VDI Security - Virtual Desktop Configuration

The following recommended best practices can help you enhance security when configuring virtual machines on servers running the Hyper-V role:

· Configure virtual machines to use fixed-sized virtual hard disks.

· Store virtual hard disks and snapshot files in a secure location.

· Decide how much memory to assign to a virtual machine.

· Impose limits on processor usage.

· Configure the virtual network adapters of each virtual machine to connect to the correct type of virtual network to isolate network traffic as required.

· Configure only required storage devices for a virtual machine.

· Harden the operating system running in each virtual machine according to the server role it performs using the baseline security setting recommendations described in the Windows Vista Security Compliance Management Toolkit

· Configure antivirus, firewall, and intrusion detection software within virtual machines as appropriate based on server role.

· Ensure that virtual machines have all the latest security updates before they are turned on in a production environment.

· Ensure that your virtual machines have integration services installed.