On Windows Server (including version 2022, 2019, and older versions), you can add the “Hyper-V” hypervisor from Microsoft to install the necessary components to create and manage virtual machines.
A virtual machine allows you to run different instances of the server or desktop version of Windows and other platforms like Linux alongside Windows Server 2022 on the same physical hardware sharing the resources through virtualization.
Hyper-V requires a server with virtualization support. As such, you must ensure that virtualization is supported and enabled on the UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) or BIOS (Basic Input Output System) of the device. Since the server firmware can be different per manufacturer and even per model, check with your server manufacturer support website to find the specific details to enable the feature.
This guide will teach you the steps to enable and configure Hyper-V on Windows Server 2022, but the instructions should also work on previous versions, such as Windows Server 2019 and 2016.
Install Hyper-V on Windows Server
To install and configure Hyper-V on Windows Server 2022, use these steps:
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Open Settings on Windows Server.
Quick note: If you have Server Manager open, open the “Manage” menu from the top-right, select the “Add Roles and Features” option, and continue on step 6. -
Click on Apps.
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Click on Apps & features.
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Under the “Related settings” section, click the “Programs and Features” option.
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Click the “Turn Windows features on or off” option.
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Click the Next button.
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Select the “Role-based or feature-based installation” option.
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Click the Next button.
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Choose the “Select a server from the server pool” option.
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Under the “Server Pool” section, select the local server from the list.
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Click the Next button.
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Check the Hyper-V option.
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Click the Add Features button.
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Click the Next button.
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Click the Next button again.
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Click the Next button one more time.
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Check the network adapter to create a virtual switch.
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Click the Next button.
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(Optional) Check the “Allow this server to send and receive live migrations of virtual machines” option and select the authentication that applies to your environment.
Quick note: You don’t need to configure this feature if this is the only server in the location or you don’t plan to virtual machines to another server with the live migration feature. -
Click the Next button.
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Click the Browse button for the “Default location for virtual hard disk files” setting and choose the location to store the virtual machine’s drive files.
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Click the Browse button for the “Default location for virtual machine configuration files” setting and choose the location to store the virtual machine’s configuration files.
Quick note: Usually, you want to store virtual machines on secondary drives as running them on the same drive as the Windows Server installation will affect performance. -
Click the Next button.
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Click the Install button.
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Restart the server to apply the changes.
Once you complete the steps, the virtualization components will be added to the server, and you can then start creating virtual machines using the Hyper-V Manager available through the Start menu or by right-clicking the server and selecting the “Hyper-V Manager” option from the “Hyper-V” tab in Server Manager.