Private and internal have specific meanings in Hyper-V. Choosing a private switch when the Windows host needs to administer a guest can prevent the connection by design, even when both machines' network adapters appear healthy.

Begin with an existing authorised Hyper-V setup. Write down the intended communication paths: guest to guest, host to guest, and guest to an external network. Inspect which switch each VM adapter currently uses before changing a shared configuration.

Match the switch to the required paths

Microsoft defines a private switch as connecting VMs on the same host without providing a host-to-guest network path. An internal switch includes the host and its connected VMs. An external switch binds to a physical network adapter to reach the external network.

An internal switch alone should not be described as an internet connection. Microsoft's separate NAT arrangement can provide external access through an internal switch; that is additional configuration, not a consequence of choosing the word internal.

Use Hyper-V Manager's Virtual Switch Manager to inspect the type. Record the existing name and attached VM arrangements. Microsoft warns that changing a switch's type affects every VM connected to it.

If a separate switch is the approved solution, choose the required type, Create Virtual Switch, and a descriptive name. For external switches, select the intended physical adapter and review the management-OS sharing choice. The documented warning notes that external-network changes can disrupt connectivity.

Verify the intended reach, including the boundaries

Schedule a potentially disruptive change when you have local access to the host and can recover its network arrangement. Do not experiment through the only remote connection you depend on.

After connecting the intended VM adapter to the agreed switch, check its guest addressing and the actual authorised service you need. The switch choice does not by itself prove that guest addresses or firewall rules permit that service.

Test each required path and document any intentionally unavailable one. A host-to-guest failure on a private switch has a different explanation from an application rejecting access on a correctly connected internal network. Keep that distinction before reinstalling a guest network driver or weakening its firewall.

Sources: Microsoft Hyper-V network planning; Microsoft virtual switch configuration.