Support for Microsoft Dynamics CRM 4.0 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V

Although hardware virtualization technologies are somewhat new to PC-based datacenters, hardware virtualization technologies can provide significant advantages over traditional hardware-based implementations. However, software that is running in a virtualized hardware environment is affected by intrinsic limitations, especially performance limitations.

Therefore, we strongly recommend that you review the following Web sites before you decide whether to implement hardware virtualization technologies in your datacenter:
This information can also helpful when you plan a Microsoft Dynamics CRM implementation. For example, the decision to deploy different server roles of Microsoft Dynamics CRM to virtualized or non-virtualized environments is strongly dependent on your datacenter implementation, management strategies, and available resources.

Some Microsoft Dynamics CRM server roles are better candidates than other server roles for running inside a Microsoft Virtual Server environment. Your results depend on many factors. These factors include the following factors: 

• The hardware environment
• Your performance requirements
• The workloads that exist

To help determine whether virtualization is the correct solution for your organization, and for Microsoft-recommended best practices around server consolidation and virtualization, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

Performance and scalability considerations

When you plan to deploy Microsoft Dynamics CRM in a virtualized environment, the same performance and scalability aspects that are described in "The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Implementation Guides" apply when you size each virtual machine for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. 

For more information about "The Microsoft Dynamics CRM Implementation Guides," see the "References" section.

Additionally, some factors directly affect the performance and the scalability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM when it is running on a computer that is running Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V. Additionally, make sure that you consider the following: 

•  Create separate fixed-size virtual disks for Microsoft Dynamics CRM databases and log files. Additionally, store the virtual disks on separate physical drives on the host server. 
•  Before you move the implementation to a production environment, make sure that you validate the performance of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Server by using the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Performance Toolkit. 
• Make sure that the server that is running Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V is sized correctly to handle the number of virtual machines that you plan to deploy. This estimate should include the CPU, the memory, the network adapters, and the disk configuration.
•  Use a hard disk solution that enables fast access. Consider using a SCSI hard disk, a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), or a storage area network (SAN) to store the virtual hard disk (.vhd) files that are used by Microsoft Dynamics CRM data.