Using Hyper V Enhanced Session For Your Lync Lab

Using Hyper V Enhanced Session For Your Lync Lab

In the past the lack of support for audio devices made it awkward to use Hyper-V as a Lync lab but with the new �Enhanced Session� capabilities it seems that your next Lync lab may run nicely on a Windows 8.1 Enterprise PC with Hyper-V Client. (Of course we are talking a tiny lab. and if it�s a tiny lab, can you even fit it on a Surface Pro 3?)

Does Hyper-V Client Now Support Audio?

Yes, it does. Just make sure you are running  Windows 8.1 Enterprise or Server 2012 or newer inside the VM. And then turn on �Enhanced Session�: View |  Enhanced Session. The Disconnect from the VM and Connect� again. Now you will get the �Enhanced Session� configuration window.

Now click on �Show Options� | Local Resources | Settings and make sure �Play on the computer� and �Record from the computer� are enabled so a device is passed to the VM and Lync has audio devices.

You can edit/save these settings later by going to the Hyper-V Manager, right-click the VM and click �Edit Session Settings�.

Can I have two VM sharing the same speaker & Microphones?

From my testing it seems to work just fine. Each VM will allow you to set the volume of that VM. I did not see a way to give different VM�s different audio devices. (perhaps I overlooked something?)

What happens if I call from one VV Lync client to another VM on the same Host Sharing the same Speaker/Mic?

Well, of course this needed immediate testing. So you have 2 Lync clients in 2 different VM�s sharing the same host speaker and microphone�what on earth will happen? Nothing spectacular other than the normal squawking feedback. (I was expecting an explosion.)

What do the audio settings look like in Lync?

Below:

Let�s Push Our Luck, What About a Video Camera?

So far I couldn�t make it work, but didn�t spend much time�

I will add any other anomalies and interesting things I find.

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