As part of my initiative to "Do IT the Microsoft way", I set about switching over from VMware ESXi to Hyper-V.  After installing Hyper-V Server 8 Beta, I noticed it seemed to boot a lot faster.  This gave me the idea to have my own little "Smoked by Hyper-V Server" challenge.
 

For this challenge, I used the exact same server, and timed how long it took to boot, starting with the server completely powered off, and ending when a logon screen became available.   The server used was an old Intel Core 2 Duo 6400 2.13GHz with only 4GB of RAM, and three 80 GB SATA hard drive. 

VMWare ESXi 4.1 Boot time: 6 minutes and 23 seconds.

Hyper-V Server 8 Beta Boot time: 59 seconds.

Both of these are FREE bare metal hypervisors.  As you can see, even on those very old hardware, Hyper-V Server boots almost 6x faster than ESXi!

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

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The post Smoked by Windows Hyper-V Server 8 Beta. first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.

Here are some screen shots showing the new look of the Consumer Preview:

First boot now has a fish…

New color and logo for the install…

You're not asked to enter a product key.

You can now choose a background color.  In the Developer Preview you were stuck with the green.

Logging in…

Start screen has quite a few new apps on it compared to the Developer Preview.

The Pinball FX2 caught my eye… it was too slow and not playable inside my VM.

The Messaging App is basically the new MSN Messenger or Live Messenger, whatever they're calling it these days.

The People app lets you connect to several social networking and E-mail Services.

Maps is powered by Bing… big shock there right?

The Video app looks pretty cool, lets you buy or rent movies.

The weather app is still beautiful.

I could probably take a million more screen shots, but it's a lot more fun if you download, install, and try it out for yourself, so I'll leave it at that.   Enjoy!

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

192.168.2.21:30040

The post How-To: Install Windows 8 Consumer Preview on VMWare Workstation 8 first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.

Workstation 8 now allows you to "Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI", which in turn passes hardware features on to a guest VM, like ESXi 4.1 or vSphere 5, that enable them to run 64bit guest O/S's.

If you've just upgraded from Workstation 7, you'll need to change the hardware compatibility level on your ESXi or vSphere VM, before you can enable this new feature.

Here's how:

You will need:

• A CPU that supports either Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI.
• A 64-bit host O/S.
• VMware Workstation 8
• An ESXi or vSphere VM.

Step 1: Change Hardware Compatibility
Note: If you created your ESXi or vSphere VM AFTER installing or upgrading to Workstation 8, and chose "Workstation 8" as the compatibility level, you can skip this step.

First, the VM must be powered off in order to make this change, so power it off if it isn't already.

In Workstation, right click on the VM you want to change the compatability level on, go to "Manage", then click "Change Hardware Compatibility…". 

Click "Next".

Choose "Workstation 8" on the drop down labeled "Hardware compatibility:", then click "Next".

Here you can either clone the VM, leaving a copy of it with the old compatibility level, or just alter the existing VM.  I chose to alter the existing VM.  Choose one and click "Next".

Click "Finish".

Click "Close".

Step 2: Enable Virtualized Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI

Select the VM you want to enable Virtualized Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI on, and either right click it and choose "Settings…" or hit "CTRL+D".

Select "Processors".

Check the box next to "Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI.

That's it!  Power your ESXi or vSphere VM on, and start using 64bit guests inside it.

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

192.168.2.21:30040

The post 64-bit guests on nested ESXi/vSphere now possible thanks to Workstation 8 first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.

UPDATE: If you came here because the Windows 8 Consumer Preview was released today (02/29/2012), this guide is good for this new release too!  There are a few cosmetic changes to the install, but everything is essentially the same.
 
You will need:

• VMware Workstation 8 (30-day Free Trial available, $99 to upgrade from version 7, $199 to buy new)*.
• Windows 8 Developer Preview UPDATE: Or Windows 8 Consumer Preview (Free download!)**

*This will NOT work on Workstation 7, if you haven't already, you need to upgrade before continuing.  If you don't want to upgrade, the Windows 8 Developer Preview will install on VirtualBox 4.1.2, which is free.
 
