Can the Hyper-V role be installed on Windows Server 2003?

Question

Is it possible to run Hyper-V on Windows Server 2003 as the host OS? The only documentation that I've been able to find is about running Server 2003 as a guest.

Solution 1

There is no Hyper-V role for Server 2003. Windows Server 2008 is the earliest host OS that has the Hyper-V role available.

You can make 2003 guests on any version oh Hyper-V, but you cannot use 2003 as the host OS.

Windows Server 2003 is in the final phase of extended support anyway. It is scheduled to be completely end-of-support around this time in 2015. You should be doing everything in your power to migrate away from 2003 instead of building a virtualization infrastructure on it. It's 10+ years old now!

If you're looking to "recycle" a license so that you can get into Hyper-V at no cost, you should use the free Hyper-V Server instead. It is a stripped down GUI-less version of Windows Server that exists only to run the Hyper-V role.

Solution 2

I just re-read the "tips on writing great answers" so I will try to add some information here. I know this is a really old thread, but many of us many of us have old systems we are required to support.

To answer the very specific question;

YES, you can run Hyper-V with Server 2003 as the HOST. I know it's not a Role or a Feature, but here's how you can do it.

Simply install the Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 on the Server 2003 box. Then, you can use Microsoft Virtual Server to create and manage Hyper-V VMs on the Server 2003 box.

I know this because I just inherited a few machines where it is set up like this, and I am having to reverse-engineer the setup so we can plan to move it all off. This has been running very stable for years like this. THer are about 15 VMs on each Server 2003 host (on a HP G2). After the setup, you are given a web interface for the creation and managemnt of the VMs. The default url for the Virtual Server 2005 R2 web interface is http://nnn.nnn.nnn.nnn:1024 where "N" is the IP or hostname.

Please note; I am not supporting this design, I'm just answering the question because I know it works from the systems we support.

Solution 3

Checking the wikipedia article on hyper-V would have answered that question for you if checking the feature list wasn't enough.

But since you ask: no you can't.

Comments

[Tony]

My former boss put two Hyper-V domain controllers on the same box. I was wanting to move one to another machine and we have a 2003 server with raid that is capable of running the backup domain controller, but I guess this is not an option. Thanks.

[MDMarra]

No problem. Just a minor note, there aren't "backup domain controllers" any more. Those went away with Windows NT. They are multi-master peers.