---
name: virtualization-set-up-a-hypervisor
title: Setting up a hypervisor
description: Use the following information to set up a hypervisor.
last-updated: 2024-07-23
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/virtualization?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Setting up a hypervisor
{: #setting-up-a-hypervisor}

Use the following information to set up a hypervisor.
{: shortdesc}

## Before you begin
{: #before-you-begin-hyperv}

* Go to your console's device menu. For more information, see [Navigating to devices](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/virtual-servers?topic=virtual-servers-navigating-devices&format=markdown).
* Make sure that you have any necessary account permissions and device access. Only the account owner, or a user with the **Manage Users** classic infrastructure permission, can adjust the permissions.

For more information about permissions, see [Managing classic infrastructure access](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/account?topic=account-mngclassicinfra&format=markdown) and [Managing device access](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/virtual-servers?topic=virtual-servers-managing-device-access&format=markdown).

## Setting up a hypervisor
{: #setting-up-hypervisor}

Use the following steps to set up a hypervisor.

1. Connect to the private network through the [secure VPN](https://www.ibm.com/products/vpn-access){: external} to access your hypervisor. The IBM Cloud® hypervisor providers include XenServer, VMware, and Hyper-V. Each provider has management consoles that are accessed differently. For more information about accessing and working in a management console, see the following links:

   * [XenServer](https://support.citrix.com/s/){: external}
   * [VMware](https://www.broadcom.com/support/vmware-services){: external}
   * [Hyper-V](https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/deployment/){: external}

2. Obtain portable IPs for your virtual machines.

   * VMs require portable IP addresses. Blocks of public and private portable IPs can be ordered through the IBM Cloud infrastructure customer portal. For more information about allocating IP addresses, see [Getting started with subnets and IPs](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/subnets?topic=subnets-getting-started&format=markdown).
   {: note}

3. Establish routing for VMs on the Private Network. VMs need the following specifications to route to other VMs over the private network:

   * Portable private IPs
   * Static route that relates to the `10.0.0.0/8` network range

For more information about the VM routing process, see [Setting up a virtual machine network](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/virtualization?topic=virtualization-setting-up-a-virtual-machine-network&format=markdown).

Machines that are on the same VLAN can communicate after you set up the VM network. [Enable VLAN spanning](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/vlans?topic=vlans-vlan-spanning&format=markdown) if machines that are on different VLANs must communicate.

## Access and securely store ISOs
{: #access-and-securely-store-isos}

VMs that are on the IBM Cloud network can run preconfigured or custom ISOs. They can also access the internal mirrors site, which is available exclusively to IBM Cloud users and provides popular configurations of the most commonly used operating systems. If you need a special version or configuration for a specific operating system, see the OS vendor's website.

If you run a custom ISO on your VM, upload your ISO to a secure location so it can be retrieved if a device fails. Many users choose to store custom ISOs on a device's local system by using SSH or RDP. Alternately, space is offered through storage services that have various features.