Home > Storage > PowerStore > Virtualization and Cloud > Dell PowerStore: Microsoft Hyper-V Best Practices > MPIO best practices
Windows Server and Hyper-V support MPIO. MPIO is not installed by default. Install the MPIO feature with your preferred tool, such as PowerShell or Server Manager.
After installing the Multipath I/O feature on a host, map a PowerStore volume to the host. Use your preferred Microsoft tool or utility to configure the PowerStore volume for MPIO. Repeat this step for each transport used if a host has FC and iSCSI volumes.
Note: PowerStore fully supports the native Microsoft DSM that comes with the Windows Server operating system. Use the Microsoft DSM as a best practice.
Consider using PowerPath for Windows if you need more advanced control over MPIO behavior. To learn more, see PowerPath for Windows on Dell Support.
Windows Server and Hyper-V hosts default to the Round Robin with Subset policy with PowerStore. Round Robin with Subset will work well for most Hyper-V environments. Specify a different supported MPIO policy if wanted.
Configure two to four front-end (FE) storage paths from each PowerStore node to your storage fabric (four to eight paths total). Four to eight total storage paths provide optimal redundancy and performance.
On a Server host, the Active/Optimized paths are associated with the active PowerStore storage controller (for example, Node A) for that volume. The Active/Unoptimized paths are associated with the standby PowerStore storage controller for that volume (for example, Node B).
The PowerStore volume wizard will alternate the active controller in a round-robin fashion when you create volumes on PowerStore to help load balance the PowerStore nodes. Administrators can override the behavior and specify the active PowerStore node for a new volume.