Category Archives: IT Pro

Live Export a Running Virtual Machine or a Checkpoint

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A remarkably little known feature in Windows Sever 2012 R2 (and Windows 8.1)  is the ability to export one or multiple running virtual machines.

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You just select right click in the Hyper-V manager and select Export from the context menu and follow the wizard to select an export location. Easy. This is also possible via PowerShell so you can automate this. The result is a VM you can import which gives you a copy of the original virtual machine in a saved state, at the point in time that you exported it.

More people seem to know about the capability to export a checkpoint of a running virtual machine, not so many of the capability to export a running VM itself. I noticed this because some people figured the latter was a new feature in Windows 2016. No it’s not. We’ve had this option since Windows 8.1 and Windows Server 2012 R2.

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So why even have the option of exporting a checkpoint of a running VM? Because this enables you to have exports from various points in time, which is pretty cool and handy during test and development and trouble shooting or lab work. As a standard checkpoint has state in Windows Server 2012 R2 I prefer to shut down the VM, create a checkpoint and start the VM again. When I then export that checkpoint I don’t have to worry about the state in the VM at that point in time as it was shut down.

For some workloads this isn’t a big deal bit for some this is not a great experience, hence the fact that checkpoints are “”not supported in production but for test and dev.

In Windows Server 2016 we now have production checkpoints. That means that when we apply such checkpoints we have a consistent state just like when we restore VM from a backup. You’ll have to boot it up after applying the checkpoint, they do not appear running with the state at the time the snapshot was taken. Well, not unless you opt to create standard checkpoints. The reduces the need for me to shut down a VM before I create a checkpoint to export in many cases.

When you export a running VM in Windows Server 2016 you’ll have a copy of it in saved state. Just like you did in Windows Server 2012 R2, no change there. When you import that you’ll have a VM in saved state that you need to start up. If you want an application consistent copy, create a production checkpoint first and export that one.

So there you go. The feature to live export a running virtual machine was here before and it’s still here. The real extra capability with live exports comes from leveraging the live export of a checkpoint of a running virtual machine and the fact that we now have production checkpoints.

Email Notifications in Veeam Endpoint Backup

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I have been pinged by a few people to ask how to set up Veeam Endpoint Backup e-mail notification with a Hotmail / Live mail or outlook.com consumer address. The same goes for gmail or any other consumer e-mail service. So let’s share this with the world.

I’ll provide an example that you can use for your own needs and environment. Only the details will differ based on your provider.

Fill out your e-mail address and the password for your e-mail account.

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Click on”Show SMTP server settings” (see the red arrow) and than fill out the smtp server address. For outlook.com this is smtp-mail.outlook.com. The port to use is 587 (TLS). Leave the checkmark for secure connection enabled. By using port 587 you’re indicating you’ll use TLS not SSL, which is being going away, don’t use that anymore, over port 465. Unless you must with your provider. If you can’t use a secure connection you’ll probably need port 25 nut most consumer free e-mail service providers don’t even offer /allow this.

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Click on the test message button, what about 5 to 10 seconds, hit F9 in your e-mail client and you should see the test e-mail arrive.

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Another smtp servers that will work for Hotmail / Live mail / Outlook.com is smtp.live.com also with port 587. For gmail you can use smtp.gmail.com over port 587. For Yahoo it’s smtp.mail.yahoo.com again, port 587.

Every morning I find a e-mail that tells me about the success of issues with my Veeam Endpoint Backup. Easy.

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The only thing you need to remember is that such consumer accounts are throttled in the number of e-mails you can send per day. So don’t go spamming yourself now. Hope this helps some of you out there!

SQL Server 2016 Is Generally Available

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I have always had a sweet spot for SQL Server as I used to work more with it than I do to day. However I keep a keen eye on it and especially it’s capabilities for I’m also doing SQL Server virtualization on Hyper-V with great results.

So today is a good day. SQL Server 2016 is generally available.

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This means you can grab the evaluations bits here, the production bits from Microsoft Volume License Center.

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I’m downloading as we speak and my DBA’s are extra enthusiastic and ready to roll/

For those who hadn’t yet hear the good news. The SQL Server Developer Edition is now FREE. So have a ball, everyone can test & develop against the latest and the greatest SQL Server version and all its features!

My Veeam Endpoint Backup Setup

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My main workhouse at home is important to me and for that reason it get’s protected with Veeam Endpoint Backup.

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I don’t like messing around with external disk bays or even the external quick swap bays. Normally they’re in the way, cables lingering etc. But when it comes to backups you need a reliable and easy way to backup to disk and to remove that disk for save keeping. Not just for the occasional location based disaster in your workstation such as a power surge or even a small fire. But also as a protection against ransom ware such a bit locker.

When you use an internal disk you should really make it a dedicated disk. It’s not going to help storing your OS and data backups on the same disk that you are protecting. What I do is I have quick swap bays build in to my rig. Yes, that’s the beauty of building your own. I use the Sharkoon SATA Quickport Intern disk bays for that purpose.

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Both the single or the Multi disk versions will work. It’s cost effective and practical. The Multi edition allows for SSD, HDD and has USB 3.0 connectors for any external disk bay you might still want to attach. Pretty slick. They also have a single 2.5” disk (SATA or SSD bay) if that’s more to your liking.

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I can swap out the disks easily and store them away from my workstation of even off site. It works really well for me. I have the ability to use a SATA SSD if I want that for speed or a normal SATA HDD. The only thing I’d want is multiple jobs and schedules for more flexibility. If, potentially, Veeam Endpoint backup could build the intelligence to detect which of my drives I have in my disk bay and run certain jobs based on that it would be completely fantastic!