Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Resource Kit Reviewed

After what seemed an age of waiting the Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Resource Kit is here. Now, is it worth the wait? Actually it is. Until now the best publication on Hyper-V was SAMS Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Unleashed, but this guide now takes that position. It’s a typical resource kit, lots of technical information and a CD with scripts – both VBScript and PowerShell - to assist in the management of the Hyper-V. At over 700 pages it’s coverage is extensive, including the new R2 release, Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (SCVMM) 2 and PowerShell Management.

The guide is divided in four sections, starting with a 100 pages dedicated to the ins and outs of Virtualization and particularly Hyper-V. Here you’ll find the details about the processors from Intel and AMD and basic features of Hyper-V such as using and managing Hyper-V. From there the guide moves into a section dedicated to understanding Hyper-V. If you have used Hyper-V for any period of time a lot of the first part of this section is likely to be basic revision. The last 3 chapters of the section are the ones that may grab your attention first where best practices are covered, moving from Virtual Server 2005 R2 to Hyper-V and final a chapter on R2.

Section 3 moves onto the management of a Hyper-V environment, look out for information coving how to manage either a single Server or a Farm. The single server details are again revision for most people who’ve used Hyper-V, the Farm management introduces the tool recommended to manage Hyper-V farms, SCVMM. SCVMM appears later in this section as the migration tool, after a discussion on Back up and Restore. The last chapter in this section is one of the more interesting as it covers the use of PowerShell as a management tool.

The final section is the good old Resource Kit favourite of Planning. This is where VDI is covered and the various virtulalization scenarios, plus some good information on the Microsoft Assessment and Planning Tool (MAP). The MAP tool is pretty much a must use if you plan to introduce virtualization into your environment and from that point of view this last section is a real aid in that process.

I first asked my Microsoft Press contacts about this guide when Windows Server 2008 was released, the initial dates for availability started in around November 2008, so it’s been a while coming and now includes more information than maybe would have been available in late 2008.

My view is that this is a good solid resource kit and definitely worth having in you are currently or plan to use any version of Hyper-V. The companion CD with all the scripts on is a valuable add-on, even if you don’t use these scripts directly they are good examples of how to use PowerShell for managing Hyper-V.