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When it comes to optimizing virtualization performance, there's a long list of best practices that can squeeze the most value out of your servers. Microsoft's virtualization platform, Hyper-V, is no exception.
In my previous tip on optimizing Hyper-V , I discussed the importance of understanding the requirements of applications and services in Hyper-V as well as how to monitor virtual machines (VMs) and manage CPU resource allocations. In this tip, I'll share more methods for optimizing Hyper-V performance with emphasis on hardware and network fine-tuning.
Hyper-V Integration Services
Let's start with a simple, common sense practice: Ensure that you use the latest version of Hyper-V's integration services. This simple setup program installs the latest available drivers for supported guest OSes (and some that are not officially supported). The result is improved performance when VMs make calls to hardware. This should generally be the first thing one does after installing a guest OS. Keep in mind that updated versions of integration services might be released to improve performance between major releases of Hyper-V.
Use synthetic network drivers
Hyper-V supports two types of virtual network drivers: emulated and synthetic. Emulated drivers provide the highest level of compatibility. Synthetic drivers are far more efficient, because they use a dedicated VMBus to communicate between the virtual network interface card (NIC) and the root/parent partitions physical NIC. To verify which drivers are used from within a Windows guest OS, you can use Device Manager.
The type of network adapter installed can be changed by adjusting the properties of the VM. For changes to take effect, in some cases a VM will need to be shut down or rebooted. The payoff is usually worth it, though: If synthetic drivers are compatible, you'll likely see lower CPU utilization and lower network latency.
Increasing network capacity
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