Configuring the network on Windows Server with Hyper-V on the High Grade & SCALE ranges

Last updated 15th November 2021

Objective

On the High Grade & SCALE ranges, it is not possible to operate Additional IPs in bridged mode (via virtual MACs). It is therefore necessary to configure Additional IPs in routed mode or via the vRack.

This guide explains how to configure the network in Windows Server with Hyper-V.

Requirements

• An OVHcloud dedicated server
• Access to the OVHcloud Control Panel
• An Additional IP

Instructions

Additional IP in routed mode on public network interfaces

Explanations

You need to:

• Set up NIC Teaming.
• Install the Hyper-V and RRAS roles.
• Setup RRAS to act as a router.

Identify Interfaces and Configure NIC teaming

Open Windows Powershell and execute the command Get-NetAdapter:

PS C:\Windows\system32> Get-NetAdapter

Name                      InterfaceDescription                    ifIndex Status       MacAddress             LinkSpeed
----                      --------------------                    ------- ------       ----------             ---------
Ethernet                  Mellanox ConnectX-5 Adapter                   9 Up           04-3F-72-D5-C3-38        25 Gbps
Ethernet 4                Mellanox ConnectX-5 Adapter #4                7 Up           0C-42-A1-DD-37-B3        25 Gbps
Ethernet 2                Mellanox ConnectX-5 Adapter #2                6 Up           04-3F-72-D5-C3-39        25 Gbps
Ethernet 3                Mellanox ConnectX-5 Adapter #3                4 Up           0C-42-A1-DD-37-B2        25 Gbps

In our example:

• The public interfaces are Ehernet 3 and Ethernet 4.
• The private interfaces are Ethernet and Ethernet 2.

Now go back to the Server Manager and go to Local Server and click on Disabled opposite NIC Teaming.

On the following page, right-click one of public interfaces identified earlier and click Add to New Team.

Next, give your team a name, add the second interface to the team, then expand the Additional Properties and set "Teaming Mode" to LACP, and finally click OK.

Configure a static IP

In order to prevent a connection loss on a reboot we will need to configure the IP statically on the team.

Press Windows Key + R to open a "Run" window. Enter ncpa.cpl and click OK. This will open your Network Connections control panel.

Right click on your team that you created and click Properties.

Next, double-click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).

Select Use the following IP address and insert your IP address.

The "Subnet mask" and "Default gateway" will be: 255.255.255.255 and 100.64.0.1 as shown below.

For DNS servers, you can choose your own. For our example we are using 213.186.33.99 and 8.8.8.8.

Once done, click OK to close the Window, and OK again to close the adapter properties Window.

Installing the Hyper-V and RRAS Roles

Go to the Server Manager and open the Dashboard, then click on Add roles and features

Go through the Wizard until you reach the Server Roles section and select Hyper-V and Remote Access.

Next, proceed to the Virtual Switches subsection of Hyper-V and select your NIC team that you created earlier.

Next, proceed to the Role Services subsection of Remote Access and select Routing.

Finally, proceed to the Confirmation section, select Restart the destination server automatically if required and click Install.

Configure Routing and Remote Access

Open the new application called Routing and Remote Access and right click on your server and choose Configure and Enable Routing and Remote Access.

Now, choose Custom configuration and click Next.

Next, you need to select LAN routing and then click Next.

Finally, click on Finish and then Start Service on the popup that will appear.

Set Primary and Additional IP statically on Hyper-V interface

We must now move the IP configuration to the Hyper-V interface.

Press Windows Key + R to open a "Run" window. Enter ncpa.cpl and click OK. This will open your Network Connections control panel.

Right click on your vEthernet Adapter and click Properties.

Next, double-click on Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4).

Select Use the following IP address and insert your IP address.

The "Subnet mask" and "Default gateway" will be: 255.255.255.255 and 100.64.0.1 as shown below.

For DNS servers, you can choose your own. For our example we are using 213.186.33.99 and 8.8.8.8.

Next click on the Advanced... button and in the new Window click Add... under IP addresses.

Add your IP address and subnet mask for your Additional IP and click Add.

Once done, click OK to close the Advanced Window, click OK again to close the TCP/IPv4 settings, and finally click OK, to close the adapter properties Window.

