Users Guide

Virtual Network Architecture for Hyper-V 9
The Virtual Network Architecture
for Hyper-V Server 2008
In Microsoft
®
Hyper-V
®
Server 2008, the parent partition manages
the I/O devices instead of the hypervisor.
To provide virtual machines (VMs) with access to the I/O devices, Hyper-V
supports a high-speed interconnect called the VMBus. Virtual devices for
each VM, such as network and storage adapters, communicate with the
parent partition through the VMBus.
The parent partition receives requests through the virtual service providers
(VSPs) and directs them to the underlying physical devices through
its I/O stack. This model requires device drivers for the physical devices to
be installed in the parent partition.
NOTE: Device-specific drivers and utilities created for Microsoft Windows
Server
®
2008 x64 operating system do not require any change when Hyper-V
is enabled.
NOTE: It is recommended that you download the latest Dell-certified drivers
available for your system and install them in the parent partition. Using the latest
drivers ensures that both the parent partition and the VMs are able to utilize the
underlying physical devices. Download the latest device drivers from the Dell
Support website at support.dell.com.