Installing Hyper-V Integration Components on Linux

Some big news this week was Microsoft released the Hyper-V integration components for Linux source code under the GPL v2.

I just installed Ubuntu Server 9.04 in a Hyper-V VM with a Legacy Network Adapter. How do I install the integration components? Do I have to wait until they are included in the kernel?

From serverfault Lance Fisher

• You can either wait for a distro-integrated kernel to include it, wait for someone in the community to build an appropriate kernel package (which probably won't take too long), or patch and build a kernel yourself. Unless you're familiar with the procedures for building a kernel and applying kernel patches (given that there'll likely be significant changes between the Ubuntu-released kernel and the bleeding edge kernel these patches are targeted at), I'd leave it alone and wait for someone else to do it. It won't be a trivial operation.

  sybreon : almost exactly as I would have put it.
  From womble

• I found this in answer to another post on ServerFault (cross reference http://serverfault.com/questions/138110/ubuntu-10-04-server-on-hyper-v-server-r2-has-sluggish-install-and-command-line):

  http://blog.allanglesit.com/Blog/tabid/66/EntryId/53/Hyper-V-Guests-Ubuntu-10-04-Alpha-3-Synthetic-Devices.aspx

  In summary, the integration components are already part of the 2.6.32 Linux Kernel, at least in Ubuntu 10.04. Quoting:

  Add the following to /etc/initramfs-tools/modules

  hv_vmbus

  hv_storvsc

  hv_blkvsc

  hv_netvsc

  Generate a new initrd image

  update-initramfs –u

  make sure /etc/network/interfaces is pointed at the synthetic network adapter

  auto seth0

  iface seth0 inet dhcp

  It worked well for me to get the synthetic network adapter working with an Ubuntu 10.04 Server 64 bit guest operating system.

  From RobbieCanuck