Tag: system center 2012 r2

Weekly News Digest | Windows Server 2016 Scalability and more

Windows Server 2016 compute maximums

The new post in Windows Server blog is published on 08/25 and confirms the following scale changes in Windows Server 2016:

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So, Windows Server 2016 delivers the new-leading scalability to virtualize any and every workload without any exception.

What about vSphere 6.0? vSphere 6.0 maximums are far short of the WS. But I’m almost sure for 99% VMware will update their maximums as soon as possible (next major release). May be we will see updated vSphere 6.0 scalability before WS 2016 RTM.  HA scale digits are the same for both  WS/vSphere so far (FT/resource pools are excluded)

The difference between vSphere 6.0 and Windows Server 2016 compute values are below:

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*12 TB is supported on specific OEM certified platform

New VMware migration offer for Windows Server 2016

If you are really interested in Windows Server 2016 or plan migration from VMware, Microsoft has a special offer to you.

From September 1, 2016, through June 30, 2017, customers who switch workloads from VMware to Hyper-V can get free Windows Server Datacenter licenses when buying Windows Server Datacenter + Software Assurance. That ultimately means customers only pay for Software Assurance, which provides multiple benefits.

To be eligible for the VMware migration offer, customers must follow these steps:

  • Step 1: Engage your account executive or sales rep to begin the process.
  • Step 2: Identify virtualized workloads to migrate and specify the Windows Server Datacenter cores required.
  • Step 3: Provide your account executive proof of eligibility. (Offer applicable to customers migrating from VMware to Microsoft).
  • Step 4: Engage your partner to start the migration process.
  • Step 5: Receive free Windows Server Datacenter licenses with Software Assurance and pay only the cost of Software Assurance to kick start your migration.

Check out the new VMware Shift website for more detailed information as well as technical comparisons and more reasons to choose Microsoft over VMware.

Continue reading “Weekly News Digest | Windows Server 2016 Scalability and more”

Update Rollup 10 For System Center 2012 R2

New rollup for System Center 2012 R2 is available. It brings improvements and fixes for VMM, DPM , SPF and Azure Pack. You can install them by Windows Update or download manually using the links below (see each component article to obtain specific installation instructions)

Name LINK
Data Protection Manager https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3143871
Orchestrator –
Operations Manager –
Service Manager –
Service Provider Foundation https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3147172
Virtual Machine Manager https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3147167
WAP https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/kb/3158609
WAP Web Sites –

The following issues are fixed in Windows Azure Pack:

  • Windows Server 2016 only: Support for Encryption Supported VMs. Windows Server 2016, Virtual Machine Manager and Service Provider Foundation provide support for Encrypted Supported VMs, now WAP provides support for the three type of VMs in Windows Server 2016: regular VMs, Shielded VMs, and Encryption Supported VMs.
  • Windows Server 2016 only: Fix to incorrect Format of volume Signature in PDK File downloaded through WAP.
  • When a tenant updates a VM Size, the Hardware Profile ID is passed along to the SPF/VMM Virtual Machine Update event, allowing custom runbooks to change other properties as necessary.
  • Fix to Virtual Network property labels in the Quota page. The quotas for “Site-to-Site VPN” and “External IP addresses” labels in the Admin Portal VM Resource Provider are misleading because they read “per network.” They actually are “per subscription.”
  • Fix: When you update the VM Cloud Resource Provider, a duplicate Port setting is added leading ManagementOData to fail and return an error message that reads, “An item with the same key has already been added.”
  • Ability for the tenant user to add a network adapter to a VM while the VM is running. In UR 9.1 and previous versions, new NICs could be added only after the VM was stopped.
  • Ability for the WAP Admin to include a SQL Server into multiple availability groups for HA configurations.
  • Ability for the WAP Admin to include a server that’s running Microsoft SQL Server into multiple availability groups for HA configurations.
  • Ability for the WAP user to enable the “Always On” feature of WAP websites.

For VMM please see the “Known issues from previous update rollups” and do workarounds if some mentioned issues take place