Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012

I’ve been reading a lot lately about what people have been saying about Microsoft’s latest go at a hyper-visor and many say that now with Hyper-V 2012, Microsoft is catching up to VMware in the enterprise virtualization arena. I’ll identify some of the key points of what Hyper-V 2012 is bringing to the virtualization world.

• 32 Virtual CPUs and 512GB to a Virtual Machine
• VHDX File Format for Virtual Hard Disks (16TB of Storage)
• Native NIC teaming
• 64 Node Clustering
• Cluster-Aware updating
• Hyper-V Replica (Replication of Virtual Machines)

Two of my favorite additions though are the Cluster-Aware Updating and Hyper-V Replica features.
Cluster-Aware Updating helps to manage down time by maintaining availability during windows update time, so you pretty much schedule when you want the updates to occur and let the cluster take care of the rest, automatically moving Virtual Machines,  maintaining services and availability and then moving them back once the server has restarted and updates are completed. Hyper-V Replica, which performs asynchronous replication of VMs to a replica site (either stand alone or cluster).

Thanks & Regards

  Srikanth Goud  - Virtualization Administrator

Boot to the Desktop in Windows 8 & 8.1

In Windows 8.1, the appropriate setting is found in the "Taskbar and Navigation properties" window. To open it, you have several options. The fastest is to go to the Desktop and right click on the taskbar (or tap and hold). In the contextual menu, click or tap Properties.

Alternatively, you can open the Control Panel and go to "Appearance and Personalization". There, click or tap "Taskbar and Navigation".

In the "Taskbar and Navigation properties" window, click or tap the Navigation tab.

In the Start screen section, check the box which says "When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start". Another setting that is worth enabling is "Show Start on the display I’m using when I press the Windows logo key", so that you have a quick way to access the Start while on the Desktop.

Then, click or tap OK and you are done. The next time you log into Windows 8.1, it will take you straight to the Desktop.

Thanks & Regards

  Srikanth Goud  - Virtualization Administrator

Windows 8 : Scheduling Maintenance Tasks - Viewing and Managing Tasks on Local and Remote Systems

Windows 8 provides several tools for scheduling tasks, including the Task Scheduler, the Schtasks command-line tool, and several Windows PowerShell cmdlets. You can use any of these tools for scheduling tasks on local and remote systems. The Task Scheduler includes several wizards for scheduling tasks that provide point-and-click interfaces for task assignment. Schtasks is the command-line counterpart. Windows PowerShell cmdlets available include New-ScheduledTask, New-ScheduledTask Action, Set-ScheduledTask, Start-ScheduledTask, and StopScheduledTask.
All of these scheduling tools use the Task Scheduler service to monitor the system clock and run tasks at specified times. The Task Scheduler service logs on as the LocalSystem account by default. This account usually doesn’t have adequate permissions to perform administrative tasks. To overcome this problem, each task can be set to run as a specific user, and you set the user name and password to use when you create the task. Be sure to use an account that has adequate user privileges and access rights to run the tasks that you want to schedule.
Windows 8 has two general types of scheduled tasks:

• Standard tasks Used to automate routine tasks and perform housekeeping. These tasks are visible to users and can be modified if necessary.
• Hidden tasks Used to automate special system tasks. These tasks are hidden from users by default and should not be modified in most cases. Some hidden tasks are created and managed through a related program, such as Windows Defender.

In Windows 8, the creation and management of tasks is much more sophisticated than ever before. Every task can be configured to do the following:

• Run only when a user is logged on, or run regardless of whether a user is logged on
• Run with standard user privileges, or run with the highest privileges required (including administrator privileges)

Because tasks created on Windows 8 are not compatible with earlier releases of Windows, you cannot copy a Windows 8 task to a computer running an earlier release of Windows and expect the task to run. However, when creating the task, you can specify that it should be created so that it is compatible with earlier releases of Windows. This allows you to use the task on computers running earlier releases of Windows.
Tasks can have many properties associated with them, including the following:

• Triggers Triggers specify the circumstances under which a task begins and ends. You can begin a task based on a schedule as well as on user logon, computer startup, or processor idling. You can also begin a task based on events, a user connecting or disconnecting from a Terminal Server session, or a user locking or unlocking a workstation. Tasks with event-based triggers can be the most powerful because they allow you to provide automated ways to handle errors and warnings.
• Actions Actions define the action a task performs when it is triggered. This allows a task to start programs, send email messages, or display messages.
• Conditions Conditions help qualify the conditions under which a task is started or stopped once it has been triggered. You can use conditions to wake the computer to run a task and to start the computer only if a specific network connection is available. You can use conditions to start, stop, and restart a task based on the processor idle time. For example, you might want to start a task only if the computer has been idle for at least 10 minutes, stop the task if the computer is no longer idle, and then restart the task again if the computer becomes idle once more. You can also use conditions to specify that a task should start only if the computer is on alternating current (AC) power and stop if the computer switches to battery power.

