Implementing Microsoft Windows Server 2012 on HP ProLiant servers and HP ProLiant server blades, 3rd edition

Technical white paper | Microsoft Windows Server 2012
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Abstract
This paper identifies the HP ProLiant servers, HP ProLiant server blades, and options that we support with Microsoft
Windows Server 2012 and provides information that can assist you during your OS installation. The information applies to
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 and Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012. Differences in virtualization support make them
appropriate for different environments:
• Windows Server 2012 Datacenter Edition provides unlimited virtual instances, making it ideal for highly virtualized private
and hybrid cloud environments.
• Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition provides two virtual instances, making it ideal for low density or non-virtualized
environments.
• Hyper-V Server 2012 provides a focused virtualization environment, making it ideal to fit into existing environments
improving server utilization and reduced costs.
Although the core features are identical, important differences exist between the different Windows Server 2012 editions.
To determine what edition is right for your environment, Microsoft provides a comparison on the Microsoft website at
microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/windows-server/buy.aspx.
This paper addresses the following key topics:
• Recommended system configurations
• Supported ProLiant servers
• Supported ProLiant server platform options, including:
– Software and drivers
– Storage options
– NICs
• Procedures for a new installation
• Known issues and workarounds
Windows Server 2012 overview
Windows Server 2012 delivers a dynamic, available, and cost-effective server platform for the private cloud. It offers a
scalable, flexible, and multi-tenant-aware cloud infrastructure. This infrastructure lets you connect across locations
securely so that you can respond to your business needs faster and more efficiently.
Windows Server 2012 is a 64-bit server operating system that delivers value in four key areas:
• Virtualization
• Microsoft manageability
• Scalability
• Accessibility
Virtualization
A virtualized environment lets you scale and secure workloads, build clouds cost-effectively, and connect to cloud services
securely.
• Hyper-V Server 2012: Hyper-V Server 2012 is a full-featured, standalone virtualization environment that supports the
existing features of Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 along with the following: large-scale virtual machines, resource metering,
storage migration, virtual Fibre Channel, and SR-IOV. It is a Microsoft solution for Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI),
Linux, or servers hosting Virtual Machines. For more information, see the Microsoft TechNet Library for Microsoft
Hyper-V Server 2012 at technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/hh833684.aspx.
Standalone Live Migration of a virtual machine (VM):
Live migration of virtual machines is supported between virtualized environments. Enable live migration by running the
following PowerShell commandlet on both environments:
Enable-VMMigration