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Did anybody try to install Hyper-V on Intel Atom platform?

Hyper-V requires:

  • x64 compatible processor with Intel VT or AMD-V technology enabled
  • Hardware Data Execution Prevention (DEP)

It seems that both requirements are satisfied with Atom as processor. However, I wonder whether there is some blocking issue (e.g. BIOS that does not support it) since all Atom motherboards I checked had quite old north/south-bridge.

My intentions are to run two low-requirements virtual machines (embedded Linux), so performance should not be an issue.

splattne
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Josip Medved
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6 Answers6

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Plenty of people have tried VMWare ESXi on Atom, and have come to the conclusion that it works if you get the right motherboard, but performance is absolutely awful.

I can't see this being different for Hyper-V. You're going to be able to buy a cheap AMD Opteron system with virtualization built-in and fully supported by Hyper-V for as little as an Atom system is going to cost you, I'd recommend going down that route.

Ewan Leith
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  • My intention is to make small and very-low-noise machine. It's size needs to be mini-ITX and it needs to be in closed space. – Josip Medved Sep 03 '09 at 06:17
  • Then you'll probably be ok, just make sure you get a motherboard that supports VT in the bios, like the Intel D945GCLF2. I'd still recommend a mini-itx running a Core 2 Duo processor though, they do exist and are pretty cheap, like the Intel DG45FC – Ewan Leith Sep 03 '09 at 15:14
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just to let you know that I have just installed Windows 2008 R2 (64 bits) on my newly purchased Intel motherboard (ITX Atom D510MO) and that the HyPer-V feature refuses to install, stating it is not supported by the CPU.

Voila, we now have an answer for sure :-)

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While there's nothing specific in the system requirements for Hyper-V that contraindicates using Atom processors..

The wikipedia article on Atom processors indicates that only Z520, Z530, Z540 and Z550 "Silverthorne" processors support Intel VT.

I think if it was me doing it, I'd be using ubuntu-server as a host, running KVM, then using that for virtualising the linux guests. (but I'm not sure if that would be much better, as you'd end up doing software virtualisation! :( )

David Pashley
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Tom O'Connor
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  • The Atom N270 (in my Samsung NC10) definitely doesn't support VT -- based on attempting to use XP Mode in Windows 7. – Roger Lipscombe Sep 02 '09 at 09:51
  • I know that processors do offer support. However, my question is more related to motherboard/CPU combo which is known to cause some problems (like Roger's case). – Josip Medved Sep 02 '09 at 10:51
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intel VT support on Z560 , Z550 Z540 Z530 Z520 Below these are not supported.

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The Atom Z520 supports VT and very suitable for KVM.

The VT extension needs to be enabled in the BIOS however. In my Acer A075h there's no BIOS option - so I'm screwed. I can't imagine why they would disable it and leave now way for the user to turn it on.

splattne
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Intel D945GCLF2

Has the atom 330 chip which does NOT support intel-vt. It does support hyperthreading.

Somewhere at intel's website there is a way to compare atom chips and their features. This will show you which versions of the Atom include virtualization support.

I am using (or trying to) ESXi with the D945GCLF2 motherboard. If you are going to try this, you have to try compiling the r8168 driver (on a different system) and installing it in an unsupported configuration. It didn't work for me. The alternative, a far, far, better one is that the only PCI slot is consumed by a "supported" ethernet card.

I don't have throughput numbers yet. I don't expect anything stellar, but will be satisfied if I can watch stutter free video and make use of backups.