Enable nested virtualization in Azure Local

This article provides an overview of nested virtualization in Azure Local and how to enable it.

Nested virtualization lets you enable virtualization capabilities inside a Hyper-V virtual machine (VM). This allows you to maximize your hardware investments and gain flexibility in evaluation and testing scenarios. Other use cases include enabling security features, such as Virtualization based security (VBS).

Important

Azure Local provides virtualization capabilities to run workloads in VMs. Running Azure Local inside a VM using nested virtualization isn't supported in production environments. For production use, Azure Local must be deployed on validated physical hardware.

Prerequisites

• An Azure Local system running version 2411.3 or later.
• A VM with configuration version 10.0 or greater.
• An AMD processor with Secure Encrypted Virtualization (SEV) technology enabled.
• An Intel processor with Intel Virtualization Technology (VT-x) enabled.

Scenarios

Some scenarios in which nested virtualization can be useful are:

• Running applications or emulators in a nested VM.
• Testing software releases on VMs.
• Reducing deployment times for training environments.
• Creating VMs with nested virtualization enabled.

Enable nested virtualization on a VM

You can enable nested virtualization on a VM using PowerShell or Windows Admin Center.

PowerShell

To enable nested virtualization via PowerShell, follow these steps:

1. Create a virtual machine. For required OS and VM configuration versions, see the prerequisites.

2. While the virtual machine is in the OFF state, run the following command on the physical Hyper-V host to enable nested virtualization for the virtual machine.

   Set-VMProcessor -VMName <VMName> -ExposeVirtualizationExtensions $true
   

For more information, see Run Hyper-V in a Virtual Machine with Nested Virtualization.

Window Admin Center

To enable nested virtualization on a VM using Windows Admin Center, follow these steps:

1. Connect to your cluster, and then in the Tools pane, select Virtual machines.

2. Under Inventory, select the VM on which you want to enable nested virtualization.

3. Select Settings, then Processors, and check the box for Enable nested virtualization.

   

4. Select Save processor settings.

Next steps

• Manage VMs