Native boot allows virtual hard disks (VHDs) to run on a computer without a virtual machine or hypervisor. A hypervisor is a layer of software below the operating system that runs virtual machines..
by
Rikish Dattani , Network Security Consultant , European IT Multinational Company
Native boot VHD allows to run full fledge os image and boot the PC/server with this os image and gives same experience as we are running real OS. Native VHD boot enables a hardware computer to be booted directly from a Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) with no requirement for virtualization software (such as Microsoft Virtual PC or Hyper-V). Native VHD boot is made possible with the addition of a driver that is responsible for all I/O operations to and from the disk. Earlier versions of Windows (such as Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows2000) do not support native VHD boot.
With the native VHD boot, it is possible to achieve a single image deployment strategy for both physical and virtual machines. As long as the operating system that resides on the VHD is generalized and hosts Windows Server2008 R2 (all editions).
The main goals for introducing native VHD boot are to:
•Deploy a single image type in virtual and physical infrastructures.
•Manage virtual and physical infrastructures by using a single set of tools such as testing different verison of OS.
•Deploy operating systems to new computers in a rapid manner.
•Enable computers to boot from more than one operating system (multiboot or dual-boot) without requiring separate partitions.
There are some limitations of native boot VHD:
Bitlocker is not supported.
When using differencing VHDs, all VHD files must be stored on the same partition.
Hybernation is not possible during Native boot VHD.
Bootable VHD images can not be compressed.
Windows experience index can not be calculated for native boot VHD.
