Set up a Hyper-V Virtual Switch using a NAT Network

In this post, I will show how you can create a Windows Server 2022 Hyper-V virtual switch that uses network address translation (NAT), enabling virtual machines to be isolated behind a single shared IP address on the host.

What is Network Address Translation?

Network Address Translation (NAT) is a technique used in computer networking to manage the distribution of IP addresses within a private network.

It allows multiple devices in a local network to share a single public IP address for communication with external networks, like the Internet.

NAT acts as a mediator, translating private IP addresses of devices within the local network into a single public IP address when data is sent out to the internet and then translating incoming data back to the appropriate private IP address.

Prerequisites

• Windows Server 2022
• Hyper-V role enabled
• PowerShell

Deploying a NAT Virtual Switch

The first thing to do is to create a virtual machine switch using the following PowerShell command:

New-VMSwitch –SwitchName “NATSwitch” –SwitchType Internal

The next step is to configure the virtual network adaptor:

New-NetIPAddress –IPAddress 192.168.0.1 -PrefixLength 24 -InterfaceAlias "vEthernet (NATSwitch)"

The last step within your command shell is to configure the NAT rule:

New-NetNat –Name MyNATnetwork –InternalIPInterfaceAddressPrefix 192.168.0.0/24

With the configuration complete you can now start to assign IP addresses to the virtual machines within your Hyper-V host.

Conclusion

In conclusion, creating a Windows Server 2022 Hyper-V virtual switch with Network Address Translation (NAT) offers a powerful solution for enhancing network efficiency and security.

By following the outlined steps, you can establish a NAT-enabled virtual switch, ensuring efficient and secure communication for your virtual machines while conserving valuable public IP addresses.