I've been testing Hyper-V lately and thought of compiling a list of things which are either incompatibilities, issues or "bugs" with Hyper-V.
Note: This is what I have experienced personally or from the field and is never a complete one. I'll be updating it as and when new information is available.

1. All roles except DC (Domain controller) role is supported
2. If you are using virtual switches in a VM cluster then make sure they are identically named on both nodes. Make sure you have installed integration services before attempting a failover. I also noticed that creating virtual switches using the GUI during installation doesn't cut it and you need to delete it and recreate it again to make it properly work inside a cluster
3. Since, we are dealing with pre-release material here and one thumb rule is, don't expect everything to work straight forward. For instance, upgrading a VM configured on Hyper-V pre-beta code (RC0) to Hyper-V Beta RC1 may not be supported and may offer un-predicatable results.
4. Always install the virtualization integration components for Linux inside Virtual Guests. Otherwise, you won't see the devices. The Linux downloads are available from Connect Website 
5. While enabling Hyper-V role, make sure you keep (do not change) EN-US as your default language otherwise you may get VMM service failures and Hyper-V wouldn't start
6. Wireless network adapters on laptops are not supported by Hyper-V.

I recently did an implementation where the customer wanted to have a solution where they can have redundant print servers serving all the print queues and migrate all of them without any outage. Among couple of different options - MSCS, NLB, DFS etc, we went with NLB.

I'm going to give you the complete details on how we did it. Though this works seamlessly and customer is happy, it is not "supported" my MSFT. So, decide and use at you own risk.

1. Configure NLB on the 2 servers using the "Network Load Balancing Manager" (part of Admin Pack) use a dedicated NIC on each server and use unicast. Some CISCO routers do not pass ip address with multicast MAC addresses

2. Set NLB Port Rules to listen on port 135 (TCP/UDP) and ports 1024-65535 (TCP/UDP)

3. Configure the print queues identically on each server including Printer Name, Share Name, Driver etc. You can use printmig utility (download here). You can setup all your queues on one server and migrate them over using the tool to the second server very easitly.

4. Make the computer policy change on both servers. On the Local Computer Policy set "Computer Configuration > Administrative Templates > Printers > Allow Print Spooler to accept client connections" to Enabled and restart the Print Spooler service.

5. Manually create a DNS A record pointing to the IP of the NLB Cluster.

Now comes the tricky part - Obviously, those who need a new mapping would go with \\NLBClusterName\PrinterShareName, very simple and easy right?, but what about those users who are still mapped to the printers using old name? Alright, here's the trick - First you add a DNS A record for the name of each of the old print servers which points to the new cluster IP. Be sure to remove the old DNS entries or rename them to avoid duplicate name and un-planned outage (needless to say that a proper change management is required.)

7. Add an alias entry for each old server name you want the new server to be identified with on the new load balanced servers. The idea here is, if anyone uses old server name to map their printer, they'll automatically be re-directed to the new one.

Navigate to registry hive, HKEY_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\LanmanServer\Parameters

Add Value: OptionalNames REG_SZ String: "Alias"

If you make it a type REG_MULTI_SZ, you can add multiple aliases.

If do not like step 7 and feel that you shouldn't be dealing with old print server names then use login scripts to re-map your users to the new print server or deploy a software package using a software deployment tool (SMS, Altiris etc) to re-map them.

Have Fun!

Windows Server Virtualization (WSv) CTP only supports English version of the OS at the moment and has been tested only on selected hardware.

I have been trying to load Windows Server 2008 on SunFire x4200 (AMD Opetron x64-bit) hardware and wasn't even successful in installing the OS and then I found this link on MS Website which clearly says, what all hardware is tested and supported for the CTP release.

WSv Supports the following (for those who love bird's eye view)

• Hyper-V supports 32 and 64-bit SMP guests
• Supports iSCSI and Fibre Channel SAN
• Large memory allocation (more than 32 GB per machine)
• Integrated Virtual Switch

Recommended

• Only Windows OS
• Maximum 4 virtual processors be allocated to a VM running "Windows 2K8". Only 1 for "Windows 2K3"
• 1 virtual SCSI controller per VM
• 1 virtual network controller per VM
• 1 legacy virtual network controller per VM

Not tested and Recommended

• Not compatible with dynamic disks
• Disable hyperthreading
• PXE setting inside the VM BIOS doesn't support 64-bit OS deployment
• Do not create dynamically expanding virtual hard disks that are greater than 1 TB in size
• Clustering of VMs
• Clustering of physical server and quick migration
• Compacting of virtual hard disks

