SOLVED: Hyper-V Operational States Explained

One of our smaller customers had sent us this alert from their LogicMonitor system:

LMD436411 warn – BLACK-HV-HOST2 HyperV Virtual Machines – BLACK-TOR-SQL03 operationalStatus
The Hyper-V host BLACK-HV-HOST2 is reporting that VM BLACK-TOR-SQL03 is in an operational state of 3.0, which puts this device in a state of warn.

What’s The Difference Between Operational State 0 and 3?

This brought up the question of what’s the difference between Operational State 0 which is “OK” and Operational State 3 which is “In Service”. Aren’t those two terms nearly synonyms? Well, it turns out there is a subtle difference, that boils down to Operational State 3: In Service means a slightly degraded performance can be expected.

An Explanation of All Hyper-V VM Operational State’s

Here are the detailed descriptions and examples for each Hyper-V operational state:

1. Operational State 0 (OK):
   • Description: The VM is operating normally without any issues.
   • Example: A VM running a web server is serving requests without any errors or performance issues.
2. Operational State 1 (Degraded):
   • Description: The VM is running but with some performance issues or minor problems that do not prevent it from functioning.
   • Example: A VM running a database server is experiencing higher-than-normal latency but is still able to process queries.
3. Operational State 2 (Critical):
   • Description: The VM is experiencing significant issues that could impact its performance or functionality. Immediate attention is required.
   • Example: A VM running an application server is frequently crashing or experiencing severe performance degradation.
4. Operational State 3 (InService):
   • Description: The VM is in service, possibly undergoing maintenance, updates, or other administrative tasks. It may not be fully available for regular use.
   • Example: A VM is being updated with the latest security patches and is temporarily unavailable for user access.
5. Operational State 4 (Stopped):
   • Description: The VM is not running. It has been intentionally stopped or shut down.
   • Example: A VM used for development purposes has been shut down after the workday to save resources.
6. Operational State 5 (Starting):
   • Description: The VM is in the process of starting up. It is transitioning from a stopped state to a running state.
   • Example: A VM is booting up after being powered on, and services are initializing.
7. Operational State 6 (Stopping):
   • Description: The VM is in the process of shutting down. It is transitioning from a running state to a stopped state.
   • Example: A VM is shutting down as part of a scheduled maintenance window.
8. Operational State 7 (Saved):
   • Description: The VM’s state has been saved. It is not running, but its current state has been preserved for later resumption.
   • Example: A VM’s state is saved before performing hardware maintenance on the host server.
9. Operational State 8 (Pausing):
   • Description: The VM is in the process of pausing. It is transitioning from a running state to a paused state.
   • Example: A VM is being paused to temporarily free up resources for another critical task.
10. Operational State 9 (Paused):
    • Description: The VM is paused. It is not running, but its state is preserved, allowing it to resume quickly.
    • Example: A VM is paused during off-peak hours to save resources and can be resumed when needed.
11. Operational State 10 (Resuming):
    • Description: The VM is in the process of resuming from a paused or saved state. It is transitioning back to a running state.
    • Example: A paused VM is resuming operations to handle incoming user requests.
12. Operational State 11 (ApplyingSnapshot):
    • Description: The VM is applying a snapshot. It is transitioning to a previous state captured in the snapshot.
    • Example: A VM is reverting to a snapshot taken before a major software update.
13. Operational State 12 (CreatingSnapshot):
    • Description: The VM is in the process of creating a snapshot. It is capturing its current state for future reference.
    • Example: A VM is creating a snapshot before applying a critical update.
14. Operational State 13 (DeletingSnapshot):
    • Description: The VM is in the process of deleting a snapshot. It is removing a previously captured state.
    • Example: A VM is deleting an outdated snapshot to free up storage space.
15. Operational State 14 (WaitingToStart):
    • Description: The VM is waiting to start. It is queued to start but has not yet begun the startup process.
    • Example: A VM is scheduled to start at a specific time but is currently in the queue.
