Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK) and vSphere 4 does not work together

When you using vSphere 4 and and using MDT 2012 update1 with Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit you run in de following error. Same thing wil also with Workstation 8.clip_image001

Solution 1: Do not install Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit on your MDT Server. You can still using MDT 2012 Update 1 with waik 3.5 if not deploying Windows 8 or Windows 2012 right now.

Solution 2: Upgrading you vSphere server to the latest version (5.1) or Upgrade Workstation to latest version (Version 9).

Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter Solution Accelerator

The Microsoft Virtual Machine Converter (MVMC) Solution Accelerator is a Microsoft-supported, stand-alone solution for the IT pro or solution provider who wants to convert VMware-based virtual machines and disks to Hyper-V®-based virtual machines and disks.

MVMC provides the following features:

  • Converts and deploys virtual machines from VMware hosts to Hyper-V hosts including Hyper-V on Windows Server® 2012. As part of the machine conversion MVMC converts the virtual disks attached to the source virtual machine. It also migrates configuration such as memory, virtual processor and so on from the source virtual machine to the converted virtual machine deployed on Hyper-V. It adds virtual network interface cards (NICs) to the converted virtual machine on Hyper-V.
  • Converts VMware virtual disks to Hyper-V based virtual hard disks (VHDs).
  • Supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 4.1 and 5.0 hosts to Hyper-V.
    • Note MVMC also supports conversion of virtual machines from VMware vSphere 4.0 if the host is managed by vCenter 4.1 or vCenter 5.0. You have to connect to vCenter 4.1 or 5.0 through MVMC to convert virtual machines on vSphere 4.0.
  • Offers fully scriptable command-line interfaces for performing virtual machine and disk conversions that integrates well with data center automation workflows and Windows PowerShell scripts.
  • Has a wizard-driven GUI, making it simple to perform virtual machine conversion.
  • Uninstalls VMware tools prior to conversion to provide a clean way to migrate VMware-based virtual machines to Hyper-V.
  • Supports Windows Server guest operating system conversion, including Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 SP2.
  • Enables conversion of Windows® client versions including Windows 7.
  • Installs integration services on the converted virtual machine if the guest operating system is Windows Server 2003 SP2.

System requirements

Supported operating systems: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012

Before you install MVMC, you must install the following software on the computer on which MVMC will run:

  • Operating systems: Windows 7, Windows Server 2008 R2, or Windows Server 2012 (full installation)
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 and Microsoft .NET Framework 4 if installing MVMC on Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2
  • Microsoft .NET Framework 4.5 if installing MVMC on Windows Server 2012

Download

Updated eBook Introducing Windows Server 2012 RTM Edition

Mitch Tulloch and the Windows Server team have released a new updated version of the FREE e-Book for IT professionals: Introducing Windows Server 2012 RTM Edition. This book is a great way to get quickly skilled up on all the new improvements in this latest Windows Server – one of the most ambitious releases of Windows Server for IT Pros since Active Directory was released in Windows Server 2000! In this 256-page eBook, you’ll find 5 chapters of detailed technical content covering the following key improvements to building a Private Cloud at your shop with Windows Server 2012:

2012bookrtm

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Updated eBook for IT Pros on Windows Server 2012

An update is available for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 KMS hosts to support Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012

This update extends the Key Management Service (KMS) for Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 to allow enterprise licensing of Windows 8 and of Windows Server 2012.
KMS provides support for the following KMS client activations:

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 Service Pack 2 (SP2)
  • Windows 8
  • Windows Server 2012
  • Windows 7 and Windows 7 Service Pack 1 (SP1)
  • Windows Vista and Windows Vista Service Pack 2 (SP2)

Key Management Service (KMS) uses a KMS host key to activate KMS on a KMS host, and to establish a local activation service in your environment. This update extends support for KMS to provide activation for Windows 8 and for Windows Server 2012.

