Introduction

Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V is the next-generation hypervisor-based server virtualization technology that allows you to make the best use of your server hardware investments by consolidating multiple server roles as separate virtual machines (VMs) running on a single physical machine. With Hyper-V, you can also efficiently run multiple different operating systems in parallel, on a single server, and fully leverage the power of x64 computing. A feature-complete version is now available for download as a release candidate (RC). You can download the RC update for Hyper-V here to learn more about Microsoft and virtualization; please visit the Virtualization Web site, or the Virtualization TechCenter. To be eligible in the Windows Server 2008 Logo program for the Hyper-V designation, tests must be conducted on the latest available version of Hyper-V.

Hardware requirements

Hyper-V requires an x64-based processor, hardware-assisted virtualization, and hardware data execution protection. The Windows Server catalog, which can be found at the Microsoft Web site (Windows Server Catalog), lists systems that are certified for Windows Server 2008. Systems supporting the x64 architecture and supporting Hyper-V can be identified by the additional qualifier under the text “Certified for Windows”.

Note: If you try to boot the hypervisor on an Intel VT-enabled machine with Execute Disable Bit disabled in the BIOS, the hypervisor does not boot. The issue is recorded in the System Event log as: Hypervisor launch failed; at least one of the processors in the system does not appear to support the features required by the hypervisor” To fix this issue, enable the following Bios settings: Assure Hardware virtualization assist in enabled Assure DEP is turned on. Also known as NX or XD Power off the machine and then restart (just a reboot is not sufficient)

Install Hyper-V

You can install Hyper-V on either a Full Windows Server 2008 installation or a Server Core installation. You can use Server Manager to install Hyper-V on a full installation, as described in the following procedure.

Install Hyper-V on a full installation of Windows Server 2008

1. Click Start, and then click Server Manager
2. In the Roles Summary area of the Server Manager main window, click Add Roles
3. On the Select Server Roles page, click Hyper-V
4. On the Create Virtual Networks page, click one or more network adapters if you want to make their network connection available to virtual machines
5. On the Confirm Installation Selections page, click Install
6. The computer must be restarted to complete the installation. Click Close to finish the wizard, and then click Yes to restart the computer
7. After you restart the computer, log on with the same account you used to install the role. After the Resume Configuration Wizard completes the installation, click Close to finish the wizard

Install Hyper-V on a Server Core installation of Windows Server 2008

To install on a Server Core installation, you must perform the installation from a command prompt by running the following command:

Start /w ocsetup Microsoft-Hyper-V

Note: To manage Hyper-V on a Server Core installation, you can use the Hyper-V management tools to manage the server remotely. The management tools are available for Windows Server 2008 and Windows Vista Service Pack 1. For more information on Hypervisor updates, see article 949219 (Hyper-V updates for Windows Server_2008) and for more information on Hyper-V Management Tools, see article 949758 (Windows Vista Service Pack 1 management tools for Hyper-V) in the Microsoft Knowledge Base.

Create and set up a virtual machine

After you have installed Hyper-V, you can create a virtual machine and set up an operating system on the virtual machine.

Before you create the virtual machine, you may find it helpful to consider the following questions. You can provide answers to the questions when you use the New Virtual Machine Wizard to create the virtual machine.

• Is the installation media available for the operating system you want to install on the virtual machine? You can use physical media, a remote image server, or an .ISO file. The method you want to use determines how you should configure the virtual machine
• How much memory will you allocate to the virtual machine?
• Where do you want to store the virtual machine and what do you want to name it?

Create and set up a virtual machine

1. Open Hyper-V Manager. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Hyper-V Manager
2. From the Action pane, click New, and then click Virtual Machine
3. From the New Virtual Machine Wizard, click Next
4. On the Specify Name and Location page, specify what you want to name the virtual machine and where you want to store it
5. On the Memory page, specify enough memory to run the guest operating system you want to use on the virtual machine
6. On the Networking page, connect the network adapter to an existing virtual network if you want to establish network connectivity at this point

Note: If you want to use a remote image server to install an operating system on your test virtual machine, select the external network. On the Connect Virtual Hard Disk page, specify a name, location, and size to create a virtual hard disk so you can install an operating system on it. On the Installation Options page, choose the method you want to use to install the operating system: Install an operating system from a boot CD/DVD-ROM. You can use either physical media or an image file (.iso file) Install an operating system from a boot floppy disk Install an operating system from a network-based installation server. To use this option, you must configure the virtual machine with a network adapter connected to the same network as the image server Click Finish.

