VGA and full HDMI video output, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 ports.   It feels incredibly light.  Apparently it is 17 mm at the thickest point.  Looking at it, I think they are including the rubber feet.  This thing is so thin you could shave with it.  However, it appears to be twice the price of the competition.  But is a very nice piece of kit and it hurt to give it back.

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