Installing Windows EBS on Virtual Machines

Applies To: Windows Essential Business Server

After the Hyper-V role and the Hyper-V Manager are installed, you complete the following steps:

• Create virtual networks

• Create and configure virtual machines

• Install Windows EBS on the virtual machines

Like a physical network, a virtual network connects virtual machines together to share data. By using Virtual Network Manager (accessed from Hyper-V Manager), you can choose from three types of virtual networks:

• External virtual networks   Use this type when you want to allow communication between virtual machines on the same physical server, between virtual machines and the host partition, and between virtual machines and externally located computers.

• Internal virtual networks   Use this type when you want to allow communication between virtual machines on the same physical server and between virtual machines and the host partition. An internal virtual network is an external virtual network that is not bound to a physical network adapter. It is commonly used to build a test environment where you need to connect to the virtual machines from the host partition.

• Private virtual networks   Use this type when you want to allow communication only between virtual machines on the same physical server. A private virtual network is an internal virtual network without a virtual network adapter in the host partition. Private virtual networks are commonly used when you want to isolate virtual machines from network traffic in the host partition and in external networks.

Figure 1 depicts physical and virtual networks for a single server configuration.

The following table provides settings for sample physical and virtual networks.

The following procedure explains how to use Virtual Network Manager to create an external virtual network for the Management Server, the Security Server, and the Messaging Server. This network is used for communication between the Windows EBS servers and for communication with computers on the corporate network. Then create a second external virtual network for the Security Server. The second network allows the Security Server to communicate directly with the Internet.

For more information about designing and deploying Hyper-V virtual networks, see the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=128227) and the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=128228).

To create a virtual network

1. To start Hyper-V Manager, click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Hyper-V Manager. (For the Server Core installation, use the second client computer to connect to the Server Core server with the Hyper-V role installed.)

2. In the Actions pane, click Virtual Network Manager.

3. Under Create virtual network, select External, and then click Add.

4. In New Virtual Network, in the Name text box, type a name for the new network that identifies this virtual network as one that is connecting Windows EBS virtual servers.

   Note

   You can use virtual LAN identification as a way to isolate network traffic. However, this type of configuration must be supported by the physical network adapter.

   For information about configuring virtual LAN identification, see the Hyper-V deployment content at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=108560).

5. Under Connection type, click External, and then select the network interface that is connected to the corporate network.

6. Click Apply to create the virtual network and continue using Virtual Network Manager, and then click Yes in Apply Networking Changes.

7. In the Virtual Networks pane, click New virtual network, select External, and then click Add.

8. In the Name text box, type a name for the new network that identifies this virtual network as one that is connecting to the Internet.

9. Under Connection type, verify that the External connection type is selected, and then select the network interface that is connected to the Internet.

10. Click OK and then click Yes in Apply Networking Changes.

• By default, membership in the local Administrators group (or equivalent) is the minimum required to complete this procedure. However, an administrator can use Authorization Manager to modify the authorization policy so that a user or group of users can complete this procedure.

• Only one virtual network can be attached to a specific physical network adapter at a time.

• After you install Hyper-V and create an external virtual network, your computer will operate differently. After installation, the host partition uses a virtual network adapter to connect to the physical network. When you look at Network Connections on the host partition, you see the original network adapter and a new virtual network adapter. The original physical network adapter has nothing bound to it except the Microsoft Virtual Network Switch Protocol, and the virtual network adapter now has all of the standard protocols and services bound to it.

  The virtual network adapter that appears under Network Connections has the same name as the virtual network switch with which it is associated. It is possible to create an internal virtual network, which will expose a virtual network adapter to the host partition without the need to have a physical network adapter associated with it. Hyper-V binds only the virtual network service to a physical network adapter when an external virtual network is created. However, networking is briefly disrupted on the network adapter when a virtual network is created or deleted.

You use the New Virtual Machine Wizard in Hyper-V Manager to specify the memory, virtual disk space, and network connections that represent each virtual machine for Windows EBS.

Use the minimum specifications listed in the tables below for the three virtual machines for Windows EBS.

Management Server

Security Server

Messaging Server

Create three virtual machines to support the three Windows EBS servers: the Management Server, the Security Server, and the Messaging Server. Refer to the virtual machine specifications in the preceding section when you run the New Virtual Machine Wizard to create each virtual machine.

To create a new virtual machine

1. To start Hyper-V Manager, Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Hyper-V Manager. For the Server Core installation, use the second client computer to connect to the Server Core physical server with the Hyper-V role installed.

2. In the Actions pane of Hyper-V Manager, click New, and then click Virtual Machine. The New Virtual Machine Wizard appears.

