Hyper-V: How to Run Ubuntu (or Any Linux) on Windows

I recently needed to install a Linux distro (Ubuntu being my favorite) in Hyper-V on Windows 10. I needed to do this because some internal builds of Couchbase were temporarily broken on Windows, but I still needed to use the latest builds. I’d never used Hyper-V to do this before, but it wasn’t that difficult. And the best part is that it comes with Windows: I don’t have to install VirtualBox or VMWare or anything like that.

Download Ubuntu

There are lots of great Linux distros out there, and Couchbase Server can be run on a variety of them. However, Ubuntu Desktop is my go-to.

The first thing I did was to download an Ubuntu Desktop ISO. I know that Couchbase support for Ubuntu 16 is coming, but for now I want to stick to Ubuntu 14. So, I downloaded an ISO of 14.04.5 (aka Trusty Tahr).

Make Sure Hyper-V Is Enabled

Check to make sure that you have Hyper-V enabled on Windows.

First, open Control Panel. Next, go to Programs. Then, click Turn Windows features on or off. Finally, locate Hyper-V and click the checkbox (if it isn’t already checked).

You may also need to enable virtualization in the BIOS settings on your computer. The computer I’m using has it turned on by default. I wish I could give you instructions on how to do this, but it’s going to vary based on your BIOS.

Create a Hyper-V Virtual Switch

When connecting the virtual machine to a network, you’ll need to select a virtual switch. If you haven’t done this before, you’ll need to create one.

First, click Virtual Switch Manager, then select External. Click Create Virtual Switch. Finally, give the switch a name. (You also need to choose an external network; in my case , only have one). Hit Apply.

I wanted my machine to be connected to my home network, so I chose External. If you use External, it will connect to your network as a separate machine. After I create the machine (in the next section) it will appear on my router as its own machine:

Create a New Hyper-V Virtual Machine

Now, you’re ready to create the virtual machine that will be running Ubuntu. First, open the Hyper-V Manager from the Start menu. Then, click New and then Virtual Machine. This will start a wizard.

First, give your machine a name (like UbuntuForCouchbase). Optionally, you can choose where to store this machine, or use the default directory.

Next, you must choose Generation 1 or Generation 2. I used Generation 1, but Ubuntu 14+ should work on Generation 2, as well.

After that, specify how much memory to allocate to the machine. I have a lot of RAM on my desktop, so I gave it 8192mb.

Next, select the switch that was created in the previous section.

Then, setup the virtual hard disk to your liking. You can choose the location and size of the disk. I don’t need very much, so I went with 60gb.

Finally, you need to select an operating system. I’ll choose Install an operating system from a bootable CD/DVD-ROM”, and then Image file, and find the Ubuntu ISO that I downloaded.

Click Next, view the summary, and click Finish.

Start the Machine and Install Couchbase

Now that you’ve created a machine, you must start it. Right-click on the machine and select Start (or, there’s a Start button in the actions menu to the right).

This starts the machine, but you can’t actually see the machine yet. You have to connect to the machine to see what it’s doing. Right-click and select Connect (or again, there’s a Connect button in the actions menu to the right).

I won’t go through the installation process, since Ubuntu’s installation is pretty easy and self-explanatory (and well-documented).

At the end of the Ubuntu installation, installing Couchbase Server is also pretty easy and self-explanatory. Just go to the Couchbase downloads page and select the Ubuntu 14 version of Couchbase.

I normally use the Windows version of Couchbase, but sometimes I need to use Ubuntu (or other Linux distros). Hyper-V on Windows is a convenient way for me to spin up virtual machines.