A Dell EMC Best Practices Guide

Dell EMC XC Series Family Best Practices for Running Windows Server 2012 R2 with Hyper-V

Dell EMC Engineering September 2017

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Revisions

Date Description

September 2017 Added Application aware VSS backups section.

February 2017 Branding update

June 2016 Initial release

The information in this publication is provided “as is.” Dell Inc. makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the information in this

publication, and specifically disclaims implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

Use, copying, and distribution of any software described in this publication requires an applicable software license.

Copyright © 2017 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. Other

trademarks may be the property of their respective owners. Published in the USA. [9/14/2017] [A03]

Dell EMC believes the information in this document is accurate as of its publication date. The information is subject to change without notice.

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Table of contents Revisions............................................................................................................................................................................. 2

Preface ................................................................................................................................................................................ 4

Executive summary ............................................................................................................................................................. 4

1 Dell recommendations for the SATADOM boot drive ................................................................................................... 5

1.1 Redirection of SCOM and SCCM logs ............................................................................................................... 5

1.2 Run virtual machines on the Nutanix Distributed File System only .................................................................... 5

1.3 Anti-malware software ........................................................................................................................................ 6

2 Limit additional Microsoft roles ..................................................................................................................................... 8

3 Required Microsoft patches .......................................................................................................................................... 9

3.1 April 2014 Update Rollup for Windows 2012 ...................................................................................................... 9

3.2 June 2014 Update Rollup for Windows 2012 ..................................................................................................... 9

3.3 August 2014 Update Rollup for Windows 2012 .................................................................................................. 9

3.4 Microsoft Hyper-V latency hotfix ....................................................................................................................... 10

3.5 Microsoft Hotfix for Live Migration when VMQ is enabled ................................................................................ 10

3.6 Microsoft-maintained cluster update recommendations ................................................................................... 10

3.7 Microsoft-maintained Hyper-V update recommendations ................................................................................ 11

3.8 Cluster Aware Updating feature ....................................................................................................................... 11

4 Application aware VSS backups ................................................................................................................................ 12

4.1 Solution ............................................................................................................................................................. 12

5 Active Directory, Organizational Units (OUs), and Group Policy Objects (GPOs) ..................................................... 13

6 Disjointed domain and DNS namespace ................................................................................................................... 14

7 Maintain latest Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC) version on the cluster ......................................................................... 15

8 Additional resources and references .......................................................................................................................... 16

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Preface

The DellTM XC Series Family Hyper-converged Appliances are optimized to host scalable compute, storage,

networking, and virtualization workloads. The design focus for the XC Series appliance provides a simplified

and scalable approach for handling workloads.

Executive summary

This best practices guidance is aimed at 13th generation XC Series Hyper-converged appliances configured to

boot Windows 2012 Server R2 with Hyper-V from a Serial ATA Disk on Motherboard (SATADOM). This

document provides recommendations for maintaining the stability and performance of the platform and

workloads, while also preserving the operational lifetime of the SATADOM.

For assistance or questions regarding any of the items listed in this document, please contact Dell Technical

Support.

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1 Dell recommendations for the SATADOM boot drive The Serial ATA Disk on Motherboard (SATADOM) is a flash memory drive designed for use as a boot drive

on XC series platforms. While flash memory provides many benefits, it has a finite number of program-erase

(P/E) cycles you must consider.

The SATADOM shipped with XC series platforms is designed as an appliance boot device. Write intensive

activities and processes leveraged by the XC platform are intended to take place on the SSDs and HDDs, not

the boot device itself.

The boot device is not intended for application use. Dell recommends limiting, or eliminating if possible, the

running of applications and write-intensive processes from the SATADOM.

This document provides best practices to promote the maximum operational lifetime of SATADOM.

1.1 Redirection of SCOM and SCCM logs When using Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM) and Microsoft System Center

Configuration Manager (SCCM) third-party tools to manage and monitor the XC hosts, you must consider

write-activity to the system boot drive. SCOM and SCCM make frequent and heavy writes to the SATADOM

boot drive. In some cases, heavy wear may cause premature failure.

To mitigate premature failure of the SATADOM due to the impact of the third-party SCCM and SCOM tools,

Dell recommends redirection of the SCCM and SCOM writes.

