Best Practices for Deploying Virtual Machines by Using Hyper-V Virtualization Technology

In response to limited space and power in the Microsoft IT data centers, Microsoft IT is deploying most new server builds as virtual servers. As a result, Microsoft IT developed standards for building virtualization host computers to meet this demand, but also requires virtual machine build standards. To ensure that virtual machines continue to provide services that meet the business requirements, Microsoft IT has developed standards and best practices for deploying virtual machines on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. Some of these standards and best practices apply to all virtual machines, while others are specific to the role or workload that is running on the virtual machine.