Viewing and Managing Tasks on Local and Remote Systems

The current tasks configured on a system are accessible through the Task Scheduler node in Computer Management. Tasks are organized and grouped together using a familiar folder structure, where base folders are named according to the operating system features, tools, and configuration areas to which they relate. Within a base folder, you’ll find one or more related tasks.
You can view and manage the scheduled tasks configured on a computer by completing the following steps:

1. Open Computer Management. You are connected to the local computer by default. If you want to view tasks on a remote computer, press and hold or right-click the Computer Management entry in the console tree (left pane), and then tap or click Connect To Another Computer. In the Select Computer dialog box, enter the name of the computer that you want to access, and then tap or click OK.
2. Expand the Task Scheduler node, and then expand the Task Scheduler Library node and related subnodes as necessary.
3. When you select a task folder in the console tree, the first task in the folder is selected by default. If the folder has multiple tasks and you want to work with a different task, select that task instead.
4. When you’ve selected the task you want to work with, you can view its properties by using the tabs shown in Figure 1. If you want to manage the task, press and hold or right-click the task in the main pane and then do the following:
   • Tap or click Delete to delete a task.
   • Tap or click Disable to disable a task.
   • Tap or click Properties to edit the task’s properties. Make the appropriate changes in the Properties dialog box, and then tap or click OK.
   • Tap or click Export to export a task to a file that can be imported on another computer. After you export the task, use Computer Management to connect to the other computer, press and hold or right-click the Task Scheduler Library node, and then tap or click Import Task. You can then use the Open dialog box to locate and open the task on the other computer.
   • Tap or click Run to run the task.
   • If the task is running, tap or click End to stop the task.

Note

Although you can modify and delete user-created tasks, most tasks created by the operating system cannot be configured or deleted. If operating system tasks are not shown, you can display these tasks by tapping or clicking View and then selecting Show Hidden Tasks. Note also that when exporting tasks, the task’s Configure For setting determines the operating systems with which the task can be used. Although earlier releases of Windows had different scheduled task architectures, Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 share the same architecture as Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2.

You can view the scheduled tasks currently running on a computer by completing the following steps:

1. Open Computer Management. You are connected to the local computer by default. If you want to view tasks on a remote computer, press and hold or right-click the Computer Management entry in the console tree (left pane), and then tap or click Connect To Another Computer. In the Select Computer dialog box, enter the name of the computer that you want to access, and then tap or click OK.
2. Select the Task Scheduler node to read in its attributes. Press and hold or right-click the Task Scheduler node, and then select Display All Running Tasks.

Creating Scheduled Tasks

You can create a scheduled task by completing the following steps:

1. Open Computer Management. You are connected to the local computer by default. If you want to create tasks on a remote computer, press and hold or right-click the Computer Management entry in the console tree (left pane), and then tap or click Connect To Another Computer. In the Select Computer dialog box, enter the name of the computer that you want to access, and then tap or click OK.
2. Select and then press and hold or right-click the Task Scheduler node, and then tap or click Create Task. This starts the Create Task Wizard.
3. On the General tab, type the name of the task, and then set security options for running the task.
   • If the task should run under a user account other than that of the current user, tap or click Change User Or Group. Use the Select User Or Group dialog box to select the user or group under which the task should run, and then provide the appropriate credentials when prompted later.
   • Set other run options as necessary by using the options provided. By default, tasks run only when a user is logged on. If you want to run the task regardless of whether a user is logged on, select Run Whether User Is Logged On Or Not. You can also elect to run with highest privileges and configure the task for specified releases of Windows. To configure the task for Windows 7 and Windows 8, choose Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2.
4. On the Triggers tab, create and manage triggers by using the options provided. To create a trigger, tap or click New, use the options provided to configure the trigger, and then tap or click OK.
5. On the Actions tab, create and manage actions by using the options provided. To create an action, tap or click New, use the options provided to configure the action, and then tap or click OK.
6. On the Conditions tab, specify any limiting conditions for starting or stopping the task.
7. On the Settings tab, choose any additional optional settings for the task.
8. Tap or click OK to create the task.

