Windows Server 2008: The Definitive Guide

Getting Started with Hyper-V

To get started with Hyper-V, you'll need some hardware—specifically, a machine capable of supporting a 64-bit operating system. You need a clean installation of Windows Server 2008 Enterprise Edition in the 64-bit version, as it will not run within a virtual machine because of the need for hardware-assisted virtualization.

Once you have accumulated the hardware, take a few precautions, since you are working with prerelease software. Specifically:

• Back up all data on your system.

• Take an inventory of any virtual machines you are thinking of migrating to your Hyper-V machine, including all of their virtual hardware settings.

• Back up any virtual hard disks (VHDs) that you may migrate as well.

• Enable hardware-assisted virtualization. This is usually found in your computer's BIOS, and you may need to consult the manufacturer or the documentation that came with your machine to find the appropriate feature name and how to enable it.

• Install Windows Server 2008. For our purposes, we'll be using the full installation option, although Hyper-V can be used on a Server Core installation.

• Do not install another role onto the target machine. Hyper-V should be the only role used on a machine that will host virtual machines. In particular, with one build of Hyper-V prerelease, you receive a blue screen error if you try to start a virtual machine on a host with Active Directory Domain Services installed.

Installing the Hyper-V

Now that you're ready, let's install the Hyper-V role. ...