In short
Hyper-V setup means designing and commissioning the host or cluster that will run your virtual machines, using the Hyper-V role in Windows Server. It suits companies reviewing their VMware licensing or wanting to make use of Windows Server licences they already own. CybUp builds Failover Clustering, Cluster Shared Volumes, live migration and Hyper-V Replica, and runs the VMware migration in tested stages.
What does a Hyper-V setup involve, and who is it for?
A Hyper-V setup is the work of enabling the Hyper-V role on Windows Server and getting virtual switches, storage and management tools ready for production. Adding the role takes minutes. The real work is deciding up front how the network adapters are teamed, where the virtual disks live, how backups are taken and what happens when a host fails.
A typical candidate looks like this: a company of 30 to 200 users running a file server, an ERP system, an accounts database and perhaps an RDS server, already paying for Windows Server licences. In that setting, choosing Hyper-V as the hypervisor keeps the management tooling in one family, with Active Directory, backup and monitoring all in the same ecosystem.
Hyper-V is not always the right answer. If you run a product tied to VMware, depend on a particular hardware driver, or have an application whose vendor supports vSphere only, we tell you so plainly during the review. If staying put makes more sense, carrying on with VMware ESXi is a perfectly reasonable option.
Why are companies moving from VMware to Hyper-V?
The most common reason is the change in licensing. After VMware became part of Broadcom, it announced in January 2024 that it had stopped selling perpetual licences and was consolidating its products into the subscription-based VMware Cloud Foundation and VMware vSphere Foundation bundles. Many standalone products are no longer sold on their own.
The change does not hit every company the same way. For some, the new bundle makes sense. Others use basic virtualisation on only a handful of hosts, find that the contract structure has changed underneath them, and start weighing up alternatives. Microsoft’s own VM Conversion documentation lists organisations that want to consolidate on a single hypervisor and reduce licensing costs among the target scenarios for the tool.
Our approach is to do the sums before anyone decides: how many hosts, how many cores, how many VMs, which Windows Server version and which licence rights you already hold. We put that table together and set out the technical and operational differences between the two options in writing. Licence pricing comes from the vendor or your reseller; our job is to pin down which licences you actually need.
How do you set up a Hyper-V failover cluster?
Where high availability is needed, we join two or more Hyper-V hosts into a single cluster with Windows Server Failover Clustering. If a node goes down, the cluster service restarts its virtual machines on another node. For that to work, the virtual disks must sit on shared storage that every node can reach: an iSCSI or Fibre Channel SAN, an SMB 3 share, or Storage Spaces Direct.
The shared storage is configured as a Cluster Shared Volume (CSV). A CSV lets several nodes read and write to the same disk at the same time, so a VM can move between nodes without disk ownership changing hands. In line with Microsoft’s guidance, we format CSVs on a SAN with NTFS and Storage Spaces Direct volumes with ReFS; the wrong file system can leave a CSV running in the slower redirected mode.
On the network side we plan separate networks or VLANs for management, cluster and CSV traffic, live migration and storage. We pick a quorum witness (file share, disk or cloud witness) and, once the build is done, keep fixing issues until the Cluster Validation report comes back clean.
- Hyper-V role, Switch Embedded Teaming (SET) and VLAN design
- Failover Cluster, quorum witness and validation report
- CSV volumes and storage path redundancy (MPIO)
- Live migration network and authentication settings
- A second copy through Hyper-V Replica or backup
“NTFS enables Direct I/O mode for SAN-attached storage, which provides better performance. CSVs formatted with ReFS on SANs operate in redirected I/O mode.”
What are live migration and Hyper-V Replica for?
Live migration moves a running virtual machine from one host to another without users noticing. In practice it earns its keep on maintenance days: you drain a host, patch and restart it, then bring the VMs back. It has worked without a cluster since Windows Server 2016, but it really comes into its own alongside Failover Clustering.
Hyper-V Replica solves a different problem. It keeps a copy of a VM on another host, or in another building, and sends changes every 30 seconds, 5 minutes or 15 minutes. A cluster protects you against hardware failure in the same room; Replica is what you fall back on when the whole room is unavailable. It comes with Windows Server, so there is no extra licence to buy.
Take a two-node cluster at a head office in Maslak and a single Hyper-V host at a warehouse in Gebze. The ERP system and file server replicate to the warehouse every 5 minutes, and once a month a test failover confirms the copy boots without touching the production network. We write that arrangement up as part of your disaster recovery plan.
“At the configured replication interval (30 seconds, 5 minutes, or 15 minutes), Hyper-V sends the changes to the secondary host. The replication process is asynchronous, so the primary VM continues to operate while Hyper-V replicates changes.”
