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Hyper-V

Updated May 22, 2026
7 min read
Developer Reference
VirtualizationBare Metal

Hyper-V

Updated: May 22, 2026Categories: Virtualization, Bare Metal

Printed from:

Microsoft Hyper-V Comprehensive Cheatsheet

1. Installation and Role Configuration

Windows Server (2019 / 2022 / 2025)

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# Install Hyper-V Role via PowerShell
Install-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V -IncludeManagementTools -Restart

# Verify installation
Get-WindowsFeature *Hyper-V*

Windows 10/11 Pro, Enterprise, Education

  • Settings > Apps > Optional features > More Windows features
  • Check "Hyper-V" checkbox
  • Restart computer
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# Alternative client install via DISM
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All

Note: The free standalone "Hyper-V Server" SKU was discontinued after the 2019 release. Use Windows Server (including the free evaluation) or Azure Local (formerly Azure Stack HCI) for bare-metal virtualization hosts.

2. Hyper-V Manager Interface

Key Navigation

  • Server Manager > Tools > Hyper-V Manager
  • Right-click local/remote server to manage
  • Actions panel for core operations
  • Virtual Machines view shows current state

For large-scale or cluster management, prefer Windows Admin Center (browser-based) or System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) over the legacy Hyper-V Manager MMC.

3. Virtual Machine Creation and Configuration

GUI Method

  1. Open Hyper-V Manager or Windows Admin Center
  2. Actions > New > Virtual Machine
  3. Configuration steps:
    • Name and location
    • Generation selection (Gen 1 or Gen 2 — prefer Gen 2)
    • Memory configuration
    • Network connection
    • Virtual hard disk setup
    • OS installation method

PowerShell VM Creation

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# Create new VM
New-VM -Name "ServerName" -MemoryStartupBytes 4GB -Generation 2 `
       -NewVHDPath "C:\VMs\ServerName.vhdx" -NewVHDSizeBytes 80GB `
       -SwitchName "ExternalSwitch"

# Configure VM settings
Set-VM -Name "ServerName" -ProcessorCount 4 -AutomaticCheckpointsEnabled $false
Set-VMMemory -VMName "ServerName" -DynamicMemoryEnabled $true

Tip: Automatic checkpoints are enabled by default on client Hyper-V. Disable them for server workloads.

4. Virtual Hard Disk Management

VHD/VHDX Operations

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# Create new VHDX (dynamically expanding)
New-VHD -Path C:\VMs\disk1.vhdx -SizeBytes 100GB -Dynamic

# Create a fixed-size VHDX (best performance)
New-VHD -Path C:\VMs\disk-fixed.vhdx -SizeBytes 100GB -Fixed

# Attach disk to VM
Add-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName "ServerName" -Path C:\VMs\disk1.vhdx

# Inspect VHD details
Get-VHD -Path C:\VMs\disk1.vhdx

Use VHDX for all new VMs (supports up to 64 TB, resilient to power loss). The older VHD format is limited to 2 TB and retained only for compatibility. VHD Set (.vhds) files enable guest clustering with shared virtual disks.

5. Virtual Networking

Virtual Switch Types

  1. External: Direct physical network connection
  2. Internal: Communication between VMs and host
  3. Private: VM-to-VM communication only
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# Create external virtual switch
New-VMSwitch -Name "ExternalSwitch" -NetAdapterName "Ethernet" -AllowManagementOS $true

# Create a SET (Switch Embedded Teaming) switch — preferred over legacy LBFO teams
New-VMSwitch -Name "SETSwitch" -NetAdapterName "NIC1","NIC2" `
             -EnableEmbeddedTeaming $true -AllowManagementOS $true

# Configure NAT (useful for client/dev scenarios)
New-VMSwitch -Name "NATSwitch" -SwitchType Internal
New-NetIPAddress -IPAddress 192.168.0.1 -PrefixLength 24 -InterfaceAlias "vEthernet (NATSwitch)"
New-NetNat -Name "InternalNAT" -InternalIPInterfaceAddressPrefix 192.168.0.0/24

LBFO NIC teaming is deprecated for use with the Hyper-V virtual switch. Use Switch Embedded Teaming (SET) for bandwidth aggregation and failover.

6. Checkpoints

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# Create checkpoint (production checkpoints are the default)
Checkpoint-VM -Name "ServerName"

# Switch a VM to standard (non-application-consistent) checkpoints
Set-VM -Name "ServerName" -CheckpointType Standard

# List checkpoints
Get-VMCheckpoint -VMName "ServerName"

# Restore to specific checkpoint
Restore-VMCheckpoint -Name "CheckpointName" -VMName "ServerName" -Confirm:$false

*-VMSnapshot cmdlets still work as aliases, but *-VMCheckpoint is the current naming. Production checkpoints use VSS inside the guest for application-consistent recovery.

7. Live Migration and Storage Migration

Prerequisites

  • Same or compatible processor vendor across hosts
  • Sufficient network bandwidth (10 GbE+ recommended; RDMA/SMB Direct for best throughput)
  • Kerberos or CredSSP authentication; constrained delegation for Kerberos
  • Shared storage for clustered live migration (CSV, SMB 3 file shares, S2D)
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# Enable live migration
Enable-VMMigration
Set-VMHost -VirtualMachineMigrationAuthenticationType Kerberos `
           -VirtualMachineMigrationPerformanceOption SMB

# Configure migration networks
Add-VMMigrationNetwork -Subnet "192.168.1.0/24"

# Shared-nothing live migration (no cluster required)
Move-VM -Name "ServerName" -DestinationHost "Host02" `
        -IncludeStorage -DestinationStoragePath "D:\VMs\ServerName"

8. Resource Allocation and Performance

VM Resource Configuration

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# Set CPU priority and reserve
Set-VMProcessor -VMName "ServerName" -Reserve 10 -RelativeWeight 200

