I spent the weekend ripping apart the lab and rebuilt my lab ESX hosts as 4.1.  I wanted to build some new templates since the old ones were a bit long in the tooth, so the first one I spun up was a Windows Server 2008 R2 VM.  I did the typical - ran through the new VM wizard, attached the ISO, installed Windows and loaded the VM Tools... all normal stuff.  But then I noticed that the mouse performance was really sluggish.  I checked all the old tricks - the Display Properties -> Troubleshooting bar... check.  Mouse shadowing... off.  Tools actually loaded... check.  Hmmm...

A quick Google (or "Bing" for the Microsoft-centric out there) revealed a few others who've seen this also.  I checked the display adapter and sure enough, I was stuck on the Standard Display Adapter...

Initially, I tried updating the driver using the normal search paths, but it kept telling me I had the proper driver - which I knew I didn't.  I manually entered the driver location using the VMware Tools driver path:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\VMware\Drivers

This updated the driver to the VMware SVGA 3D (Microsoft Corporation WDDM) driver, as seen below:

A quick reboot later and I was on my way - problem solved! Apparently this is an issue in Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 on ESX 4.1.  It was introduced with a virtual hardware update they made in this new release.  Windows Server 2003 and other Windows versions seem fine - just these.

This is a small tidbit of information, but it was quite a nuisance so I hope to help someone out there who's had this.

A Note to VMware: I must say this is pretty disappointing.  In every past version, there's never been an issue where a less than optimal driver is loaded by default.  It's not that easy tracking down why, particularly since it only happens on these two releases of Windows (that I've found this far). I would hope that this is addressed in the near future.

The Hyper-V Best Practices Analyzer (BPA) is the latest in a line of BPA tools from  Microsoft that have been released for various systems since 2007 that scans a the Windows  system and identifies protential areas of configuration or policy that don't align with  Microsoft-recommended best practices.

While it isn't a life-changing tool, it is handy to quickly identify something that you may  have overlooked, particularly once the environment expands.

If plan to upgrade your ESX 4.0 hosts to ESX 4.0 Update 1 and are running HP ProLiant gear, you should be aware of an issue that has been discovered:

This issue occurs if you are running the HP Insight Manager agents on the ESX hosts.  VMware will be releasing an updated installer for Update 1 in the near future, but the workaround for the time being is to disable the agents on the host prior to beginning the installation.

Full information on the KB from VMware can be found here :

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1016070

Keeping with the theme of good [free] reading, Microsoft has released a pretty decent free ebook on Windows 7. "Deploying Windows 7: Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit" is 332 pages, most of which was taken from Mitch Tulloch's Windows 7 Resource Kit. Microsoft's Windows Resource Kits are notorious for having great content.

You can download it here from Microsoft or below:

Download: "Deploying Windows 7: Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit " (6.5 MB)

This is the slide deck from the "Hyper-V and System Center: How Good Can It Be?" presentation I did at BriForum 2009 in Chicago.  It looks at the solution of Hyper-V R2 and the System Center suite (SCVMM, SCOM, SCCM and DPM - the latter two briefly) and exposes the good, bad and ugly. I like to think I kept the session as bias-free as possible, however I am very enthusiastic about Hyper-V- but not blinded by its shortcomings.

There was a lot of activity in the session, with lots of participation and a full room.  From what I saw at BriForum, and what I see in the field day to day, there are a lot of organizations looking at Hyper-V R2 as an alternate solution.

Check it out an let me know what you think.  Bottom line: Microsoft does have a very compelling story in this space.  They may not have the most features or the longest run in the space, but Microsoft has a way of being "just good enough" to get the job done.

Download: Hyper-V and System Center: How Good Can It Be? - BriForum 2009 (3 MB)

This is the slide deck from the presentation I gave at BriForum 2009.  It discusses some thoughts on VMware Infrastructure, including vSphere, around networking practices, storage ideas and DR planning, HA considerations, etc.  Lots of good "overview" information.  With the session only 75 minutes, I ended up not being able to cover all of the information.  Unfortunately, the slides won't do the overall presentation affect and justice - I tend to use the slides and points for discussion, so we did get into some great discussions that you won't get from the presentation.

If you have any questions on anything in there, please don't hesitate to drop me a note.  

Download: VMware Infrastructure Best Practice - Tips and Tricks: BriForum 2009 (4 MB)

With the recent release of Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft has released an eBook for download on the Windows Server website.  Although not a huge tome, it has some good content, including:

• What's new in Windows Server 2008 R2
• Hyper-V R2
• Remote Desktop Services (RDS) and VDI
  
• Active Directory: Improving and Automating Identity and Access
• IIS 7.5
• DirectAccess

And the best part - it's free.  Get it here from Microsoft, or below:

Download: Introducing Windows Server 2008 R2 (11.1 MB)

For you date watchers out there, today (October 22, 2009) marks the day that both Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 hit the retail streets.  Of course, the bits have been available on MSDN and to Enterprise Agreement customers for quite a while now.

Lots of goodness on both fronts.  Personally, I've been using Windows 7 now for about 6 months and I've never looked back [to XP/Vista].  The two best features are Libraries and XP Mode.  I highly recommend it!

Windows Server 2008 R2's biggest splash (from my edge of the world) is Hyper-V, plus some other gems like DirectAccess and RDS advancements.  Microsoft has a free eBook available for download here .  It's no slouch either, at 200 pages. Who doesn't love free?

This is another session that I presented at BriForum 2008 in Chicago.  It builds on my Terminal Services Licensing presentation from 2006, providing updates on Windows Server 2008.  Most of this information is still relevant today, although I don't have the newest licensing models in here on Microsoft's VDI licensing and the inclusion of the RDS CAL.  I'll get something posted soon on that.

Download: Terminal Services Licensing Update: BriForum 2008 (3.4 MB)

This is the PowerPoint from the presentation that I gave from BriForum 2008 in Chicago on creating Enterprise Terminal Server farms with just Windows Server 2008 Terminal Services.  The point of this presentation was to examine just how far can you drive a solution baked entirely from Terminal Services alone.

The outcome was mixed.  Although possible, there are some steep limitations that make it difficult to manage on a large scale.  However, there is some merit for smaller environments.  Check it out.

Download: Enterprise Terminal Server 2008 Farms: BriForum 2008 (1 MB)