Limitations

Configuration

Add Server to a Windows Domain

Add the Hyper-V server to a Windows Domain. 

Modify the Windows registry

Download the powershell script in the attached file change_registry.ps1

Log in the hypervisor as domain administrator (DOMAIN\USER or USER@DOMAIN) and run the powershell script.

This script will change some registry keys values and set their owner to the user who runs it. This allows Abiquo administer the hypervisor remotely with the domain user.

Configure WinRM

Abiquo newest versions use WinRM for some management operations. Among others:

• Clone VM template disks from VM repository during VM deploy

• Allow unmapped Samba shares to be used as datastores

To enable WinRM, use the commands below:

• Enable the WinRM service and set some basic properties

  winrm quickconfig
  winrm set winrm/config/service/Auth '@{Basic="true"}'
  winrm set winrm/config/winrs '@{MaxMemoryPerShellMB="1024"}'

• Create a new certificate for the WinRM service and copy the certificate thumbprint:

  New-SelfSignedCertificate -DnsName HypervisorDNSName -CertStoreLocation Cert:\LocalMachine\My

• Create an HTTPS listener for WinRM using this certificate to encrypt service requests:

  winrm create winrm/config/Listener?Address=*+Transport=HTTPS '@{Hostname="HypervisorDNSName"; CertificateThumbprint="THUMBPRINT"}'

• The new copy disk procedure requires CredSSP to be enabled in WinRM. To that end, you’ll need to run the following in every HV added in Abiquo:
  

  Enable-WSManCredSSP -Role client -DelegateComputer "*" -Force
  winrm set winrm/config/Service/Auth '@{CredSSP="true"}'

The WinRM configuration and requirements are detailed here:

• https://docs.xebialabs.com/
• https://github.com/xebialabs/overthere

Configure firewall

You need to open the following ports in HyperV for the RS appliance to be able to manage it remotely:

WMI uses a dynamic port range to provide WMI services on top of the DCOM service. It is possible to configure this service to use a static port, but this is out of Abiquo scope.

Check Microsoft documentation for further details on this.

Configure Network

Configure the network in Hyper-V Manager by checking the MAC addressing and add a new network attached to the service network interface.

Configure VLANs

To allow Abiquo to manage VLANs in this Hyper-V server, add a new network attached to the service network interface.

The network name should use appropriate characters and can be chosen by the network administrator. 

In Hyper-V Manager, go to Virtual Switch Manager -> New virtual network switch. Use the default options with 'External' type

Configure Persistent iSCSI Storage

Install iSCSI Service

Launch a cmd command line to enable the iSCSI service and set it to start automatically:

C:\Users\Administrator> sc config msiscsi start= auto
ChangeServiceConfig SUCCESS

C:\Users\Administrator> net start msiscsi
The Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service service is starting.
The Microsoft iSCSI Initiator Service service was started successfully.

Manually Set Initiator IQN

Once the iSCSI service is enabled, you must set the initiator IQN for the machine manually. Go to  Start > Administrative tools > iSCSI Initiator > Configuration and Click the Change button.

The dialog below will appear. You can accept the default value.

iSCSI Firewall Rule

See Configure Firewall (above) to set the iSCSI firewall rules via netsh.

SAN Policy Configuration

Open a command line and run the following commands to set the appropriate SAN Policy:

diskpart
san policy=OfflineAll
exit

Abiquo properties

Edit the /opt/abiquo/config/abiquo.properties and update its contents as described below:

• Enable WinRM related properties if needed

  abiquo.hyperv.winrm.enableHttps=true
  abiquo.hyperv.winrm.trustStrategy=ALLOW_ALL
  abiquo.hyperv.winrm.verificationStrategy=ALLOW_ALL

• Configure the appliance library related properties

  abiquo.appliancemanager.localRepositoryPath = /opt/vm_repository/
  abiquo.appliancemanager.repositoryLocation = 192.168.1.10:/opt/vm_repository
  abiquo.virtualfactory.hyperv.repositoryLocation = //<SERVER_IP>/vm_repository
  

• If you are using unmapped Samba shares, set the abiquo.hyperv.sambaHosts property too.

Cloud init images folder

To use cloud-init, you will need to add a hyperv-iso folder to the VM repository. After the Abiquo server is up and running, check if this folder is present, for example in the default location.

/opt/vm_repository/hyperv-iso/

 If the hyperv-iso folder is not present, then create it, and set its owner to "tomcat"

VM generation

When using HyperV, you must take Generation 1 and Generation 2 VM features, requirements and capabilities into account when dealing with VMs and VM templates.

If the VM or VM template is not using the right settings, VMs might not be deployed, or they could be unable to boot:

• Which is the VM base OS and its architecture?
• Is the VM template legacy BIOS or UEFI compatible?
• Is the VM primary disk IDE or SCSI?
• Is the VM using disks in VHD format?
  

Abiquo will deploy the VM as Gen2 if the primary disk is SCSI, otherwise, it will deploy it as Gen1. If the VM is Gen2, all the disks must be in VHDX or ISO format, and the template must be UEFI boot-capable.

Check the links below for the all the details.

• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/plan/Should-I-create-a-generation-1-or-2-virtual-machine-in-Hyper-V
• https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/virtualization/hyper-v/Hyper-V-feature-compatibility-by-generation-and-guest

Credentials

For Hyper-V, enter the credentials as follows:

• Domain user accounts must be introduced in UPN format (user@domain)
• Local user accounts must be specified by only typing in the user (user)

Remember that NTP is mandatory.

Features

General features

Feature	Description
Generation V1/V2 virtual machines	Virtual machines V1 are supported Virtual machines V2 are supported
NUMA configurations	NUMA configurations for processors are not supported
Active Directory Integration	You can log in with an AD user or a local user. Use an Administrator account
High Availability	Abiquo High Availability Microsoft Failover Clustering Abiquo High Availability and Microsoft Failover Clustering can not be used at the same time
Live Migration	Abiquo detects VM live migrations with storage migration and Failover To detect them, the destination datastore must be enabled in Abiquo VM Moves in the same datastore are not supported Abiquo uses Msvm_MigrationJob to detect VM movements, which exist for 5 minutes. VSM polling interval must be less than 5 minutes or detection can not be guaranteed
Templates	VHD templates VHDX templates, but: No conversions from VHDX to other formats or vice versa No persistent VHDX templates
Remote Access	RDP
Virtual Machine NICs	Synthetic Ethernet Port is used NO limit of 4 NICs per virtual machine
Disk Resize	VHD system disk resize (VHD format does not support resize) VHDX system disk resize (not yet supported by Abiquo) Auxiliary hard disks are VHDX and resize is permitted External storage volumes resized outside of Abiquo are detected
Dynamic Memory	Dynamic Memory is disabled for R2 in relation to unsupported NUMA processors

Storage Features