Hyper-V Server 2012 vs Windows Server 2012 Standard - hyper-v

I'm looking to test some of the new features in Hyper-V 2012 (v3).
Hyper-V v3 can be downloaded as a "free" version "Hyper-V Server 2012", or it can be purchased as part of Windows Server 2012 Standard or datacenter. However, as usual licensing is unclear.
On the one hand MS talk about their free edition in several (many) sites. On the other hand, when you go to the actual download site it talks about a trial. To me a trial has an expiry date so it makes me nervous.
I could use my Windows Standard 2012 license as part of my Microsoft Action Pack Subscription (MAPS), but I'm not sure what I'm actually entitled to.
So my question is:
What are the real differences between the free (trial) download of Hyper-V Server 2012 and the paid-for Windows Server Core 2012 where you have to install with a key.
Does the "trial" version actually expire?

No, Hyper-V Server 2012 doesn't expire.
Hyper-V Server is quite a bit like Server Standard Core with all of the roles except Hyper-V (and other supporting roles and features) removed.
Now, in Server 2012, you can add the full UI back to the Server Core editions, but that's not an option with Hyper-V Server 2012 - it will always just be a command-line. That also means that the typical management UI tools won't run on Hyper-V Server 2012, so you'll need a machine that you can manage it from remotely (the PowerShell cmdlets for Hyper-V actually do work on Hyper-V Server, though).
Hyper-V Server isn't really for people who want to "play around" with Hyper-V - it's really designed for people who want to boost their Hyper-V infrastructure with more physical hosts, and who want to run a very lightweight OS in the root partition, leaving the most resources available for the VMs.
If you just want to get used to Hyper-V or test some things out with it, but you don't have experience with managing Hyper-V remotely already, stick with a full version of Windows Server (or Windows 8 Pro/Enterprise x64, which also have Hyper-V).

Related

Requirements to configure Reporting services during TFS installation

I can't find this answer anywhere and maybe I'm just not getting it. I am installing TFS 2013.3 and I no matter what wizard I choose, there is no option to configure reporting services.
Environments tried:
Windows 7 Enterprise / MS SQL 2012 Express / TFS 2013.3 Express
Windows 8 Professional / MS SQL 2012 Developer / TFS 2013.3 Standard
I am about to try on a Windows Server 2012 SP1 machine shortly in case it has to be a server level machine. I looked on the MSDN for hardware and software support for both SQL/TFS and the above configurations are ok.
Pre-configuration tasks
SQL server pre-installed
SQL configured with Reporting and Analysis services enabled
User to install and configure both SQL and TFS is in the local Admin group
Used both the Basic and Advanced wizards during setup
I'm not sure what I am missing, but it seems that not doing something to be able to use the built in reports. It doesn't look like I need SharePoint for that.
Any ideas?
From MSDN:
You can install Team Foundation Server on a client computer that is
running one of the operating systems in the table. However, client
operating systems do not support integration with SharePoint Products,
reporting, or the ability to run TFS proxy. ...
If you want to use any of these features, you must install Team
Foundation Server on a server operating system.
Emphasis mine.

Upgrading OS Server after installing applications

I have installed certain applications in my VM which has Windows OS Server 2008. Now, If I upgrade the Windows Server to 2012, will it affect my applications in anyway?
I could see that the application is supported in 2012 Server.
It really depends on the applications, but most should be fine. I would recommend taking a snapshot of your old installation so that you can quickly go back to WS 2008 if need be.
Check with application vendor if they support 2012 version OS. Don't upgrade the instance without a snapshot. Most applications should work, unless any App-OS dependency.

Can I use a Sharepoint server as a development machine?

