Hyper-V nested virtualization on Root OS

[lewisl9029]

Now that nested virtualization is supported for Hyper-V VMs, I was wondering if it'd also be possible to enable it for the Root OS.

This would be very useful for running other virtualization products like VirtualBox and VMware Workstation in the Root OS under Hyper-V (the other way around, Hyper-V nested under VMware Workstation, has been possible for quite some time).

Right now when I try to run a 64-bit VMware Workstation VM under the Hyper-V Root OS (with the vmx.allowNested = TRUE flag), I get the following error:

This virtual machine is configured for 64-bit guest operating systems. However, 64-bit operation is not possible.

This host does not support Intel VT-x.

For more detailed information, see http://vmware.com/info?id=152.

[theodthompson]

We're definitely aware of this incompatibility, but it is currently not possible.
What specific virtualization apps would you want to use? VirtualBox? Workstation?

[lewisl9029]

Ideally, both. =)
I use Vagrant for most of my dev work and a vast majority of the Vagrant boxes on Atlas were built for VirtualBox and Workstation, with only a handful of popular distro's available for Hyper-V.

[theodthompson]

Good to know. Thanks!
Just curious - what are you using Hyper-V in this situation?

[lewisl9029]

I was trying out the new Docker for Windows Beta, which integrates with Hyper-V: https://blog.docker.com/2016/03/docker-for-mac-windows-beta/

My experiences with the beta have been pretty great so far, but it'd be nice to not have to choose between the new Docker + Hyper-V integration and Vagrant + VirtualBox/Workstation.

[theodthompson]

Got it. Thanks for your feedback... closing this for now.

[matthiasg]

is this even on microsoft's radar ? or not deemed important ?

[theodthompson]

@matthiasg definitely on the radar :)

[flydvorkin]

New Hyper-V from Windows Server 2019 (17763.1) has the same problem. No way to enable nested virtualization for Root Os

[kwinz]

https://windowsserver.uservoice.com/forums/295050-virtualization/suggestions/39471682-allow-host-to-run-other-hypervisor-via-nested-vir
~70 new 👍 so far