Use case · Virtualisation
Hyper-V virtualisation
Hyper-V is Microsoft's virtualisation platform, integrated with Windows Server, running Windows and Linux virtual machines. It suits Windows-centric environments, where its licensing comes with Windows Server, and offers live migration, failover clustering, and replication. We host the bare-metal hardware to run Hyper-V; the Windows Server licensing is your arrangement, and we also host open-source alternatives.
Key points
- Hyper-V is Microsoft's virtualisation platform, integrated with Windows Server.
- It runs both Windows and Linux virtual machines.
- It suits Windows-centric environments, with licensing that comes via Windows Server.
- It offers live migration, failover clustering, and replication for resilience.
- We host the bare-metal hardware; Windows Server licensing is your own arrangement.
What is Hyper-V, and why host it?
Hyper-V is Microsoft's virtualisation platform, built into Windows Server as a role, which lets a server run virtual machines under Microsoft's hypervisor. It is Microsoft's answer to server virtualisation, integrated with Windows Server and the wider Microsoft ecosystem, and it runs both Windows and Linux virtual machines. For organisations built around Windows Server and Microsoft technologies, Hyper-V is a natural virtualisation choice, since it comes with Windows Server, integrates with Microsoft's management tools, and fits a Windows-centric environment, which is much of where its appeal lies.
Hosting Hyper-V means running it on capable server hardware with Windows Server, where the Hyper-V role turns the server into a host for virtual machines. The hardware needs the compute, memory, and storage for the virtual machines, and it runs Windows Server with Hyper-V enabled. This page focuses on Hyper-V specifically, including where it fits and how its licensing works, honestly; other virtualisation platforms, including the open-source alternatives, are covered on their own pages, while what follows attends to Hyper-V and the Windows-centric environments it suits.
Hyper-V and Windows: integration and licensing
Hyper-V's defining characteristic is its integration with Windows Server and the Microsoft ecosystem, which makes it fit naturally into Windows-centric environments and ties its licensing to Windows Server. The Hyper-V role is part of Windows Server, so an organisation running Windows Server has Hyper-V available, and it integrates with Microsoft's management and clustering tools, fitting an environment already built on Windows and Microsoft technologies. For organisations with Microsoft licensing agreements and Windows expertise, this integration is a real convenience, since Hyper-V works within the Microsoft world they already use.
The licensing works through Windows Server, which is its own consideration and the organisation's arrangement. Running Hyper-V requires Windows Server licensing, which is licensed per core and has its own structure, and running Windows virtual machines involves Windows Server licensing considerations of its own — an organisation running many Windows VMs, for instance, may license Windows Server in a way that covers them. The Windows Server licensing is procured by the organisation from Microsoft or its channel, under Microsoft's terms, and is a real part of the cost. We provide the hardware; the Windows Server licensing that Hyper-V runs under is your own arrangement, as the later section on running Hyper-V with us makes clear.
Running Windows and Linux VMs
Hyper-V runs both Windows and Linux virtual machines, so it is not limited to Windows workloads, though it is most at home in Windows-centric environments. Windows virtual machines run naturally on Hyper-V, with the integration one would expect between Microsoft's hypervisor and Microsoft's operating system; and Hyper-V also supports Linux virtual machines, which run well on it, so a Hyper-V host can run a mix of Windows and Linux workloads. This lets an organisation running Hyper-V virtualise both, though the Windows integration is a particular strength.
For an organisation whose workloads are largely Windows, Hyper-V's strong Windows support is a natural fit, and its ability to also run Linux means it is not confined to Windows. Where the environment is Windows-centric — Windows workloads, Windows management, Microsoft licensing — Hyper-V fits well and runs the Windows virtual machines with good integration, while handling any Linux workloads too. We host the hardware for Hyper-V to run both Windows and Linux virtual machines, sized for the mix of workloads, so that a Windows-centric organisation can virtualise its workloads on Hyper-V, with the Windows integration that suits its environment and Linux support where needed.
Hyper-V features: migration, clustering, and replication
Hyper-V provides features for resilient, manageable virtualisation, including live migration, failover clustering for high availability, and replication for disaster recovery. Live migration lets running virtual machines be moved between hosts without stopping them, useful for maintenance and balancing load; failover clustering lets virtual machines be made highly available across multiple hosts, so that if a host fails, its virtual machines are restarted on another, keeping them available; and Hyper-V's replication can copy virtual machines to another host or site, supporting disaster recovery by keeping a replica that can take over.
These features make Hyper-V capable of serious, resilient virtualisation across multiple hosts, comparable to what other enterprise platforms offer, and they integrate with Microsoft's clustering and management. Realising them needs multiple hosts arranged appropriately — a failover cluster across several servers, with suitable shared storage, and replication to another host or site for disaster recovery. We provide the multiple dedicated servers and the storage and networking Hyper-V's clustering and replication need, so that an organisation running Hyper-V can build resilient virtualisation — with live migration, high availability through failover clustering, and replication for disaster recovery — on infrastructure arranged for it.
