Changes

- * '''Administrative Tools Menu''' - Launch Hyper-V Manager by clicking on the ''Start -> Administrative Tools -> Hyper-V Manager'' menu option.

- * '''Server Manager''' - Launch the ''Server Manager'' either from the ''Start -> Administrative Tools -> Server Manager'' menu option, or by clicking on the Server Manager icon in the task bar along the bottom of the desktop. When Server Manager is running , unfold ''Roles'' followed by ''Hyper-V'' in the left hand panel by clicking on the + signs next to the corresponding item. From the ''Hyper-V'' branch click on ''Hyper-V Manager'' to display the tool on the main panel.

- * '''Search''' - Click on the ''Start'' button, enter ''Hyper-V'' into the ''Search'' box and press enter.

The panel running along the left hand side of the Hyper-V Manager window contains a list of Hyper-V servers which that are available for administration. By default the local server will be listed, although remote Hyper-V servers may also be added to the list and managed from this Hyper-V Manager instance by right clicking on the ''Hyper-V Manager'' item in this panel and selecting ''Connect to Server...''. When selected, this menu option will display the ''Select Computer'' dialog. From this dialog it is possible to select the local system (if it is not already listed) or to browse the network to find other remote Hyper-V servers:

Once connections to remote servers running Hyper-V are connected established, they will appear in the list along with the local system. Servers may be removed from the list by selecting the server from the list and clicking on the ''Remove Server'' link in the ''Actions'' panel on the right hand side of the Hyper-V Manager window.

The central panel is divided into three sub-panels. The top panel provides a list of virtual machines which that are configured on the server which is currently selected in the right hand panel. The list contains the name of the virtual machine together with CPU usage, uptime and operations information. When a virtual machine is selected from the list, a collection of actions for that virtual machine will appear in the right hand ''Actions'' panel. The same list of virtual machine specific commands may also be accessed from a popup menu by right clicking on the VM from the list. In order to view the console of a running virtual machine, select the ''Connect...'' action option. Another, quicker way to display the console for a virtual machine is to simply double click on the entry in the list. Once selected, the ''Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection'' tool will appear displaying the console for the virtual machine.

The following figure shows the console for a virtual machine which that is in the process of installing Windows Server 2008 as a guest operating system:

The central panel contains a list of any snapshots which that have been taken for the selected virtual machine. Once again, selecting a snapshot from the list causes a list of actions to appear in the right hand panel. The same list may also be accessed by right clicking on a specific snapshot in the list.

In addition to the panels outlined above, many of the same actions amy may be accessed from the menu bar running across the top edge of the Hyper-V Manager window.

A certain level of customization of the Hyper-V Manager user interface is possible. In the first instance, the sizes of the various panel panels may be changed by moving the mouse pointer to the border of a panel. When in the correct location , the point mouse pointer will change to a double headed arrow, at which point the border may be clicked and dragged to perform the resize.

The specific panels which that are displayed may also be configured by selecting ''View'' from the ''Actions'' panel and clicking on ''Customize...''. The resulting window provides a range of check boxes which that are used to control whether specific user interface elements are to be displayed or not:

The Hyper-V Manager provides the ability to make changes to a number of configuration settings relating to the overall Hyper-V system (as opposed to a specific virtual machine). These settings are accessed, not surprisingly, by clicking on the ''Hyper-V Settings...'' link in the right hand ''Actions'' panel. the The configuration options and corresponding descriptions are outlined in the following table:

Most operating systems and applications have keyboard control sequences which that have special meaning when pressed. The issue when running virtual machines on a system is that a decision needs to be made about whether the keyboard control sequences should be addressed by the host, or passed to the guest operating system running in the currently selected Virtual Machine Connection window. This setting allows a choice to be made to have all control sequences handled by the host, always by the virtual machine or only by the virtual machine only if the corresponding Virtual Machine Connection window is in full Screen mode.

When running a guest opearing operating system without the virtual machine drivers Hyper-V Integration Services package installed, clicking in the Virtual machine Connection window causes the mouse pointer focus to be locked into that window. The only way to release the mouse focus so that it can be used on the host desktop is to press the mouse key release sequence which defaults to ''Ctrl+Alt+Left Arrow''. This default may be changed by selecting an alternate key sequence from the drop down menu.

When a user logs into a system they will do so using login credentials (typically a username and a password). Once logged in, the user may then use the Virtual Machine Connection tool to access the desktop environments of virtual machines. This configuration option instructs Hyper-V to use the same credentials used to gain access to the local system to also gain access to the guest running the virtual machine. If smart cards are used to gain access , this option must be switched off and credentials entered manually when logging to a guest operating system.