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We have implemented a similar setup for one of our clients. &nbsp;2 Physical Servers, both DCs and the PDC as a virtual (all Win 2k3 EE). &nbsp;Works fine for us.<br />
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Anything in particular you would like to know?
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It's amazing now mush more sense this makes after some sleep. So it would seem that the best thing to do would be to purchase a small additional server to just run the Domain Controller role. With this up and running build the server mentioned above joining the Hyper-V server to the domain and only run the Hyper-V role. At this point I can then build additional vDC's if I choose to.<br />
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This seem like the correct way to go?<br />

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That sounds like a good idea. I would definitely have 2 DCs - perhaps one physical and one virtual, and keep the DC role off the Hyper-V Host.<br />
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-Matt
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Thanks this helped me make my mind up.
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This is the first of multiple questions on this subject just to put my mind at ease. I am looking to virtualize the &quot;Primary Domain Controller&quot; (DC01, Server 2008 EE) holding all FSMO roles in Hyper-V and make the Physical Host also a DC (DC02). My reasoning being that in the event of hardware failure I can move or restore (DC01) to another server and start it up and not have any issues and if this didn't work out I could seize the roles from this server. This machine within Hyper-V is set to start with the host will all subsequent VM's set to boot with a 5 minute delay. In my lab this has worked without a hitch. I have read many articles and blogs that reference this all in theory. I am looking for some people to respond with real world experience with a similar scenario. The client I am looking to set this up for is currently ~50 users.<br />
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Exchange questions will follow but this is the first step toward gaining some insight as to how I will ultimately implement this.
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This is the first of multiple questions on this subject just to put my mind at ease. I am looking to virtualize the "Primary Domain Controller" (DC01, Server 2008 EE) holding all FSMO roles in Hyper-V and make the Physical Host also a DC (DC02). My reasoning being that in the event of hardware failure I can move or restore (DC01) to another server and start it up and not have any issues and if this didn't work out I could seize the roles from this server. This machine within Hyper-V is set to start with the host will all subsequent VM's set to boot with a 5 minute delay. In my lab this has worked without a hitch. I have read many articles and blogs that reference this all in theory. I am looking for some people to respond with real world experience with a similar scenario. The client I am looking to set this up for is currently ~50 users.

Exchange questions will follow but this is the first step toward gaining some insight as to how I will ultimately implement this.

Virtualizing Domain Controllers with Hyper-V

Microsoft Virtual Server was a virtualization solution that facilitated the creation of virtual machines on the Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. Virtual machines are created and managed through a web-based interface that relies on Internet Information Services (IIS) or through a Windows client application tool called VMRCplus. Features included Linux guest operating system support, Virtual Disk Precompactor, symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), x64 host operating system support, the ability to mount virtual hard drives on the host machine and additional operating systems support, including Windows Vista, and a volume shadow copy writer.

Microsoft Virtual Server

Servers are computing devices that are similar to desktop computers in that they have the same basic components, but are significantly different in size, configuration and purpose. Servers are usually accessed over a network, and many run unattended, without a computer monitor, input device, audio hardware or USB interfaces. Many servers do not have a graphical user interface (GUI), and are configured and managed remotely. Servers typically include hardware redundancy such as dual power supplies, RAID disk systems, and ECC memory, along with extensive pre-boot memory testing and verification. Critical components might be hot swappable, and to guard against overheating, servers might have more powerful fans or use water cooling.

Server Hardware

The Windows operating systems have distinct methodologies for designing and implementing networks, and have specific systems to accomplish various networking processes, such as Exchange for email, Sharepoint for shared files and programs, and IIS for delivery of web pages. Microsoft also produces server technologies for networked database use, security and virtualization.