Setting up the physical computer for Virtual Server

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Setting up the physical computer

The physical computer must meet certain software and hardware requirements to support Virtual Server 2005. As you plan your deployment, think about which operating systems and applications you want to run with Virtual Server. This will help you make decisions about configuration issues such as disk space and memory. For specific hardware and software requirements, see System requirements for Virtual Server.

You also should consider the following:

  • Which peripheral devices do you want to use? How many, and which type? Note that you can use peripheral devices that are connected through a serial or parallel port. For more information, see Configuring COM ports and Configuring the LPT port.
  • Do you need to access network resources or the Internet? Virtual Server can emulate up to four network adapters per virtual machine. For more information, see Setting Up Virtual Networks.
  • Do you need to print from the computer? Do you plan to use a network printer or a parallel printer connected directly to the computer? For more information, see Setting up printers for virtual machines.

Certain features of Virtual Server emulate specific hardware for all virtual machines regardless of the hardware that exists on the physical computer. For more information, see Emulated hardware.