Download

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Update 1

Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Update 1 is the newest version of MDT, a Solution Accelerator for operating system and application deployment. MDT 2012 Update 1 supports deployment of Windows 8, Windows 7, Office 2010 and 365, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2008 R2 in addition to deployment of Windows Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, and Windows XP.

Some of the key changes in MDT 2012 Update 1 are:

  • Added support for Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012.
  • Support for System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 CTP: Added support in MDT for deploying Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 with Configuration Manager 2012 SP1 CTP, while supporting all new Configuration Manager functionality (offline BitLocker, UEFI, and Assessment and Deployment Kit).
  • Support for DaRT 8 Beta: Updated MDT to support DaRT 8 for Windows 8 deployments, while continuing to support DaRT 7 for Windows 7 deployments. Added DaRT support for Configuration Manager scenarios.
  • New “Build Your Own Pages” User-Driven Installation (UDI) feature: Enhanced the UDI wizard and designer to enable IT pros to design their own wizard pages with little effort.
  • New System Center 2012 – Orchestrator support: Provided the ability to add steps into an OS deployment task sequence to execute Orchestrator runbooks as part of the deployment process.
  • Other improvements: Added support for Windows PowerShell 3.0, reworked Roles and Features installation logic for Windows 8, improved “boot from VHD” deployment scenarios, and added support for Configuration Manager monitoring.

Download

Windows Server 2012 Editions

1 Licensing Overview

Windows Server 2012 delivers a dramatically simplified licensing experience. Shaped by feedback from customers and partners, the new Windows Server licensing approach will help make choosing the right Windows Server easier while delivering the following benefits.

2 Simple

It’s easier than ever to determine the right Windows Server edition for you. Choose from just four editions of Windows Server 2012, based on the size of your organization and your requirements for virtualization and cloud computing.

3 Economical

All editions of Windows Server 2012 deliver excellent economics and ROI for your business. For example, Datacenter edition with unlimited virtualization rights provides the benefits of cloud-level scale with predictable, lower costs. Standard edition now offers all of the same enterprise-class features as Datacenter and is differentiated only by virtualization rights.

4 Cloud-optimized

Businesses today are rapidly adopting a hybrid approach across private and public cloud computing. Windows Server 2012 offers the right edition for you, no matter where you are on your path to the cloud; Datacenter edition for highly virtualized cloud environments, Standard edition for lightly virtualized environments progressing toward cloud, or Essentials edition for an ideal cloud-connected first server.

5 Editions Overview

Edition

Ideal for…

High Level Feature
Comparison

Licensing Model

Pricing
Open NL (US$)

Datacenter

Highly virtualized
private & hybrid
cloud environments

Full Windows
Server functionality
with unlimited
virtual instances

Processor + CAL*

$4,809**

Standard

Low density or non-
virtualized
environments

Full Windows
Server functionality
with two virtual
instances

Processor + CAL*

$882**

Essentials

Small business
environments

Simpler interface,
pre-configured
connectivity to
cloud based services; no
virtualization rights

Server (25 User
Account Limit)

$425**

Foundation

Economical general
purpose server

General purpose
server functionality
with no
virtualization rights

Server (15 User
Account Limit)

OEM Only

*CALs are required for every user or device accessing a server directly or indirectly. See the Product Use Rights for details.

MDT 2012 Update 1 Beta 1

The Microsoft Deployment Toolkit team is pleased to announce that Microsoft Deployment Toolkit (MDT) 2012 Update 1 Beta 1 is now available for download!

Download MDT 2012 Update 1 Beta 1 now!

Download the latest release to stay up-to-date on your deployment needs. New features and enhancements make large-scale desktop and server deployments smoother than ever!

