Sometimes you need to provide access to Hyper-V virtual machines through a browser, but Hyper-V does not have a built-in solution. In this article, we will discuss two solutions for managing Hyper-V through a browser: HV Manager and Windows Admin Center(wac) Hyper-V.
HV manager gives you remote access to the Hyper-V virtual machine through a browser.
HV Manager is a Virtual Machine Manager for Hyper-v designed as a web browser application.
To install HV Manager , it is enough to install it through the Msi file without pre-configuration.
In exceptional cases, you need to configure the Windows firewall and enable rdp
Hyper-V virtual machine in Google browser
Run HV Manager in the Google Chrome and select the necessary virtual machine.
This Hyper-V VM looks like this in the browser window:
The features of the HV Manager, except for displaying a virtual machine in the browser.
- Access to virtual machines using accounts and roles
- Checkpoints
- Access to servers
- User Audit log
Download: HV Manager
Windows Admin Center(wac) gives you remote access to the Hyper-V virtual machine and full control of the server Azure through a browser.
When comparing HV Manager and Windows Admin Center Hyper-V, it is important to note that Windows Admin Center Hyper-V is a more comprehensive server management tool, including Azure servers, WAC should replace the Microsoft Management Console .
Whereas HV Manager is specifically designed to manage Hyper-V virtual machines.
- Overview
- Azure hybrid services
- Azure Backup
- Azure File Sync
- Azure Monitor
- Azure Security Center
- Certificates
- Devices
- Events
- Files
- Firewall
- Installed apps
- Local users & groups
- Network
- PowerShell
- Processes
- Registry
- Remote Desktop
- Roles & features
- Scheduled tasks
- Services
- Storage
- Storage replica
- Updates
- Virtual Machines
- Virtual Switches
- Settings
Hyper-V (virtual machines) in browser
Download: Windows Admin Center
Windows Admin Center Hyper-V vs HV manager
When comparing HV Manager and Windows Admin Center Hyper-V, it is important to note that Windows Admin Center Hyper-V is a more comprehensive server management tool, including Azure servers, WAC should replace the Microsoft Management Console .
Whereas HV Manager is specifically designed to manage Hyper-V virtual machines.
Windows Admin Center
We will consider only a specific part of the functionality related to managing Hyper-V and providing access to VMs.
Because the Windows Admin Center (WAC) is a replacement: Microsoft Management Console
One of the common issues is limited compatibility with older operating systems, as Windows Admin Center is targeted towards newer Windows OS versions.
You may also experience performance issues or other errors when using the Windows Admin Center.
Although these issues are generally minor and can often be resolved. However, they can still be unpleasant.
When it comes to specific features related to Hyper-V, the tool can be difficult to use due to the abundance of additional features.
It also introduces a security vulnerability and may compromise the proper use of Hyper-V.
Another bug happened when taking screenshots.
HV manager
HV manager is a small application with highly specialized functionality aimed at remote use of Hyper-V by authorizations and user roles.
Gives a very simple distribution of virtual machines through a browser.
API allows you to write your own proxy and web interfaces
Disadvantages of HV Manager:
There is a small bug with virtual machines, you cannot assign more than 220 virtual machines to a user through the web interface.
You have to manually assign through the database.
It has another drawback related to the creation of virtual machines.
At the moment there is no functionality for creating a VM through a browser.
Features associated with Hyper-V
| Feature | Windows Admin Center | HV manager |
|---|---|---|
| Browser Access: Console or desktop access via browser to server and virtual machines. |  | |
| VMs manager: Startup, recovery, reboot checkout of the virtual machine | | |
| VMs create: Creation of a virtual machine with its characteristics and hardware. |  |  |
| Authorization and security: Secure connection to a server with limited access and features. | | |
| Sharing VMs and access to VMs to other people. | | |
| Ease of use VMs: log in and use without clicking on different tabs and without looking for a VMs | | |
| Server administration features include remote console access. | | |
| Ease of use of the API and customization of the web ui. | | |
| Speed and ease of setup: Launch speed, fast response and 2-click installation. | | |
| Full support or extended support: | |
| Partial feature support: | |