Use Virtual Switch to Add Virtual Network Adapters to Hyper-V Host

Q: How can I add additional virtual network adapters to my Hyper-V host using a virtual switch?

A: When an External Virtual Switch is created in Hyper-V, you have the option to allow the management OS to use the switch that causes a virtual network adapter to be created.

Hyper-V External Network with Option to Allow Network Adapter Sharing

There may be instances where additional virtual network adapters might be desired in the parent partition, such as wanting separate adapters to separate Live Migration and CSV traffic using QoS.

To add these, use the Add-VMNetworkAdapter cmdlet and the -ManagementOS parameter.

For example, to add an additional virtual network adapter to a Hyper-V host perform the following:

Add-VMNetworkAdapter -ManagementOS -SwitchName "External Switch"

For more background on Hyper-V, take a look at my article "Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Hyper-V."