0 Integration Services options for Hyper-V VMs

The key to a virtual machine performing correctly on any hypervisor is to ensure all drivers are in place. Drivers are usually delivered through something called a guest enlightenment kit. For Hyper-V, this is included by default with operating systems newer than Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 within the Microsoft realm as Integration Services. Older operating systems have Integration Services available, and further, Linux VMs have Integration Services as well.

Guest enlightenment kits provide drivers (if necessary) for storage, networking, and other core components of the virtual machine. They also can provide additional features such as time synchronization with the host, file interoperability, key tasks (like power down), and a heartbeat.

Windows Server 2012 with Hyper-V has a matured iteration of Integration Services for virtual machines. There are five options that are on by default for each virtual machine created in Hyper-V. These options are shown below :