Hyper-V for VMware Administrators: Migration, Coexistence, and Management

Learn to deploy and support Hyper-V, building on what you know about VMware’s vSphere. Whether you’re looking to run both hypervisors in parallel or migrate completely, Hyper-V for VMware Administrators has everything you need to get started.

The book begins with an overview of Hyper-V basics, including common management tasks such as creating a virtual machine and building a virtual network. You’ll learn how to deploy a failover cluster to protect against the risk of Hyper-V becoming a single point of failure, and how to make virtual machines fault tolerant. System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) is the preferred tool for managing large Hyper-V deployments, so you’ll get to know this next and how it differs from VMware’s vCenter solution, as well as how to manage a mixed environment including both vSphere and Hyper-V deployments.

Like any server migration, a virtual server migration requires careful planning to ensure success. You’ll find information here on the specifics of migrating from vSphere to Hyper-V, planning for down time, IP address differences, performance considerations, and more. For migrations to Hyper-V, SCVMM is once again the preferred tool, but you’ll also be introduced to some of the excellent free tools available.

One easily overlooked aspect of the migration process is the way in which it impacts your backup and recovery strategy. Knowing the best practices here can help you protect your Hyper-V environment. The book also covers how to monitor and maintain your Hyper-V environment once it’s up and running, using features like Cluster-Aware Updating, automated live migrations, and availability sets. The concluding chapter shows you how to take advantage of the efficiencies provided by virtual machine libraries and templates.

Approach Hyper-V with confidence, and the knowledge that you’ve planned for success, with Hyper-V for VMware Administrators.

What you’ll learn

• Find out how Hyper-V compares to VMware’s vSphere, and how System Center Virtual Machine Manager compares to vCenter.
• Prevent Hyper-V from becoming a single point of failure with failover clustering.
• Work with System Center Virtual Machine Manager to manage both Hyper-V and vSphere environments through a single interface.
• Plan and execute a virtual server migration, including planning for downtime, IP address changes and performance considerations.
• Adapt your backup and recovery strategy for best results in your new Hyper-V environment.
• Monitor and maintain your Hyper-V clusters, using Cluster-Aware Updating, automated live migrations, and availability sets.
• Use virtual machine libraries and templates for increased efficiency.

Who this book is for

Readers should have a working knowledge of vSphere 5.5. No prior experience with Hyper-V is expected.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Hyper-V Basics
Chapter 2: Building a Failover Cluster
Chapter 3: An Introduction to System Center Virtual Machine Manager
Chapter 4: Using Virtual Machine Manager as a Cross-Platform Management Tool
Chapter 5: Using System Center Virtual Machine Manager for Virtual Machine Migrations
Chapter 6: An Alternate Migration Method
Chapter 7: Virtual Machine Protection
Chapter 8: Keeping Hyper-V Healthy
Chapter 9: Virtual Machine Libraries and Templates