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Hyper-V virtualization requirements (SharePoint Foundation 2010)

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Applies to: SharePoint Foundation 2010

This article provides hardware and software requirements for using hardware-based virtualization. Although Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V technology is the focal point of this document, the basic hardware requirements for enabling hardware-based virtualization also apply to third-party virtualization technologies that are certified by Microsoft.

Hardware

The requirements for hardware-based virtualization are as follows:

  • Hardware-assisted virtualization, which is available in processors that include a virtualization option—specifically processors with Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) or AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) technology.

  • Hardware-enforced Data Execution Prevention (DEP) is available and enabled.

You can use one of the following tools to determine if the processor on an existing server supports Hyper-V:

Software

One of the following Microsoft products is required for Hyper-V:

  • Windows Server 2008 (all editions of Windows Server 2008, except for Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems, Windows Web Server 2008, and Windows Server 2008 Foundation)

  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008

  • Windows Server 2008 R2 (all editions of Windows Server 2008 R2, except for Windows Server 2008 R2 for Itanium-Based Systems, Windows Web Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008 R2 Foundation)

  • Hyper-V Server R2

We recommend Windows Server 2008 R2 for virtualization servers because of the many improvements introduced for Hyper-V, such as:

  • Live migration to move a running virtual machine from one cluster node to another

  • Significant gains in performance and scalability

  • Enhanced processor support

  • Enhanced virtual machine storage

  • Enhanced networking support

For more information, see What's New in Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2 (https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/p/?LinkID=155234).

See Also

Concepts

Virtualization support and licensing (SharePoint Foundation 2010)

Other Resources

Resource Center: Virtualization for SharePoint Foundation 2010