Create Virtual Machine From LIVE Servers
Create Virtual Machine From LIVE Servers
Overview
It is useful to image a LIVE server for in-house testing or troubleshooting site-specific issues. This guide will show you how to create the image, load it on a 2012 Hyper-V Virtual Machine server and setup the Virtual Machine, disabling services that should only be run on LIVE servers.
1. Create an Image of a LIVE Server
Microsoft provides the disk2vhd program that will create a "vhdx" file. A virtual hard drive. This file can be mounted on a Virtual Machine server.
Download the program on the server you wish to image from here: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/ee656415.aspx
Extract and run the program. Verify that the server has enough free space and Image just the C: to a location that you can later download from. C:\ClubSpeedApps\assets works great.
Typically after the image is created, you can 7-zip it to reduce the file size another 40%.
Download a copy of this file to the 2012 Hyper-V Virtual Machine server.
2. Mounting the .vhdx File
Place the .vhdx file you downloaded on the secondary drive of the 2012 Hyper-V server. (Not C:)
From the Hyper-V manager you can select "New Virtual Machine" on the right and point it at the .vhdx file. Start out with 8Gb of memory as a good starting point.
You may bind a network adapter to this server.
Once mounted, start the VM. It will auto-install virtual machine software and require a reboot.
3. Configuring the Virtual Machine/Disabling Services
FireDaemon Services
In FireDaemon, double-click these services and set Settings > Startup Type to "Disabled":
- Autobatch
- Credit Card Service/PCCharge
Windows Startup Programs (Log Me In/Hamachi)
From the Windows "Run" dialogue box, run msconfig and disable any instances of these applications found: (a restart will be required, but they can be disabled by tray in-leiu of a restart)
- Log Me In
- Hamachi
Scheduled Tasks
In "Administrative Tools > Scheduled Tasks", delete these tasks (if they exist):
- FTP Auto Backup
- cs_replication (Only for replicating tracks)
- cs_neo_replication (Only for Team Sport tracks)
- Autobatch
Email Services
In "Administrative Tools > Services", STOP and DISABLE the "Simple Mail Transport Protocol" service. This is the e-mail server.
IP Address
Set the IP address of the server to either DHCP or for a server that should be publicly available, specify one from an available address on the whiteboard in the Support office.
Log Me In / Hamachi
You may also disable the Log Me In and Hamachi services, although they may auto-disable automatically.
4. Checkpoints
A checkpoint can be made of the above image so that you can "roll back" to the original state in testing.
Follow the guide here to create a checkpoint: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc956044.aspx