This release expands your deployment capabilities with support for the latest software releases, including Windows 8 Release Preview, Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate, and System Center 2012 Configuration Manager SP1 Community Technology Preview. Other notable new features include:

  • Support for using the DaRT 8 Beta with the Windows 8 Release Preview version of the Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK).
  • New "Build Your Own Pages" support for User-Driven Installation (UDI), enabling IT pros to create new wizard panes using simple drag-and-drop operations – no coding required.
  • Integration with System Center Orchestrator, enabling task sequences to invoke Orchestrator runbooks at any point in the deployment process.
  • Completely reworked "Roles and Features" logic, supporting both installation and removal, as well as providing a new Lite Touch wizard pane for selecting roles and features to install at deploy time.
  • Support for PowerShell 3.0 to make it easier to run PowerShell scripts inside task sequences on Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, and Windows PE 4.0.
  • Simple monitoring functionality for Configuration Manager task sequences, leveraging the monitoring capabilities provided initially in MDT 2012 for Lite Touch deployments.
  • Improved "boot from VHD" deployment capabilities, supporting both bare metal and refresh deployments.

System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 CTP2 available

This Community Technology Preview (“CTP2”) enables System Center customers to jointly evaluate System Center 2012 and Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate. CTP2 includes updates and enhancements to the following System Center 2012 components:

  • Virtual Machine Manager
    • Improved Support for Network Virtualization
    • Extend the VMM console with Add-ins
    • Support for Windows Standards-Based Storage Management Service, thin provisioning of logical units and discovery of SAS storage
    • Ability to convert VHD to VHDX, use VHDX as base Operating System image
  • Configuration Manager
    • Support for Windows 8
    • Support for Mac OS clients
    • Support for Linux and Unix servers
  • Data Protection Manager
    • Improved backup performance of Hyper-V over CSV 2.0
    • Protection for Hyper-V over remote SMB share
    • Protection for Windows Server 2012 de-duplicated volumes
    • Uninterrupted protection for VM live migration
  • App Controller
    • Service Provider Foundation API to create and operate Virtual Machines
    • Support for Azure VM; migrate VHDs from VMM to Windows Azure, manage from on-premise System Center
  • Operations Manager
    • Support for IIS 8
    • Monitoring of WCF, MVC and .NET NT services
    • Azure SDK support
  • Orchestrator
    • Additional support for Integration Packs, including 3rd party
    • Manage VMM self-service User Roles
    • Manage multiple VMM ‘stamps’ (scale units), aggregate results from multiple stamps
    • Integration with App Controller to consume Hosted clouds
  • Service Manager
    • Apply price sheets to VMM clouds
    • Create chargeback reports
    • Pivot by cost center, VMM clouds, Pricesheets
  • Server App-V
    • Support for applications that create scheduled tasks during packaging
    • Create virtual application packages from applications installed remotely on native server

You can get the System Center 2012 Service Pack 1 CTP2 Downloads here:

Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate Build 8400 in VMware Workstation Technology Preview 2012

This procedure describes how to install Windows Server 2012 in VMware Workstation. The following versions are used:

  • VMware Workstation Technology Preview 2012 e.x.p Build-646643
  • Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate Datacenter Build 8400

In VMware Workstation Technology Preview 2012 create a new VM with the following settings:

  • New Virtual Machine
  • Custom (advanced)
  • Workstation Tech Preview
  • Select “I will install the operating system later”
  • Select “Microsoft Windows” and select as version “Windows 8 x64”
  • Set the Name and Location
  • Minimal 1 processor, 1 core
  • 2048 MB memory
  • Select “Use network address translation (NAT)”
  • Select “LSI Logic SAS”
  • Create a new virtual disk
  • SCSI
  • 60 GB disk size
  • Leave default disk file
  • Finish
  • After the VM is created, edit virtual Machine settings and browse for the Windows Server 2012 ISO in the the CD/DVD option

image

Edit the VMX file  and add the following line to the end to of the VMX file:

vmGenCounter.enable = FALSE

During the installation choose for the Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate (Server wit GUI)

Special thanks to my colleague Ivo Beerens

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