{"id":6509,"date":"2012-09-08T20:09:25","date_gmt":"2012-09-08T19:09:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.itwriting.com\/blog\/?p=6509"},"modified":"2012-09-08T20:09:25","modified_gmt":"2012-09-08T19:09:25","slug":"microsofts-hyper-v-server-2012-too-painful-to-use","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.itwriting.com\/blog\/6509-microsofts-hyper-v-server-2012-too-painful-to-use.html","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft\u2019s Hyper-V Server 2012: too painful to use?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A user over on the technet forums says that the free standalone Hyper-V is too painful to use<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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I was excited about the free stand-alone version and decided to try it out.  I downloaded the Hyper-V 2012 RC standalone version and installed it.  This thing is a trainwreck!  There is not a chance in hell that anyone will ever use this thing in scenarios like mine.  It obviously intended to be used by IT Geniuses in a domain only.  I would really like a version that I can up and running in less than half an hour like esxi.  How the heck is anyone going to evaluate it this in a reasonable manner?  <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

To be clear, this is about the free Hyper-V Server<\/a>, which is essentially Server Core with only the Hyper-V role available. It is not about Hyper-V in general as a feature of Windows Server and Windows 8.<\/p>\n

Personally I think the standalone Hyper-V Server is a fantastic offering; but at the same time I see this user\u2019s point. If you join the Hyper-V server to a Windows domain and use the administration tools in Windows 8 everything is fine; but if you are, say, a Mac user and download Hyper-V Server to have a look, it is not obvious what to do next. As it turns out you can get started just by typing powershell<\/strong> at a command prompt and then New-VM<\/strong>, but how would you know that? Further, if Hyper-V is not joined to a domain you will have permission issues trying to manage it remotely.<\/p>\n

Install Hyper-V Server, and the screen you see after logging on does not even mention virtualization.<\/p>\n

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By contrast, with VMWare\u2019s free ESXi<\/a> has a web UI that works from any machine on the network and lets you get started creating and managing VMs. It is less capable than Hyper-V Server; but for getting up and running quickly in a non-domain environment it wins easily.<\/p>\n

I have been working with Hyper-V Server 2012 myself recently, upgrading two servers on my own network which run a bunch of servers for development and test. From my perspective the free Hyper-V Server, which is essentially Server Core with only the Hyper-V role available, is a great offer from Microsoft, though I am still scratching my head over how to interpret the information (or lack of it) on the new product page, which refers to the download as a trial. I am pretty sure it is still offered on similar terms to those outlined<\/a> for Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 by Program Manager Jeff Woolsey, who is clear that it is a free offering:<\/p>\n