Setting up Hyper-V

The process of setting up Hyper-V includes the initial configuration of Hyper-V, the creation of a virtual machine, and the network configuration on the new virtual machine. The following guidelines explain these processes.

Using Hyper-V Manager

The Hyper-V Manager is the management console that you use to operate Hyper-V. From the Hyper-V Manager you can create, start, stop, delete, and configure all of your virtual machines. The management console is also where you set the default location to store your virtual hard disks and the default location to store your virtual machine configuration files.

You can find Hyper-V Manager under Administrative Tools in the Windows Control Panel. On a new installation of Windows, you can find Administrative Tools under Programs in the Start Menu. After you open the Hyper-V Manager program, a new window appears on the screen. Take a moment to familiarize yourself with this screen. All configurations and use of your virtual machines are done here.

Configuring Hyper-V

The first configuration to check is the storage location for your virtual hard disks. From the Hyper-V Manager window, on the left side you see Hyper-V Manager and the server name. Click your server name and you see the information that is available to the Hyper-V service on your server. Now, the middle of the screen is empty since shows that no virtual machines are installed. On the right side of the screen, you see a link for Hyper-V Settings. Clicking the link brings up the basic settings for Hyper-V.

The primary setting that you need to look at is Virtual Hard Disks. On the right side, you see the default location where your virtual hard disks are stored. The default location is:

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks

When you create a virtual machine, you can specify a specific place if you do not want to store that specific virtual hard disk in the default location. For example, if you want to store your virtual hard disks on a second, larger drive (Drive D in this example) and you want those virtual drives to be stored in the VirtualMachine folder, enter D:\VirtualMachine into the field.

You can also manually browse through folders to select the location you want to use. After you select a location, click OK.

Configuring network devices

Before you configure virtual network devices, determine which network adapters are connected to the private and public networks. From the start menu, click Network Connections. You see two network devices here. Make sure that you note that your devices are named PrivateNetwork and PublicNetwork. Right-click PrivateNetwork and select Properties. You see Connect using:, which shows the device name for the private network adapter. Write down this name as you need it when you create your virtual private network device.

Configuring a private network device

Now that the default location to store your virtual hard disks is configured, you need to configure the virtual network devices that the virtual machines use. To open the Virtual Network Manager, click Virtual Network Manager on the right side of the Hyper-V Manager window.

The first time that you open this window, you see Virtual Networks on the left with the only listed option, New Virtual Network. On the right side, you have three options:

External
Internal
Private. Make sure that External is selected and click Add.

Continue entering information into the remaining fields:

Name The name that is associated with this network device. For this example, for the example, use Private to indicate that this device is connected to the IBM Cloud private network.
Connection type Select the device that corresponds to your private network. This name is the device name that you found earlier in the Network Connections window. After you select the correct device, click OK. You are presented with a warning that your network connection might be lost, click Yes to continue.

Configuring a public network device

Your Private Network device is now installed. Repeat the preceding steps for the Public network. For this example, use the name Public for the device name. Under connection type, select the other network device that was not used in the Private network setup. After you create both the public and private network devices, click OK.

Obtaining installation media

Now that the virtual network devices are created, you need to obtain the installation media. The installation media that is used in this example is a CD/DVD image file. IBM Cloud supports the following Operating Systems for Hyper-V:

Windows 2019 with Hyper-V
Windows 2016 with Hyper-V
Windows 2012R2 with Hyper-V
Windows 2012 with Hyper-V
CentOS
Fedora
Ubuntu Note: If you already have the installation media, go to Creating a Virtual Machine.

The installation media for CentOS External link icon , Fedora , and Ubuntu are available from their respective websites. All three OSs are freely licensed and no further action needs to be taken on the part of the user.

Creating a virtual machine

Now that you have the installation media, you can create a virtual machine from the Hyper-V Manager. Click New > Virtual Machine to start the New Virtual Machine Wizard.

On the first screen, click Next and enter a name for the new virtual machine. This name can be changed at a future date. You can change the location of the virtual hard disk. The default value that you previously set is used unless you specify a different location. After you enter the information, click Next.

Now, you need to allocate memory to the server. Generally, you provide at least the minimum recommended memory as specified by the operating system. After you enter the amount of memory to allocate, click Next.

Next, set the first network adapter. If a Linux Operating System is being installed on the virtual machine, select Not Connected. If Windows is being installed, select Private, then click Next.

You can change the following settings for the virtual disk: file name, the storage location, and size. Make any applicable changed and click Next.

The installation media needs to be set. Select Install an operating system from a boot CD/DVD-ROM > Image file (.iso) to set the location of the CD/DVD image file for your installation media. Click Next, view the summary and click Finish to close the window.

Lastly, you need to create the virtual network adapters. The new virtual machine is now listed under the Virtual Machines section of the Hyper-v Manager. Right-click the new virtual machine click Settings.

Configuring Virtual Network Adapter for Windows Operating System

A list of hardware is now available for the virtual machine. In the list, you see Network Adapter and Private. If you see Not Connected, click the Network Adapter, select Private, and click Apply.

Next, click Add Hardware > Network Adapter > Add to add the Network Adapter to the hardware.

On the right pane, select Public from the drop-down and click OK.

Configuring Virtual Network Adapter for Linux Operating System

A list of hardware is now available for the virtual machine. Click Network Adapter > Remove and select Add Hardware. The list on the right changes. From the list, select Legacy Network Adapter. Note: This option is different from network adapter that is not used on a Linux virtual machine. Click Add to add this legacy network adapter to the hardware list. The new legacy network adapter is automatically selected. Select Private from the drop-down list and click Apply. Repeat the preceding steps to add the Legacy Network Adapter. However, select Public. After the new legacy network is added, click OK.

Installing a guest Operating System

The virtual machine is now ready to be started. Right-click the virtual machine and select Connect. The virtual machine console opens. From the Action menu, select Start. The new virtual machine starts by using the installation media that you selected. Now, you run through the operating system installation. During the OS installation process, it is recommended that you configure the public network settings. The public network is the second network interface. When the OS installation is complete, you have a working virtual machine. If a public network is configured, you can access the virtual machine remotely.

The final step in the installation process is configuring the private network. If the virtual machine is not connected to the private network, the installation process is complete. For more information about configuring the private network, see Setting up a virtual machine network.