Windows Server 2012 Core - Hyper-V - Tape Redirector Problem

[Rothgar]

Hi Guys,

I am having problems trying to install the Tape Redirector on Server 2012 Core. I didn't want to necro an existing thread but this is basically my problem:

http://www.starwindsoftware.com/forums/ ... tml#p16539

We are using a Windows Server 2012 installed with Core only.

I have then added the following features to get a very minimal GUI:

Install-WindowsFeature Hyper-V
Install-WindowsFeature Hyper-V-Powershell
Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra
Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-Hyper-V-Tools

NOTE: It would be great if in the future the Tape Redirector GUI could work with this build as there are a number of other consoles that work in this environment but it does not add a full GUI bloat.

Now from the previous thread it stated that the Management Console option was the reason I received the error but unchecking that and just trying to install the service results in the same "Not Implemented" error.

Am I missing something here? Or is this still not fixed?

[Rothgar]

An Update on my problem.

I found a thread while looking for a newer version of Tape Redirector or a Beta:

http://www.starwindsoftware.com/forums/ ... t3060.html

This linked to a supposed newer version of Tape Redirector:

http://starwindsoftware.com/tmplink/Sta ... 130131.exe

This version installed on my Server Core 2012 no problem however it looked to be the SolarWinds SAN & NAS? It says in the About Window that it includes "TapeRedirector" 6.0 but the Tape Redirector license does not work and the ISCSI Free License that I got from the website and entered only provides the following features:

DDDisk, DDDiskEx, RamDrive, ImageFile, VirtualDVD, IBV, HAImage

There is no TapeRedirector included in that license?

I haven't found a valid license yet to test any further Can someone please advise if this is what I should have installed or how I can move forward please, much appreciated.

[Anatoly (staff)]

Hi!

Yes, you`ve found the correct build. You just need not a usual free license. Please email to support@starwindsoftware.com, put the reference to this forum and the correct license request in the emails body and we will gladly assist you.

Thank you

[Rothgar]

To update this thread, I e-mailed support and received the a custom "Tape Redirector" license.

I successfully installed the license and was able to create an iSCSI Device.

During my initial problems when I was troubleshooting I had tried installing the Microsoft iSCSI Windows Features to see if it would help resolve my issues. This now was binding port 3260 and not allowing me to bind the server IP address in StarWinds (I think, I have uninstalled the features but not got as far as testing in StarWinds software yet).

I have uninstalled the Microsoft iSCSI features, however it highlights another problem I seem to have on Server 2012 Core.

When I first installed the StarWinds software it opened a console GUI that allowed me to configure the options etc. Once I restarted the server however I could not load the console again, even if I manually run the executable it loads the splash screen and loading bar but the Management Console never opens.

If I uninstall the StarWinds software and re-install it will again open the console once but then after a restart I have the exact same problem?

Also my tape drive was listed in the Device manager originally as an unknown device (could not find a valid driver in Windows) and I was unsure whether StarWinds wanted a driver to pass through the physical device. It does require a driver installed on the Hyper-V host. Once I installed the driver I was able to see the device in StarWinds where without I was not.

EDIT: I will also mention that there does not seem to be any log file generated under the "logs" folder and I have not found any events in the Microsoft Event Logs

[Anatoly (staff)]

I understand that it may sound stupid, but still: are you sure that it is not opened? Maybe it is hiden in the tray?

[Rothgar]

Hi Anatoly,

By default does the software usually minimize to the system tray?

In Windows Server Core mode there is no (at least visible) system tray. Maybe that is the problem? Is there a way to stop it from doing that at start-up?

If there is a startup command-line flag or something I can try and report results.

Alternatively if there is a setting in the GUI I can uninstall/re-install and try that.

[anton (staff)]

StarWind is a service it does not minimize to tray. StarWind GUI cannot work on a Server Core. What you do normally - install service on one machine and use other to control it.
There's no need (and virtually no sense) to install both on the same box as virtually nobody does use StarWind this way.

Hi Anatoly,

By default does the software usually minimize to the system tray?

In Windows Server Core mode there is no (at least visible) system tray. Maybe that is the problem? Is there a way to stop it from doing that at start-up?

If there is a startup command-line flag or something I can try and report results.

Alternatively if there is a setting in the GUI I can uninstall/re-install and try that.

[Rothgar]

StarWind is a service it does not minimize to tray. StarWind GUI cannot work on a Server Core. What you do normally - install service on one machine and use other to control it.
There's no need (and virtually no sense) to install both on the same box as virtually nobody does use StarWind this way.

Hi Anton,

I understand Starwind is a Service however it also contains a GUI Administration option which is what I am now talking about.

I refer to another example, a lot of people say the Hyper-V Console cannot be run in "Server Core", however I researched around and after installing the right Server Features it does actually work fine.

I do not understand why Starwinds would not be interested in fixing this bug? The Starwinds GUI DOES work, after initial installation it opens and I have actually configured now everything I required and I can now see my Tape Drive inside the Guest OS.

That said I would prefer to have the Starwinds GUI, just like I preferred to have the Hyper-V Console on the Server Core Host itself to ensure that all our IT staff can log in to the server and run the required administration tools easily.

If Starwinds official answer is that you do not support Server Core, then I guess that is your choice, but it clearly does work, I have used it, I can see benefit in fixing the bug where it does not open properly after a server restart but that is just my opinion.

[anton (staff)]

StarWind ***DOES*** support both Server Core and Hyper-V Server for production. Because StarWind actual service runs there fine and does it's job just great.
However we don't expect StarWind Management Console being run there directly, we never planned this scenario and never tested it either. We don't consider this as being
a "bug" and we don't have any strict plans to "fix" this any time soon. Because a very few people request this functionality. We'll look however at this for sure and if there's a
minor amount of activities from our side we'll provide this functionality with the upcoming release or major update. Just to keep you guys happy

[Rothgar]

Hi Anton,

Thanks for the response, appreciate the support you guys provide.

To provide some help, you could replicate this in a test environment by installing Server 2012 Core with the Features in my initial post:

Install-WindowsFeature Hyper-V
Install-WindowsFeature Hyper-V-Powershell
Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra
Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-Hyper-V-Tools

Then install the StarWinds software both Service and GUI Tools and then restart the server and try to re-run the GUI.

In relation to my other question, do you know if by default in a Full Server install does the GUI start in the system tray? If so is there a way via a command-line flag to have it run not minimized? Because I could test that fairly easily.

Thank you

[Anatoly (staff)]

To provide some help, you could replicate this in a test environment by installing Server 2012 Core with the Features in my initial post:

Install-WindowsFeature Hyper-V
Install-WindowsFeature Hyper-V-Powershell
Install-WindowsFeature Server-Gui-Mgmt-Infra
Install-WindowsFeature RSAT-Hyper-V-Tools

Then install the StarWinds software both Service and GUI Tools and then restart the server and try to re-run the GUI.

We definitelly will if it will be nessesary. As Anton said - if you run SW on Core edition of Windows you need to run Mgmt console on any other non-Core OS installation. Could you please make sure if you configured everything correctly by doublechecking with our document that you can find by using the link below?
http://www.starwindsoftware.com/install ... erver-core
Yes, it is for WS2008, but it should give you the basic idea of SW configuration steps.

In relation to my other question, do you know if by default in a Full Server install does the GUI start in the system tray? If so is there a way via a command-line flag to have it run not minimized? Because I could test that fairly easily.

Thanks for the feedback! Our R&D just confirmed that this will be improved in next version of our software.