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13 Dell EMC PowerVault ME4 Series and Microsoft Hyper-V | 3921-BP-WS
Verification can also be performed using PowerShell, as shown in the following example:
PS C:\Windows\system32> get-VM | Select-Object name, integrationservicesversion
Name IntegrationServicesVersion
---- -------------------------
MG-VM12a 6.3.9600.18080
MG-VM12b 6.3.9600.18080
MG-VM12c 6.3.9600.18080
MG-VM12d 6.3.9600.18080
3.2 Hyper-V guest VM generations
The generation of a guest VM (generation 1 or generation 2) is an important part of the overall storage
strategy because of performance and sizing constraints. When Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V was
released, Microsoft designated all existing VMs as generation 1 to differentiate them from a new classification
of VMs that could be created as generation 2.
Although generation 1 VMs continue to be supported with Hyper-V, it is a best practice to create new VMs as
generation 2 if the host server (Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V and newer) and the guest VM OS support
it. Support for generation 1 VMs may eventually be depreciated in future versions of Hyper-V.
Generation 2 guests use Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) when booting instead of a legacy
BIOS. UEFI provides better security and better interoperability between the OS and the hardware, which
offers improved virtual driver support and performance. In addition, one of the most significant changes with
generation 2 guests is the elimination of the dependency on virtual IDE for the boot disk. Generation 1 VMs
require the boot disk to use a virtual IDE disk controller. Generation 2 guests instead use virtual SCSI
controllers for all disks. Virtual IDE is not a supported option with generation 2 VMs.
Specify a guest as Generation 1 or Generation 2
For both generations of guest VMs, if there are multiple disks requiring high I/O, each disk can be associated
with its own virtual disk controller to further maximize performance.