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Using an Answer file in Virtual Machine Manager

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I have rebuilt my Hyper-V server at the office and decided to try out Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) to manage my virtual machines on that host.

One of the things I find useful is having a template for Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition. Through the licensing arrangement of Enterprise, you can have up to 4 virtual instances per license. Having to deploy each copy manually doesn’t sound like a treat to me. So I decided to create a template and I built a virtual machine that I wanted to use as my base image.

After creating my virtual machine, I then created the virtual machine template from the existing virtual machine. Once this was done, I was almost ready to deploy my virtual machine from the template.

But before I could do that, I needed an answer file. To create an answer file, you will need to install the Windows Automated Installation Kit (WAIK ). I copied the install.wim file to my local machine from the DVD media so that I could generate a catalogue. A quick internet search turned up several sample unattend.xml files which I used as a basis to form my unattend.xml file. Once I was complete, I saved the unattend.xml file and then imported it into my library shared folder. On the properties of the template in the OS configuration tab, under the scripts area, there is a spot to add an answer file. I added my unattend.xml file and away I went.

When the system started to customize the image I hit a snag. When I connected to the VM, I was shown an error message. That message was:

“Windows could not parse or process the unattend answer file for pass [specialize].  The settings specified in the answer file cannot be applied.  The error was detected while processing settings for component [Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup].”

After a quick search on the internet, I discovered what the problem was. For the product key, you need to use a KMS key and not a MAK key. At least if you are using Volume Licensing media you need to use KMS. I made that change to the key and I am now off to the races. My templates are deploying as they are supposed to.

 

Links

Creating Virtual Machine Templates

How to Sysprep in Windows 2008

SCVMM Sample Unattend.XML for Windows Server 2008 & R2

Hyper-V Course Day 2

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I figured I should follow up Day 1 with Day 2 of my Hyper- V course. Day 2 saw us working with System Center Virtual Machine Manager; creating templates, rolling out new images and managing existing installations were a few of the things we looked at. One of the more interesting things we discovered is that when you export a VHD, you must include the empty folders when moving the folders, otherwise the image will not import on the new computer.

I had originally planned to write the exams on the Thursday, but because I was needed back at the office, I postponed the exams until the last couple of weeks of April. I haven’t found any practice tests yet for these exams, but I am looking. What I have found  is a course and there are a few books out on the subject of Hyper-V

I Got Some Tail in Ottawa (Hyper-V Course, Day 1)

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I headed down to this evening and picked up a Beaver Tail for Tracey and I to split.  I am in Ottawa on my Hyper-V course and Tracey has come along for some rest and relaxation. Supper was wonderful and the walk around town was nice as well.

The Hyper-V course I am taking is 6422A – Implementing and Managing Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V at CTE Solutions. It is part of their Microsoft Skills Week promotion they had going on. So far it has been pretty good. I am already using Hyper-V in the production environment at work, but I was looking to expand on my skills a little more. A lot of times when we learn things on our own, we learn what we need to know and don’t get to know some of the other features which can help us out. By taking the course, I find myself picking up new things and getting ideas for how I can better support my environment.

So far, I am Day 1 of 2 (the course was compressed into a 2 day course from 3). Our first day saw us creating Virtual Machines, creating VHD disks for use later. We also learned about snapshots. remote administration and high availability. Tomorrow we will learn about physical to virtual migrations, using Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) and Powershell scripts for use on Hyper-V.