Moving a Hyper-V virtual machine to a different host while it keeps running, without users noticing an outage.
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In the Ultra Transcenders books
Each book explains Live migration in context, with comparison tables and the common traps.
Terms in this definition
- Hyper-V
The hypervisor built into Windows. The VMs for the Azure Extended Network appliance require the Hyper-V role, using nested virtualisation, and an external virtual switch for each NIC.
- VM
A computer implemented entirely in software, having virtual hardware and its own guest OS; ESX hosts run it and vCenter manages it.
Related terms
- Credential Guard
Uses virtualisation-based security to isolate Kerberos TGTs and NTLM hashes. Windows Server 2025 enables it automatically on domain-joined member servers (not DCs), which breaks live migration relying on CredSSP.
- GPU partitioning
A Hyper-V capability that lets several virtual machines share one physical graphics card through SR-IOV. Windows Server 2025 added live migration for virtual machines with GPU partitions.
- VCF Operations HCX
Add-on licensed for moving workloads inside and between VCF private clouds and linking those environments, offering bulk or live migration plus network extension so IP addresses can stay the same.