Recommended Hardware Devices

HP - Proliant DL585(AMD), DL385 G2(AMD), DL 580 G4(Intel), DL380 G5(Intel)

DELL - PowerEdge 6950(AMD F2 Opteron 8218 with BIOS 1.1.2 or later), 6850(Intel), 2950 (Intel, with BIOS 1.3.7 or later)

Fujitsu - TX300 S2(Intel)

NEC- Express 5800 120Ri-2(Intel)

If you receive a pre-requisite check error "ASP.Net 2.0 is not enabled" while installing MOM 2005 or SCOM 2007 even after making sure that you installed ASP.Net using Add-Remove programs, then try running aspnet_regiis -i at the command prompt.

You can find the executable under C:\windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727

Microsoft Surface represents a fundamental change in the way we interact with digital content.With Surface, we can actually grab data with our hands, and move information between objects with natural gestures and touch.

Microsoft Surface features a 30-inch tabletop display whose unique abilities allow for several people to work independently or simultaneously. All without using a keyboard or mouse.

Very soon we can forget about those ergonomics issues. I just can't wait to USE THIS in my home

Yes, some crazy iphone freaks may.

Ebay is known for selling pretty much anything on the planet (even used panties of Paris Hilton once, disgusting isn't it?). Alright, how about a smoked iphone?

Check it Out!

Oh yes! you can always buy the blended iphone for $1026 or more on EBAY HERE .....act fast, time is running out

A bit old news, but for those who haven't seen it yet

Finally, MSFT has entered into SSL VPN market with its recent acquisition of whale communications (http://www.whalecommunications.com).
This is an appliance device which runs on Windows 2003 and uses ISA server.
Whale’s product line includes two editions of its Intelligent Application Gateway product that incorporates Microsoft’s ISA Server, multiple Intelligent Application Optimizers for both Microsoft and third-party applications, and Connectivity Modules.
Intelligent Application Gateway Product Editions
•Enterprise Edition
•Express Edition
Intelligent Application Optimizers
•SharePoint Portal Application Optimizer
•Microsoft Exchange Application Optimizer
•Mobile Access Optimizer
•IBM Lotus Domino Optimizer
•IBM Lotus Domino Web Access Optimizer
•SAP Enterprise Portal Optimizer
•EMC Documentum Webtop Optimizer
Connectivity Modules
•Network Connector (for back-connect applications like VoIP)
•Client/Server Connector
•Novell Connector
More Info: http://www.microsoft.com/isaserver/whale/default.mspx

Nice tool from MS to post your blogs instantly.

Windows Live Writer

An XBOX win on my article

If you have more than 4 GB physical memory, then SQL server will not use more than 1.7 GB memory. To make more memory available to SQL server, enable AWE and cofigure Set Max Memory parameter using sp_configure stored procedure. If you do not set max memory parameter then SQL will eventually eat up all memory it can. For instance, if you have 8 GB physical memory, the at least set the max value to 6 GB and leave the rest to the OS.  For more info: Check out this MS Link http://support.Microsoft.com/kb/274750

Q.How do you size the database for systemcenter reporting database aka MOM 2005 data warehouse ?

Answer: To estimate the prospective Reporting database size, figure out how much your OnePoint database grows within a day. Multiply that number by the number of days worth of data that you want to retain. Then, double that number, to account for indexes.

For example: Let's say you want to retain 1 year worth of data and you have 500 (OML's) managed nodes, and at an average, each one of your managed node spits out approximately 1 MB (this is based on most of the MP's loaded on the MOM management server, your average data may be less and most unlikely to go beyond 1 MB) of data per day.

So, if you do a math based on the explanation above, it would come around something like this:

1 Node in one year will occupy = 1 MB x 365 Days = 365 MB of space

So, 500 nodes in 1 Year will occupy = 365 MB x 500  + 183 GB for Indexes = 366 GB of space.
The TempDB on the SQL Instance containing the OnePoint database needs to be large enough for one days growth.
Also, the SystemCenterReporting database log file should be the size of one days growth, multiplied by five to account for indexes.
Based on the previous example,
TempDB minimum sizing should be = 500 nodes x 1 MB = 500 MB or more
SystemCenterReporting database log minimum should be = 500 MB x 5 = 2.5 GB

Moving MOM 2005 Reporting database from a SQL cluster to another computer

Note: The process is tested only on MOM 2005, newer versions may have different procedures. Always use ip-address instead of hostname with http, I experienced that using hostname doesn't work with IIS authentication for some reasons.

