Microsoft Virtual Disk
User Benchmarks
| Model | Type | Score | Seq. Read MB | Seq. Write MB | Read 4k64QD | Write 4k64QD | Read Access msek. | Write Access msek. |
| Microsoft Virtual Disk | 134 | 5433 | 1970 | 2226 | 286.05 | 315.40 | 0.11 | 0.11 |
| Microsoft Virtual Disk | 134 | 5433 | 1970 | 2226 | 286.05 | 315.40 | 0.11 | 0.11 |
| Microsoft Virtual Disk | 215 | 1914 | 1081 | 391 | 202.34 | 30.93 | 0.15 | 0.28 |
| Microsoft Virtual Disk | 54 | 967 | 379 | 262 | 228.61 | 214.50 | 0.48 | 0.37 |
| Microsoft Virtual Disk | 54 | 965 | 373 | 257 | 244.42 | 209.86 | 0.46 | 0.36 |
| Microsoft Virtual Disk | 32 | 510 | 152 | 201 | 27.75 | 64.25 | 0.23 | 0.16 |
| Microsoft Virtual Disk | 17 | 153 | 85 | 23 | 12.33 | 14.42 | 0.53 | 0.38 |
| Microsoft Virtual Disk | 290 | 76 | 36 | 25 | 1.95 | 1.92 | 10.28 | 4.15 |
| Microsoft Virtual Disk | 32 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
The measurement of the Microsoft Virtual Disk was carried out on Windows. Similar read and write speeds could certainly be achieved with the Microsoft Virtual Disk under Linux and MacOS. Of course, the correct hard drive driver should be installed and the correct interface for the Microsoft Virtual Disk should be used.
The term "Microsoft virtual disk" probably refers to one of Microsoft's virtual disk technologies or services. This could be used in different contexts, e.g. virtual machines in Hyper-V, virtual disks in Azure, or other Microsoft services. To give a detailed description, I will cover the main Microsoft virtual disk technologies.
1. VHD (Virtual Hard Disk)
Description:
The Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) format is a virtual hard disk technology developed by Microsoft and used in Hyper-V, Virtual PC, and other virtualization platforms. It allows you to create and manage virtual hard disks stored on physical hard disks.
Technical details:
- Format: VHD (Virtual Hard Disk)
- Maximum size: Up to 2 TB
- Supported operating systems: Windows Server, Windows 10/11
- File format: `.vhd`
Features:
- Virtual machines: VHDs are mounted as drives in virtual machines.
- Snapshot and Clone: Create snapshots and clone virtual disks.
- Compatibility: Supported by Hyper-V and VirtualBox.
Areas of application:
- Test and development environments: Create test environments without affecting the physical system.
- Backup and restore: Create backups in the form of VHDs.
- Migration: Moving virtual machines between different hosts.
2. VHDX (Virtual Hard Disk Version 2)
Description:
VHDX is the newer virtual hard disk format that offers improvements over the older VHD format. It is primarily used in Microsoft Hyper-V.
Technical details:
- Format: VHDX (Virtual Hard Disk Version 2)
- Maximum size: Up to 64 TB
- Supported operating systems: Windows Server 2012 and later
- File format: `.vhdx`
Features:
- Extended Size: Supports larger hard drive sizes up to 64TB.
- Power outage protection: Provides protection against data corruption caused by power outages.
- Performance improvements: Better performance by using 4 KB sectors.
- Dynamic Size: Support for dynamic resizing of the virtual disk.
Areas of application:
- Enterprise Virtualization: Suitable for large and complex virtualization environments.
- Data-intensive applications: Useful for applications that store large amounts of data.
3. Azure Virtual Disks
Description:
Microsoft Azure lets you create and manage virtual hard disks for virtual machines (VMs). These hard disks are stored in the Azure cloud and can be configured as either a “standard HDD” or a “premium SSD”.
Technical details:
- Types: Standard HDD, Standard SSD, Premium SSD
- Sizes: From 4 GB to several terabytes
- Availability: Highly available with automatic replication
Features:
- Scalability: Flexible sizing and performance adjustment as needed.
- Data replication: Automatic data replication to ensure data availability.
- Snapshots: Create snapshots of the virtual disks for backup and restore.
Areas of application:
- Cloud-based virtualization: Deploying VMs and data storage in the cloud.
- Disaster Recovery: Ensuring data availability and recovery in the event of a failure.
- Cost management: Select hard drive type based on performance requirements and budget.
4. Microsoft Storage Spaces
Description:
Storage Spaces is a technology from Microsoft that allows you to combine storage space from multiple physical hard drives to provide virtual storage space. This feature is included in Windows 8 and later versions.
Technical details:
- Types: Simple, Mirror, Parity
- Maximum size: Depends on the number and size of physical disks
- Compatibility: Windows 8, Windows 10, Windows Server
Features:
- Flexibility: Allows you to create virtual storage pools from physical disks.
- Redundancy: Support for redundancy and fault tolerance through mirroring and parity.
- Expandability: Easily add storage space by adding additional hard drives.
Areas of application:
- Storage Management: Manage and consolidate storage resources on a physical server.
- Fault tolerance: Increase data security through redundancy and automatic recovery.
In summary, Microsoft's various virtual disk technologies offer a wide range of options for different needs, from virtual machines and cloud services to advanced storage management and consolidation.
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Microsoft Virtual Disk and the compatible operating systems
Windows Server 2025, 2022, 2019, 2016, ... or 2008 and higher
Windows 12, 11, 10 or Windows 7 and higher
Linux (various distributions)
macOS (from version 10.6)
Please note that the exact functions and areas of application may vary depending on the firmware version and configuration of Microsoft Virtual Disk.
The Microsoft Virtual Disk is a reliable disk in case of problems, failures, file loss and other errors, check the drivers of the Microsoft Virtual Disk regardless of whether it is under Windows 12, 11, 10, etc. or Linux and Apples macOS.