Category Archives: Windows Server

Extending VMware VMDKs with System Partitions

Posted on July 11, 2014 | 2 comments

hard-disk-drive
I have had to deal with extending System Partition VMDKs within our environment, but this can get tricky especially with 2003 Server and below.  Hope this helps…Note that Data drives can be extended without issue on 2012 and below.

2008 and above
1.  Open your VIC and edit the settings of the VM that you would like to modify.
Webeditsettings
2.  Change the system disk to the new size (Usually Hard disk 1).
Disk Change
3.   Log into your VM using the console or RDP.
4.  There are two ways to do the extend.  If it is 2008 R2 and above I usually do option 1.  2008 Standard and below I use option 2.

Option 1:
a.  Open Server Manager.
ServerManager
b.  Click Disk Management.
c.  Usually you will have to do a rescan to see the unallocated space.  Right click Disk Management and click Rescan Disks.
Rescandisks
d.  Right click the drive that you wish to expand (should show unallocated space) and click Extend Volume.
ExtendVolume
e.  Click OK on the Extend Volume Wizard and then again click OK on the Select Disks screen.  Now click Finish to complete the wizard.
f.  You should now see the drive is larger.

Option 2:
a.  Click Start –> Run and then type cmd.  Right click on the command prompt application and choose Run as Administrator.
runadmincmd
b.  Type diskpart.
diskpartsmall
c.  Type list volume.
diskpartlistvolume
d.  Select the system partition by typing select volume #.
diskpartselectvolume
e.  You should see an asterisk by the selected volume.  Type extend.
diskpartextend
f.  The drive should now be extended.  Type exit.

2003 Server and Below
1.   Have a 2008 R2 Helper machine that you will use to expand the drive.
2.  Power down the 2003 Server VM.
3.  Edit the settings and add space to the system partition.
Disk Change
4.  Power on the 2003 Server VM.
5.  Click Start –>All Programs –> Administrative Tools –> Computer Management.
ServerManager03
6.  Click Disk Management.  You should see the unallocated space, but if you do not then right click Disk Management and click Rescan Disks.   Just verify…don’t do anything with the space yet.
Rescandisks
7.  Shutdown the 2003 Server VM.
8.  Edit the 2003 Server VM within the VIC and note the location of the disk on the datastore.  Click remove on the drive that you would like extended by clicking on the X next to the hard disk.  DO NOT CHOOSE DELETE FILES FROM DATASTORE or REMOVE FROM VIRTUAL MACHINE AND DELETE FILES FROM DISK.  This is different wording depending on the Full VIC or the Web VIC.  Click OK.
RemoveDisk
diskremoved
9.  Now find your 2008 R2 helper VM within the VIC and then edit the settings.
10.  Where it says “New Device” choose Existing Hard Disk from the menu.  Click Add.
Addexistingdisk
11.  Using the information that you noted before, find the location of the 2003 Server disk that you removed before, select the disk, click OK.
choosevmdk
12.  Cick OK and this will mount the 2003 Server disk on your 2008 R2 helper VM.
13.  Log into the 2008 R2 helper VM with the console or RDP.
14. Click Start –> Run and then type cmd.  Right click on the command prompt application and choose Run as Administrator.
runadmincmd
15.  Type diskpart.
diskpartsmall
16.  Type list volume.
diskpartlistvolume
17.  Select the system partition by typing select volume #.
diskpartselectvolume
18.  You should see an asterisk by the selected volume.  Type extend.
diskpartextend
19.  The drive should now be extended.  Type exit.
20.  Go back into the VIC and edit the 2008 R2 helper VM.
21.  Click the X next to the Hard disk that you added earlier to this machine.  Again, DO NOT CHOOSE DELETE FILES FROM DATASTORE or REMOVE FROM VIRTUAL MACHINE AND DELETE FILES FROM DISK. 
RemoveDisk
diskremoved

22.  Edit the 2003 Server and then from the “New device” menu click Existing Hard Disk and then click Add.
Addexistingdisk
23.  Find the vmdk that you just extended then click OK.  Click again on the settings screen.
choosevmdk
24.  Power on the 2003 Server and you should see the additional space.  You might get a message indicating that a reboot is needed.  If requested, do the reboot.

Random Issues I Have Run Across
I did have an issue the other day with one our our 2008 Standard Servers.  When I went to extend the drive it gave me a weird error.  The parameter is incorrect.
DiskGrowParameterIncorrect

I give thanks to the Lord every day for the googles.  I found a great post by Jonathan Medd that gave the simple fix for this.  When you are in diskpart, select the volume # that you are extending and then use the command extend filesystem.

2 Comments

Posted in Configuration Changes, VMware Vcenter Server, VMware Vsphere 5, Windows Server

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Creating a template for Server 2012 R2 – Part 2

Posted on February 12, 2014 | 13 comments

Now that our VM is created, we will install VMware Tools, upgrade the Hardware Version, and make some helpful Windows changes. If you are going to use the BGinfo program, please make sure you go and download that.

