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Hyper-V Reference Guide

Microsoft's enterprise virtualization platform for Windows Server

Hyper-V PowerShell Commands

Hyper-V management is primarily done through PowerShell cmdlets. This reference covers the most commonly used commands for VM management, networking, storage, and administration. All commands require the Hyper-V PowerShell module.

Virtual Machine Management

Create a New VM
# Basic VM creation
New-VM -Name "WebServer01" -MemoryStartupBytes 4GB -Generation 2

# Complete VM with virtual switch
New-VM -Name "WebServer01" `
    -MemoryStartupBytes 4GB `
    -Generation 2 `
    -NewVHDPath "C:\VMs\WebServer01.vhdx" `
    -NewVHDSizeBytes 80GB `
    -Switch "External Switch"
List All VMs
# Get all VMs
Get-VM

# Get VMs with specific state
Get-VM | Where-Object {$_.State -eq 'Running'}

# Get detailed VM information
Get-VM -Name "WebServer01" | Format-List *
Start, Stop, and Restart VMs
# Start a VM
Start-VM -Name "WebServer01"

# Stop a VM (graceful shutdown)
Stop-VM -Name "WebServer01"

# Force stop a VM
Stop-VM -Name "WebServer01" -Force

# Save VM state
Save-VM -Name "WebServer01"

# Restart a VM
Restart-VM -Name "WebServer01"
Configure VM Settings
# Set VM memory
Set-VM -Name "WebServer01" -MemoryStartupBytes 8GB

# Enable Dynamic Memory
Set-VM -Name "WebServer01" -DynamicMemory `
    -MemoryMinimumBytes 2GB `
    -MemoryMaximumBytes 16GB `
    -MemoryStartupBytes 4GB

# Set CPU count
Set-VM -Name "WebServer01" -ProcessorCount 4

# Enable nested virtualization
Set-VMProcessor -VMName "WebServer01" -ExposeVirtualizationExtensions $true

# Configure automatic actions
Set-VM -Name "WebServer01" `
    -AutomaticStartAction Start `
    -AutomaticStopAction ShutDown
Remove a VM
# Remove VM (keeps VHD)
Remove-VM -Name "WebServer01"

# Remove VM and all VHDs
Remove-VM -Name "WebServer01" -Force
Remove-Item "C:\VMs\WebServer01.vhdx"

Virtual Hard Disk Management

Create Virtual Disks
# Create a fixed size VHDX
New-VHD -Path "C:\VMs\Data.vhdx" `
    -SizeBytes 100GB -Fixed

# Create a dynamic VHDX
New-VHD -Path "C:\VMs\Data.vhdx" `
    -SizeBytes 100GB -Dynamic

# Create a differencing disk
New-VHD -Path "C:\VMs\Child.vhdx" `
    -ParentPath "C:\VMs\Parent.vhdx" `
    -Differencing
Manage Virtual Disks
# Attach VHD to a VM
Add-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -Path "C:\VMs\Data.vhdx"

# Resize a VHDX
Resize-VHD -Path "C:\VMs\Data.vhdx" -SizeBytes 200GB

# Convert VHD to VHDX
Convert-VHD -Path "C:\VMs\Old.vhd" `
    -DestinationPath "C:\VMs\New.vhdx"

# Optimize (compact) a VHDX
Optimize-VHD -Path "C:\VMs\Data.vhdx" -Mode Full

# Get VHD information
Get-VHD -Path "C:\VMs\Data.vhdx"
Disk Controller Management
# List all disk controllers
Get-VMScsiController -VMName "WebServer01"

# Add SCSI controller
Add-VMScsiController -VMName "WebServer01"

# Remove a hard drive
Remove-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -ControllerType SCSI `
    -ControllerNumber 0 `
    -ControllerLocation 1

Virtual Networking

Create Virtual Switches
# Create external switch
New-VMSwitch -Name "External Switch" `
    -NetAdapterName "Ethernet" `
    -AllowManagementOS $true

# Create internal switch
New-VMSwitch -Name "Internal Switch" `
    -SwitchType Internal

# Create private switch
New-VMSwitch -Name "Private Switch" `
    -SwitchType Private
Manage Network Adapters
# Add network adapter to VM
Add-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -SwitchName "External Switch"

# Configure static MAC address
Set-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -StaticMacAddress "00-15-5D-00-00-01"

# Enable MAC address spoofing
Set-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -MacAddressSpoofing On

# Configure VLAN
Set-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -Access -VlanId 100

# Get network adapter information
Get-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "WebServer01"
Advanced Networking
# Enable SR-IOV
Set-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -IovWeight 100

# Configure bandwidth limits
Set-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -MaximumBandwidth 1000000000

# Enable DHCP Guard
Set-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -DhcpGuard On

# Enable Router Guard
Set-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -RouterGuard On

Snapshots (Checkpoints)

Create and Manage Checkpoints
# Create a checkpoint
Checkpoint-VM -Name "WebServer01" `
    -SnapshotName "Before Update"

# List all checkpoints
Get-VMSnapshot -VMName "WebServer01"

# Restore to a checkpoint
Restore-VMSnapshot -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -Name "Before Update" -Confirm:$false

# Remove a checkpoint
Remove-VMSnapshot -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -Name "Before Update"

# Remove all checkpoints
Remove-VMSnapshot -VMName "WebServer01" -IncludeAllChildSnapshots
Configure Checkpoint Type
# Set to Production checkpoints (recommended)
Set-VM -Name "WebServer01" -CheckpointType Production

# Set to Standard checkpoints
Set-VM -Name "WebServer01" -CheckpointType Standard

# Disable automatic checkpoints
Set-VM -Name "WebServer01" -CheckpointType Disabled

Live Migration

Configure and Perform Live Migration
# Enable Live Migration on host
Enable-VMMigration

