Updating the VirtIO Drivers (Windows-based VMs)

Update the Red Hat VirtIO drivers in your Windows-based virtual machines (VMs) to the latest supported versions to ensure the proper operation of your VMs. For example, you should update the VirtIO drivers after upgrading the everRun software (Upgrading everRun Software) or after using the P2V client to migrate a VM to the everRun system (Migrating a Physical Machine or Virtual Machine to an everRun 7.x System).

To update the VirtIO drivers in a Windows-based virtual machine

1. Download the VirtIO ISO file from the Downloads page at http://www.stratus.com/go/support/everrun.

   1. On the Downloads page, click everRun (if it is not already displayed) and then select the appropriate version.
   2. Scroll down to Drivers and Tools and then continue scrolling to everRun VirtIO Driver Update.
   3. Click the link to the appropriate file.

   Ensure that you download the version of the VirtIO ISO file that matches the version of your everRun system.

2. If you want to verify the integrity of the ISO image, also download the associated fciv checksum file, and then download the Microsoft File Checksum Integrity Verifier (FCIV) executable file from the Microsoft Support web site. Save both files to the directory that contains the downloaded ISO file.

   Open a command prompt. From the directory containing the ISO, executable, and verification files, type a command similar to the following to verify the ISO image:

   fciv –v –xml virtio-win-n.n.nn.xml

   If the command succeeds (that is, it returns the message All files verified successfully), go to the next step. If the command fails, repeat the download.

3. Open the everRun Availability Console, create a VCD of the VirtIO ISO file, and insert the VCD into the Windows-based VM (see Creating a Virtual CD and Inserting a Virtual CD).
4. Open Device Manager in the guest operating system.

5. Expand Network adapters and locate the Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter. There may be more than one adapter present depending on the number of network interfaces in your VM.

   If the Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter is not present, the VirtIO driver is not installed. Expand Other devices and locate the unknown Ethernet Controller device. You will update the driver for this device.

6. Right click the Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter (or Ethernet Controller) and select Update Driver Software. Click Browse my computer for the driver software, specify the location of the VirtIO Ethernet driver (netkvm) for your guest operating system, and finish updating the driver. (For example, to update the driver in a Windows Server 2012 R2 guest, select the NetKVM\2k12R2\amd64\netkvm.inf file on the VirtIO VCD.)

   Repeat the driver update for each additional Red Hat VirtIO Ethernet Adapter (or Ethernet Controller) device.

7. Expand Storage controllers and locate the Red Hat VirtIO SCSI controller. There may be more than one controller present depending on the number of volumes in your VM.

   If the Red Hat VirtIO SCSI controller is not present, the VirtIO driver is not installed. Locate the unknown SCSI controller device. You will update the driver for this device.

8. Right-click the Red Hat VirtIO SCSI controller (or SCSI controller) and select Update Driver Software. Click Browse my computer for the driver software, specify the location of the VirtIO SCSI driver (viostor) for your guest operating system, and finish updating the driver. (For example, to update the driver in a Windows Server 2012 R2 guest, specify the viostor\2k12R2\amd64\viostor.inf file on the VirtIO VCD.)

   Repeat the driver update for each additional Red Hat VirtIO SCSI (or SCSI controller) device.

   Caution: Although the device name is the Red Hat VirtIO SCSI controller, you must select the storage driver file that is labeled viostor, and not vioscsi (if present). Installing the vioscsi driver may crash your VM.

9. If you intend to use the QEMU guest agent, as described in Installing the QEMU Guest Agent for Application-Consistent Snapshots (Windows-based VMs), also update the VirtIO serial driver that is associated with the guest agent; otherwise, skip to step 11.

   Expand System devices and locate the VirtIO Serial Driver. If the VirtIO Serial Driver is not present, expand Other devices and locate the unknown PCI Simple Communications Controller device. You will update the driver for this device.

10. Right-click the VirtIO Serial Driver and select Update Driver Software. Click Browse my computer for the driver software, specify the location of the VirtIO serial driver (vioser) for your guest operating system, and finish updating the driver. (For example, to update the driver in a Windows Server 2012 R2 guest, specify the vioserial\2k12R2\amd64\vioser.inf file on the VirtIO VCD.)
11. If applicable, restart the guest operating system to load the updated drivers.

Related Topics

Configuring Windows-based Virtual Machines

Creating and Migrating Virtual Machines

Managing the Operation of a Virtual Machine