Chapter 2. Securing the Host

The Hyper-V host is easily the most critical component of your virtual environment. If it is compromised, all the systems in its scope of responsibility are placed at immediate risk. However, the Hyper-V host is, first and foremost, a computer system. Before diving into it as a computer that is running a hypervisor, it must be dealt with just like any other computer system. Of course, as it will run a hypervisor, particular considerations must be taken.

In this chapter, we'll cover the following topics:

• Understanding Hyper-V's architecture
• Choosing a management operating system
• Disabling unnecessary components
• Using the Windows Firewall
• Relying on domain security
• Leveraging Group Policy
• Using security software
• Configuring Windows Update
• Employing remote management tools
• Following general best practices