Final Thoughts

The best way to learn about Hyper-V is to be hands-on with it. If you can, take some time to load Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V on a capable system. This book provides lots of great tips and tricks for using Hyper-V, and trying them firsthand is a great way to develop your understanding and expertise.

Inexpensive systems available today include hardware-assisted virtualization support (as well as x64 support) and make serviceable Hyper-V test systems. You don’t even need new systems for Hyper-V—just a host with Intel VT or AMD-V support. Many of the examples in the book were developed and tested on laptops and desktop systems more than three years old. An older desktop or laptop may not be in any way suitable for production use with Hyper-V, but it can be perfect for you to build a better understanding of this important and useful virtualization technology.