Azure Stack HCI #HYPER-V 2022 or 2025 FREE Personnal Use Only !

Good stuff!

 

Screenshot?

 

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nice, verified.
AzureStackHCI_21H2_b20348.350 has no TimeBomb. Thank you.

 

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Does this mean even if you create local VM servers , and also do not register your stack HCI host with Azure, will the local VM's still run after 60 days?

 

Not tested yet, but in doubt I would disable / delete the azure related services

What I can say is that (finally) we have a core-ish server that, finally includes the wlan service, the ras, the the duplication feature, and so on which makes it perfect to be used as a VM to build a virtualized wifi router using a 2$ USB dongle, or to access a deduped volume when the baremetal is not dedup friendly.

All of that w/o being too much bloated over HypeCore

 

Azure HCI is even better than it looks at first sight..

Unlike Hypercore it has the dcpromo policy enabled, so just add the domain controller and dns packages and you have a domain controller, lighter than core/acor, and no activation required

 

But don't you need to register it with Azure? Perhaps that's why there is no activation since you need to register it which serves as activation?

 

Bad thing with new HCI is that according to license, you can't use in at work. Personal use only.
HyperCore was an enterprise solution. To host Linux or VDI VMs without Datacenter license for example.

 

I can't see that as a big trouble, Hypercore still works, even the oldest versions can run most of the recent windows.

And at work hardly the wlan support is something used.

Instead at home it can be a really useful flavor, either as Hyper-V host, or as a VM to build a virtualized DC and/or router thanks to remote access and wlan support.

 

At home I can use Windows 10/11 with Hyper-V + (WSL + WSA which are not in server)
HyperCore's main benefit was free high availability (clustering) and Live Migration.

Don't actually get what are you speaking about? I didn't mention anything about WiFi support. Which can be enabled on HyperCore as easy as 123

P.S. If anyone checked, free HCI - does have dedup support or not? That can be a positive step.. once they allow to use it at work. Can't imaging home user at Core, when Hyper-V is part of desktop OS.

 

What's the point of comparing a full GUI OS with HCI? Compare it With Core, aCor, HyperCore...

Not an expert of high availability under windows, not going to argue here


You still use the past. Hyper-V 2019, 2016,... are still available and usable

Actually I mentioned it. Read my previous messages. HCI is the only no GUI server which comes with it, and no is not as easy as 123 to install the wireless support on Core-ish servers, not that I spent a lot of time trying to do that

Yes it comes with dedup out of the box, not that installing the dedup packages on Hypercore is difficult .

Not all Home users are ignorant button pusher zombies, building a headless home server/router/nas using something like a HP microserver is a common application, using HCI as a guest is another great opportunity, it's small, light and can be used as a great DC (yes a domain is a great thing to have at home, when you have more than a single PC), you can build a cheap virtualized WIFI router using a 3$ WiFi dongle, something that Linux doesn't manage well because the lack of robust drivers for such cheap devices....

I can continue for half a day....

 

Ok, let's try to find a common point

1) WiFi - HCI doesn't have Microsoft-Windows-MobilityWLAN-Package, so WiFi management is very questionable. If you wish, you can install it on HCI, WS2016/WS2019/WS2022/WS225xx - just get CABs from UUP. Not a license question, not controlled by SPP

2) For comparing - first let's find a set of future users - ineteresting to MSFT. For HyperCore it's clear - was enterprise oriented to sell System Center management licenses and Windows/Enterprise CALs (you need a CAL to use MSFT DHCP or DNS for example, - not mentioning ADDS). HCI without production use support - limited set of home users, not buying additional MSFT licenses, probably no CALs either. Microsoft would soon forget this step, as it close lot of not commercially interesting SKUs. To return customers to it production use must be allowed.