How do you convert VMware virtual machines to Hyper-V?
There is no single method. We choose based on the number of VMs, their operating systems and how much downtime is acceptable. Microsoft’s VM Conversion extension for Windows Admin Center supports migration from vCenter 6.x, 7.x and 8.x to Hyper-V: it first takes a full copy of the disks while the VM is running, then at cutover uses Changed Block Tracking to send only the changed blocks and starts the machine on Hyper-V. The extension is still in preview, so we trial it in a test environment before using it on production.
Linux VMs need the Hyper-V drivers installed before migration, or they may not boot once moved. For Windows VMs, our checklist covers removing VMware Tools, renaming the network adapter and keeping the static IP address. For older machines, or when there are only a few, converting the disk from VMDK to VHDX and importing it by hand can be the cleaner route; for some applications a fresh install on a new VM followed by a data move is better still.
We migrate in waves: test and low-priority servers first, then business applications, and databases and domain controllers last. At the end of each wave the application owner signs off before we start the next, and the source VM stays powered off on the VMware side for a while as a rollback option.
What needs doing after Hyper-V is installed?
Go-live day is only half the job. Host patching should run in sequence through Cluster-Aware Updating, VM backups need regular restore tests, and CSV free space and host memory use should be monitored. For a backup design that works with Hyper-V, see our Veeam backup setup page.
At handover we leave you an operations document: what runs on which host, what each network carries, and the steps for taking a node down for maintenance. If you want, we also provide ongoing support for monitoring and scheduled maintenance. On-site work is in Istanbul; remote work covers the whole of Türkiye.
What you receive
- Inventory of the current environment, with licensing and capacity calculations
- Hyper-V host or Failover Cluster build, with CSV and network design
- Live migration and Cluster-Aware Updating configuration
- Where needed, a Hyper-V Replica copy at a second site with a test failover
- Wave-based VMware migration plan and its execution
- Rollback plan, operations document and handover to your administrators
How we work
- 1
Free review
We look at your current VMware or physical environment, VM list, storage and licensing, and tell you in writing whether migrating makes sense.
- 2
Design
We settle the number of hosts, storage type, network separation, quorum and backup design, and get your sign-off.
- 3
Build and validation
The Hyper-V role, cluster and CSVs are built, followed by Cluster Validation, live migration and failover tests.
- 4
Migration waves
VMs are moved with a tested method, in out-of-hours windows, with the application owner’s approval.
- 5
Handover and support
You receive the operations document; monitoring and maintenance support can continue if you want it.
Frequently asked questions
Do we need a separate licence for Hyper-V?
No. Hyper-V is a role in Windows Server, and there is no separate hypervisor licence. You do need licences for the Windows Server instances running in the VMs, and Standard and Datacenter editions grant different virtualisation rights. During the review we work out which licence fits the number of VMs you plan to run.
How much downtime does a VMware to Hyper-V migration cause?
It depends on the method and the size of the machine. With methods that sync while the VM is running, downtime is limited to the final delta transfer and the time it takes the VM to start on Hyper-V. We schedule critical servers for out-of-hours windows.
Can we reuse our existing servers for Hyper-V?
In most cases, yes. If the CPUs support virtualisation and the memory, network adapter count and storage connectivity are adequate, we can rebuild the existing hosts. During migration the hosts can be emptied and rebuilt one at a time, which cuts down on extra hardware.
Does a Hyper-V cluster need a SAN?
No. Shared storage can be a SAN, but it can also be an SMB 3 file share or Storage Spaces Direct built from the servers’ own disks. The choice depends on budget, performance needs and the hardware you already have.
Do Linux VMs run on Hyper-V?
Yes. Current Ubuntu, Debian and RHEL-based distributions run on Hyper-V. When moving Linux VMs from VMware, the Hyper-V drivers must be installed before migration, and that step is on our migration checklist.
Will we have to change our backup software?
That depends on whether your current product supports Hyper-V. Common products such as Veeam support both VMware and Hyper-V, so redefining the backup jobs for the new platform is often enough. We confirm that the new environment is being backed up from day one of the migration.
Can you do the setup remotely?
Most of the design, configuration and VM migration work can be done remotely. For hardware mounting, cabling or storage connections we work on site in Istanbul; in other cities we coordinate with your local team.
How much does a Hyper-V setup and migration cost?
We give you a written quote once we have reviewed the scope, and the review is free. The quote depends on the number of hosts and VMs, whether a cluster is involved and how many waves the migration takes.