What Is Hyper-V?

© Zion IT Consulting
Hyper-V is virtualization software that, well, virtualizes software. It can not only virtualize
operating systems but also entire hardware components, such as hard drives and network
switches. Unlike Fusion and Virtualbox, Hyper-V is not limited to the user’s device. You can use
it for server virtualization, too.

Hyper-V is available in three versions.

 Hyper-V for Windows Servers

 Hyper-V Servers
 Hyper-V on Windows 10

Hyper-V for Windows Servers is an add-on to the Windows Server OS. Hyper-V Servers, on the
other hand, is a standalone solution that can be used to manage virtual and dedicated server
instances, just like Hyper-V for Windows Servers.
Hyper-V on Windows 10 is the version that runs on your laptop and the subject of this article.

To enable Hyper-V on your Windows device, you need a 64-bit OS. It doesn’t have to be
Windows 10, though. Windows 8.1 works too.

Before you get started, you should test your laptop’s hardware performance to make sure your
virtual machine will run smoothly. Even if Microsoft says 4GB of RAM is sufficient, you should
ideally have 8GB to 16GB. There is a difference between “the software works” and “the
software is usable.”

You should also make sure your hard drive has enough space for an additional OS.

Why Use a Virtual Machine?

There are many reasons to use a virtual machine. In most cases, they are used to run software
that does not work on your OS. Whether you’re using a Windows, Mac or Linux OS, a VM will
remove its limitations. For example, if you have a Windows machine and want to install an
application that is only available for Mac, you can run a macOS instance on your Windows
laptop to install it.

It doesn’t even have to be the case that the software doesn’t run on Windows. Maybe you work
faster on the Linux or Mac version of it because you’re more familiar with its shortcuts and
usability.

Most software developers like to work on terminals, so they prefer Linux. That said, since many
of us were accompanied by Windows through our school days, we do paperwork faster on it.

Another thing to consider is that programs on Windows are rarely uninstalled without a trace.
You will find old settings, registry entries or other artifacts that will slow down your operating
system. If you want to use an application temporarily, set up a VM, use the program and remove
the VM when you have finished. That way you won’t have to clean your notebook afterward.

Using a virtual machine also makes sense for protection. With the virtualized OS, you bring an
extra layer of security into play. If you’re not quite sure you should run a file you downloaded
from an untrusted source on your productive OS, use a VM.

A VM will let you get through the dark web more safely, too. At this point, you need to know
that a VM is extremely slow. It will bog down your active OS and the virtual one. You should
think twice about whether you want to use the slow Tor browser on a slow VM to surf the dark
web.

How to Use Hyper-V

Hyper-V is preinstalled with Windows 10. You don’t have to download
anything, but you do have to activate it before you can use it.

In this tutorial, we will discuss the Hyper-V Manager for Windows 10.
Good instructions for the server-side Hyper-V can be found here.

First, open the control panel and click on “uninstall a program.”

Then, select the option “turn Windows features on or off” on the left
side.

Confirm the activation.

Once your PC is done, you will see the following screen.

You can also enable Hyper-V from the terminal. Open a command line
in administrator mode and execute the following command:

DISM /Online /Enable Feature /All /FeatureName:Microsoft-Hyper-V

In either case, you have to restart your PC.

You can download an alternative manual from Microsoft that explains

how to activate Hyper-V on Windows 10 here.

Using Hyper-V

After a successful activation, you can start the Hyper-V Manager.

It requires you to be connected to a Hyper-V server by default. Click
on “connect to server” and select “local computer.”

You will then see the following screen.

On the left side, your PC name appears as a local server. In the center,
you get an overview of existing virtual machines on the device. The
design of the overview may be oversized for you, but if you connect to
a network with a couple hundred servers, it makes sense. On the right
side, you will see the commands you can execute under “actions.”

To create a new VM, hit “quick create.” A new window will open with
two predefined installation options. That’s great because you don’t
have to provide the .iso file like you would with Oracle or VMware.

Select the appropriate OS, click on “create virtual machine” and wait
for it to download.

If you would like to make more detailed configurations, select “new” in

the main menu instead of “create virtual machine.”

Final Thoughts
If you want to increase your productivity, use alternative software or
just experiment with new operating systems, a VM is the tool for you.

With Hyper-V, Microsoft has created a powerful solution that can

easily compete with VM VirtualBox and Fusion. The application is great
because, as a Windows user, you don’t have to download or buy it
separately, you just have to activate it. That said, it only runs on
Windows devices, which is why Mac and Linux users go blank.

Have you ever used Hyper-V before? How did you like it? Let us know
in the comments and thanks for reading.

Step-By-Step: Enabling Hyper-V for use on Windows

10
Virtualization provides a plethora of solutions from making the most of an organization’s
hardware investment to running specific applications in other OS offerings. Windows 8
was the first Windows client operating system to include hardware virtualization support
natively. Using the same technology found in Windows Server 2012 R2, the embedded
Hyper-V client allowed IT professionals to move VMs from server to client without the
requirement to re-learn the use of Hyper-V features and tools. Further enhancements
were introduced in Windows 8.1 such as Enhanced Session Mode, enabling high fidelity
graphics for connections to VM's using the RDP protocol, and USB redirection which is
enabled from the host to VM's. Windows 10 brings further enhancements to the native
hypervisor offering. These include:

 Hot add and remove for memory and network adapters – works with
generation 2 virtual machines running both Windows and Linux
 Windows PowerShell Direct – the ability to run commands inside a virtual
machine from the host operating system
 Linux secure boot - Ubuntu 14.04 and later, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server
12 OS offerings running on generation 2 virtual machines are now able to boot
with the secure boot option enabled
 Hyper-V Manager Down-level management - Hyper-V manager can manage
computers running Hyper-V on Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2012 R2
and Windows 8.1

Step 1: Prerequisites The following prerequisites are required to successfully run

Client Hyper-V on Windows 10:

 Windows 10 Pro or Enterprise 64 bit Operating System

 64 bit processor with Second Level Address Translation (SLAT)
 4GB system RAM at minimum
 BIOS-level Hardware Virtualization support

Step 2: Setting Up Hyper-V

1. Ensure that hardware virtualization support is turned on in the BIOS settings

2. Save the BIOS settings and boot up the machine normally

3. Click the search icon (magnified glass) on the taskbar
4. Type turn windows features on or off and select that

item
5. Select and enable Hyper-V

Windows Features: Turn

Windows features on or off
6. If Hyper-V was not previously enabled, reboot the machine to apply the
change. NOTE: As a best practice, configure networking for the Hyper-V
environment to support external network connections. Also ensure that a virtual
switch has been created and is functional.
7. Click the search icon (magnified glass) on the taskbar, type Hyper-V
Manager and select the item NOTE: Right click Hyper-V Manager to pin it to the
task bar
8. Open the Virtual Switch Manager, found on the Actions panel in the Hyper-V
Manager, by typing Hyper-V at the Start

Screen
9. Select Virtual Switch Manager in the Actions pane
10. Ensure that External is highlighted, and then click on the Create Virtual
Switch button
11. If more than one NIC in is present, ensure that the proper NIC is selected for use
on the VM external network connections
Virtual Switch Manager