Written by Cosmos Darwin, Senior PM at Microsoft. Follow him on Twitter @cosmosdarwin.
At Microsoft Ignite 2019 last month, we introduced Windows Admin Center version 1910 and a new Cluster Creation extension. Using this extension, you can deploy hyperconverged infrastructure from two or more suitable Windows Servers. The multi-stage workflow guides you through installing features, configuring networking, creating the cluster, and enabling Storage Spaces Direct and/or software-defined networking (SDN). This reduces what used to take hours of sweat, tears, and PowerShell into an experience that’s much more approachable.
The Cluster Creation extension is available in Preview so you can try it early. Throughout the Preview, the extension will be updated through the Windows Admin Center extension feed so that our engineering team can deliver features and fixes rapidly based on your feedback.
Today, we’re pleased to announce the second such update – version 1.2.
Version 1.2 of the Cluster Creation extension is available right now. It takes just a few seconds to install from within Windows Admin Center. If you don't see a toast notification, go to Settings > Extensions > Installed extensions and find the "Cluster Creation (Preview)" extension.
What’s new in version 1.2
- You can now deploy software-defined networking (SDN) using the same workflow! Choose from among two new cluster types that include SDN, with or without Storage Spaces Direct, and proceed through the workflow to Stage 5. This new stage includes up to 8 new steps to guide you through deploying network controller(s), software load balancer(s), and SDN gateway(s).
- Fixed an issue with selecting the cache drive model in step 4.4
- Fixed an issue that could result in step 1.3 incorrectly reporting servers as “Not found”
- Improved visual styling and new assets for dark theme:
- Improved usability by separating feature installation and restart into separate steps:
- Fixed an issue where you could click Next even while features were still installing in step 1.4
- Fixed an issue where servers could mistakenly show as “Up” in step 1.5 if they took too long to shut down
- Improved layout consistency and scroll behavior across every step of the workflow
Known issues
- There is a known issue with the Credential Security Support Provider (CredSSP) that affects step 3.1 and step 3.2 when running Windows Admin Center directly on one of the managed servers. Until this issue can be addressed, the workaround is to run Windows Admin Center on your local client machine instead.
These changes are inspired by your feedback, so please keep it coming! Special thanks to Ravikanth, Marcel, Rizwan, Tolli, Ben, Jaromir, Fabiano, Samuel, Michael, Sumit, Goncalo, Shai, Gabriel, Clement, and everyone else who helped shape version 1.2. You can expect more updates soon as development continues.
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Happy Holidays from the Windows Admin Center team!