# Configure Live Migration settings
Set-VMHost -VirtualMachineMigrationAuthenticationType Kerberos `
    -VirtualMachineMigrationPerformanceOption SMB `
    -MaximumVirtualMachineMigrations 2

# Perform live migration
Move-VM -Name "WebServer01" `
    -DestinationHost "HyperV-Host02"

# Live migration with storage migration
Move-VM -Name "WebServer01" `
    -DestinationHost "HyperV-Host02" `
    -DestinationStoragePath "D:\VMs\WebServer01"

# Storage migration only (same host)
Move-VMStorage -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -DestinationStoragePath "D:\VMs\WebServer01"

Replication (Hyper-V Replica)

Configure Replication
# Enable replication on primary host
Set-VMReplication -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -ReplicaServerName "HyperV-Replica" `
    -ReplicaServerPort 80 `
    -AuthenticationType Kerberos `
    -CompressionEnabled $true `
    -ReplicationFrequencySec 300

# Start initial replication
Start-VMInitialReplication -VMName "WebServer01"

# Get replication status
Get-VMReplication -VMName "WebServer01"

# Perform test failover
Start-VMFailover -VMName "WebServer01" -Prepare -AsTest

# Perform planned failover
Start-VMFailover -VMName "WebServer01" -Prepare
Start-VMFailover -VMName "WebServer01-Replica" -AsJob

# Reverse replication direction
Set-VMReplication -Reverse -VMName "WebServer01"

Integration Services

Manage Integration Services
# Get Integration Services status
Get-VMIntegrationService -VMName "WebServer01"

# Enable specific integration service
Enable-VMIntegrationService -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -Name "Guest Service Interface"

# Disable integration service
Disable-VMIntegrationService -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -Name "Time Synchronization"

# Enable all integration services
Get-VMIntegrationService -VMName "WebServer01" |
    Enable-VMIntegrationService

Import and Export

Export and Import VMs
# Export a VM
Export-VM -Name "WebServer01" `
    -Path "C:\Exports"

# Import a VM (register in place)
Import-VM -Path "C:\Exports\WebServer01\config.xml"

# Import and copy VM files
Import-VM -Path "C:\Exports\WebServer01\config.xml" `
    -Copy -VhdDestinationPath "D:\VMs" `
    -GenerateNewId

# Import as new VM
Import-VM -Path "C:\Exports\WebServer01\config.xml" `
    -Copy -GenerateNewId

Host Management

Configure Hyper-V Host Settings
# Get host information
Get-VMHost

# Set default VM paths
Set-VMHost -VirtualHardDiskPath "D:\VMs" `
    -VirtualMachinePath "D:\VMs"

# Configure NUMA spanning
Set-VMHost -NumaSpanningEnabled $false

# Get host compute resources
Get-VMHostNumaNode
Get-VMHostSupportedVersion

# Enable Enhanced Session Mode
Set-VMHost -EnableEnhancedSessionMode $true
Resource Metering
# Enable resource metering
Enable-VMResourceMetering -VMName "WebServer01"

# Get resource metrics
Measure-VM -VMName "WebServer01"

# Reset metrics
Reset-VMResourceMetering -VMName "WebServer01"

# Disable metering
Disable-VMResourceMetering -VMName "WebServer01"

Security Configuration

Configure Shielded VMs
# Enable TPM
Set-VMKeyProtector -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -NewLocalKeyProtector

Enable-VMTPM -VMName "WebServer01"

# Enable Secure Boot
Set-VMFirmware -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -EnableSecureBoot On `
    -SecureBootTemplate "MicrosoftWindows"

# Get security settings
Get-VMSecurity -VMName "WebServer01"

Performance Tuning

Optimize VM Performance
# Configure processor settings
Set-VMProcessor -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -Count 4 `
    -Reserve 10 `
    -Maximum 75 `
    -RelativeWeight 200

# Configure NUMA topology
Set-VMProcessor -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -MaximumCountPerNumaNode 2

# Enable Virtual NUMA
Set-VMProcessor -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -ExposeVirtualizationExtensions $true

# Configure memory QoS
Set-VMMemory -VMName "WebServer01" `
    -Buffer 20 `
    -Priority 80

Useful PowerShell One-Liners

Quick Reference Commands

# Start all stopped VMs
Get-VM | Where-Object {$_.State -eq 'Off'} | Start-VM

# Get VM uptime
Get-VM | Select-Object Name, State, Uptime

# Get VMs using most memory
Get-VM | Select-Object Name, @{N="Memory(GB)";E={$_.MemoryAssigned/1GB}} |
    Sort-Object "Memory(GB)" -Descending

# Export all VM names to file
Get-VM | Select-Object Name | Export-Csv "C:\VMList.csv"

# Check which VMs need Integration Services update
Get-VM | Where-Object {$_.IntegrationServicesState -ne 'UpToDate'}

# Get all VMs with Dynamic Memory enabled
Get-VM | Where-Object {$_.DynamicMemoryEnabled -eq $true}

# List all VHD files in use
Get-VM | Get-VMHardDiskDrive | Select-Object VMName, Path

# Find VMs without checkpoints
Get-VM | Where-Object {(Get-VMSnapshot -VMName $_.Name).Count -eq 0}

Installation Commands

Install Hyper-V Role
# Install Hyper-V on Windows Server
Install-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V `
    -IncludeManagementTools -Restart

# Install Hyper-V PowerShell module only
Install-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V-PowerShell

# Enable Hyper-V on Windows 10/11 Pro
Enable-WindowsOptionalFeature -Online `
    -FeatureName Microsoft-Hyper-V -All

Virtualization Platforms