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pbraren
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VMware ESXi 5.1 can run Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2012 VMs too, nice!

I've created a detailed step-by-step instructions (with screenshots and video) using all GA level code over here:

http://tinkertry.com/esxi-5-1-running-hyper-v-server-2012

using the "Core" version of the new Hyper-V, using tips and ideas from these forums and other sites about previous beta tests.

Here's the gist:

  • Create a "Microsoft Windows Server 2012 (64-bit)" VM, using Typical Configuration
  • right-click the new VM and Upgrade Virtual Hardware to Version 9
  • tweak the VMX, adding these 4 lines:

mce.enable = TRUE

hypervisor.cpuid.v0 = FALSE
featMask.vm.hv.capable = “Min:1″
vhv.enable = TRUE

  • be sure it's assigned to a network where the vSwitch has Promiscuous Mode set to Accept
  • power up the new Hyper-V VM
  • perform typical install and configure of Hyper-V, hard-code IP if you'd like, create an Admin  username/password that matches a client system
  • create a Windows 8 "client" VM, since Hyper-V Manager takes just a few seconds to add
  • fix COM Security on that client system
  • use that VM's Hyper-V Manager to connect to Hyper-V, then...
  • create a Hyper-V hosted Virtual Machine, connect to it, and turn it on to test

I'm eager for any suggestions or alternative methods, but for now, this was the only way I could get it working in my own lab, figured others might want to try to replicate this excercise.

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admin
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"Windows Hyper-V (unsupported)" is a guest OS selection available through the UI in Workstation 9.  It sets the guestOS to "winhyperv".  Though the Hyper-V OS selection is not available through the ESXi 5.1 UI, I happen to know that the support for it is still there.

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admin
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pbraren wrote:

  • tweak the VMX, adding these 4 lines:

mce.enable = TRUE

hypervisor.cpuid.v0 = FALSE
featMask.vm.hv.capable = “Min:1″
vhv.enable = TRUE

Alternatively, it should suffice to change the guestOS line to

guestOS = "winhyperv"

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pbraren
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Very nice, that seems to work fine as well, and is even simpler than my method.

Here's what I did:

Cloned the VM.

Edited the cloned VM's vmx file, removing the 4 entries:

mce.enable = TRUE

hypervisor.cpuid.v0 = FALSE
featMask.vm.hv.capable = "Min:1";
vhv.enable = TRUE

then changed this line:

guestOS = "windows8srv-64"

to

guestOS = "winhyperv"

and the Hyper-V VM booted up and ran VMs without incident.

Thank you so much!

This "winyhyperv" parameter doesn't seem to be well documented anywhere.  May I ask how you figured this out, and/or what are your sources, so I can give proper credit to you and others for this even simpler method of success?

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"Windows Hyper-V (unsupported)" is a guest OS selection available through the UI in Workstation 9.  It sets the guestOS to "winhyperv".  Though the Hyper-V OS selection is not available through the ESXi 5.1 UI, I happen to know that the support for it is still there.

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pbraren
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Thank you, VMware employee "jmattson", so nice to meet you in this wonderful way.  I'm sure glad I posted in this forum (as are my blog's readers)!

And of course, I've now clicked on the Answered button for this post, crediting you for helping confirm the now-definitive (simpler) method of tweaking the vmx file (no vSphere Web Client UI required, and no VMware Workstation 9 UI required, just enable SSH and use WinSCP (or PuTTY and VI).

I realize VMware might not exactly publish sort of thing widely for any implied sort (I'm assuming there is none). But many of us are already used to being on entirely unsupported, that's kind of what my blog is all about anyway, so you could say that we're used it.

It's amazing what you can do using commodity/affordable hardware, instead of server-class gear, in the home-lab, saving a lot of $ and electricity. Admittedly, such projects don't necessarily save time. But it's getting easier and easier, a good thing for busy, self-training virtualization enthusiasts/IT professionals like me, who enjoy talking about such projects at user group meetings. So many others share this enthusiasm for pushing the boundaries of what's possible with virtualization.

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pbraren
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Of these 2 methods (4 lines added, versus one line changed), does one method have a speed or capability advantage over the other?

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admin
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I'm glad that you find this capability useful.

There is one line in the long version that isn't subsumed by guestOS type.  That's featMask.vm.hv.capable = "Min:1". With this setting, VC knows that the VM requires virtualized HV, and it won't let you try to power on the VM on a host that isn't capable of virtualized HV support.  VC doesn't know that guestOS="winhyperv" implies the same constraint.  Without this line, you'll get a more unfriendly failure if you try to power on the VM on a host that can't handle it.

By the way, your post uses "smart-quotes" around "Min:1".  Smart-quotes are not parsed by the configuration file reader, so that line will be ignored.  You should always use "straight quotes" in configuration file settings.


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pbraren
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Fixed that pesky wordpress/smartquotes issue, thanks for the sharp eye (and everything else).

I've also revamped/cleaned up my blog post about this:

http://tinkertry.com/esxi-5-1-running-hyper-v-server-2012
it's done (stick a fork in it)!

Sure wish I had run into you at VMworld...

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admin
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I hate to say this, but it looks like there are still some angled quotes in step 8 on your blog.

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pbraren
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They are gone from my site: all instances of vmx tweaks with quotes are now normal quotes.

But, as far as this site's forum, it won't let me go back and edit the earliest/first post I made when I started this thread, filled with angled quotes (the edit button only appears for very recent posts).

Oh well, at least I fixed up what I could on this site.

Now back to my site, mastered quotes, but didn't master constant disconnects (and autosave bugs), so fed up, upgrading my host to dedicated IP tonight (so tinkertry.com may be offline for a few hours)...

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julienvs
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This did the trick for me.

Thank you very much!

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