Hyper-V 2012: Set up Native Teams, Virtual Switch, Binding, and SR-IOV

We have just finished installing Windows Server 2012 Standard on a new Intel Server System R2208GZ4GC. We have added the necessary Roles and Features including Hyper-V.

This particular server comes with a quad port i350 Gigabit adapter built in. We also added an Intel i350-T4 quad port Gigabit adapter into the mix.

With this particular setup we are configuring our NICs as follows:

1. On board and PCIe Port 0 name: Management
   1. Static Teaming
   2. Address Hash
2. On board and PCIe Ports 1-3 name: vSwitch
   1. Static Teaming
   2. Hyper-V Port

Note the white cables indicating which ports on the NICs and Cisco SG500X-48 to keep track of things. Once relocated to our client’s site our cabling is set up in a similar manner in that cables are colour coded for their roles with a Legend in our audit notes.

Once we have our teaming set up we can move on to creating our virtual switch.

1. Hit the Start button on the keyboard to bring up the Start Menu
2. Right click on Hyper-V Manager
   • 
3. Click on Pin to Taskbar
4. Hit the Windows key or ESC key to get back to the Desktop.
5. Right click on Hyper-V Manager icon on the Taskbar
6. Right click on the Hyper-V Manager shortcut
7. Left click on Run as Administrator.
8. Hit Start on the keyboard
9. Type: NCPA.CPL [Enter]
   • 
   • The Network Connections window will pop up
10. Note the Device Name for the Management and vSwitch teams.
    1. Microsoft Network Adapter Multiplexor Driver (Management)
    2. Microsoft Network Adapter Multiplexor Driver #2 (vSwitch)
11. Minimize that window.
12. In Hyper-V Manager right click on the Server Name and click Virtual Switch Manager...
    • 
13. Click the Create Virtual Switch button.
14. Name the virtual switch and choose the NIC to bind to.
    • 
15. External Network choice is as noted above:
    • Microsoft Network Adapter Multiplexor Driver #2 (vSwitch)
16. Uncheck Allow management operating system to share this network adapter
    • 
    • Okay, so what is single-root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV)?
      • Intel® Server Adapters FAQs: Using SR-IOV with Intel® Ethernet Server Adapters
        • Check: i350 NICs support SR-IOV.
        • Check: Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V is compatible.
      •  Intel Whitepaper: PCI-SIG SR-IOV Primer: An Introduction to SR-IOV Technology (Web based PDF and download PDF)
      • After reading the Private Cloud Blog post linked below we will leave it off for now.
17. Click Apply and OK.
    1. Answer Yes and check the “Don’t bug me” box.
18. Click OK to close the Virtual Switch Manager.
19. Bring up the Network Connections window.
    1. Right click on the vSwitch and click on Status
    2. Click on the Details button.
    3. The Network Connection Details window should be blank.
       • 
20. Click Close and Close again.
21. While looking at the Network Connections window hit the ALT key on the keyboard.
    • 
22. Click on Advanced and then Advanced Settings...
23. Make sure Management is on top of the Connections list in Adapters and Bindings.
    • WRONG:
      • 
    • RIGHT:
      • 
24. If binding order was changed then a reboot is required.
    1. Hold the WIN key and R (WIN+R):
    2. Shutdown –r –t 0 –f [Enter]
       • 

Once the reboot has completed we are ready to go with our Hyper-V configuration steps. We will leave that for another blog post. :)

Some explanations and caveats with SR-IOV:

• Microsoft KB 2785638: You cannot use the Cisco SR-IOV network adapter on a virtual machine in Windows Server 2012
• Private Cloud Blog: Increased Network Performance using SR-IOV in Windows Server 2012
  • A good explanation on when and not to use SR-IOV.

UPDATE: Missed this very good post on Hyper-V and SR-IOV:

• Matthijs’s blog: Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V and SR-IOV

Philip Elder
MPECS Inc.
Microsoft Small Business Specialists
Co-Author: SBS 2008 Blueprint Book

Windows Live Writer