Hyper-V

Microsoft's virtual machine capability. Introduced in Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V enables multiple instances of Windows, Linux and other operating systems to run simultaneously in both desktop and server versions of Windows. Hyper-V supports the paravirtualization method, whereby the guest operating system is modified to run as a virtual machine. See paravirtualization.

Desktop vs. Server

When Hyper-V runs on a Windows desktop, Windows is the primary operating system. It enables users to run Windows and Linux as guest operating systems. In contrast, when Hyper-V runs on a server, the entire machine is typically a virtualized environment (see server virtualization). See virtual machine and Windows Server 2008.