Is it possible that can I use Sharepoint server as development machine also. My mananger has asked me to use one of the newly purchased server for Sharepoint server as well as sharepoint development.
In future we will do some small development so what type of installation do I need?
Please guide me for the following which one I should install or which one is not required.
Standalone or Farms
VM
SQL Server 2008
VS 2010
SharePoint 2010 can run on a 64-Bit Windows 7, as per instructions from Microsoft.
It does not work on 32 Bit Windows as SharePoint 2010 is 64-Bit only, and it does not work on Vista.
Yes, it is possible to use your SharePoint server as a development machine. I'd suggest using a VM as it allows you to quickly and easily switch between, revert and deploy setups should something go wrong (and things WILL go wrong with SharePoint).
At work, my machine runs Win Server 2008 and I remote into a Hyper-V hosted VM which itself runs Server 2008 - I develop and run SP on that VM. Since I have SP, SQL Server and VS2010 all running on it at the same time, I allocate the VM at least 5.5 GB of memory (and it's still hungry for more).
You can develop for SharePoint 2010 on a Windows 2008 Server x64 or on a Windows 7 64bit. A Windows 7 is of course only recommended for development.
Most developers use a standalone machine for their SharePoint 2010 development. Creating a farm is complex and $$.
Personally I develop in virtual machines. I have on clean vm image that I copy for every new project (client). You need a powerful computer to run these virtual machines. At least 4GB memory and a recent multicore cpu.
You will need Visual Studio 2010, SQL server and ofcourse SharePoint. Office can also be handy but is not needed. SQl server express is included in Visual Studio and the SharePoint install also installs SQl server if needed. Certain Visual Studio versions include an "SQL server developer" license.

Which one should I choose to install on my server: Windows 2003 Standard or Windows 2008 Web Edition?

I'm in the process of looking for a dedicated server to host my soon to be released web apps. THey are build with ASP.NEt and uses Sql Server 2005. I've got a great deal with a company for a Intel Core2Quad Q9300 with 8Gb or ram and 750Gb sata.
They offer me Windows 2003 64 Standard or Windows 2008 64 Web for free, which one should I choose?
My main concern is about the database, in the first moment I'm going to have only one box to host both the web and database layer. Will I be able to install SQL Server (initially the express edition, then eventually the standard) on the Web version of Windows 2008?
If you can get Server 2008, i'd go with it because IIS7 is an excellent Upgrade to IIS6.
SQL Server Standard 2008 64-Bit is officially supported on Windows 2008 Web Server. SQL Server Enterprise 2008 64-Bit is NOT (not sure if it does work and is only not listed. 32-Bit Enterprise is listed, but running 32-Bit on a modern server does not sound appealing). See System Requirements here for a full list of SQL Server 2008 Editions and supported Servers.
Not sure about SQL Server 2005, there seems to be a patch needed.
You can run SQL Server on Server 2008 Web Edition (this is a change from Server 2003 Web Edition). The main limitations I am aware of between Web and Standard for 2008 is Web cannot do any kind of virtualization, Active Directory or DNS management, etc. It is intended to be essentially an application server.
I would recommend the newer OS, since it comes with IIS7 and the enhanced TCP/IP (among other things).
If its free, go for the standard version. Here is a comparison of the features:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/compare-features.aspx
I've never noticed any performance differences in the versions, so might as well get features you might use someday. Expensive to upgrade later.
You can run the SQL on either one.

Should I upgrade to Windows Server & Exchange 2008?

Currently running Server 2003 but am looking at reinstalling in the near future due to a change of direction with the domains. Should I take this opportunity to install Windows Server 2008 instead?
I would love to play with new technology and the server is only for a small home business so downtime/performance issues aren't really a concern.
I am no expert on Windows server revisions, but the only new feature of Server 2008 I can think of is Hyper-V. But I would try Server 2008 just for Hyper-V, as this VM hypervisor is supposedly much faster than VMware and Virtual PC, and is compatible with Virtual PC virtual disks.
One rule that has served me very well over the years is: Do not upgrade infrastructure components just for the sake of upgrading. If it works well, leave it be. You mentioned that some downtime isn't a big deal, but if the server is actually used then there is a chance it can become a big deal unexpectedly. Why not simply get (or build) a new machine and play with the new operating system there? That way you get the best of both worlds.
There is no Exchange Server 2008. Exchange has always been tightly integrated with IIS which tends to bind it to a specific version of Windows. However, Exchange Server 2007 SP1 can be installed on Windows Server 2008.
Exchange Server 2003, however, cannot run on Windows Server 2008 and I do not believe there are any plans to do so in a future service pack.
Note that Exchange Server 2007 requires x64 architecture, running the 64-bit OS, on a production system. The days of booting /3GB are past - it simply does not provide enough virtual address space for current large databases. Exchange's long-running virtual memory fragmentation problem has not been fixed, it has just been given more virtual address space to work in.