3) Hyper-V Server 2016/2019 are of course still in game. But they lack few WS2022 Hyper-V features, and the mainstream support period is coming to an end. Extended support is very tricky thing to get, beleive me as a guy who worked in Microsoft Enterprise Services for 10 years ))

4) Now a painful topic for you: ADDS support. Sorry, but no. HCI does not have the following packages: Microsoft-Windows-DirectoryServices-DomainController-SrvFnd-Opt-Package, Microsoft-Windows-DirectoryServices-DomainController-SrvFnd-Opt-WOW64-Package, Microsoft-Windows-DirectoryServices-DomainController-SrvFnd-Package, Microsoft-Windows-DirectoryServices-DomainController-SrvFnd-WOW64-Package - so it won't work as domain controller. Pity. If we speak of taking them from WS2022 and breaking license rule importing to HCI - well, that's piracy, I would prefer to steal Datacenter + HCI addon (there is such a thing, can be easily activated). Btw, CALs again - pretending you legally run domain controller - on your HCI at home - you still need to buy Windows CAL for any device communicating with domain controller - AND/OR for any client using Microsoft DHCP/DNS server of your WiFI router . If we speak not buying CALs, it's piracy, read above.

5) For dedup I asked not for binaries, but for SPP - if it prohibits dedup at free SKU or not YET. As of now that may be positive. But it's already disabled at 225xx

6) The last one "using HCI as a guest". HCI is supported ONLY as host, or Azure guest, or Windows ServerTurbine guest. Running it in 3d-party virtualization or on desktop Hyper-V is piracy.. above.

What was a plan for another half of a day?

 

As long as I can write "netsh wlan start hostednetwork" and related commands I'm fine

Did you personally try to add WLAN suport to Hypercore/Core/aCore? I don't think is that easy but a lot of time is past since I tried.

Their point was to enlarge the user base to fight the free flavors of VMware ESX and opensource solutions like Proxmox
Now their main concern is to sell cloud instances, times are changed

The point is that dcpromo enabled is = 1, unlike Hypercore. Then is up to the user decide what to do whit that.
Just add four DC/DNS packages and it can work as a DC, tested personally
As for piracy please... MDL doesn't seem the right place for bigotry about that.

Read my messages again. You can "steal" Datacenter or hypergalactic SKUs and still don't get the unique combination of features that HCI provides
If you need a specialized forklift, you're not going to get a Ferrari, no matter if you pay or not for it

Not sure what's your point., seem that you are arguing just for the sake of arguing.
Dedup is included, and activable from the server manager just like any Core/aCore server and unlike Hypercore.
SPP has nothing to do with Dedup, you know very well that dedup works in clients (if you add the packages), same for hypercore, server essentials and so on.

Not sure... my plan was to hear something like "thanks for sharing your technical findings" rather than discussing licensing mambojambos

 

To finish that - I simply don't get the need of *free* SKU, if you need to modify it, breaking a license. That's it. As enterprise architect I know a lot of customers unhappy - they can't upgrade free infrastructure.

To add WLAN to HyperCore, extract Microsoft-Windows-WirelessNetworking-Package~31bf3856ad364e35~amd64~en-US~10.0.17763.1 (and langpack) from 17763 client.

As you know, it's better to add missing packages, not to remove useless - otherwise you end up with manual LCU install each time..
So what is the minimum OS possible, with Datacenter capabilities.... Wrong! ContainerOS.
Now we have a way to install it - on host or VM and an interesting task is to add needed to it, so it easily updates..

 

Frankly I personally keep separate what I do as admin and what I do for increasing my knowledge or what I need as a user.

Enterprises makes money using IT, they have the choice to use open source solutions, or they can decide to use a commercial product even if it's initially free.
Its 2000 years since the Trojans discovered that a gift is not necessarily a gift.

I'll try again when I have time, but I remember that the problem wasn't the WLAN package itself but a huge bunch of other things that it dragged with it as a dependency. So I ask again do yo tried that or you are just guessing?

That sentence can be taken as true or false depending the build we are talking of. And obviously WU/Dism are moving targets so whats true today can turn to false tomorrow.