Hyper-V Training

Lesson 1 • Hyper-V Architecture Overview

Examines Hyper-V's internal architecture including the parent partition and child partitions. Connects architectural understanding to practical deployment decisions.

Lesson 2 • Hyper-V Manager Interface

Introduces the Hyper-V Manager console and its primary navigation areas. Builds familiarity with the GUI before advancing to complex configuration tasks.

Lesson 3 • Installing and Enabling Hyper-V

Walks through enabling the Hyper-V role via Server Manager and PowerShell. Prepares learners to stand up a functional Hyper-V host from scratch.

Lesson 4 • Hyper-V Editions and Licensing

Differentiates Hyper-V Server, Windows Server with Hyper-V, and client Hyper-V. Guides learners in selecting the appropriate edition for their environment.

Lesson 1 • Virtual Hard Disk Management

Explains VHD and VHDX formats, disk types, and creation workflows. Provides the storage foundation needed for all VM deployments.

Lesson 2 • Integration Services and Guest Tools

Covers Hyper-V Integration Services components and their impact on guest performance. Connects guest tool installation to improved VM manageability.

Lesson 3 • Installing Guest Operating Systems

Guides installation of Windows and Linux guests using ISO images and network boot. Ensures learners can provision functional guest environments.

Lesson 4 • Virtual Hardware Configuration

Covers CPU, memory, and device assignment for virtual machines. Directly impacts VM performance and resource utilisation across the host.

Lesson 1 • NIC Teaming and SR-IOV

Covers NIC teaming for redundancy and SR-IOV for high-performance direct device access. Prepares learners for advanced network throughput and failover scenarios.

Lesson 2 • Bandwidth Management and QoS

Introduces virtual switch extensions and bandwidth throttling for network quality of service. Enables controlled network resource allocation across competing VMs.

Lesson 3 • Virtual Network Adapter Configuration

Covers adding and configuring synthetic and legacy network adapters in VMs. Connects adapter selection to guest OS compatibility and performance outcomes.

Lesson 4 • Virtual Switch Types and Creation

Explains external, internal, and private virtual switch types and their connectivity scope. Establishes the network foundation for all VM communication scenarios.

Lesson 1 • Storage Migration and Optimisation

Demonstrates live storage migration and storage optimisation techniques for running VMs. Enables zero-downtime storage maintenance and rebalancing.

Lesson 2 • Storage Quality of Service

Configures storage QoS policies to enforce IOPS limits and minimums per VM. Prevents storage contention in multi-VM environments.

Lesson 3 • Storage Options for Hyper-V

Surveys local disk, SAN, NAS, SMB 3.0, and Storage Spaces as Hyper-V storage backends. Frames storage selection decisions based on performance and availability needs.

Lesson 4 • Checkpoints and Snapshot Management

Covers standard and production checkpoints, creation workflows, and merge operations. Teaches safe use of checkpoints for testing and recovery without data loss.

Lesson 1 • Resource Metering and Inventory

Introduces resource metering to track CPU, memory, and network usage per VM. Supports chargeback, capacity planning, and compliance reporting.

Lesson 2 • VM States and Power Management

Explains VM power states including running, saved, paused, and off, with transition controls. Provides operational control over VM availability and resource consumption.

Lesson 3 • VM Configuration Version Management

Explains VM configuration versions, upgrade paths, and compatibility implications. Ensures VMs remain manageable across different Hyper-V host versions.

Lesson 4 • VM Templates and Rapid Deployment

Demonstrates creating VM templates using Sysprep and differencing disks for fast provisioning. Reduces deployment time and ensures configuration consistency.

Lesson 1 • Cluster-Aware Updating and Maintenance

Introduces Cluster-Aware Updating (CAU) for rolling patch cycles without VM downtime. Maintains cluster health during routine maintenance windows.

Lesson 2 • Failover Clustering Fundamentals

Introduces Windows Server Failover Clustering concepts as the foundation for Hyper-V HA. Connects cluster architecture to VM availability and failover behaviour.

Lesson 3 • Configuring Hyper-V Clusters

Walks through creating a Hyper-V failover cluster and adding VMs as clustered roles. Produces a functional HA Hyper-V environment ready for production workloads.

Lesson 4 • Live Migration Configuration

Configures live migration settings for moving running VMs between hosts with no downtime. Enables planned maintenance without service interruption.

Lesson 1 • DR Planning and RTO/RPO Alignment

Applies Hyper-V Replica capabilities to formal DR planning, mapping features to RTO and RPO targets. Produces a documented DR runbook for VM workloads.

Lesson 2 • Configuring Hyper-V Replica

Steps through enabling Hyper-V Replica on servers, configuring firewall rules, and enabling VM replication. Produces a working replication relationship between two hosts.

Lesson 3 • Hyper-V Replica Architecture

Explains the primary and replica server roles, replication transport, and data flow. Establishes the conceptual model needed to design effective DR topologies.

Lesson 4 • Recovery Points and Retention

Configures additional recovery points and VSS-based application-consistent snapshots. Aligns recovery point objectives with business continuity requirements.

Lesson 1 • Memory Performance and Dynamic Memory

Configures Dynamic Memory with startup, minimum, and maximum values and memory buffer settings. Balances memory efficiency with VM performance stability.

Lesson 2 • Storage and Network Performance Tuning

Applies storage and network optimisations including VHDX alignment, RSS, and VMQ settings. Reduces I/O latency and maximises network throughput for demanding workloads.

Lesson 3 • Capacity Planning and Right-Sizing

Uses collected performance data to right-size VMs and plan host capacity for future growth. Translates monitoring insights into actionable infrastructure decisions.

Lesson 4 • Performance Monitoring Tools

Surveys Performance Monitor, Resource Monitor, and Hyper-V-specific counters for host and VM analysis. Builds the monitoring skill set needed for proactive performance management.