Hyper-V - System Requirements and Specifications

System Requirements and Specifications

See also: Windows Server 2008#System requirements
  • Host operating system:
    • To install the Hyper-V role, Windows Server 2008 (64-bit only) or 2008 R2 Standard, Enterprise or Datacenter edition or Windows Server 2012 Standard or Datacenter is required. Installation on the Web, Essentials, and/or Foundation editions is not possible; neither is it possible on 32-bit (x86-32) versions of Windows Server 2008 nor IA64 editions.
    • It can be installed regardless of whether the installation is a full or core installation.
  • Processor:
    • An x86-64 processor
    • Hardware-assisted virtualization must be enabled. This is available in processors that include a virtualization option; specifically, Intel VT or AMD Virtualization (AMD-V, formerly code-named "Pacifica").
    • A NX bit-compatible CPU must be available and Hardware Data Execution Prevention (DEP) must be enabled.
    • Although this is not an official requirement, Windows Server 2008 R2 and a CPU with second-level address translation support are recommended for workstations.
      • Second-level address translation is a mandatory requirement for Hyper-V in Windows 8.
  • Memory
    • Minimum 2 GB. (Each virtual machine requires its own memory, and so realistically much more.)
    • Windows Server 2008 Standard (x64) Hyper-V full GUI or Core supports up to 31 GB of memory for running VMs, plus 1 GB for the Hyper-V parent OS.
    • Maximum total memory per system for Windows Server 2008 R2 hosts: 32 GB (Standard) or 2 TB (Enterprise, Datacenter)
    • Maximum total memory per system for Windows Server 2012 hosts: 4 TB
  • Guest operating systems
    • Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 supports virtual machines with up to 4 processors each (1, 2, or 4 processors depending on guest OS-see below )
    • Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 supports virtual machines with up to 64 processors each.
    • Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 supports up to 384 VMs per system
    • Hyper-V in Windows Server 2012 supports up to 1024 active virtual machines per system.
    • Hyper-V supports both 32-bit (x86) and 64-bit (x64) guest VMs.

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