Scripting and Automation in Hyper-V – Webinar Follow Up

Back on the 10th of Dec. some of you may recall that Thomas Maurer and I did a webinar on Scripting and Automation in Hyper-V. We had a number of questions throughout the webinar that we were not able to get to due to time constraints, but I’ve compiled a list of some of the most ask about questions below and what their answers are. First off, I would say that a third if not half of the questions left unanswered during the webinar are about our newly announced Altaro VM Backup RESTful API. If you looking to have your questions about that technology answered, we’ll have an upcoming post or two on our blog specifically about that technology, so we will not be covering that information here. If you are interested in a little more information on that subject, have a look at our official API documentation HERE.

Here is the webinar recording for those of you who didn’t make it:

Without further ado, let’s get to the questions!

1. What Version of PowerShell do I need to Manage my Hyper-V Host?

The quick answer is the newest version available for your OS version. PowerShell version 2 isn’t going to manage Server 2016 hosts, so you can’t manage from an older version to a newer host, however you can go the other way in most cases. Keep in mind that there are currently 2 versions of the Hyper-V PowerShell module. When you’re conducting management from a Windows 10 or 2016 Hyper-V host, you’ll be using the new module by default. That version of PowerShell can manage older hosts, but be sure to switch to the older Hyper-V module before doing so.

2. Are there any scripts to run weekly/monthly on my Hyper-V hosts to act as a health check?

Jeff Hicks has posted an excellent script on our website for this HERE.

3. Is it possible to have a script look for active checkpoints on any of my virtual machines?

We have a great post about this out on our blog located HERE.

4. What are some good PowerShell resources for beginners to start learning PowerShell. 

While PowerShell is quite intuitive to use, it can be difficult to learn when you’re first picking it up. There are a number of good resources available online for this and we’ve posted some below:

Altaro’s PowerShell Articles

Microsoft Virtual Academy

PowerShell.org

5. Does PowerShell Direct work with older host operating systems such as 2008 R2. 

As of the time of this writing, PowerShell Direct only works with Windows Server 2016 Hyper-V hosts. It is unknown whether this functionality will later be added to the older operating systems.

6. Currently my environment is without SCVMM. If I put a bunch of scripts in place, and then later add SCVMM, will that cause issues?

It’s tough to say exactly on this. In most cases you’ll be fine. You’re scripts will continue to run. It is recommended however, that after adding SCVMM, you update all running scripts to interact with the Hyper-V hosts via the SCVMM PowerShell module instead.

7. I’m having a hard time keeping track of my scripts and all of the various revisions. Can you recommend a tool that will help keep track of them?

It’s possible to use GIT for this, which will help keep track of all of your scripts and their various versions.

8. Is it possible to have a script check to see if my cluster can tolerate a host failure?

Yes! We actually have a post on the Altaro Hyper-V blog specifically for that HERE!

So, that’s a wrap! These were some of the most common questions asked throughout the webinar. If you asked one that you didn’t see answered here, feel free to comment below! We’re more than happy to help you get the information you need to be successful!

As always, thanks for reading!