Hyper-V virtual machines (VMs) are guest operating systems that run on top of the Hyper-V hypervisor in a virtualized environment. Here’s a breakdown of some key concepts and functions related to Hyper-V VMs:
- Generations: Hyper-V supports two generations of virtual machines, Generation 1 and Generation 2. Generation 1 VMs are based on traditional BIOS and support legacy hardware, while Generation 2 VMs use Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) firmware and support modern hardware features like secure boot and PXE boot over a synthetic network adapter.
- Versions: Hyper-V supports multiple versions of virtual machines, which determine the level of hardware compatibility and available features. Newer versions typically offer better performance and feature sets, but may not be compatible with older host or guest operating systems. For example, Hyper-V in Windows Server 2016 supports VM versions 5.0, 6.2, and 7.0, while Windows Server 2019 supports versions 5.0, 6.2, 7.0, and 8.0.
- Configuration: Hyper-V VMs can be configured with a wide range of options, including virtual processors, memory, virtual hard disks, virtual network adapters, and more. These settings can be adjusted dynamically while the VM is running, and can be managed through the Hyper-V Manager console, PowerShell cmdlets, or the Hyper-V API.
- Usage examples: Hyper-V VMs are commonly used for a variety of purposes, such as:
- Running multiple operating systems on a single physical server for consolidation and resource utilization.
- Testing and development of software and applications in isolated environments.
- Creating disaster recovery and high availability solutions through live migration and failover clustering.
- Providing virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) for remote access to desktop environments.
Here are some examples of PowerShell cmdlets that can be used to manage Hyper-V VMs:
- New-VM: Creates a new virtual machine with specified configuration options, such as name, generation, memory, and virtual hard disks.
- Set-VMProcessor: Modifies the virtual processor configuration for a specified virtual machine, such as the number of virtual processors, the amount of reserved processor time, and whether virtualization extensions are enabled.
- Set-VMMemory: Modifies the memory configuration for a specified virtual machine, such as the amount of memory assigned, whether memory is dynamically allocated or fixed, and whether memory weight is used for resource allocation.
- New-VHD: Creates a new virtual hard disk in a specified format and size, which can be attached to a virtual machine for use as storage.
- Add-VMNetworkAdapter: Adds a virtual network adapter to a specified virtual machine, which can be connected to a virtual switch for communication with other virtual machines or the host network.
- Start-VM: Starts a specified virtual machine, which boots up the guest operating system and initializes the virtual hardware.
- Stop-VM: Shuts down a specified virtual machine gracefully, which saves the state of the guest operating system and virtual hardware for future use.
- Export-VM: Exports a specified virtual machine to a specified location, which creates a copy of the virtual machine and its configuration for backup or migration purposes.
