The Hyper-V role enables you to create and manage a virtualized computing environment by using virtualization technology that is built in to Windows Server “8” Beta. Installing the Hyper-V role installs the required components and optionally installs management tools. The required components include Windows hypervisor, Hyper-V Virtual Machine Management Service, the virtualization WMI provider, and other virtualization components such as the virtual machine bus (VMbus), virtualization service provider (VSP) and virtual infrastructure driver (VID).
The management tools for the Hyper-V role consist of:
- GUI-based management tools: Hyper-V Manager, a Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in, and Virtual Machine Connection, which provides access to the video output of a virtual machine so you can interact with the virtual machine.
- Hyper-V-specific cmdlets for Windows PowerShell. Windows Server “8” Beta includes a Hyper-V module, which provides command-line access to all the functionality available in the GUI, as well functionality not available through the GUI.
The Hyper-V technology virtualizes hardware to provide an environment in which you can run multiple operating systems at the same time on one physical computer. Hyper-V enables you to create and manage virtual machines and their resources. Each virtual machine is an isolated, virtualized computer system that can run its own operating system. The operating system that runs within a virtual machine is called a guest operating system.