Finishing VMware Changes and Configuring the OS

  1. First thing we need to do is upgrade the VMware Tools on the machine. This will install critical drivers for both Network and Video and will make for a better all-around experience. Select your VM and then click “Guest” and then “Install/Upgrade VMware Tools”.
  2. Click “OK” on the window that comes up.
  3. Go back to your console screen for the VM and you should see the D: drive change to “VMware Tools”. Double click this to start the install.
  4. Click “Next” on the tools welcome screen.
  5. I used to do a custom install and removed the shared folders, but from all my reading I don’t think this is needed anymore. Choose the “Typical” radio button and then click “Next”.
  6. To continue with the install click “Install”.
  7. Click “Finish”.
  8. Click “No” when it asks for you to reboot.
  9. Instead we are going to Shut the VM down so that we can update the hardware. Select your VM in VMware then choose “VM” from the menu bar then “Power” and then “Shut Down Guest”.
  10. Once the VM is shut down, right click on it in vCenter Server and then choose “Upgrade Virtual Hardware”. The hardware version for the server will change to 9.
  11. Right click on the VM again and this time click on “Edit Settings”.
  12. Click the CD/DVD drive 1 and change the Device Type to “Client Device”.
  13. Click on the Floppy drive 1 and then click “Remove”.
  14. Click the “Options” tab and then click “Boot Options” check the box for “Force BIOS Setup”. Click “OK”.
  15. Power on the VM again using the “Power On” button.
  16. Arrow down to “Legacy Diskette A:” and hit the + key until is says “disabled”.
  17. Arrow to the right so that “Advanced” is highlighted. Then arrow down 4 times until “I/O Device Configuration” is highlighted and then press “Enter”. Go down the list changing “Serial port A:, Serial port B:, Parallel port:, and Floppy disk controller to “Disabled”.
  18. Press “ESC” twice and then press “Enter” to Exit Saving Changes. Press “Enter” again when it asks for confirmation.
  19. Logon using your administrator password that you created in part 1.
  20. I like to get the time right on the server before I do anything else. Do this by right clicking the time in the lower right corner and choose “Adjust date/time”. Click the “Change time zone” button. Make the appropriate change for your location and then click “OK”, and then “OK” again.
  21. The first thing I like to do is to rename the server and add it to the domain if needed (I try to not add it to the domain if I don’t have to). The Server Manager should open automatically for you. Click “Local Server” on the left side and then click the “Computer Name” Change the name, but you won’t be able to add it to the domain yet because it has not been IPed.
  22. Right click on the Network icon in the task bar and choose “Open Network and Sharing Center”.

  23. Click “Change adapter settings”.
  24. Click “Properties”.
  25. The default lists the following items.
  26. Click “QoS Packet Scheduler” and then click “Uninstall”. Do the same for both “Link-Layer Topology” items. QoS Packet Scheduler is not needed unless you are doing QoS at the Windows layer instead of the L2/L3 switch layer. Please read about Link Layer Topology here and determine if you want/need it in your environment – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Link_Layer_Topology_Discovery

  27. Finally, uncheck “Internet Protocol Version 6 (TCP/IPv6). WARNING – DO NOT uninstall IPv6 as this might cause problems.

  28. The first thing we are going to do with Server Manager is to change its behavior on startup. Open up Server Manager if it is not already done. Click “Manage” and then click “Server Manager Properties”.
  29. Check the “Do not start Server Manager automatically at logon”.
  30. In Server Manager click on the “Internet Explorer Enhanced Security Configuration” and set both Administrators and Users to “Off”.
  31. Now we are going to add some important items to the desktop. From the main Server Manager Dashboard page click “Add roles and features”. Click “Next” on the Before you begin page, leave the radio button on “Role-based or feature based installation” and click “Next.
  32. On the Server Selection screen leave everything default and then click “Next”. Click “Next” again to bypass the Server Roles and move to “Features”.
  33. Expand both .NET Framework 3.5 and 4.5 and then check to have both installed.
  34. Next click the check box for “User Interface and Infrastructure”. This is going to allow us to add some missing desktop icons. Click “Add Features” when the required features window comes up.
  35. We use SNMP for server monitoring so I check the box for “SNMP Service” and then click “Add Features” when the required features window comes up, then click “Install”.
  36. Right click on your desktop background and click “Personalize”. Click the “Change desktop icons” link and then check the boxes for “Computer, Recycle Bin, and Control Panel”.

  37. Right click on the Desktop again, and under “View”, set icon size to “Small”, and set Auto Arrange and Sort By options according to your preference.


  38. Right click the task bar and click “Properties”.
  39. Check the box “Use small taskbar buttons”.
  40. Click on the “Navigation” tab and then check the box “When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start”. I also check the boxes “Show the Apps view automatically when I go to Start” and “Search everywhere instead of just my apps when I search from the Apps view”.
  41. Create a new folder on C: called BGInfo. Place all your BGinfo files into this folder. Edit the BGInfo.bgi file if you want to customize the BGinfo settings. Create a .bat file called bginfolaunch.bat in the BGinfo folder. I have included what I have in my batch file.
  42. Right click on the start button and choose “Run”. Then type Regedit in the open box.
  43. Adding the following entry into the registry will cause BGInfo to automatically refresh BGInfo every time you log onto the server. Add a reg key (string value) called BGInfo with the value of C:\BGInfo\bginfolaunch to HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run.

