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Prerequisites

  1. Download the latest metal-amd64.iso from the GitHub releases page.
  2. Create a New-TalosVM folder in one of your PS Module Path folders ($env:PSModulePath -split ';') and save the New-TalosVM.psm1 there.
  3. Create a Virtual Switch:
    • Open Hyper-V Manager (Win + R, type virtmgmt.msc, press Enter).
    • From the Action menu, select Virtual Switch Manager….
    • Choose New virtual network switch → External, then click Create Virtual Switch.
    • Name the switch LAB, select the network adapter you want to bind to, and click Apply and OK.
    • Verify that the LAB switch appears in the list of virtual switches.
  4. Allow PowerShell Script Execution:
    • Open PowerShell and run: 
      Set-ExecutionPolicy Unrestricted -Scope CurrentUser
    • Confirm the change when prompted.

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Plan Overview

We will create a basic 3-node cluster with one control-plane node and two worker nodes. The main difference between the control plane and worker nodes is the amount of RAM and an additional storage VHD for the worker nodes. This can be customized to your preference. We use a VMNamePrefix argument for the VM name prefix, not the full hostname. This command will find any existing VM with that prefix and increment the highest suffix found. For example, if talos-cp01 and talos-cp02 exist, it will create VMs starting from talos-cp03, depending on the NumberOfVMs argument.

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Setup a Control Plane Node

Note: Ensure the LAB adapter exists in Hyper-V and is set to external.
Create a single control plane node with the following command: 
New-TalosVM -VMNamePrefix talos-cp -CPUCount 2 -StartupMemory 4GB -SwitchName LAB -TalosISOPath C:\ISO\metal-amd64.iso -NumberOfVMs 1 -VMDestinationBasePath 'D:\Virtual Machines\Test VMs\Talos'
This will create the talos-cp01 VM and power it on.

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Setup Worker Nodes

Create two worker nodes with the following command: 
New-TalosVM -VMNamePrefix talos-worker -CPUCount 4 -StartupMemory 8GB -SwitchName LAB -TalosISOPath C:\ISO\metal-amd64.iso -NumberOfVMs 2 -VMDestinationBasePath 'D:\Virtual Machines\Test VMs\Talos' -StorageVHDSize 50GB
This will create talos-worker01 and talos-worker02 VMs, each with an additional 50GB VHD for storage (which can be used for Mayastor).

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Push Config to the Nodes

Once the VMs are ready, find their IP addresses from the VM console. Push the config to the control plane node with: 
# Set control plane IP variable
$CONTROL_PLANE_IP='10.10.10.x'

# Generate Talos config
talosctl gen config talos-cluster https://$($CONTROL_PLANE_IP):6443 --output-dir .

# Apply config to control plane node
talosctl apply-config --insecure --nodes $CONTROL_PLANE_IP --file .\controlplane.yaml

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Push Config to Worker Nodes

Similarly, for the worker nodes: 
talosctl apply-config --insecure --nodes 10.10.10.x --file .\worker.yaml
Apply the config to both worker nodes.

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Bootstrap Cluster

With the nodes ready, bootstrap the Kubernetes cluster: 
# Set node and endpoint permanently in config
talosctl config endpoint $CONTROL_PLANE_IP
talosctl config node $CONTROL_PLANE_IP

# Bootstrap cluster
talosctl bootstrap

# Generate kubeconfig
talosctl kubeconfig .

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Remove ISO

After a successful bootstrap, remove the ISO from the Hyper-V instances (both worker and control plane). Otherwise, Talos might fail to boot. This will generate the kubeconfig file, which you can use to connect to the cluster.