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Manage Hyper-V Server Remotely

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Applies To: Hyper-V Server 2012, Hyper-V Server 2012 R2

This topic explains the various methods available for managing a computer running Microsoft Hyper-V Server. You can manage the server in the following ways:

  • Locally and remotely by using Windows PowerShell

  • Remotely by using Server Manager

  • Remotely by using Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-ins

  • Remotely by using Remote Desktop Services

Task

Description

1.1. Manage with Windows PowerShell

You can manage Hyper-V Server by using Windows PowerShell locally or remotely.

1.2 Manage with Server Manager

By running Server Manager on a remote computer, you can connect to Hyper-V Server.

1.3 Manage with Microsoft Management Console

By using MMC snap-ins, you can connect to Hyper-V Server.

1.4 Manage with Remote Desktop Services

By using another computer running the Windows operating system, you can use Remote Desktop Services to run scripts and tools on a computer running Hyper-V Server.

There are some important limitations and tips to keep in mind when you work with Hyper-V Server:

  • If you close all Command Prompt windows and you want to open a new Command Prompt window, press CTRL+ALT+DELETE, click Start Task Manager, click More Details, click File, click Run, and then type cmd.exe. Alternatively, you can sign out and then sign in.

  • If you close all Windows PowerShell windows, you can open a new one by typing PowerShell at a command prompt.

  • Any command or tool that attempts to start Windows Explorer will not work. For example, typing start . at a command prompt will not work.

  • There is no support for HTML rendering or HTML Help in a Server Core installation.

  • There are no notifications for activation, new updates, or password expiration because these notifications require the Windows Explorer shell, which is not present.

  • Hyper-V Server supports Windows Installer in quiet mode so that you can install tools and utilities from Windows Installer files.

  • When you install Windows Installer packages on Hyper-V Server, use the /qb option to display the basic user interface.

  • To change the time zone, run Set-Date.

  • To change international settings, run control intl.cpl.

  • Control.exe will not run on its own. You must run Control.exe with Timedate.cpl or Intl.cpl.

  • Winver.exe is not available. To obtain version information, use Systeminfo.exe.

Note

This topic includes sample Windows PowerShell cmdlets that you can use to automate some of the procedures described. For more information, see Using Cmdlets.

1.1. Manage with Windows PowerShell

You can accomplish most management tasks locally or from a remote computer by using Windows PowerShell cmdlets and scripts. To start Windows PowerShell, type powershell in a Command Prompt window.

For more information about working with Windows PowerShell, including running it remotely, see Starting Windows PowerShell.

1.2 Manage with Server Manager

Server Manager is a management console in Windows Server that helps IT professionals provision and manage local and remote Windows-based servers from their desktops. No physical access to the servers is required, and you do not need to enable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections to each server.

To enable your local server to be managed by Server Manager that is running on a remote server, run the Windows PowerShell cmdlet Configure-SMRemoting.exe –Enable.

Although Server Manager was available in Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008, Server Manager was completely redesigned for Windows Server 2012 to support remote, multiserver management, and to help increase the number of servers an administrator can manage. You must use the version of Server Manager in Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows Server 2012 or that is available as part of the Remote Server Administration Tools. Older versions of Server Manager will not work. To download these tools, see :

1.3 Manage with Microsoft Management Console

Many snap-ins for Microsoft Management Console (MMC) can be use remotely to manage Hyper-V Server.

To use an MMC snap-in to manage a computer running Hyper-V Server that is a domain member

  1. Start an MMC snap-in, such as Computer Management.

  2. In the left pane, right-click the top of the tree, and then click Connect to another computer. (In the Computer Management example, you would right-click Computer Management (Local).)

  3. In the Another computer text box, type the name of the computer running Hyper-V Server, and then click OK. You can now use the MMC snap-in to manage the computer running Hyper-V Server the same way that you manage any computer running the Windows Server operating system.

To use an MMC snap-in to manage a computer running Hyper-V Server that is not a domain member

  1. If the Hyper-V Server is not a member of a domain, type the following command at a command prompt on the remote computer. This establishes alternate credentials that you can use to connect to the computer running Hyper-V Server.

    cmdkey /add:<ServerName> /user:<UserName> /pass:<password>

    Where:

    ServerName is the name of the computer running Hyper-V Server.

    UserName is the name of an administrator account.

    Note

    If you want to be prompted for a password, omit the /pass parameter.

  2. When prompted, type the password for the user name that is specified in the previous step.

  3. If the firewall on the computer running Hyper-V Server is not already configured to allow MMC snap-ins to connect, follow the steps in To configure Windows Firewall to allow MMC snap-ins to connect. Then return to this procedure.

  4. On a different computer, start an MMC snap-in, such as Computer Management.

  5. In the left pane, right-click the top of the tree, and then click Connect to another computer. (In the Computer Management example, you would right-click Computer Management (Local).)

  6. In the Another computer text box, type the name of the computer running Hyper-V Server, and then click OK. You can now use the MMC snap-in to manage the computer running Hyper-V Server the same way that you would manage any computer running the Windows Server operating system.

To configure Windows Firewall to allow MMC snap-ins to connect

  • To allow all MMC snap-ins to connect, run the following Windows PowerShell command:

    Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "Remote Administration"

  • To allow only specific MMC snap-ins to connect, run the following Windows PowerShell command:

    Enable-NetFirewallRule -DisplayGroup "<rulegroup>"

    Where:

    Rulegroup is one of the values from the following table, depending on which snap-in you want to connect.

MMC snap-in

Rule group

Event Viewer

Remote Event Log Management

Services

Remote Services Management

Shared Folders

File and Printer Sharing

Task Scheduler

  • Performance Logs and Alerts

  • File and Printer Sharing

Disk Management

Remote Volume Management

Windows Firewall with Advanced Security

Windows Firewall Remote Management

Note

Some MMC snap-ins do not have a corresponding rule group that allows them to connect through the firewall. However, enabling the rule groups for Event Viewer, Services, or Shared Folders will allow most other snap-ins to connect. Additionally, certain snap-ins require further configuration before they can connect through Windows Firewall:

  • Disk Management   You must first start the Virtual Disk Service (VDS) on the computer running Hyper-V Server. You must also configure the Disk Management rules appropriately on the computer running the MMC snap-in.

  • IP Security Monitor   You must first enable remote management for this snap-in. To do this, at a command prompt, type:

    Cscript \windows\system32\scregedit.wsf /im 1

  • Reliability and Performance   The snap-in does not require any further configuration, but when you use it to monitor a computer running Hyper-V Server, you can only monitor performance data. Reliability data is not available.

1.4 Manage with Remote Desktop Services

You can use Remote Desktop Services to manage a computer running Hyper-V Server.

To use Remote Desktop to manage a computer running Hyper-V Server

  1. On the computer running Hyper-V Server, run:

    cscript C:\Windows\System32\Scregedit.wsf /ar 0

    This enables Remote Desktop to accept connections.

  2. On another computer, click Start, click Run, type mstsc, and then click OK.

  3. In the Computer text box, enter the name of the computer running Hyper-V Server, and click Connect.

  4. Sign in by using an administrator account.

  5. When the command prompt appears, you can manage the computer by using the Windows command-line tools.

  6. When you have finished remotely managing the computer running Hyper-V Server, type logoff at the command prompt to end your Remote Desktop Services session.

Note

If you are running Remote Desktop Services on a client with an earlier version of Windows, you must turn off the higher security level that is set by default in Windows Server. To do this, after Step 1, type the following command at the command prompt:cscript C:\Windows\System32\Scregedit.wsf /cs 0

See also