3. On the Before You Begin page, click Next.

4. On the Specify Name and Location page, choose a name for the virtual machine and a location where you want to store it.

   Note

   Select the Store the virtual machine in a different location check box to specify a non-default location for each virtual machine. (The default location is on the host hard disk drive.) You should specify a different hard disk drive for each virtual machine.

5. On the Assign Memory page, specify at least the minimum amount of system memory that is required by that virtual machine for Windows EBS.

6. On the Configure Networking page, select the connection that corresponds to the private Windows EBS network. Later, you will add a second network adapter in the Security Server.

7. On the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, choose the Create a virtual hard disk option, and then specify a name, location, and size for a virtual hard disk drive so that you can install Windows EBS on it.

   Important

   It is strongly recommended that you map the virtual hard disk drive for each Windows EBS virtual machine to a different physical hard disk drive. It is recommended that you use RAID for redundancy for each Windows EBS virtual machine.

8. On the Installation Options page, choose the method that you want to use to install Windows EBS:

   • Install an operating system from a boot CD/DVD-ROM. (You can use physical media or an image (.iso) file.)

   • Install an operating system from a boot floppy disk.

   • Install an operating system from a network-based installation server. To use this option, you must connect the virtual machine to a virtual network that is attached to a network adapter, and that network adapter must be connected to the same network as the image server.

9. Click Finish to create the virtual machine.

   Note

   Do not select the Start the virtual machine after it is created check box. Complete the creation and configuration of all three virtual machines for Windows EBS before you proceed with the installation of Windows EBS.

10. Repeat the above steps for each Windows EBS server.

You should modify the properties of each virtual machine for Windows EBS as described in the following procedure:

To configure a virtual machine for Windows Essential Business Server

1. In the results pane of Hyper-V Manager, under Virtual Machines, right-click the virtual machine that corresponds to the server for Windows EBS, and then click Settings.

2. In the Settings dialog box, modify the settings for the virtual machine as follows:

   • On the Processor page, increase the Number of logical processors to 4.

   • For the Security Server, on the Add Hardware page, add a second Network Adapter. This adapter should be assigned to the virtual network that connects to the Internet or gateway device.

   • On the Integration Services page, clear the Time synchronization check box.

3. Click OK.

4. Repeat the above steps for each Windows EBS server.

Before you do a virtual installation of the Windows EBS servers, you need to adjust a few time-related settings.

To prepare your virtual environment

1. The time zone on the host and guest computers must be set to (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada). Once installation is complete, you can set the time zone for host and guest computers to the local time zone.

   Important

   Do not change the time zone to other than (GMT-08:00) Pacific Time (US & Canada) until all Windows EBS server installation is complete.

2. Configure an external time source for your domain’s primary domain controller (PDC) and ensure that the virtual host computer is synchronizing time from the external source. You should use the same time source for the host computer and the Windows Server 2008 domain controller. If the host time and the Windows Server 2008 domain time differ by more than a certain amount, installation may fail. For more information, see “How to configure an authoritative time server in Windows Server 2003” at the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=60402).

For more information about configuring time settings in a virtual Windows EBS environment, see the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=162296).

After you create and configure the virtual machines, you install Windows EBS on the three virtual machines in the same sequence that is used for installing Windows EBS on physical servers:

1. Management Server

2. Security Server

3. Messaging Server

For detailed instructions for installing Windows EBS, see the Microsoft Web site (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink?LinkId=108903).

To install Windows Essential Business Server on a virtual machine

1. If you are installing Windows EBS from physical media, insert the appropriate disc into the server.

2. In the results pane of Hyper-V Manager, under Virtual Machines, right-click the virtual machine that corresponds to the server for Windows EBS, and then click Connect.

3. From the Action menu in the Virtual Machine Connection window, click Start. The virtual machine starts, and Windows Server 2008 Installation Wizard appears.

4. Proceed through the installation of Windows EBS on the virtual machine.

• During the installation of the Management Server, you are requested to provide the planning data from the Planning Wizard (.xml file). The following options are available for uploading the planning data file:

  • Write the .xml file to a DVD or floppy disk and insert the disk into the drive of the physical server. If you use a floppy disk, you need to use Hyper-V Manager to adjust the settings for the Management Server virtual machine so that you can attach the virtual floppy disk (.vfd) file to the physical floppy disk drive.

  • Copy the .xml file to a shared folder on a remote image server. Access this shared folder from the Planning data upload page.

Be aware of the following limitation for deploying Windows EBS in a virtualized environment:

• You cannot use a physical server for Windows EBS (the Management Server, the Security Server, or the Messaging Server) as a Hyper-V host server.