Microsoft introduced the VM-GenerationID in Windows Server 2012, to enable Virtual Machines (VMs) to notice when they’re snapshotted, restored and/or cloned. Active Directory is the first technology to put the VM-GenerationID to good use.

The following Hypervisors support VM-GenerationID:

• Windows Server 2012 Standard Edition (Hyper-V)
• Windows Server 2012 Enterprise Edition (Hyper-V)
• Hyper-V Server 2012  (Hyper-V)
• Windows 8 Professional (Hyper-V)
• Windows 8 Enterprise (Hyper-V)
• VMware Workstation 9.0
• VMware vSphere 5.0 with Update 4
• VMware vSphere 5.1
• XenServer 6.2.0-70446c

Version History

Posted on blogs.dirteam.com on January 22, 2013
Updated with XenServer 6.2.0-70446c on July 4, 2013

Related Blogposts

New features in AD DS in Windows Server 2012, Part 13: Domain Controller Cloning
New features in AD DS in Windows Server 2012, Part 12: Virtualization-safe Active Directory

Further reading

Windows Server 2012 VM-Generation ID Support in vSphere
Introduction to Active Directory Domain Services (AD DS) Virtualization (Level 100)
Virtual Domain Controller Cloning in Windows Server 2012
Virtualized Domain Controller Architecture
Virtualize your Windows Server 2012 domain controllers
Virtualization-Safe Active Directory in Windows Server 2012
Cloning Virtual Domain Controllers in Windows Server 2012