**I used the top download, Windows Developer Preview with developer tools English, 64-bit (x64).
 
 
Step 1: Create the Virtual Machine

From the VMWare Workstation 8 home screen, click "Create a new Virtual Machine" or hit "CTRL+N".

Select "Custom (advanced)" then click "Next".

Select "Workstation 8.0" then click "Next"

Browse to the location you saved the Windows 8 Developer Preview .iso file, select it, and click "Next".

Select "Microsoft Windows" then select "Windows 7 x64" in the "Version" drop down box, and click "Next".
Note: If you're trying to install the 32bit version, just select "Windows 7".  The Windows 8 Developer Preview isn't even a Beta version yet, so don't expect to see it in this list anytime soon.

There's no key, and we won't be using the "Easy Install" feature, so just click "Next", we'll turn the "Easy Install" off later.

Give your VM a name, and click "Next".

1 CPU and 1 Core are fine, you can give it more if desired.  Click "Next".

2 GB of RAM is recommended for 64bit, if you're installing 32bit, use 1GB.  Click "Next".

Choose a network type, I like to use "Bridged", and click "Next".
 
Select "LSI Logic SAS" and click "Next".

Select "Create a new virtual disk" and click "Next"

Select "SCSI" and click "Next"

The recommended minimum is 20GB, specify a size, select "Store virtual disk as a single file" and click "Next".

Accept the default and click "Next".

Uncheck "Power on this virtual machine after creation", and click "Finish".

Step 2: Remove the Floppy from the VM.

Edit the VM Settings for the VM you just created.

Select "Floppy" then click "Remove".

Note: If you do not do this, the installation will fail.

Step 3: Power on the VM and install Windows 8 Developer Preview.

Install boot screen:

Select your language and click "Next".

Click "Install now".

Check the "I accept the license terms" box and click "Next".

Click "Custom (advanced)".

Select the disk and click "Next"

This screen takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Give your PC a name and click "Next"

I used the express settings.

You can logon with your "Windows Live ID" if desired.   If you don't want to, or don't have one, click "Don't want to log on with a Windows Live ID?".

If you're not going to use a "Windows Live ID" Click "Local account".

Create a user name and password, then click "Next"

That's it!  Now you can play around with Windows 8 without worrying about breaking anything.   You'll probably want to install the VMware Tools, click the "Desktop" square before telling Workstation 8 to install the tools.   If you get an error message about the "Easy Install", power the VM off, edit the settings, and remove the Floppy drive.  Sometimes it adds itself back in there after the install, even though we removed it beforehand.

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

192.168.2.21:30040

The post How-To: Install Windows 8 Developer Preview on VMware Workstation 8 first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.

VMWare released version 8 of Workstation today.  The upgrade costs $99, and a new license will set you back $199.
 
The new version boasts over 50 new features, including:

• Remotely connect to virtual machines running on VMware Workstation, VMware vSphere, and VMware vCenter anywhere on your network
• Simply drag and drop when you are ready to move your virtual machines to VMware vSphere
• Run as a server and your virtual machines will continue to run long after you log off. Start sharing virtual machines with your team, department, or anyone in your organization.
• First to support HD audio with 7.1 surround sound, USB 3, and Bluetooth devices in in a virtual machine.
• Significant improvements to virtual SMP and 3D graphics performance and support for 64GB RAM allows you to run the most demanding applications in a virtual machine.
• Completely revamped and streamlined user interface with simplified menus, updated toolbar, folder views, live thumbnail bar and a new virtual machine library.
• New virtual machine library makes it easy to search for the virtual machines that you need, whether they are local or remote

For a full list of what's new, check out the release notes.

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

192.168.2.21:30040

The post VMWare Workstation 8 Released first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.