Install the operating system and integration services

In the final step of this process, you connect to the virtual machine to set up the operating system. As part of the setup, you install a software package that improves integration between the virtualization server and the virtual machine.

Note: The instructions in this step assume that you specified the location of the installation media when you created the virtual machine. The instructions also assume that you are installing an operating system for which integration services are available.

To install the Operating System and Integration Services

1. From the Virtual Machines section of the results pane, right-click the name of the virtual machine you created in step 2 and click Connect. The Virtual Machine Connection tool will open
2. From the Action menu in the Virtual Machine Connection window, click Start
3. Proceed through the OS installation

Note: When you are at the point where you need to provide input to complete the process, move the mouse cursor over the image of the setup window. After the mouse pointer changes to a small dot, click anywhere in the virtual machine window. This action "captures" the mouse so that keyboard and mouse input is sent to the virtual machine. To return the input to the physical computer, press “Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow” and then move the mouse pointer outside of the virtual machine window To install the latest version of the Integration Services for x86 & x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008, you must install this package in the virtual machine and on computers that are running the x86 or x64-based version of Windows Server 2008 To install the latest version of the Integration Services for Windows Server 2003, for Windows Vista SP1, and for Windows XP SP3, click Insert Integration Services Setup Disk on the Action menu in the Virtual Machine Connection dialog box

Network Access for VM

You can configure networking for virtual machines by adding, removing, and modifying their network adapters as necessary. Each network adapter can be connected to one of the virtual networks available on your virtualization server. Virtual Network Manager enables you to add, remove, modify, and manage virtual networks. The Virtual Network Manager is available from Hyper-V™ Manager.

To create a virtual Network connection

1. Open Hyper-V Manager. Click Start, point to Administrative Tools, and then click Hyper-V Manager.
2. From the Action pane, click New, and then click Virtual Machine.
3. From the Create Virtual Network pane, select External and then click on Add
4. In the next screen, enter the Name of your new virtual network
5. Under Connection Type, select External: and select the desired network adapter from the drop down list
6. Click on Apply and then OK to close the window
7. From the Virtual Machines list in Hyper-V Manager, select the Virtual Machine you wish to add a Virtual network Connection to
8. Right click the virtual machine and select Settings
9. Select Add Hardware from the hardware list in the right pane
10. Select Legacy Network Adapter in the Devices list in the right pane and click on Add
11. From the Legacy Network Adapter screen, select the Network you created earlier from the drop down list
12. Click on Apply and then OK to add the Virtual Network Connection to the virtual machine

Working with Snapshots and Saved States

A Snapshot is a point in time of the state of the running or non-running VM that you can revert to anytime. They consist of a memory save state file, a Difference disk (.avhd), and a copy of the VM configuration xml file. When you revert to a snapshot, you are loading that configuration, that memory state, and using that Diff disk.

To Create a Snapshot

Right-click on the Virtual Machine name in Hyper-V Manager, and choose 'Snapshot'. You can do this when the VM is still running, or when the VM is turned off. You can also do this on a brand new VM that has never been started before.

Note: Snapshots are very convenient and useful, but they have a performance cost; if you exceed the snapshot depth to more than three, then you may experience performance degradation depending on the resources available and allocated.

Applying a Snapshot

When you apply a snapshot, you are reverting to the state of the VM at that point in time, including the VM configuration at that time (such as total RAM, total cores, etc).

Note:                                                                                                                                            Applying a snapshot can mean data loss. When you apply a snapshot you are prompted with if you'd like to Take Snapshot Then Apply? If you ignore this and just Apply, you will forever lose the current system state If you choose to Take Snapshot Then Apply, your current system state will be saved

Deleting a Snapshot

• When you delete a snapshot, you are saying that you do not want to revert back to that point in time again.
• You can delete a snapshot at any time (i.e. guest can be running or turned off)
• Data loss may occur when deleting a snapshot in the sense that you will lose the system state for that snapshot and the ability to revert to that VM state in time.

Saved State

A Saved State is a point in time of the state of a running VM, much like a snapshot; however, a Saved State can only be performed on a running VM and it can only be restored ounce, provided that no other snapshot has been applied since the System State has been saved.

To create a Saved State, right-click on the name of a running Virtual Machine in Hyper-V Manager, and choose Save. This will save the system sate and the VM will appear to be shutdown. To resume from a saved state right-click on the name of the saved Virtual Machine in Hyper-V Manager and choose Start.

Note: Applying a snapshot can mean data loss. If you apply a snapshot after you have saved a system state; Any data and/or system changes specific to the Saved State, will be lost.

Written By:

Scott Lanphear