  44. Right click on the start button again and this time choose “Control Panel”. Change the view to “Small Icons”. Click on “Power Options”.
  45. Change the power settings to “High performance”. And then click “Change plan settings”. Set both “Turn off the display” and “Put the computer to sleep” to “Never”.

  46. Right click on the Powershell icon and the select “Run as Administrator”. Type powercfg –h off and press “Enter”.
  47. Click “File Explorer” on the task bar. Click “View” then “Options” and then “Change folder and search options”
  48. Check “Display the full path in the title bar area” and click the radio button for “Show hidden files, folders, and drives”. Uncheck “Hide protected operating system files”.
  49. Right click the start button and click “Run”. Type gpedit.msc in the run box. When the group policy window comes up go to Computer Configuration/Windows Settings/Security Settings/Local Policies/Security Options. Set “User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode” to disabled.

  50. Then change “User Account Control: Behavior of the elevation prompt for administrators” to Elevate without prompting.
  51. The final thing is to include Logoff and Disk Manager Icons on the desktop. Create them and place them in C:\Users\Public\Desktop.

13 Comments

Posted in Server 2012, Templates, VMs, VMware Vsphere 5, Windows Server, Windows Server 2012 R2

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Creating a template for Server 2012 R2 – Part 1

Posted on February 7, 2014 | 5 comments

I have borrowed items from http://www.boche.net/blog/index.php/2012/08/16/microsoft-windows-server-2012-tips/ to create this post. I encourage you to take a moment to check out that post.

This is the step by step document that I used to build my 2012 and 2012 R2 VMs.

VM values will start at:

Hardware: Value:
Memory 4 GB
CPU’s 1
Video card Auto-detect video settings
VMCI device None
SCSI Controller 0 VMware Paravirtual
Hard disk 1 40 GB, Thin
CD/DVD Drive 1 Client Device
Floppy Drive 1 Removed (when done)
Network Adapter 1 VMXNET3
General Options OS: Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and 2012 R2
VMware Tools Default Settings
Virtual Machine Version 9

Creating the VM

  1. In vCenter click “File” then “New” then “Virtual Machine”
  2. Choose the “Custom” radio button and then “Next”.
  3. Name the SM and choose the folder location.
  4. Choose the datastore for the VM and then click “Next”.
  5. Make sure that the “Virtual Machine Version: 8” radio button is selected. (5.1 is using version 9 so I am not sure why this can’t be selected here. We will change this later.
  6. Select the “Windows” radio button and then choose “Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (64-bit).
  7. Take the default of 1 virtual socket and 1 core per virtual socket.
  8. Take the default of 4GB memory and click “Next”
  9. Choose your Network and change the adapter to “VMXNET 3” then click “Next”.
  10. Change the SCSI controller to “VMware Paravirtual” and then click “Next”.
  11. Select the “Create new virtual disk” radio button and then “Next”.
  12. Take the default of 40GB and click “Next”.
  13. Take the default virtual device node. For the system partition you want this to be SCSI 0:0. Click “Next”.
  14. On the summary screen click the “Edit the virtual machine settings before completion” box and then click “Continue”.
  15. Click on the Video Card and then change the radio button to “Auto-detect settings”.
  16. Click on the CD/DVD and then choose the datastore location that you have the 2012 R2 install ISO. Make sure under Device Status that “Connect at power on” is checked. Now click “Finish”.
  17. Right click on your newly created VM and click “Edit Settings”.
  18. Click on the Floppy drive 1 and choose the “Use existing floppy image in datastore” radio button. Then click “Browse”. At the bottom of the datastores you should see a folder called “vmimages”. Double click this folder. (For some reason until the VM is created this folder does not show up and that is why we had to create the VM and then go back into the settings to change this).
  19. Double click on the “floppies” folder.
  20. Choose the “pvscsi-Windows2008.flp” and then “OK”.
  21. The Floppy drive 1 settings should look like this and then click “OK”.
  22. On the list of VMs click the one you are building and then click the “Power On” button.
  23. Now click the “Open Console” button.
  24. The VM should boot into the 2012 R2 setup screen. Choose your language and then “Next”.
  25. Click “Install”.
  26. Choose the version of server that you are using. We use the Datacenter here. Then click “Next”.
  27. Agree to give up your first born to Microsoft by clicking the “I accept the license terms” box and then click “Next”.
  28. Choose “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).
  29. Uh oh, there is no location to install Windows. Luckily you configured the floppy drive 1 earlier right? Click the “Load Driver” button.
  30. Click “Browse”.
  31. Look for the Floppy Disk Drive and then double click “amd64”.
  32. Select the “VMware PVSCSI Controller (A:\amd64\pvscsi.inf) and click “Next”.
  33. Hey look there is our drive!! Click “Next”.
  34. Windows should now be installing.
  35. Enter a password for your admin account. Do not lose this password!
  36. You should have the login screen now.

5 Comments

Posted in Server 2012, Templates, VMs, VMware Vcenter Server, VMware Vsphere 5, Windows Server 2012 R2

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