Server 2008 R2 to Server 2012 Hyper-V Migration (3 Node - Failover Cluster - iSCSI)

[MYK-IT]

Hi,

 

I was after some help, assistance or “hints & tips” towards moving an existing 3 Node Windows 2008 R2 Hyper-V Failover setup over to Windows 2012 Datacentre Hyper-V setup?

 

We currently have:

 

3x Dell R710

4x Intel NICs for iSCSI

2x Teamed Broadcom NICs for Virtual Machine Network

2x Teamed Broadcom NICs for everything else (Management, Heartbeat, Live Migration)

 

1x Dell MD3200i SAN

 

2x Dedicated iSCSI Switches

 

3x Existing Cluster Shared Volumes

 

As part of the upgrade, we would also be adding another Intel Quad Port NIC into each node (so at the least) I would expect the configuration for each Node to be:

 

4x Intel NICs for iSCSI

4x Intel NICs for Virtual Machine Network

4x Broadcom NICs to use for Management, Heartbeat, Live Migration, etc. – suggestions / configurations appreciated)

 

I know that we will have to break the existing cluster before we could upgrade the Nodes to Server 2012, and it would be a clean build (not upgrade) but how have anyone else gone about this? With minimal downtime and how do we ensure that the CSV's and existing VM’s are (imported?) configured to be the same as they are now? And in what order do we (re)configure everything?

 

Possible workflow?

Clean build each node with Server 2012

Apply All Updates

Configure NICs

iSCSI Initiator

MPIO

Add Hyper-V Role

Add Failover Clustering

Check the CVS are connected and accessible

Reimport existing VMs using Hyper-V (of Failover Cluster Manager) back onto nodes

 

Our initial Server 2008 R2 configuration was setup with the assistance from a 3rd Party primarily; hence the many questions!

 

Thanks in advance,

Edited May 7, 2013 by MYK-IT

[sted]

you cant port snapshots so you need to delete any snapshots before you export any vms (found out when i ported my 2008 terminal server from 08r1 to 2012 and it complained and then fired up pre domained as everything after was snapshots

[MYK-IT]

We don't have any snapshots, so that is one less thing to worry about!

Thanks

[TheScarfedOne]

Hi,

 

I was after some help, assistance or “hints & tips” towards moving an existing 3 Node Windows 2008 R2 Hyper-V Failover setup over to Windows 2012 Datacentre Hyper-V setup?

 

We currently have:

 

3x Dell R710

4x Intel NICs for iSCSI

2x Teamed Broadcom NICs for Virtual Machine Network

2x Teamed Broadcom NICs for everything else (Management, Heartbeat, Live Migration)

 

1x Dell MD3200i SAN

 

2x Dedicated iSCSI Switches

 

3x Existing Cluster Shared Volumes

 

As part of the upgrade, we would also be adding another Intel Quad Port NIC into each node (so at the least) I would expect the configuration for each Node to be:

 

4x Intel NICs for iSCSI

4x Intel NICs for Virtual Machine Network

4x Broadcom NICs to use for Management, Heartbeat, Live Migration, etc. – suggestions / configurations appreciated)

 

I know that we will have to break the existing cluster before we could upgrade the Nodes to Server 2012, and it would be a clean build (not upgrade) but how have anyone else gone about this? With minimal downtime and how do we ensure that the CSV's and existing VM’s are (imported?) configured to be the same as they are now? And in what order do we (re)configure everything?

 

Possible workflow?

Clean build each node with Server 2012

Apply All Updates

Configure NICs

iSCSI Initiator

MPIO

Add Hyper-V Role

Add Failover Clustering

Check the CVS are connected and accessible

Reimport existing VMs using Hyper-V (of Failover Cluster Manager) back onto nodes

 

Our initial Server 2008 R2 configuration was setup with the assistance from a 3rd Party primarily; hence the many questions!

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Scary....almost identical to mine...with a similar migration plan in summer (except I will be adding a 4th node), perhaps we should pool our efforts....?

[DellOughta]

We are doing exactly the same as we speak...spooky!!! I'll let you know how we get on (were trying to do it with minimum downtime and currently only have one node of the original W2K8 R2 cluster hosting all the virtual servers, its man enough to handle them all), then using the same steps as you, clean build the other two, nics, etc, patch and add hyperV role and cluster feature, create a new cluster and then migrate from the old on a server one by one basis to new csv's, do a bit of stability testing with non business critical servers, then move the important ones over when were happy.

There is a migration tool that comes with the 2012 failover cluster feature, we chose not to use that as we wanted to create a new cluster and do it peace meal

Here's the guide

Best practices for migration of cluster windows 2008 R2 / 2012 - As melhores Praticas para migrar um Cluster de Windows 2008 para Windows 2012 - War Room - notes from the field - Site Home - TechNet Blogs

Cheers

Mike

[maark]

I am using Dell R710's but not clusters/shared volumes - they are stand-alone with datacenter 2008R2 running several hyper- v virtual servers on each.

Would like to go to server 2012 after seeing benefits at seminar last week - efficiency and better hyper-v features e.g. vhdx.

An in place upgrade should be possible rather than clean install - Upgrading to Windows Server 2012.

Just wondering if anyone had done this with datacenter 2008 R2 with hyper v role installed and whether it worked ok?

[Psymon]

I did this over the Easter holiday - you have to create a new cluster, you don't have a choice.

 

I ended up removing 1 server from the cluster and turning the cluster quorum into node + disk so it could run on 2 machines. Then set up the removed server with 2012 DataCentre and used an old server (a PC will do providing it has 3 network cards) and set these up as the new cluster (again, node+disk) - remember to set up all the LAN info etc...

 

Once this was done, used the cluster migration wizard, it copied across all the VM configs, CSV drives, etc... but leaves them all as offline (never expose your CSV drives to more than one cluster at the same time). Once you are happy everything is on both clusters, you can decommision the old one, and then online the drives on the new one and you are done.

 

Then you can wipe the other two 2008r2 machines, join them to the new cluster, remove your temporary machine that you used to form the cluster and you are up and running. Your downtime should have been the shutting down of all VMs on the 08R2 cluster, destroying old cluster, starting up the VMs on new cluster.

 

edit - you are also going to have to update the VM integration tools on all of your VMs, make sure you windows update the new hosts fully before you do this, one of the updates is a newer version of the integration tools.

Edited May 29, 2013 by Psymon

[fiza]

I am using Dell R710's but not clusters/shared volumes - they are stand-alone with datacenter 2008R2 running several hyper- v virtual servers on each.

Would like to go to server 2012 after seeing benefits at seminar last week - efficiency and better hyper-v features e.g. vhdx.

An in place upgrade should be possible rather than clean install - Upgrading to Windows Server 2012.

Just wondering if anyone had done this with datacenter 2008 R2 with hyper v role installed and whether it worked ok?

gratr

How did you get on with this? I want to upgrade my 2008r2 hyperv host to 2012 r2

[edie209]

Fiza a late reply I know but I did exactly what maark was talking about today on a test setup and everything worked perfectly

 

Psymon thanks for the info I will be doing this in the near future.