In previous posts we have already discussed some crucial aspects of Hyper-V and also provided some information about the most frequently asked questions. Here is the new series of questions containing a little more information about Microsoft Hyper-V virtualization technology.

Q. What types of physical storage does Microsoft Hyper-V Server support?

A. Hyper-V offers flexible storage support such as:

• Direct Attach Storage (DAS): SATA, eSATA, PATA, SAS, SCSI, USB, FIrewire
• Storage Area Networks (SANs): iSCSI, Fiber Channel, SAS

Q. Are virtual machines created with Microsoft Hyper-V Server compatible with virtual machines created with Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V?

A. Yes, virtual machines created with Microsoft Hyper-V Server compatible with virtual machines created with Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V.

Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server include Live Backup support through Volume Shadow Services?

A. Yes, Hyper-V Server includes support for Live Backup when used with a suitable backup solution such as System Center Data Protection Manager.

Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server include virtual machine snapshots?

A. Yes.

Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server include any local UI?

A. Hyper-V Server includes a minimal, easy to use command-line based UI for system configuration. This allows a user to easily configure system settings such as:

• Changing the computer name
• Joining the server to a domain
• Configuring DHCP/Static IP Address Settings
• Enabling Remote Desktop
• Enabling Failover Clustering
• Configuring Remote Administration settings

Q. Can you create virtual machines and manage them locally?

A. Virtual machine creation, configuration and management are accomplished remotely.

Q. How do you manage Microsoft Hyper-V Server?

A. Hyper-V Server can be managed in a number of ways:

• Remotely from Windows Server 2008 (x86/x64) using the Hyper-V Manager MMC
• Remotely from Windows Vista SP1 (x86 /x64) using the Hyper-V Manager MMC
• Remotely from System Center Virtual Machine Manager

Q. Can you use PowerShell locally with Microsoft Hyper-V Server?

A. Yes. PowerShell is now included with Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2. PowerShell can be enabled from the SCONFIG menu.

Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server require Client Access Licenses (CALs)?

A. No.

Q. Can I run applications in the Microsoft Hyper-V Server parent partition?

A. No. The Microsoft Hyper-V Server parent partition is specifically for system management.

As you know, the virtualization platform Microsoft Hyper-V Servers R2 SP1 allows you to redistribute the available memory between the guest OS virtual machine (each machine has a guaranteed minimum, and used memory can grow dynamically up to a certain limit).

But to make Dynamic Memory beautifully worked for large loads Parent Partition host (for example, Hyper-V you have installed on your laptop), it is necessary to guarantee the memory of the main host system. It is simple:

Create a branch of the registry HKLM: \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ Virtualization key DWORD value named memory reserve  as the value indicates the number of megabytes to reserve memory for the parent partition.

It is clear that if you set too high – the memory is idle, is too small – the host OS will slow down due to distribution of free memory of the guest OS.