Nutanix KB 3253 provides the process to redirect logging for both existing and new implementations of SCOM

and SCCM. This process details the steps to create and present an iSCSI target on the Nutanix Distributed

File System (NDFS) then present it to the XC hosts running Hyper-V for redirection of SCOM and SCCM

logging and activity.

NOTE: At the time of this writing, Nutanix KB 3253 is still an internal Nutanix document for Nutanix and

Partner resources only. For assistance implementing the redirection of SCCM and SCOM logging using

Nutanix KB 3253, contact Dell Tech Support.

1.2 Run virtual machines on the Nutanix Distributed File System only The SATADOM is slower performing and much more limited in space than the XC hosts’ SSDs and HDDs

used for the highly available Nutanix Distributed File System (NDFS) clustered storage.

Virtual Machines (VMs) run on the SATADOM are not highly available and potentially fill up the local boot

drive, which results in crashing the host hypervisor. This adds additional wear on the SATADOM.

NOTE: The Nutanix Cluster Checker (NCC) v. 2.2.2 and later will monitor for VMs running on the

SATADOM.

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IMPORTANT: A common cause for VMs being run from the SATADOM is misconfiguration during any add-

node or redeployment operation.

When adding or redeploying a Hyper-V node to the cluster, ensure that the Virtual Hard Disks and Virtual

Machines locations are configured in Hyper-V Manager so that they are directed to the Nutanix Cluster

Container location. For example, the storage UNC path for cluster having a fully qualified domain name of

cluster.domain.com and container name of ntnx-ctnr1 would contain \\cluster.domain.com\ntnx-ctnr1.

Hyper-V Manager Virtual Hard Disk and Virtual Machine UNC path

NOTE: In a Nutanix cluster, the path to the virtual hard disk files and virtual machine configuration files

should never be a path containing a local drive letter.

1.3 Anti-malware software Microsoft recommends against installation of anti-malware on the Windows Server 2012 with Hyper-V host

operating system. However, if there is a regulatory compliance or other reason requiring that anti-malware

software be run in the host operating system, Microsoft requires the following scan exclusion rules:

Directories where virtual machines and virtual disks are stored

C:\windows\system32\vmms.exe

C:\windows\system32\vmwp.exe

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If these exclusion rules are not created, you may encounter errors when creating and starting virtual

machines.

Furthermore, the use of anti-malware in the management operating system may be associated with a non-

trivial performance impact and premature wear out of the SATADOM boot drive.

For additional information, see Microsoft’s Security guide for Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012.

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2 Limit additional Microsoft roles Dell and Nutanix recommend that you only install the following roles on an XC node running Windows 2012

R2 with Hyper-V:

Hyper-V

Failover clustering

Remote desktop services when running XC730-16G with add-in GPU

Microsoft also recommends limiting or removing unnecessary roles and services installed on a Windows

Server running Hyper-V, as per the Hyper-V Best Practices Analyzer.

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3 Required Microsoft patches

3.1 April 2014 Update Rollup for Windows 2012

IMPORTANT: When installing this update (MS 2919355) from Windows Update, updates 2932046, 2937592,

2938439, 2934018, and 2959977 are included in the installation.

All future security and non-security updates for Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2

require you to install the April 2014 Update Rollup (2919355) update. Microsoft recommends that you install

this update on your Windows Server 2012 R2-based computer to receive continued future updates.

This update is a cumulative update that includes the security updates and the non-security updates for

Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 that were released before March 2014. In

addition to previous updates, it includes:

Improved Internet Explorer 11 compatibility for enterprise applications

Usability improvements

Extended mobile device management

Improved hardware support

This rollup download includes files and hotfixes for Microsoft Knowledge Based articles 2919355, 2932046,

2959977, 2937592, 2938439, and 2934018. You must install these in the following order:

clearcompressionflag.exe, 2919355, 2932046, 2959977, 2937592, 2938439, then 2934018.

3.2 June 2014 Update Rollup for Windows 2012

IMPORTANT: When you install update (2962409) from Windows Update, updates 2959146, 2973448, and 2980654

are included in the installation.

The June 2014 Update Rollup package resolves issues, and includes performance and reliability

improvements for Windows Server 2012 R2. Microsoft recommends that you apply this update rollup as part

of your regular maintenance routines.

Review the improvements, fixed issues, and prerequisites in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2962409 for

this update.

This rollup download includes files and hotfixes for Microsoft Knowledge Based articles 2962409, 2959146,

and 2973448. You must install these files and hotfixes in the following order: 2962409, 2959146, then

2973448.