Add a static route

Open a command prompt as administrator and run the command route print interface:

C:\Users\admin>route print interface
===========================================================================
Interface List
 22...0c 42 a1 dd 37 b2 ......Hyper-V Virtual Ethernet Adapter
 10...04 3f 72 d5 c3 38 ......Mellanox ConnectX-5 Adapter
  7...04 3f 72 d5 c3 39 ......Mellanox ConnectX-5 Adapter #2
  1...........................Software Loopback Interface 1
===========================================================================

In our example you will see that our Hyper-V adapter has the ID of 22.
Take note of your Hyper-V adapter then run the command route add -p 192.xxx.xxx.16 mask 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 if 22 (replace the IP and interface ID with the one you received).
You should have the result OK!

PS C:\Users\admin> route add -p 192.xxx.xxx.16 mask 255.255.255.255 0.0.0.0 if 22
 OK!

Your VM, once created and configured, should now have internet access.

Configuration example of a client VM on Ubuntu

File contents of /etc/netplan/ip.yaml:

network:
        version: 2
        ethernets:
                eth0:
                        dhcp4: no
                        addresses:
                                - 192.xxx.xxx.16
                        nameservers:
                                addresses:
                                        - 213.186.33.99
                                        - 8.8.8.8
                        routes:
                                - to: 0.0.0.0/0
                                  via: 100.64.0.1
                                  on-link: true

Additional IP via vRack

Requirements

• A public block of IP addresses in your account, with a minimum of four addresses
• Your chosen private IP address range
• A vRack compatible server
• A vRack service activated in your account
• Access to the OVHcloud Control Panel

Explanations

You need to:

• Create an aggregate.
• Create a bridge connected to the aggregate.

Identify Interfaces and Configure NIC teaming

Open Windows Powershell and Execute the command Get-NetAdapter:

PS C:\Windows\system32> Get-NetAdapter

Name                      InterfaceDescription                    ifIndex Status       MacAddress             LinkSpeed
----                      --------------------                    ------- ------       ----------             ---------
Ethernet                  Mellanox ConnectX-5 Adapter                   9 Up           04-3F-72-D5-C3-38        25 Gbps
Ethernet 4                Mellanox ConnectX-5 Adapter #4                7 Up           0C-42-A1-DD-37-B3        25 Gbps
Ethernet 2                Mellanox ConnectX-5 Adapter #2                6 Up           04-3F-72-D5-C3-39        25 Gbps
Ethernet 3                Mellanox ConnectX-5 Adapter #3                4 Up           0C-42-A1-DD-37-B2        25 Gbps

In our example:

• The public interfaces are Ehernet 3 and Ethernet 4.
• The private interfaces are Ethernet and Ethernet 2.

Now go back to the Server Manager, go to Local Server and click on Disabled besides NIC Teaming.

On the following page, right-click one of private interfaces identified earlier and click Add to New Team.

Next, give your team a name, add the second interface to the team, then expand the Additional Properties and set "Teaming Mode" to LACP, and finally click OK.

Create the Virtual Switch in Hyper-V Manager

We will need to create a virtual switch that will link our VMs to the Team that we created.

First, open the Hyper-V Manager and click on Virtual Switch Manager.

On this page, make sure you have External selected and click Create Virtual Switch.

Now, give your switch a name, choose your new Team adapter , then click Apply and then OK.

You are now ready to create your VM and configure the network for it.

Configure a usable IP address

For vRack, the first, penultimate, and last addresses in a given IP block are always reserved for the network address, network gateway, and network broadcast respectively. This means that the first usable address is the second address in the block, as shown below:

46.105.135.96 # Reserved: network address
46.105.135.97 # First usable IP
46.105.135.98
46.105.135.99
46.105.135.100
46.105.135.101
46.105.135.102
46.105.135.103
46.105.135.104
46.105.135.105
46.105.135.106
46.105.135.107
46.105.135.108
46.105.135.109 # Last usable IP
46.105.135.110 # Reserved: network gateway
46.105.135.111 # Reserved: network broadcast

To configure the first usable IP address, you must edit the network configuration file as shown below. In this example, we use a subnet mask of 255.255.255.240.

Configuration example of a client VM on Ubuntu

Content of the file /etc/netplan/vrack.yaml:

network:
        version: 2
        ethernets:
                eth0:
                        dhcp4: no
                        addresses:
                                - 46.105.135.97/28
                        nameservers:
                                addresses:
                                        - 213.186.33.99
                                        - 8.8.8.8
                        routes:
                                - to: 0.0.0.0/0
                                  via: 46.105.135.110
                                  on-link: true

Go further

Join our community of users on https://community.ovh.com/en/.

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