Presentation
Nested virtualization is a feature available on Hyper-V from Windows Server 2016 and Windows 10, which enables virtualization options in a virtual machine.
To put it simply, nested virtualization allows virtualization in a virtual machine.
There are also some prerequisites :
- The Hyper-V host must be on Windows Server 2016/2019 or Windows 10 1607 or more.
- The virtual machine must be under Windows Server 2016/2016 or Windows 10 1607 or more.
- Intel processor with VT-x and EPT technology.
In order to make the tutorial more explicit, the captures were made on a Windows Server 2016 host and a virtual machine on Windows 10.
Enable nested virtualization on Hyper-V
On the screenshot below, we can see that the functions related to virtualization are not available (Windows Sandbox, Hyper-V Platform and Windows Defender Application Guard).
![](https://rdr-it.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/hyperv-virtu-imbriquee-01-585x400.png)
Now we will see how to activate the nested virtualization, firstly, you have to turn off the virtual machine where it must be activated.
On the Hyper-V host, open a PowerShell command prompt in administration enter the command below to activate nested virtualization:
Set-VMProcessor -VMName NOM_DE_LA_MACHINE_VIRTUELLE -ExposeVirtualizationExtensions $True
![Activation de la virtualisation imbriquée en powershell](https://rdr-it.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/hyperv-virtu-imbriquee-02-544x400.png)
That’s all, it only remains to start the virtual machine.
We can see on the screenshot below, that it is now possible to activate the functionalities related to virtualization in a virtual machine.
![](https://rdr-it.io/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/hyperv-virtu-imbriquee-03-580x400.png)
Conclusion
To conclude this tutorial in which case to use nested virtualization:
- For testing / lab purposes
- Activate the sandbox or Defender Application Guard in a VDI environment.
It is not recommended to use nested virtualization with Hyper-V in a production environment.
Lien : https://docs.microsoft.com/fr-fr/virtualization/hyper-v-on-windows/user-guide/nested-virtualization