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How to Configure Hyper-V Network Settings for Virtual Machines

6 min read

Set up networking for Hyper-V virtual machines: External, Internal, and Private switches explained. Configure NAT, static IPs, and fix common network issues in VMs.

Hyper-V networking confuses many people — there are three switch types and several ways to give VMs internet access. Here's a clear breakdown and how to configure each.

The Three Switch Types

External Switch — VM gets its own IP on your physical network, visible to other devices. Best for servers or when you need the VM to act like a real machine on your LAN.

Internal Switch — VMs can talk to each other and to the Windows host, but not to the internet or other physical machines. Good for isolated test environments.

Private Switch — VMs can only talk to each other, not the host or internet. Maximum isolation.

Create a Virtual Switch

Win + S → Hyper-V Manager → Action → Virtual Switch Manager → New virtual network switch → choose type → Create Virtual Switch

For External: select your physical network adapter. If you have both Wi-Fi and Ethernet, use Ethernet for better performance.

# Create External switch
New-VMSwitch -Name "External Switch" -NetAdapterName "Ethernet" -AllowManagementOS $true

# Create Internal switch
New-VMSwitch -Name "Internal Switch" -SwitchType Internal

# Create Private switch
New-VMSwitch -Name "Private Switch" -SwitchType Private

# List all switches
Get-VMSwitch

Assign a Switch to a VM

# Add network adapter to VM
Add-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "Ubuntu" -SwitchName "External Switch"

# Change existing adapter's switch
Connect-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "Ubuntu" -SwitchName "External Switch"

# View VM network adapters
Get-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "Ubuntu"

Set Up NAT for Internal Switch

Internal switch VMs have no internet by default. Add NAT to give them internet via the host:

# Get the Internal switch's IP (host side)
Get-NetAdapter | Where-Object {$_.Name -like "*Internal*"}

# Assign IP to the virtual adapter
New-NetIPAddress -IPAddress 192.168.100.1 -PrefixLength 24 -InterfaceAlias "vEthernet (Internal Switch)"

# Create NAT network
New-NetNat -Name "InternalNAT" -InternalIPInterfaceAddressPrefix 192.168.100.0/24

Inside the VM: set static IP 192.168.100.x, gateway 192.168.100.1, DNS 1.1.1.1.

DHCP for VMs on Internal Network

To auto-assign IPs on the internal network, run a DHCP server inside one VM (Linux with dnsmasq works well), or assign static IPs manually.

Windows Server VMs can provide DHCP for the network. Alternatively, use a dedicated router VM.

Fix VM Can't Access Internet

# Check VM has a network adapter
Get-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "Ubuntu" | Select-Object SwitchName, MacAddress, IPAddresses

# Check External switch is connected to right adapter
Get-VMSwitch -Name "External Switch" | Select-Object NetAdapterInterfaceDescription

Common causes:

  • External switch connected to Wi-Fi instead of Ethernet — some Wi-Fi adapters don't support External switch properly
  • Firewall blocking VM traffic
  • VM using wrong gateway

For Wi-Fi-only systems, use NAT with Internal switch instead of External.

VLAN Tagging

For advanced network isolation:

# Set VLAN ID on VM network adapter
Set-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName "Ubuntu" -Access -VlanId 10

# Remove VLAN
Set-VMNetworkAdapterVlan -VMName "Ubuntu" -Untagged

Bandwidth Limiting

# Limit VM to 100 Mbps
Set-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "Ubuntu" -MaximumBandwidth 100000000

# Enable bandwidth management
Set-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "Ubuntu" -MinimumBandwidthWeight 10

# Remove bandwidth limit
Set-VMNetworkAdapter -VMName "Ubuntu" -MaximumBandwidth 0

Check VM IP from Host

# Get IP addresses of all running VMs
Get-VM | Where-Object {$_.State -eq "Running"} |
  Get-VMNetworkAdapter |
  Select-Object VMName, SwitchName, IPAddresses

Summary

For internet access: use External switch connected to Ethernet adapter. For isolated testing: use Internal switch with NAT configured on the host. For maximum VM isolation: Private switch. If External switch fails with Wi-Fi, switch to Internal + NAT which works on all connection types.

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