3.3 August 2014 Update Rollup for Windows 2012

IMPORTANT: Ensure you read the following information about prerequisite updates.

The April 2014 Update Rollup (2919355) is a prerequisite to this Hotfix.

The June 2014 Update Rollup (2962409) is a prerequisite to this Hotfix.

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When installing this update (2975719) from Windows Update, updates 2990532, 2979582, 2993100,

2993651, and 2995004 are included in the installation.

The August 2014 Windows RT 8.1, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server 2012 R2 update rollup package

resolves issues, and includes performance and reliability improvements. Dell recommends that you apply this

update rollup as part of your regular maintenance routine. Review the improvements, fixed issues, and

prerequisites in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2975719 for this update.

This rollup download includes hotfixes for Microsoft Knowledge Based articles 2993651, 2975719, 2993100,

2979582, 2990532, and 2995004. You must install these hotfixes in the following order: 2993651, 2975719,

2993100, 2979582, 2990532, then 2995004.

3.4 Microsoft Hyper-V latency hotfix

IMPORTANT: Read the following information on prerequisite updates.

The April 2014 Update Rollup (2919355) is a prerequisite to this Hotfix.

You must run the Nutanix first boot scripts prior to running this hotfix to install the Hyper-V role in the

context of a Nutanix node setup.

Installation of any Microsoft language pack requires reinstallation of Microsoft Hotfix 3087856

You must install Microsoft Hotfix 3087856 on all nodes running Windows 2012 R2 with Hyper-V in the

Nutanix cluster

You must reboot the host must after applying Microsoft Hotfix 3087856. There is no prompt to reboot.

Microsoft Hotfix 3087856 addresses severe latency experienced in a Hyper-V host with SATA SSD drives due

to non-queued commands flooding the disk controller.

3.5 Microsoft Hotfix for Live Migration when VMQ is enabled

IMPORTANT: Read below for information on prerequisite updates.

The April 2014 Update Rollup (2919355) is a prerequisite to this Hotfix.

Microsoft Hotfix 2965178 addresses an issue where Virtual Machine Queues (VMQs) cannot be

created or the Network Virtualization using Generic Routing Encapsulation (NVGRE) offloads

incorrectly during a live migration.

3.6 Microsoft-maintained cluster update recommendations Microsoft maintains and updates a list of recommended hotfixes and software updates specific to Windows

Server 2012 R2 Failover Clusters in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2920151.

This article describes and lists hotfixes that are currently available and Dell recommends that you install them

on each server of a failover clusters and on every host that is part of a failover cluster.

Dell recommends that you review of Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2920151 when planning and

scheduling maintenance.

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3.7 Microsoft-maintained Hyper-V update recommendations Microsoft maintains and updates a list of recommended hotfixes and software updates specific to Windows

Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Network Virtualization in Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2974503.

Review of Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2974503 when planning and scheduling maintenance is highly

recommended.

3.8 Cluster Aware Updating feature Cluster Aware Updating (CAU) is a Microsoft feature that enables automated rolling updates of clustered

servers. CAU transparently performs the following tasks for each node in sequence:

Individually places each node of the cluster into node maintenance mode

Moves the clustered roles off the node

Installs the updates and any dependencies

Performs any necessary restart

Brings the node out of maintenance mode

Restores the clustered roles on the node

Moves to update the next node

The CAU feature is only compatible with Windows Server 2012 R2 and Windows Server 2012 and clustered

roles that are supported on those versions.

For additional information about the Cluster Aware Updating feature, including overview, requirements, and

best practices, see Cluster-Aware Updating Overview.

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4 Application aware VSS backups When performing application-aware VSS Backups (Volume Shadow Copy Service) for virtual machines on a

Hyper-V host, the backups might fail on a Nutanix share if more than 1000 files exist in the container. The

Nutanix NFS master may experience a timeout triggered by the creation of a list of "disk shadow" files after

the snapshot is taken.

4.1 Solution Create a new container on the Nutanix cluster and storage-migrate the VMs to this new container.

Note: Nutanix recommends storing less than 50 VMs per container if backups are using Microsoft VSS on

Hyper-V for application consistency.

For more information, refer to Nutanix KB #000002506 (Nutanix Portal log in required).