1. Export the MOM reports by using the Report Utility (RptUtil.exe) command-line tool. This tool is located in the following folder: %Program File%\Microsoft System Center Re\porting\Reporting
2. Use the command line as rptutil /URL:http://ip-address of the Report Server/ReportServer and by default it will dump the reports as MOMReports.xml under C:\
3. Uninstall MOM 2005 Reporting on the standby server first and then perform the un-installation on the primary node
4. Detach the SystemCenterReporting database using the SQL Server 2005 Management Studio
5. Install MOM 2005 Reporting on the destination computer which will automatically create the SystemCenterReporting database on the SQL server.
6. On the destination computer, detach and then remove the SystemCenterReporting database that is automatically created in Step 5 by the installation performed in Step 5
7. Replace the database that you removed with the original MOM 2005 reporting database that you detached in Step 4
8. Move the membership of both groups (SC DW Reader, SC DW DTS)
9. Use the rptutil.exe to import the MOM reports that you exported in step 1 using command-line rptutil /action:import /file:path\MOMReports.XML /URL:http://ip-addressof the server/ReportServer

Moving Reporting Services database from a SQL cluster to another computer running SQL Server & Reporting Services

Operations on the Source Server
1. Open SQL Server management studio, and then connect to the instance of SQL Server 2005
2. Back up the ReportServer database and the ReportServerTempDB
3. Back up the encryption key by using the reporting services configuration manager.
Backing up the symmetric key is a process that writes the key to a file that you specify, and then scrambles the key using a password that you provide. The symmetric key can never be stored in an unencrypted state so you must provide a password to scramble the key when you save it to disk. After the file is created, you must store it in a secure location and remember the password that is used to unlock the file. To backup the symmetric key, you can use either the Reporting Services Configuration tool or the rskeymgmt utility.
Since the reporting services configuration tool is more user friendly, let’s look at the steps to backup the key
Star the Reporting Services Configuration Tool, and then connect to the report server instance you want to configure.
   * Click Encryption Keys, and then click Back Up.
   * Type a strong password
   * Specify a file to contain the stored key. Reporting Services appends a .snk file extension to the file. Click OK.
   * Copy the backup database files and the backup encryption key you performed in step 2 and 3 to the destination server

Operations on the Destination Server
1. Stop IIS service by running the iisreset /stop command at the command prompt.
2. Open the Reporting Services Configuration Manager, and then connect to the instance of SQL Server 2005 Reporting Services
3. Stop Reporting Services by clicking on “Server Status” and then click Stop on the Report Server Status Page.
4. Open SQL Server management studio, and then connect to the instance of SQL Server 2005
5. Back up the ReportServer database and the ReportServerTempDB database if they exist
6. Detach the ReportServer database and the ReportServerTempDB database
7. Restore the backup databases from the source server
8. In the Reporting Services Configuration Manager, make sure that the configurations in the following pages are identical to those in the source server:
a. Configurations in Report Server Virtual Directory
b. Configurations in Report Manager Virtual Directory
c. Type of service account configuration in Windows Service Identity
d. The Report Server configuration and the Report Manager configuration in Web Service Identity
9. Start reporting services by clicking on the Server Status in the Reporting Services Configuration Page
10. Start IIS service by running the iisreset /start at the command prompt
11. In the Reporting Services Configuration Manager, click the Encryption Keys, and then click Restore.
12. In the Encryption Key Information window, type the password you use to back up the encryption key from the source server, locate the backup encryption key from the folder on the destination server you performed in step earlier steps on the source server

Are you one of those iPOD fanatic and drained lots of money in multiple Apple gadgets? Have you ever thought of using one device which can do both? Well, I've been enjoying both functions on my Treo 650 (http://www.palm.com/ for quite sometime. Why most people never paid attention to this? because Apple didn't want them to. Do you think Apple can ever come out with such a device ? Yes, they did  after realizing the inevitable cannot be stopped. Read on... http://www.apple.com/iphone/

Have you ever been in a situation where you have an ISO image, but do not have a reader ? You spend hours on the web and find a trial version which will expire in 15 days?

Well look no further, MS has a cool "unsupported" tool to mount ISO images for Windows XP. I even tried this on a server OS and works like a charm!

Here's the direct download from MS VirtualCDControlPanel enjoy!

Here's a quick update for those who have tried this tool on Windows 2008 or Vista and failed:

Please make sure you disable UAC before attempting to load the VirtualCD driver. If you are not sure how to disable UAC then follow the steps as described here.