Troubleshooting Scheduled Tasks

When you configure tasks to run on a computer, you can encounter several types of problems. Some tasks won’t run when they are supposed to. Others will start but won’t stop. To determine the status of a task, select the task in the Task Scheduler and note the status, last run time, and last run result. If a task has a status of Queued, it is waiting to run at a scheduled time. If a task has a status of Ready, it is ready to run at its next run time. If a task should be running automatically but has a last run time of Never, you need to check the task’s properties to determine why it isn’t running. If the last run result is an error, you need to resolve the referenced problem so that the task can run normally.
Check a task’s properties by tapping or clicking its entry in the Task Scheduler. The History tab provides detailed information on the task, from creation to its latest run time. Use the information to help you resolve problems with the task.
A task that is listed as Running might not in fact be running but instead might be a hung process. You can check for hung processes by using the Last Run Time column, which tells you when the task was started. If a task has been running for more than a day, there is usually a problem. A script might be waiting for input, the task might have problems reading or writing files, or the task might simply be a runaway task that needs to be stopped. To stop the task, press and hold or right-click it in the Task Scheduler, and then tap or click End.

Thanks & Regards

Srikanth Goud- Virtualization Administrator

SELECT statement

Day 10

 SELECT statement

 While the SELECT statement offers a plethora of arguments that can make it very complex, in its sim­plest form it consists of two keywords: a list of columns and a table name.

1. Write a SELECT statement.
2. Sort your results.
3. Filter a SELECT statement with the WHERE clause.
4. Use comparison operators.
5. Use the BETWEEN operator.
6. Use the WHERE clause with multiple conditions.
7. Search for a list of values.
8. Use a wildcard search.
9. Create aliases.
10. Use the JOIN operator.
11. Limit the data returned in your result set.
12. Use the UNION keyword to combine result sets.

Write a SELECT statement

1. Open Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and connect to a server.
2. In Object Explorer, expand the Databases folder.
3. Expand the AdventureWorks2012 database.
4. Expand the Tables folder.
5. Expand the Flowers. Department table.
6. Open the query editor in SSMS.
7. In the query editor, enter and execute the following T-SQL code:

Database
USE Thigalla;
SELECT
 FROM

Click and drag the Columns folder underneath the table in Object Explorer to the right of the keyword SELECT. Ensure that there is a space after the SELECT keyword.
Click and drag the Flowers. Department table from Object Explorer to the right of the keyword FROM. Ensure that there is a space after the FROM keyword.

--Use this query to select data from the Flowers. Department table in the database USE Thigalla; SELECT DepartmentID, Name, GroupName, ModifiedDate FROM [Flowers]. [Department]
8.    Execute the query and review the results.

Filtering data with the WHERE clause
So far, you have simply returned all the rows in a table.In the real world, this is probably not what you will do—most times, and you will need to return only subsets of data.

1. Comparison operators
2. The BETWEEN operator
3. A WHERE clause with multiple conditions
4. A search for a list of values
5. A wildcard search

Creating aliases
You can create aliases, which can be a shorter or more understandable name, for table and column names, making it easier to work with aggregations, expressions, and queries that involve multiple tables.In addition, your database may contain very cryptic column names, and you may want to provide names that are more meaningful to applications and end users.Using aliases allows you to rename or shorten the names of tables and columns.
Alias a table and column

1. Open the query editor in SSMS.
2. In the query editor, enter and execute the following T-SQL code:

--Use this query to alias a table and columnUSE THIGALLA;
SELECT DepartmentID, Name AS DepartmentName, GroupName AS DepartmentGroupNameFROM HumanResources.Department AS d
In the preceding query, the Name column is renamed DepartmentName, the GroupName column is renamed DepartmentGroupName, and the table has been aliased as simply d. Now you can refer­ence the table as d instead of the entire table name throughout the query.The use of table aliases is explained in the next section.

Thanks & Regards

Srikanth Goud- Virtualization Administrator

Enable mixed mode authentication in MS SQL?

Enable mixed mode authentication in MS SQL?

Mixed mode authentication allows you to log into a SQL server using either your Windows VPS username and password or your SQL database username and password. When logged in using your Windows VPS username and password, you have access to all the databases on the server.

           1.       1.Log into your SQL server (Run SSMS)

           2.       Click Start, Programs, Microsoft SQL Server 2012/2008 r2 and select SQL Server  Management Studio Express or SQL Server Management Studio, depending on your version of SQL Server.

         3.      Enter the requested information:

• Server Type: select Database Engine
• Server Name: this field should be populated by default
• Authentication: select Windows Authentication

          4.       Right click the server name and select Properties.

           5.       Click Security,

         6.       Under Server authentication select SQL Server and Windows Authentication Mode.

         7.       Click OK.

         8.      Right click the server name and select Restart. Wait a few moments for the service to restart before proceeding.

Thanks & Regards

Srikanth Goud- Virtualization Administrator