Server and Tools Business News Bytes blog : Windows Virtualization

Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V RC1 Available for Download

Brittany M. — Tue, 20 May 2008 19:37:00 GMT

If Windows Server 2008 is the brisket, as previously described by group product manager Alex Hinrichs, Hyper-V is the special sauce. And today, the brisket gets even tastier with Hyper-V release candidate 1 (RC 1), which is available for download.

Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V contains everything needed to support customers’ server consolidation, business continuity and virtualized desktop infrastructure projects, and easily plugs into customers’ existing IT infrastructure. From reducing operating costs, increasing hardware utilization, optimizing infrastructure and improving server availability, Hyper-V enables customers to gain more control of their IT environment.

For new Windows Server customers, Hyper-V RC 1 can be downloaded today from http://www.microsoft.com/Hyper-V. Customers who have deployed the existing beta or earlier RC of Hyper-V (as a part of the x64 versions Windows Server 2008) can receive RC1 from the latest Windows Update as an optional update beginning May 27^th.

Hyper-V RC1 is an optional upgrade for customers and partners, providing the latest code for those who want to continue testing the technology within their infrastructure environment. The current beta of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 (SCVMM) is not compatible with Hyper-V RC1. Customers who are simultaneously testing the recently-released SCVMM 2008 Beta should continue evaluating it with Hyper-V RC0.

For customers who need to evaluate support for Windows Server 2000 as a guest operating system, we recommend upgrading to RC1, but not manage those systems with SCVMM 2008 Beta. Because Hyper-V and SCVMM 2008 are on separate development schedules, an update for SCVMM 2008 Beta to enable support for Hyper-V RC1 will be made available at a later date.

While Hyper-V RC1 is feature complete, RC1 includes the following added support and functionality:

Additional Guest OS support: Hyper-V RC1 adds guest operating system support for Windows 2000 Server SP4 (1-way, emulated only) and Windows 2000 Advanced Server with Service Pack 4 (1-way, emulated only).

Simplified install for Windows Server 2008 ICs: With RC1, Hyper-V provides a simplified and consistent process to install the integration components for Windows Server 2008 guests.

Mouse integration support for Linux Integration components: Integration components for supported Novell SUSE 10 Linux operating systems will also include mouse integration support, released simultaneously with Hyper-V RC1. The integration components can be downloaded from http://connect.microsoft.com.

In addition to the several RDP and TAP customers who have deployed Hyper-V into full production, both MSDN and TechNet have been successfully running on Hyper-V for several weeks. For more information on Microsoft’s deployment and results with Hyper-V, check out Rob Emanuel’s guest blog on the Windows Virtualization Team blog.

How to Virtualize Servers: Operating System vs. Dedicated Software

grantkd — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 12:00:00 GMT

For most users, the question isn’t whether to introduce virtualization in their networks, but how to virtualize so as to cause the least disruption. A new white paper from IDEAS International, a leading supplier of IT market research, considers the question of whether enterprises would do better virtualizing their servers on a software platform dedicated solely for virtualization, like the ESX Server from VMware, or on a standard operating system, like Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008, which incorporates the Hyper-V virtualization technology, or Novell’s SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES).

Their conclusion: “…using established operating systems to virtualize workloads offers a variety of benefits related to compatibility, robustness, functionality, security and manageability issues such as patch management.”

The paper states that virtual implementations like Hyper-V and Xen-based SLES 10 from Novell fundamentally diverge from VMware’s approach in the way that they manage the hypervisor layer, and in the way that they process I/O – two of the operational aspects that are most critical in virtualized infrastructures. The paper states:

“The approach used by SLES 10 and Windows Server 2008 – virtualizing I/O through real device drivers in a standard operating system image, rather than in the hypervisor itself – offers significant benefits…Using standard operating systems to host virtual machines also allows users to take advantage of some rich functionality available in those operating systems…” in the areas of storage management and high availability (HA) clustering.

