Hyper-V virtualization - Setup and Use in Windows 10

Cliff S · 19 Feb 2016

lx07 said:

@Kari may disagree, (or have a better idea), but I only sync programs between my various VM's (saves installing them). For me it is only 100MB which is nothing.

I was wondering if it was possible to use the same place (for various test machines) with the same OneDrive.

Honestly though, I think it would not work as the SID would be different.

It would be the same as relocating your user folders from 2 computers to the same external drive. And share it. It would not (I certainly hope) work.

I think if you run lots of VMs (like I do) you only share stuff you have space for.

If I may interrupt?
I have found, I can use portable versions of programs(for example Ccleaner) and let them create an .ini file to save their settings on OneDrive and they run perfect. If you try to get the portable versions(or create them if possible with the .exe file) you'll never have to install on your VMs again, just open OneDrive and run them. And to update, just delete the old program out of the folder and add the new one(leave the .ini file alone though.
Or did I misunderstand something?

lx07 · 19 Feb 2016

Cliff S said:

If I may interrupt?
I have found, I can use portable versions of programs(for example Ccleaner) and let them create an .ini file to save their settings on OneDrive and they run perfect. If you try to get the portable versions(or create them if possible with the .exe file) you'll never have to install on your VMs again, just open OneDrive and run them. And to update, just delete the old program out of the folder and add the new one(leave the .ini file alone though.
Or did I misunderstand something?

Not at all mate. That is exactly what I do.

Make a new VM, sign on as your MS account, link to OneDrive and download your programs folder.

I created a folder in my OneDrive called Programs specifically for that. Inside that I have subfolders (one is CCleaner) for all portable programs I use. If I can I leave everything there.

The only thing with CCleaner is I have to remember I'm more foreceful in my VM than my main PC.

So when you open it, check. You could look at ~\OneDrive\Programs\CCleaner\CCleaner.ini (or just check before you run it)

Same with my own cleanup scripts - I've deleted the mail app by mistake before several times as I forgot I wasn't in a VM, derr...

Cliff S · 19 Feb 2016

lx07 said:

Not at all mate. That is exactly what I do.

Make a new VM, sign on as your MS account, link to OneDrive and download your programs.

I created a folder in my OneDrive called Programs specifically for that. Inside that I have subfolders (one is CCleaner) for all portable programs I use.

If I can I leave everything there (run as portable programs).

The only thing with CCleaner is I have to remember I'm more foreceful in my VM than my main PC.

So when you open it, check. You could look at ~\OneDrive\Programs\CCleaner\CCleaner.ini (or just check before you run it)

Same with my own cleanup scripts - I've deleted the mail app by mistake before several times as I forgot I wasn't in a VM, derr...

Brilliant minds think alike. I have also found out I can install the themes posted in our themes thread through OneDrive(including cursors & icons & sounds) without downloading, just click the installers.

Cliff S · 20 Feb 2016

@Kari, right this second, I'm using the "Move" wizard to see how well it moves my Insider VM off my C: disk(SSD) to my 2nd internal(HDD).

Cliff S · 20 Feb 2016

The move of both Insider preview and Ubuntu went smooth.
I've also set F: Hyper V library as default now.
Win 10 insider has a small bit of drag until it runs smooth, Ubuntu ran as normal from the get-go. It'll take a couple of weeks until prefetch and Samsung RAPID mode get to know the new paths and habits, but then both VMs will run as well as a real install.

Hyper-V virtualization - Setup and Use in Windows 10-image-001.png

Hyper-V virtualization - Setup and Use in Windows 10-image-002.png

Almost forgot, How's that for a VM library icon?

msseufert · 24 Feb 2016

I'm new to hyper-v. From the get go I must say I'm not so impressed; I'm trying to chalk it up as simple ignorance of the product. You see, I'm a long time VirtualBox power user (VMWare before that) and my main issue is figuring out if hyper-v is really worth learning since virtualbox doesn't all the same things that hyper-v does that I've seen so far. They both are the same type of hypervisor, have virtual networking/switches, do headless, they both have remote management (vbox has a web interface too), neither really require a GUI ... etc. I've noticed that vbox supports exponentially more guest OS's than Hyper-V, vbox is a cross platform solution (runs the exact same on Windows, Mac, and Linux). I assume Hyper-V is Windows only. Hyper-V seems to only support win7+ and on the Linux side, RedHat and Ubuntu.

Am I missing something?

I guess my root question is: What advantages is there to use Hyper-V over any other type 2 hypervisor?

lx07 · 24 Feb 2016

msseufert said:

I guess my root question is: What advantages is there to use Hyper-V over any other type 2 hypervisor?

Hyper-V is a type 1 hypervisor not a type 2. It is also (perhaps because of that) much faster than VirtualBox. This may (or may not) matter to you depending what your VM is for. You are correct it only runs on Windows hosts so if you want to run the same machine on other platforms perhaps it is not the way forward.

Whether it is worth using it depends on you - I've been moving off VBox to Fusion on OSX (I eventually decided to buy it after 10 years of using VBox) for performance reasons. I still use VBox for headless on OSX though - it really depends what you want to do.