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5 Active Directory, Organizational Units (OUs), and Group

Policy Objects (GPOs) To minimize misapplication of GPOs and other policies to the XC hosts configured to run Hyper-V, Dell

recommends placing the XC hosts in to their own OU and linking only specific GPOs to that OU.

By default, when adding to Active Directory, the Nutanix cluster nodes will be added to the computer’s

Computers OU. Any GPOs assigned to the Computers OU will be applied to the nodes until they are moved

to their own OU and group policy reapplied. Leaving them in the Computers OU will potentially expose the

nodes to enforcement of policies and security settings that are not ideal for a production Hyper-V node, yet

perfectly suitable for a desktops running Windows.

When adding a node to a cluster, the same behavior is also observed. It is important to move any added

node into the same OU that contains the other cluster nodes.

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6 Disjointed domain and DNS namespace A disjointed namespace occurs when one or more domain member computers have a primary Domain Name

Service (DNS) suffix that does not match the DNS name of the Active Directory domain of which the

computers are members.

An example of disjointed namespace is a member computer with a primary DNS suffix of corp.company.com

in an Active Directory domain named xyz.corp.company.com.

While not a strictly prohibited configuration, environments configured with a disjointed namespace introduce

additional challenges and considerations for both Nutanix clusters running on Hyper-V and other tools reliant

upon DNS. Whenever possible, Dell recommends having a single Active Directory Domain and DNS

namespace.

A disjointed namespace causes an error to be reported in Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC) stating the NOS\AOS

cluster computer object is not configured correctly in Active Directory.

In addition to Nutanix issues, other tools, like System Center will require additional configuration steps.

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7 Maintain latest Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC) version on the

cluster Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC) is developed, maintained and updated with new content by Nutanix

engineering, based on input taken from support cases, partners, solution engineers, and customers.

NCC provides multiple checks of the Nutanix environment, including:

Health check of the hypervisor, Nutanix Cluster Components, Network and Hardware

Identification of misconfigurations that can cause performance issues.

Log collections for specific time period and components.

Automation to run NCC and email results at configurable time intervals for point-in-time health

monitoring.

Run NCC at minimum, in the following situations:

After a new install

Before and after any cluster activities

- Add or removal of a node

- Upgrade of NOS\AOS

- Upgrade of Hypervisor

- Reconfiguration

Troubleshooting of issues

NCC enables faster problem resolution by quickly identifying new issues and reducing the time necessary for

triage.

You can download the latest NCC and installed using the Prism UI. Alternatively, NCC can be manually

downloaded from Downloads->Tools & Firmware menu on the Nutanix Support Portal,

http://portal.nutanix.com.

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8 Additional resources and references Support.dell.com is focused on meeting your needs with proven services and support.

DellTechCenter.com is an IT Community where you can connect with Dell Customers and Dell employees for

the purpose of sharing knowledge, best practices, and information about the Dell XC Appliances.

Referenced or recommended Dell publications:

Dell XC430 Hyper-converged Appliance Solutions Guide

Dell XC630 Hyper-converged Appliance Solutions Guide

Dell XC6320 Hyper-converged Appliance Solutions Guide

Dell XC730-16G Hyper-converged Appliance Solutions Guide

Dell XC730xd Hyper-converged Appliance Solutions Guide

Dell XC730xd-12C Hyper-converged Appliance Solutions Guide

Referenced or recommended Nutanix publications:

Nutanix Cluster Check (NCC) 2.2.x Guide [Log in required]

Hyper-V Administration for Acropolis [Log in required]

Setting up Hyper-V Manager [Login required]

Nutanix KB 2253 - NCC Health Check: check_windows_updates [Log in required]

Nutanix KB 2244 - NCC Health Check: check_windows_features [Log in required]

Nutanix KB 2490 - NCC Health Check: host_disk_usage_check [Log in required]

Nutanix KB 3011 – NCC Health Checks: check_required_windows_updates_installed [Log in

required]

Nutanix KB 3196 - NCC Health Check: sata_dom_uvm_check [Log in required]

Best Practices Guide - Hyper-V Windows Server 2012 R2 Storage

Best Practices Guide – Hyper-V Windows Server 2012 R2 Networking

The Nutanix Bible

Referenced or recommended Microsoft publications:

Security guide for Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012

Hyper-V Best Practices Analyzer - Role recommendations

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2975719

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2919355

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2962409

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 2965178

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 3087856