In Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-v Snapshots were renamed to so-called “Checkpoints“. The following are 11 things to know about Hyper-V snapshots and checkpoints. Ideally an IT admin should be aware of all of them in order to make a well informed decision on when and how to use snapshots. Advantages of Hyper-V Snapshots / […]

In order to convert existing Hyper-V virtual disks in VHD file format to the new VHDX file format you can use the PowerShell to and run a conversion command as follows:   Convert-VHD –Path c:\MyVM\VHD-file.vhd –DestinationPath c:\NewVM\vhdx-converted-disk.vhdx   Converting to a VHDX gives you a couple of advantages over VHD, such as: * 4 KB […]

To convert a VMware ESX / ESXi virtual machine to a Hyper-V virtual machine, you could use a new tool called “Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter” You can download it at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=34591    Requirements to convert ESX VMs to Hyper-V using Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter: You need to use a local administrator user. Install the MSI […]

After the introduction of update 2878635(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2878635) and update 2903939 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2903939), you now have a CSV Software snapshot life cycle management mechanism to fine tune VolSnap and VSS when using CSVs. It’s not uncommon for snapshots to add up and not be cleared by defective backup applications. Some backup applications are designed to use persistent VSS snapshots. […]

Tape backups have their place in many organizations, mostly large corporations. Sometimes their use is required directly or indirectly by law. For all other organizations who are free to choose the “best fit” we put together a couple of things to consider when planning to invest in tape backup infrastructure:   Tape drives are expensive. […]

The error 0x80780049 (ID 517) reported by Windows Server Backup may be due to running a Windows Server 2012 (incl. R2) VM on a Server 2012 (R2) host.   A much better solution is to use BackupChain instead of Windows Server Backup, for many reasons, such as the additional feature set.   To fix your […]

Below is a list of Windows Server 2012 updates and their links to knowledge base articles. The hotfixes below are important for Failover Clusters arrangements: Date of hotfix Knowledge Base Details Name Affected Components Why you need to install this update Jan. 15, 2014 KB2913695(http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2913695/ ) OffloadWrite is doing PrepareForCriticalIo for the whole VHD in […]

Real time or near real-time replication similar to a mirror RAID where block writes are sent over to other media or servers within very short intervals, like seconds, isn’t always a good idea. Experiments with this technology have shown that it adds challenges for disaster recovery due to the following reasons. VSS is the core in Windows […]

The following is a quick write-up about the function of Hyper-V Integration Services (HIS). The idea is to give IT admins a quick overview:   1. You need to update Hyper-V Integration Services (HIS) inside each VM whenever you run Windows Update on the host Read this post: It’s not automatic!   2. Without up-to-date […]

In case you receive this kind of error: ‘Microsoft Hyper-V VSS Writer’ is in failed state, Writer Failure code: 0x800423f3 This error basically means Hyper-V has failed in some way. The easiest next step is to visit //backupchain.com and download VssDiag, a tool provided by BackupChain for its backup software. Enter the time when the error […]