How to Install and Configure Hyper-V on Windows Server 2025

How to Install and Configure Hyper-V on Windows Server 2025

Hyper-V is Microsoft’s native Type-1 hypervisor and is one of the most powerful roles available in Windows Server 2025. Whether you are building a development lab, consolidating workloads, or laying the foundation for a private cloud, Hyper-V provides the virtualisation infrastructure you need without requiring third-party software. Windows Server 2025 brings improvements to Hyper-V including enhanced security isolation, better integration with Azure Arc, and updated VM configuration versions. This tutorial walks you through installing the Hyper-V role, verifying hardware requirements, creating your first virtual machine with PowerShell, and configuring virtual networking — all from the ground up.

Prerequisites

• Windows Server 2025 (Standard or Datacenter edition) — Desktop Experience or Server Core
• 64-bit processor with Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) support
• Hardware-assisted virtualisation (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) enabled in BIOS/UEFI
• Hardware-enforced Data Execution Prevention (DEP) — Intel XD bit or AMD NX bit enabled
• Minimum 4 GB RAM on the host (8 GB or more strongly recommended for running guests)
• At least one physical network adapter for external virtual switch creation
• Administrator privileges on the server
• PowerShell 5.1 or later (included with Windows Server 2025)

Step 1: Verify Hardware Virtualisation Support

Before installing Hyper-V, confirm that your processor supports the required features. Run the following command in an elevated PowerShell session to check CPU capabilities:

# Check virtualisation extensions and SLAT support
Get-WmiObject -Class Win32_Processor | Select-Object -Property Name, VirtualizationFirmwareEnabled, SecondLevelAddressTranslationExtensions

# Alternatively, use systeminfo and parse the Hyper-V Requirements section
systeminfo | Select-String -Pattern "Hyper-V Requirements" -Context 0,5

If VirtualizationFirmwareEnabled returns False, reboot into your UEFI/BIOS firmware and enable Intel VT-x (labelled “Intel Virtualisation Technology”) or AMD-V. SLAT is mandatory for Hyper-V on Windows Server 2025 — processors released after 2010 almost universally support it.

Step 2: Install the Hyper-V Role and Management Tools

The Hyper-V role can be installed using Server Manager or PowerShell. PowerShell is preferred in production environments because it is scriptable and works on Server Core installations where there is no GUI.

# Install Hyper-V role plus all management tools (GUI manager, PowerShell module, WMI providers)
Install-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V -IncludeManagementTools -Restart

# On Server Core or when you want to control the restart yourself:
Install-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V -IncludeManagementTools

# Verify the installation completed successfully
Get-WindowsFeature -Name Hyper-V, Hyper-V-PowerShell, Hyper-V-Tools | Format-Table Name, InstallState

The -IncludeManagementTools flag installs Hyper-V Manager (virtmgmt.msc), the Hyper-V PowerShell module, and the Hyper-V WMI provider. The server must restart to complete installation. After the reboot, confirm the Hyper-V service is running:

Get-Service -Name vmms | Select-Object Name, Status, StartType
# Expected: Status = Running, StartType = Automatic

Step 3: Launch Hyper-V Manager

On Desktop Experience installations, open Hyper-V Manager by pressing Win+R, typing virtmgmt.msc, and pressing Enter. You can also open it from Server Manager under Tools > Hyper-V Manager. Hyper-V Manager lets you create and manage virtual machines, virtual switches, and virtual hard disks through a graphical interface. For remote management, connect to a remote Hyper-V host from within Hyper-V Manager by right-clicking Hyper-V Manager in the left pane and selecting Connect to Server.

Step 4: Create a Virtual Hard Disk

Virtual machines require at least one Virtual Hard Disk (VHD or VHDX). VHDX is the preferred format for Windows Server 2025 — it supports up to 64 TB, offers data corruption protection, and performs better than the legacy VHD format.

# Create a dynamically expanding VHDX (disk grows on demand up to the specified maximum)
New-VHD -Path "C:Hyper-VVMsWS2025-VM01WS2025-VM01-OS.vhdx" `
        -SizeBytes 127GB `
        -Dynamic

# Create a fixed-size VHDX (all space allocated immediately — better I/O performance)
New-VHD -Path "C:Hyper-VVMsWS2025-VM01WS2025-VM01-Data.vhdx" `
        -SizeBytes 200GB `
        -Fixed

# Inspect the newly created disk
Get-VHD -Path "C:Hyper-VVMsWS2025-VM01WS2025-VM01-OS.vhdx"

Step 5: Create a Virtual Switch

Hyper-V uses virtual switches to provide network connectivity to virtual machines. There are three types: External (bridges to a physical NIC and allows VM–host–external network communication), Internal (allows communication between the host and VMs only), and Private (VM-to-VM communication only, host is excluded).