Bare metal, and running Hyper-V with us
Hyper-V runs on bare metal, as a hypervisor on the server hardware via Windows Server, so running it needs dedicated server hardware, and we provide that hardware while the Windows Server licensing is your own arrangement. The Hyper-V role runs on Windows Server installed on the server, virtualising the hardware to run virtual machines, so a Hyper-V host is a dedicated server running Windows Server with Hyper-V. We provide capable, compatible dedicated bare-metal servers for this, sized for the virtualised workloads, giving the virtual machines the hardware's performance.
As with our approach to other licensed platforms, we are clear about the division: we provide the bare-metal hardware, and the Windows Server licensing that Hyper-V requires is procured by the organisation from Microsoft, under Microsoft's terms. The cost of running Hyper-V with us is our dedicated hardware plus your Windows Server licensing from Microsoft, the latter being your arrangement, which we do not resell or control. We provide the sovereign, dedicated hardware for Hyper-V; if you choose Hyper-V, you bring the Windows Server licensing — a clear division that lets you understand the full cost, hardware from us and Microsoft licensing from Microsoft.
When Hyper-V fits, and the alternatives
The honest position is that Hyper-V fits Windows-centric environments well, while for Linux-centric workloads or those wanting to avoid Microsoft licensing, open-source alternatives may suit better — and we host those too. Where an organisation is built on Windows Server, uses Microsoft's ecosystem, has Microsoft licensing and Windows expertise, and runs largely Windows workloads, Hyper-V is a natural, well-integrated choice, and its licensing coming through Windows Server the organisation already uses can make it economical in that context. For such environments, Hyper-V often makes good sense.
For organisations whose workloads are largely Linux, or that want to avoid Windows Server licensing, open-source platforms such as Proxmox or KVM can suit better, providing capable virtualisation without Windows licensing, particularly for Linux workloads. We host the hardware for all of these — Hyper-V, Proxmox, and KVM — and we will give an honest view of which fits: Hyper-V for Windows-centric environments where its integration and licensing context suit, open-source alternatives where Linux workloads or avoiding Microsoft licensing point elsewhere. We have no incentive to push one, since we host them all, and we would rather help you choose the platform that genuinely fits your environment than steer you to one that does not.
Sovereignty, and where VV Internet Hosting fits
Whatever the platform, the virtual machines hold an organisation's workloads and data, so where they run governs sovereignty, and hosting in the EU keeps them European. VV Internet Hosting is incorporated in the Netherlands, within the EU, so Hyper-V virtualisation hosted with us runs under European jurisdiction and outside the direct reach of the US CLOUD Act, keeping the virtualised workloads and their data under European law. For organisations to whom the sovereignty of their virtualised workloads matters, running them in the EU addresses it, on Hyper-V or any platform.
We host dedicated bare-metal servers suitable for Hyper-V — single servers, or multiple servers for a failover cluster with replication — sized for the virtualised workloads, in EU datacenters under European jurisdiction, and equally for the open-source alternatives. This suits Windows-centric organisations running Hyper-V that want capable, sovereign hardware for it, understanding that the Windows Server licensing is their own arrangement with Microsoft. We are clear about our limits: we provide the hardware, not the Windows Server licensing; and we host and will fairly recommend open-source alternatives where they suit better. We are the dedicated, sovereign bare-metal infrastructure on which you run your virtualisation, Hyper-V or otherwise — and we would rather help you choose the platform that genuinely fits your environment.
Related use cases
Questions
Hyper-V, answered plainly
Common questions about hosting for Hyper-V.
What is Hyper-V, and what does it suit?
Microsoft's virtualisation platform, built into Windows Server as a role, running both Windows and Linux virtual machines. It suits Windows-centric environments — organisations built on Windows Server and Microsoft technologies, with Microsoft licensing and Windows expertise — where its integration with the Microsoft ecosystem and licensing through Windows Server fit naturally.
How does Hyper-V licensing work?
Through Windows Server. The Hyper-V role is part of Windows Server, so running Hyper-V requires Windows Server licensing, which is per-core and has its own structure, with considerations for running Windows VMs. We provide the hardware; the Windows Server licensing is your own arrangement with Microsoft, under Microsoft's terms — a real part of the cost that we don't resell or control.
Should I use Hyper-V or an open-source alternative?
It depends on your environment. Hyper-V fits Windows-centric organisations well, where its integration and licensing through Windows Server suit. For largely Linux workloads, or to avoid Windows Server licensing, open-source platforms like Proxmox or KVM may suit better. We host all of these and will give an honest view of which fits, with no incentive to push one.
Planning Hyper-V infrastructure?
We host dedicated, EU-sovereign infrastructure sized to your workload — and we will tell you plainly when something else fits better. Tell us what you're building.