Installing Hyper-V

The release version of the Hyper-V technology in Windows Server 2008 is distributed in update packages that are available from the Microsoft Web site. To install the release version of any of the Hyper-V components, you must obtain and install the appropriate update package. This topic describes the packages and provides links to the installation procedures for each package.

About the Hyper-V update packages

Several update packages are available. Each update package is described below, including information about how to obtain the package.

Hyper-V role package

The release version of Hyper-V is distributed in the package ‘Hyper-V Update for Windows Server 2008 x64 Edition (KB950050)’. The package consists of the Hyper-V role, including the x64 version of the remote management tools, and integration services for the supported versions of the Windows operating system.

This update is offered through Windows Update as a recommended update. However, you also can obtain the update through the Microsoft Download Center. To download this update, see https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=123539.

Important

The Hyper-V role update package is a permanent package. Once you install the update package, you cannot remove it.

For instructions about installing the role, see Install the Hyper-V Role on a Server Core Installation of Windows Server 2008 or Install the Hyper-V Role on a Full Installation of Windows Server 2008.

If you used a prerelease version of Hyper-V to create virtual machines and installed integration services on the virtual machines, you must upgrade the integration services to the release version. Integration services are specific to the build of Hyper-V. To install the integration services, from the Action menu of Virtual Machine Connection, click Insert Integration Services Setup Disk. On Windows operating systems, if the New Hardware Wizard appears, you must close the wizard to start the installation. If Autorun does not start the installation automatically, you can start it manually. Click anywhere in the guest operating system window and navigate to the CD drive. Use the method that is appropriate for the guest operating system to start the installation package from the CD drive.

If you are interested in migrating from Virtual Server to Hyper-V, a migration guide is available. For more information, see the Virtual Machine Migration Guide.

Hyper-V Remote management tools packages

The Hyper-V management tools are available separately to allow remote management of a server running Hyper-V. Packages are available to install the tools on Windows Vista with Service Pack 1 (SP1) and on 32-bit editions of Windows Server 2008. The following download packages are available:

For instructions about installing the tools, see Install and Configure Hyper-V Tools for Remote Administration.

Hyper-V Language Pack for Windows Server 2008

The Hyper-V Language Pack for Windows Server 2008 installs the language pack for the release version of Hyper-V and supports the following additional languages:

  • Chinese (Simplified)

  • Chinese (Traditional)

  • Czech

  • Hungarian

  • Korean

  • Polish

  • Portuguese (Brazil)

  • Portuguese (Portugal)

  • Russian

  • Swedish

  • Turkish

For more information about the language pack and links to download the packs, see article 951636 in the Microsoft Knowledge Base (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=123536).

Additional considerations

  • To find out whether an update has been applied to your computer, you can check the update history:

    • On a full installation of Windows Server 2008, click Start, click Windows Update, click View update history, and then click Installed Updates.

    • On a Server Core installation, at the command prompt, type:

      wmic qfe list

      Look for update number kbid=950050, which indicates that the update for Hyper-V has been installed.