INTRODUCTION
Support policy for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and 2011 are supported on computers that run Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V in production systems. The beta version of Hyper-V is not supported. The beta version of Hyper-V is included in Windows Server 2008.Note To use Hyper-V in a production environment, you must apply the update for the release version of the Hyper-V technology for Windows Server 2008. To obtain this update, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
950050 Description of the update for the release version of the Hyper-V technology for Windows Server 2008 Additionally, the Microsoft Dynamics CRM team is committed to testing Microsoft Dynamics CRM on upcoming Microsoft virtualization technologies and to publishing updated support policies as these technologies become available.
Support policy for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 on a computer that is running other virtualization solutions
Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and 2011 supports virtualization solutions from vendors who participate in the Microsoft Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP). For more information about this program and about participating vendors, visit the following Windows Server Marketplace Web site:
http://windowsservercatalog.com/svvp.aspx?svvppage=svvp.htmFor more information about the Microsoft support policy for SVVP solutions, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
897615 Support policy for Microsoft software running in non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software
More Information
Although hardware virtualization technologies are somewhat new to PC-based datacenters, hardware virtualization technologies can provide significant advantages over traditional hardware-based implementations. However, software that is running in a virtualized hardware environment is affected by intrinsic limitations, especially performance limitations.Therefore, we strongly recommend that you review the following Web sites before you decide whether to implement hardware virtualization technologies in your datacenter:
Top Ten Virtualization Mythshttp://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/topmyths.mspxVirtualization – Evolution Not Revolutionhttp://download.microsoft.com/download/e/b/5/eb57b60a-8af7-4224-90a2-5e1dc90fd92f/virtualization_evolution_not_revolution.pdfVirtualization – The Architectural Foundation for Dynamic IT http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/dynamicIT.mspxThe Microsoft Virtualization home page http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/default.mspxThis information can also helpful when you plan a Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation. For example, the decision to deploy different server roles of Microsoft Dynamics CRM to virtualized or non-virtualized environments is strongly dependent on your datacenter implementation, management strategies, and available resources.Some Microsoft Dynamics CRM server roles are better candidates than other server roles for running inside a Microsoft Virtual Server environment. Your results depend on many factors. These factors include the following factors:
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The hardware environment
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Your performance requirements
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The workloads that exist
To help determine whether virtualization is the correct solution for your organization, and for Microsoft-recommended best practices around server consolidation and virtualization, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/virtualization-consolidation.aspx
Performance and scalability considerations
When you plan to deploy Microsoft Dynamics CRM in a virtualized environment, the same performance and scalability aspects that are described in "The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Implementation Guides" apply when you size each virtual machine for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. For more information about "The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Implementation Guides," see the "References" section.Additionally, some factors directly affect the performance and the scalability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM when it is running on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. Additionally, make sure that you consider the following:
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Create separate fixed-size virtual disks for Microsoft Dynamics CRM databases and log files. Additionally, store the virtual disks on separate physical drives on the host server.
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Before you move the implementation to a production environment, make sure that you validate the performance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server by using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Performance Toolkit.
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Make sure that the server that is running Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V is sized correctly to handle the number of virtual machines that you plan to deploy. This estimate should include the CPU, the memory, the network adapters, and the disk configuration.
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Use a hard disk solution that enables fast access. Consider using a SCSI hard disk, a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), or a storage area network (SAN) to store the virtual hard disk (.vhd) files that are used by Microsoft Dynamics CRM data.
References
For more information, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
950050 Description of the update for the release version of the Hyper-V technology for Windows Server 2008 For more information, visit the following Microsoft Web sites:
Microsoft Virtualizationhttp://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/default.mspx Virtualization and Consolidation with Hyper-Vhttp://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/virtualization-consolidation.aspx Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Implementation Guidehttps://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?FamilyID=1ceb5e01-de9f-48c0-8ce2-51633ebf4714 Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 Implementation Guide <Available post RTM> Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Performance Toolkithttp://www.codeplex.com/crmperftoolkit/Release/ProjectReleases.aspx?ReleaseId=10764 Optimizing and Maintaining Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0http://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?FamilyID=ba826cee-eddf-4d6e-842d-27fd654ed893 Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 Performance and Scalability - User Scalability for the Enterprisehttp://www.microsoft.com/download/details.aspx?FamilyID=5852b14a-394c-4898-8374-caf5e6479eb0 Using SQL Server 2005 in a Virtual Environmenthttp://download.microsoft.com/download/a/c/d/acd8e043-d69b-4f09-bc9e-4168b65aaa71/SQLVirtualization.doc