16. Operational State 15 (MergingDisks):
    • Description: The VM is merging virtual disks. It is combining multiple virtual disk files into a single file.
    • Example: A VM is merging differencing disks into the parent disk to consolidate storage.
17. Operational State 16 (ExportingVirtualMachine):
    • Description: The VM is being exported. It is in the process of creating an export file for backup or migration.
    • Example: A VM is being exported to an external storage device for backup purposes.
18. Operational State 17 (MigratingVirtualMachine):
    • Description: The VM is being migrated. It is in the process of moving from one host to another.
    • Example: A VM is being live-migrated to another host to balance the load.
19. Operational State 18 (BackingUpVirtualMachine):
    • Description: The VM is being backed up. It is in the process of creating a backup copy.
    • Example: A VM is being backed up to ensure data protection and recovery.
20. Operational State 19 (ModifyingUpVirtualMachine):
    • Description: The VM is being modified. It is undergoing changes to its configuration or resources.
    • Example: A VM is being updated with additional memory or CPU resources.
21. Operational State 20 (StorageMigrationPhaseOne):
    • Description: The VM is in the first phase of storage migration. It is moving its storage to a new location.
    • Example: A VM is migrating its virtual disks to a new storage array.
22. Operational State 21 (StorageMigrationPhaseTwo):
    • Description: The VM is in the second phase of storage migration. It is completing the migration process.
    • Example: A VM is finalizing the migration of its virtual disks to the new storage array.
23. Operational State 22 (MigratingPlannedVm):
    • Description: The VM is being migrated as part of a planned operation. It is moving to a new host or storage location.
    • Example: A VM is being migrated to a new host during a planned maintenance window.
24. Operational State 23 (CheckingCompatibility):
    • Description: The VM is checking compatibility. It is verifying that it can run on the target host or storage.
    • Example: A VM is checking compatibility before being migrated to a new host.
25. Operational State 24 (ApplicationCriticalState):
    • Description: The VM is in an application-critical state. It is experiencing issues that affect its applications.
    • Example: A VM running a critical application is experiencing errors that impact its functionality.
26. Operational State 25 (CommunicationTimedOut):
    • Description: The VM’s communication has timed out. It is experiencing network connectivity issues.
    • Example: A VM is unable to communicate with other network resources due to a timeout.
27. Operational State 26 (CommunicationFailed):
    • Description: The VM’s communication has failed. It is unable to establish network connections.
    • Example: A VM is experiencing network failures and cannot connect to other devices.
28. Operational State 27 (NoIommu):
    • Description: The VM lacks IOMMU support. It cannot use certain hardware features.
    • Example: A VM is unable to use hardware-assisted virtualization features due to the lack of IOMMU support.
29. Operational State 28 (NoIovSupportInNic):
    • Description: The VM’s NIC lacks IOV support. It cannot use certain network features.
    • Example: A VM is unable to use advanced network features due to the lack of IOV support in its NIC.
30. Operational State 29 (SwitchNotInIovMode):
    • Description: The VM’s switch is not in IOV mode. It cannot use certain network features.
    • Example: A VM is unable to use advanced network features due to the switch not being in IOV mode.
31. Operational State 30 (IovBlockedByPolicy):
    • Description: The VM’s IOV is blocked by policy. It cannot use certain network features.
    • Example: A VM is unable to use advanced network features due to a policy blocking IOV.
32. Operational State 31 (IovNoAvailResources):
    • Description: The VM’s IOV has no available resources. It cannot use certain network features.
    • Example: A VM is unable to use advanced network features due to the lack of available IOV resources.
33. Operational State 32 (IovGuestDriversNeeded):
    • Description: The VM’s IOV requires guest drivers. It cannot use certain network features.
    • Example: A VM is unable to use advanced network features due to the lack of guest drivers for IOV.
34. Operational State 33 (CriticalIoError):
    • Description: The VM is experiencing a critical I/O error. It is unable to perform I/O operations.
    • Example: A VM is unable to read or write data due to a