# List physical network adapters to identify the NIC for the external switch
Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object { $_.Status -eq "Up" } | Select-Object Name, InterfaceDescription, MacAddress

# Create an External virtual switch bound to a physical NIC
New-VMSwitch -Name "External-Switch-01" `
             -NetAdapterName "Ethernet0" `
             -AllowManagementOS $true

# Create an Internal switch (host can communicate with VMs)
New-VMSwitch -Name "Internal-Lab-Switch" -SwitchType Internal

# Create a Private switch (isolated VM-to-VM only)
New-VMSwitch -Name "Private-Cluster-Switch" -SwitchType Private

# List all configured virtual switches
Get-VMSwitch | Select-Object Name, SwitchType, NetAdapterInterfaceDescription

Setting -AllowManagementOS $true on an External switch creates a virtual NIC on the host OS that is also connected to the switch, allowing the host to retain network access through the same physical adapter.

Step 6: Create a Virtual Machine

With a VHDX and a virtual switch in place, you can now create a virtual machine. Windows Server 2025 defaults to Generation 2 VMs, which use UEFI firmware, support Secure Boot, and have faster boot times compared to the legacy Generation 1 BIOS-based VMs.

# Create a Generation 2 VM with 4 GB startup RAM and connect it to the existing VHDX
New-VM -Name "WS2025-VM01" `
       -Generation 2 `
       -MemoryStartupBytes 4GB `
       -VHDPath "C:Hyper-VVMsWS2025-VM01WS2025-VM01-OS.vhdx" `
       -SwitchName "External-Switch-01" `
       -Path "C:Hyper-VVMs"

# Add a network adapter if you need a second one (e.g., for storage traffic)
Add-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "WS2025-VM01" -SwitchName "Internal-Lab-Switch" -Name "Storage-NIC"

Generation 1 vs Generation 2 VMs

Generation 1 VMs emulate legacy BIOS hardware and are required when installing older operating systems (Windows Server 2003, some Linux distributions). Generation 2 VMs use UEFI firmware, support Secure Boot, and require the guest OS to be a 64-bit version of Windows 8/Windows Server 2012 or later. You cannot change a VM’s generation after creation. For Windows Server 2025 guests, always use Generation 2.

Step 7: Configure VM Memory and Processors

# Enable Dynamic Memory with a minimum of 2 GB, maximum of 8 GB, and startup of 4 GB
Set-VMMemory -VMName "WS2025-VM01" `
             -DynamicMemoryEnabled $true `
             -MinimumBytes 2GB `
             -StartupBytes 4GB `
             -MaximumBytes 8GB `
             -Priority 80

# Assign 4 virtual processors to the VM
Set-VMProcessor -VMName "WS2025-VM01" -Count 4

# Enable nested virtualisation (for running Hyper-V inside the VM)
Set-VMProcessor -VMName "WS2025-VM01" -ExposeVirtualizationExtensions $true

# Review current VM configuration
Get-VM -Name "WS2025-VM01" | Select-Object Name, State, Generation, MemoryStartup, ProcessorCount

Step 8: Attach an Installation ISO and Start the VM

# Add a DVD drive and attach an ISO for OS installation
Add-VMDvdDrive -VMName "WS2025-VM01" -Path "C:ISOWS2025_SERVER_EVAL_x64.iso"

# On Generation 2 VMs, set the DVD drive as the first boot device
$dvd = Get-VMDvdDrive -VMName "WS2025-VM01"
Set-VMFirmware -VMName "WS2025-VM01" -FirstBootDevice $dvd

# Start the VM
Start-VM -Name "WS2025-VM01"

# Connect to the VM console (opens VMConnect window)
vmconnect.exe localhost "WS2025-VM01"

The vmconnect.exe tool is included with the Hyper-V management tools. You can also connect to a remote host by replacing localhost with the hostname or IP address of the Hyper-V server. Once the VM console opens, proceed with the Windows Server 2025 installation as you would on a physical machine.

Step 9: Review Hyper-V Host Settings

# View overall Hyper-V host configuration
Get-VMHost | Select-Object ComputerName, VirtualMachinePath, VirtualHardDiskPath, `
             EnableEnhancedSessionMode, NumaSpanningEnabled, MemoryCapacity

# Change default VM and VHD storage paths
Set-VMHost -VirtualMachinePath "D:Hyper-VVMs" -VirtualHardDiskPath "D:Hyper-VVHDs"

# Enable Enhanced Session Mode (required for clipboard and drive redirection in VM Connect)
Set-VMHost -EnableEnhancedSessionMode $true

Hyper-V on Windows 10/11 vs Windows Server 2025

The Hyper-V role is also available on Windows 10 and Windows 11 Pro/Enterprise/Education editions. The client Hyper-V feature is functionally similar but has important differences: it does not support live migration, VM replication, or advanced networking features like SR-IOV. It is intended for developer workstations and lab environments, not production workloads. Windows Server 2025 Datacenter edition additionally includes unlimited OS environment rights, meaning you can run an unlimited number of Windows Server 2025 guest VMs on a licensed host without additional Windows guest licences.

Conclusion

You have successfully installed and configured the Hyper-V role on Windows Server 2025. You verified hardware prerequisites, installed the role with management tools, created a VHDX virtual disk, configured External and Internal virtual switches, built a Generation 2 virtual machine with dynamic memory and multiple vCPUs, and connected to the VM console for OS installation. Hyper-V on Windows Server 2025 is an enterprise-grade platform — mastering these fundamentals gives you a solid base from which to explore advanced features like live migration, Hyper-V Replica, shielded VMs, and Software Defined Networking, all of which are covered in subsequent articles in this series.