On Windows I use Hyper-V as it shuts down and resumes with the host (unlike Player and VBox), it has dynamic memory (Unlike Player or VBox on Windows). VMWare Workstation overcomes these issues but I don't want to buy it as well as Fusion.

Hyper-V will also run any recent Linux. You are just quoting Red-Hat and Ubuntu as these are what are officially supported by MS but Hyper-V has been built into the kernel for years now.

Lastly, if you make a Windows VirtualBox VM using VHD for the disk on OSX or Linux you can boot it immediately under Hyper-V on windows. You'll lose activation obviously (you can just call MS) but if you are sticking with VBox then I'd suggest using VHD over VDI or VDMK in case you change your mind.

Kari · 24 Feb 2016

msseufert said:

I guess my root question is: What advantages is there to use Hyper-V over any other type 2 hypervisor?

Built-in native app in Windows 10 Pro, Education and Enterprise editions
Can run any operating system (Android, MacOSX (doable atlthough difficult to set up), any Linux distro, any DOS version, any Windows version, any Windoes Phone / Windows Mobile version, any Unix distro)
Dynamic RAM
Checkpoints, no other virtualization software has anything similar in full extent (simple example: start copying a large file, half way through notice you have to shutdown the host. In Hyper-V simply create a standard checkpoint, shut down the host, and when ready to continue boot the host and launch the vm; the file copy continues where it was when the checkpoint was created)
Automatic start / shutdown / pause (example: a Hyper-V vm is upgrading to next build of Windows 10 when you shut down the host. No problems, next time you boot the host and start the vm it continues the upgrade where it was cut off)
Totally integrated to Windows 10 host system

Just to name a few advantages...

In screenshot a Hyper-V vm running Windows 10 Mobile:

Hyper-V virtualization - Setup and Use in Windows 10-2016_02_24_15_39_511.png

(Click to enlarge.)

msseufert · 24 Feb 2016

lx07 said:

Hyper-V is a type 1 hypervisor not a type 2.

Then where can I get just Hyper-V without Windows? That is what a type 1 hypervisor is, bare metal. Type 1's have direct access to hardware WITHOUT relying on a host OS, because it IS the OS. This is not the same as running near the kernel, nor PCI passthrough. If it were then vbox would also be a type 1 because it too can grant direct access to hardware.

Type 2's require a separate OS, like Windows, Mac or Linux.

It is also (perhaps because of that) much faster than VirtualBox. This may (or may not) matter.

I haven't noticed any speed differences. In Hyper-V I see the exact same lag as I do in vbox.

On Windows I use Hyper-V as it shuts down and resumes with the host (unlike Player and VBox),

This can happen with vbox as well, at least on Linux; I haven't tried on Windows.

it has dynamic memory (Unlike Player or VBox on Windows).

This could be a plus, but I'm not willing to trade official guest additions support for 3 OS's (Windows, RedHat, and Ubuntu) in hyper-v versus nearly everyone on the planet in vbox.

Hyper-V will also run any recent Linux. You are just quoting Red-Hat and Ubuntu as these are what are officially supported by MS but Hyper-V has been built into the kernel for years now.

Then what do I need to download and install for guest additions support for SliTaz Linux? What about Gentoo? Linux From Scratch? I mean full guest additions support, not just the ability to run gfx in 1024x768.

lx07 · 24 Feb 2016

msseufert said:

Then where can I get just Hyper-V without Windows?

here

msseufert said:

That is what a type 1 hypervisor is, bare metal. Type 1's have direct access to hardware WITHOUT relying on a host OS, because it IS the OS. This is not the same as running near the kernel, nor PCI passthrough. If it were then vbox would also be a type 1 because it too can grant direct access to hardware.

Type 2's require a separate OS, like Windows, Mac or Linux

Read this, it will help explain it to you better than I can.

Hyper-V appears to runs on top of the host OS, so why is it considered a native (type-1) hypervisor? - Super User

msseufert said:

I haven't noticed any speed differences. In Hyper-V I see the exact same lag as I do in vbox.

It depends what you want to do. You could google some benchmarks if you wanted to but they are all a bit biased IMO.

msseufert said:

This could be a plus, but I'm not willing to trade official guest additions support for 3 OS's (Windows, RedHat, and Ubuntu) in hyper-v versus nearly everyone on the planet in vbox.

If you prefer VirtualBox then use VirtualBox. VMWare is the most used Hypervisor. Followed by Hyper-V.

The Top 5 Enterprise Type 1 Hypervisors You Must Know

msseufert said:

This could be a plus, but I'm not willing to trade official guest additions support for 3 OS's (Windows, RedHat, and Ubuntu) in hyper-v versus nearly everyone on the planet in vbox..

You don't need guest additions (that is a VirtualBox term) and they don't exist. Neither do you need to install VMware tools.

The equivalent components required by Hyper-V are built into both the Windows and Linux kernels. Nothing additional is required to be installed into a guest running on a Hyper-V host.