# Memory management
Set-VMMemory -VMName "ServerName" -DynamicMemoryEnabled $true `
             -MinimumBytes 1GB -StartupBytes 2GB -MaximumBytes 8GB

# Enable nested virtualization (required for WSL2 / containers / Hyper-V in a VM)
Set-VMProcessor -VMName "ServerName" -ExposeVirtualizationExtensions $true

# NUMA topology
Set-VMProcessor -VMName "ServerName" -MaximumCountPerNumaNode 8

9. Integration Services

Management

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# List integration services
Get-VMIntegrationService -VMName "ServerName"

# Enable/Disable specific service
Enable-VMIntegrationService -Name "Guest Service Interface" -VMName "ServerName"

Integration components are now serviced through Windows Update inside the guest. The host-side ISO (vmguest.iso) is no longer required for supported Windows and Linux guests.

10. Security Features

Secure Boot, vTPM, and Shielded / Trusted Launch VMs

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# Enable Secure Boot for Generation 2 VMs
Set-VMFirmware -VMName "ServerName" -EnableSecureBoot On

# For Linux guests, use the MS UEFI CA template
Set-VMFirmware -VMName "LinuxVM" -SecureBootTemplate MicrosoftUEFICertificateAuthority

# Enable a virtual TPM (requires Host Guardian Service or local key protector)
Set-VMKeyProtector -VMName "ServerName" -NewLocalKeyProtector
Enable-VMTPM -VMName "ServerName"

Shielded VMs (host-attested, encrypted) remain available on Windows Server Datacenter but rely on the Host Guardian Service, which Microsoft no longer recommends for new deployments. On Azure Local, use Trusted Launch VMs with vTPM + Secure Boot for equivalent guest protection.

11. PowerShell Automation Cmdlets

Essential Cmdlets

  • New-VM, Remove-VM
  • Start-VM, Stop-VM, Restart-VM, Suspend-VM, Resume-VM
  • Get-VM, Set-VM
  • Move-VM, Compare-VM, Import-VM, Export-VM
  • Checkpoint-VM, Get-VMCheckpoint, Restore-VMCheckpoint, Remove-VMCheckpoint
  • Get-VMHost, Set-VMHost

All cmdlets live in the Hyper-V PowerShell module installed with RSAT-Hyper-V-Tools.

12. Failover Clustering and Azure Local

Configuration Steps

  1. Install Failover Clustering feature on each host
  2. Validate hardware (Test-Cluster) and create the cluster (New-Cluster)
  3. Add Hyper-V hosts and configure quorum (cloud witness recommended)
  4. Configure Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV) or SMB 3 / S2D storage
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# Install failover clustering
Install-WindowsFeature Failover-Clustering -IncludeManagementTools

# Validate and create a two-node cluster
Test-Cluster -Node "Host01","Host02"
New-Cluster -Name "HVCluster01" -Node "Host01","Host02" -StaticAddress 10.0.0.50

For hyperconverged clusters, Azure Local (the product formerly known as Azure Stack HCI / Azure Stack HCI OS 23H2) is the current Microsoft recommendation. It combines Hyper-V, Storage Spaces Direct, SDN, and Arc-based cloud management.

13. Backup and Disaster Recovery

Recommended Strategies

  • Windows Server Backup or Azure Backup (host-level VM backup via VSS)
  • Azure Site Recovery for cross-site/cloud DR replication
  • Hyper-V Replica for asynchronous VM replication (built in, no extra license)
  • System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) or third-party tools (Veeam, Commvault, etc.)
  • Use checkpoints only for short-lived test/dev rollback — not as a backup strategy
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# Configure Hyper-V Replica on the primary
Set-VMReplicationServer -ReplicationEnabled $true `
                        -AllowedAuthenticationType Kerberos `
                        -ReplicationAllowedFromAnyServer $true `
                        -DefaultStorageLocation "D:\Replicas"

Enable-VMReplication -VMName "ServerName" -ReplicaServerName "DRHost" `
                     -ReplicaServerPort 80 -AuthenticationType Kerberos
Start-VMInitialReplication -VMName "ServerName"

14. Troubleshooting and Monitoring

Common Diagnostic Commands

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# Check Hyper-V services
Get-Service vmms, vmcompute

# Event log analysis
Get-WinEvent -LogName "Microsoft-Windows-Hyper-V-VMMS-Admin"
Get-WinEvent -LogName "Microsoft-Windows-Hyper-V-Worker-Admin"

# Per-VM resource metering
Enable-VMResourceMetering -VMName "ServerName"
Measure-VM -VMName "ServerName"

15. Best Practices

Performance and Reliability

  • Use Generation 2 VMs with VHDX disks
  • Enable dynamic memory for general workloads; use fixed memory for latency-sensitive ones
  • Prefer fixed-size VHDX for IO-heavy production workloads
  • Separate management, live migration, cluster, and tenant traffic (SET + QoS)
  • Keep firmware, drivers, and Windows Updates current on hosts and guests
  • Disable automatic checkpoints on server workloads
  • Monitor resource utilization with Windows Admin Center, SCOM, or Azure Monitor

Security Recommendations

  • Enable Secure Boot, vTPM, and (where supported) Trusted Launch on all Gen 2 VMs
  • Keep Virtualization-Based Security (VBS) and HVCI enabled on hosts
  • Implement network isolation with VLANs, SDN, or NAT switches
  • Restrict Hyper-V admin rights; use JEA / RBAC where possible
  • Encrypt VM storage (BitLocker on host volumes; vTPM-bound BitLocker in guests)
  • For new hyperconverged deployments, consider Azure Local instead of building shielded-VM fabrics

Note: Always test configurations in staging before production deployment.

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