Update Rollup 7 for System Center 2012 R2 is Now Available #SysCtr #SystemCenter #VMM

4 min read

Hello folks,

I am glad to share with you that Microsoft just released the Update Rollup 7 for System Center 2012 R2.

Please find the description of the components that are updated in System Center 2012 R2 UR7 and the new features that are added for Virtual Machine Manager particularly:

Virtual Machine Manager (KB3066340):

Support for Windows 10 Client Operating System
After you install this update, you can provision and customize Windows 10 Client Virtual Machines (VMs). This support does not include installing Virtual Machine Manager Console on Windows 10 operating system clients.

Support for new Linux Operating Systems
After you install this update, you can provision and customize Debian 8 Linux as a Guest Operating System.

Support for VMWare vCenter 5.5 management scenarios
With Update Rollup 6, we announced support for basic management scenarios for vCenter 5.5. Building on our roadmap for vCenter and VMM integration and supportability, we are now pleased to announce a broader supportability matrix to manage vCenter instances in the VMM console.
For a complete list of scenarios that are supported, click here.

Support for Multiple External IP Addresses per Virtual Network
You can now have multiple external IP Addresses assigned to a single Virtual Network if you have Update Rollup 7 or a later version installed in your VMM environment.
Update Rollup 7 includes the ability to set multiple IP addresses for NAT in VMM by using PowerShell. This update raises the capability to a higher level in the stack by having support in VMM for the Fabric Administrator.
How do you use this functionality?

$natConnection = Add-SCNATConnection -Name “NAT_Connection1_NatConnection” -VMNetworkGateway $VmNetworkGateway -ExternalIPPool $externalIpPoolVar -ExternalIPAddress “30.30.30.50”
$natConnection = Add-SCNATConnection -Name “NAT_Connection2_NatConnection” -VMNetworkGateway $VmNetworkGateway -ExternalIPPool $externalIpPoolVar -ExternalIPAddress “30.30.30.51”

After examining deeply all the pieces in the stack, we realized that the delivery of a secure and robust solution requires a bit more work and will not fit into a single UR release. Therefore, we are delivering the ability to set multiple IP addresses per virtual network by using an HNV NAT Gateway in a phased manner.
A future update rollup for VMM will explore the properties through the complete stack and provide the following functionality all the way through Windows Azure Pack (WAP).
- When you add a new NAT Rule, a tenant can now use an existing external address or specify a new one.
- You can let the WAP Administrator set quotas for the external IP addresses that are enabled per user role within the cloud.
We understand that there is lots of demand around this feature based on the amount of customer feedback that we have received. We are planning to deliver end-to-end support for this. We want to make sure that what we deliver is something that is secure, robust, and easy to use.

Option to Reassociate Orphaned virtual machines to their Service or VM role
If you ever had to remove a host that hosted Service or VM role virtual machines, and you wanted to wave a magic wand to reassociate a virtual machine to its service or VM role after the host is recommissioned to VMM, we have the solution for you in Update Rollup 7.
You can now reassociate an orphaned virtual machine to its service or VM role after the host server is recommissioned to VMM.
For more information, click here.

Support for VMM DHCP Extension PXE/TFP Forwarding
Administrators who depend on PXE to set up virtual machines or hosts can now perform a PXE boot by directly taking advantage of VMM DHCP extensions.

See the following Knowledge Base article for details about these fixes and installation instructions:
3066340 Update Rollup 7 for System Center 2012 R2 Virtual Machine Manager.