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+--- Thread: How do you create and manage virtual hard disks (VHDs) in Hyper-V? (/showthread.php?tid=928)
How do you create and manage virtual hard disks (VHDs) in Hyper-V? - savas - 01-05-2020
Creating and managing virtual hard disks, or VHDs, in Hyper-V is pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it. First, you’ll want to fire up Hyper-V Manager. It’s the main interface where you’ll manage your virtual machines. Just click on your server in the left pane, and then you’re ready to roll.
When it comes to creating a new VHD, there’s an option right in the Action pane. You’ll see “New” and then you can choose “Hard Disk.” This kicks off the wizard, which guides you through the process. You’ll first decide whether you want a VHD or a VHDX—usually, you want VHDX because it supports larger sizes and offers better performance.
Then you’ll select the type of VHD. You can go for fixed size, where the disk occupies the full space right away, or dynamically expanding, which starts smaller and grows as files are added. Dynamically expanding is often more storage-friendly, especially if you're just testing things out.
Next, you just set the size of the disk, pick a location to save it, and finish the wizard. Once that's done, your new VHD is ready to be attached to a virtual machine. Just right-click the VM you want to add it to, go to “Settings,” and find the “Hard Drive” section. From there, you can choose to add an existing disk or create a new one, depending on your needs.
Managing VHDs is just as simple. If you ever need to expand a disk’s size, you can use PowerShell to do that. While there’s no waiting in line for the GUI here, running a command like `Resize-VHD` makes everything a breeze. It’s good to have a gist of PowerShell commands, as they can get you out of a tight spot when you’re managing large environments.
You can also convert between VHD and VHDX if you ever need to, using Hyper-V Manager or PowerShell. This way, you can take advantage of the more advanced features of VHDX whenever you feel the need.
Another thing to keep in mind is snapshots. They’re really useful for rolling back if things go sideways with your virtual machine. Just create a snapshot before you make significant changes. The great part is that Hyper-V will manage the VHDs involved in that snapshot for you. Just remember that having too many snapshots can clutter your storage, so be mindful about cleaning them up when they’re no longer needed.
Oh, and if you ever need to move or back up your VHDs, just remember they’re located wherever you saved them. It’s generally a good idea to keep a backup of your important VHDs, especially in production environments. You can just copy the files to a different location or use your preferred backup tool.
So, whether you’re creating, managing, or cleaning up your VHDs, it all comes down to getting familiar with the tools you have. The more you look into it, the easier it becomes, and before long, you’ll be cruising through Hyper-V like a pro.
I hope my post was useful. Are you new to Hyper-V and do you have a good Hyper-V backup solution? See my other post