Hyper-V Best Practices

1) Change the default VM folder from C partition to other drives.

2) Rename the external NIC to avoid confusion.

3) Standardize the virtual networks friendly name other you have to reconfigure the NIC after the VM migration.

4) Backup Authorization Store C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\InitialStore.xml

5) Enable RDP, or use VMConnect to connect remotely to non-Windows servers.

6) Server core installation with only Hyper-V role enabled.

7) Plan the processor configurations ahead: Hyper-V supports up to 24 logical processors on a physical server and 8 virtual servers per logical processor, maximum 4 virtual processors per virtual machine. Hyper-V also supports a maximum of 192 virtual machines per server.

8） A minimum 1G spare RAM should be allocated to the physical server when calculating how much RAM needed. (32 MB of additional space for first 1 GB in the virtual machine, additional 8 MB for each additional 1 GB).

9) Use dedicated NIC for backup and management.

10) Enable TCP Chimney offload on non-clustered Hyper-V servers. But not for clustered Hyper-V servers.

11) Enable jumbo frames.

12) Network adaptor teaming.

13) Disable the screen saver in virtual machine.

14) Best Practices Analyzer for Hyper-V: Configuration

• Hyper-V: The Hyper-V Virtual Machine Management service should be configured to start automatically
• Hyper-V: The Hyper-V Networking Management service should be configured to start automatically
• Hyper-V: The Hyper-V Image Management service should be configured to start automatically
• Hyper-V: Hyper-V should be the only enabled role
• Hyper-V: The Server Core installation option is recommended for servers running Hyper-V
• Hyper-V: Domain membership is recommended for servers running Hyper-V
• Hyper-V: The number of logical processors in use must not exceed the supported maximum
• Hyper-V: The number of virtual processors in use must not exceed the supported maximum
• Hyper-V: More than one network adapter should be available
• Hyper-V: Reserve one or more external virtual networks for exclusive use by virtual machines
• Hyper-V: All virtual network adapters should be enabled
• Hyper-V: The number of virtual machines must be within supported limits
• Hyper-V: Use RAM that provides error correction
• Hyper-V: Configure the server with a sufficient amount of dynamic MAC addresses
• Hyper-V: Avoid pausing a virtual machine
• Hyper-V: Offer all available integration services to virtual machines
• Hyper-V: Enable all virtual network adapters configured for a virtual machine
• Hyper-V: Storage controllers should be enabled in virtual machines to provide access to attached storage
• Hyper-V: Display adapters should be enabled in virtual machines to provide video capabilities
• Hyper-V: Run the current version of integration services in all guest operating systems
• Hyper-V: Enable all integration services in virtual machines
• Hyper-V: Configure virtual machines running Windows 2000 Server with 1 virtual processor
• Hyper-V: Configure virtual machines running Windows XP Professional SP2 (x86) with 1 virtual processor
• Hyper-V: Configure virtual machines running Windows XP Professional SP2 (x64) with 1 or 2 virtual processors
• Hyper-V: Configure virtual machines running Windows XP Professional SP3 (x86) with 1 or 2 virtual processors
• Hyper-V: Configure virtual machines running Windows Server 2003 with 1 or 2 virtual processors
• Hyper-V: Configure virtual machines running Windows Vista with 1 or 2 virtual processors
• Hyper-V: Avoid using a legacy network adapter on Windows Server 2003 (x64) and Windows XP Professional (x64)
• Hyper-V: Avoid using legacy network adapters when the guest operating system supports network adapters
• Hyper-V: Dynamic virtual hard disks are not recommended for virtual machines that run server workloads in a production environment
• Hyper-V: Avoid using differencing disks on virtual machines that run server workloads in a production environment
• Hyper-V: Configure a virtual machine with a SCSI controller to be able to hot plug and hot unplug storage
• Hyper-V: Configure SCSI controllers only when supported by the guest operating system
• Hyper-V: Windows 2000 Server should be configured with at least the minimum amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows 2000 Server should be configured with the recommended amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows XP should be configured with at least the minimum amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows XP should be configured with the recommended amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows Server 2003 should be configured with at least the minimum amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows Server 2003 should be configured with the recommended amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows Vista should be configured with at least the minimum amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows Vista should be configured with the recommended amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows Server 2008 should be configured with at least the minimum amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows Server 2008 should be configured with the recommended amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows 7 should be configured with at least the minimum amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows 7 should be configured with the recommended amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows Server 2008 R2 should be configured with at least the minimum amount of memory
• Hyper-V: Windows Server 2008 R2 should be configured with the recommended amount of memory