Additionally the report states, “In the design of their solutions, Novell and Microsoft are taking advantage of several factors in their favor, including the ability to directly integrate virtualization with other critical operating system functions, and the introduction of virtualization hardware in the newest x86 processors.”

The paper concludes that these standard OS attributes will lower the barriers to adopting virtualization in many organizations, and could become increasingly valuable as users start to drive virtualization technology directly into IT infrastructures.

The IDEAS white paper, titled “Deploying Virtual Infrastructure on Standard Operating Systems,” is available at http://www.microsoft.com/virtualization/dvisos.mspx

Microsoft Announces Vision and Strategy to Accelerate Virtualization Adoption

grantkd — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 00:01:00 GMT

Microsoft Corp. today articulated an expanded role for virtualization as a key enabler of its Dynamic IT vision and outlined a companywide strategy to help accelerate the broad adoption of virtualization. To help drive its strategy, the company also announced the acquisition of Calista Technologies Inc. to improve the end-user experience for virtualized desktops and applications; an expanded alliance with Citrix Systems Inc. in the areas of client and server virtualization; more flexible licensing options for virtualization using Windows Vista; and new tools that provide best practices to deploy Microsoft virtualization software.

“Very few customers are able to reap the benefits of virtualization today,” said Bob Muglia, senior vice president of the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft. “We estimate that less than five percent of companies are utilizing virtualization technology because it is simply too cost-prohibitive and complex. We believe Microsoft’s comprehensive approach — from desktop to datacenter — is unique to the industry by delivering solutions that address virtualization at the hardware, application and management levels. Our approach is not only one of the most comprehensive in the market today, but we believe it is also one of the most economical. This combination brings a big strategic advantage and cost savings to customers.”

More information on the announcements can be found at: www.microsoft.com/presspass/events/virtualization

Information about Microsoft virtualization technologies and solutions can be found here: www.microsoft.com/virtualization.

Please also visit these blogs for additional info:

Windows Server Division Weblog

Windows Virtualization Team Blog - Guest post from Neal Margulis, founder of Calista Technologies

Windows Vista Team Blog - Guest post from Shanen Boettcher, general manager of Windows Product Management

SoftGrid Team Blog

Microsoft Assessment and Planning Team Blog

System Center Team Blog

Terminal Services Blog - Guest post from Chandra Shekaran, general manager for Presentation & Desktop Virtualization

Microsoft Acquires Calista Technologies, Expands Alliance with Citrix

grantkd — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:41:00 GMT

As reported today, Microsoft has completed the acquisition of Calista Technologies, a leading provider of graphic technologies for next-generation desktop and presentation virtualization solutions. Headquartered in San Jose, Calif., Calista provides technology that improves end-user experience of 3-D and multimedia delivery for Microsoft multimedia applications, virtualized desktop deployments, and server-hosted virtualized desktops or applications using Windows Terminal Services. The addition of Calista technology to future Microsoft presentation and desktop virtualization products will enable remote workers to receive a full-fidelity Windows desktop experience without the need for high-end desktop hardware, while enabling software vendors to deliver additional capabilities. Calista Technologies is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Microsoft. Financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed.

Microsoft also has expanded its alliance with Citrix Systems to deliver a comprehensive set of virtualization solutions to address the desktop and server virtualization needs of customers. The two companies will work together to deliver and market joint virtualization solutions with Windows Server 2008 to help customers achieve a flexible and dynamic client computing infrastructure.

Microsoft issued a media alert today as advance notice to a live webcast tomorrow in which Microsoft will outline its companywide strategy to accelerate broad adoption of virtualization by customers and the industry.

Hyper-V Beta Now Available

grantkd — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:30:00 GMT

The Windows Server Division unveiled a holiday surprise for customers and partners this morning, delivering a public beta for Microsoft’s hypervisor-based server virtualization technology called Hyper-V, a feature with some versions of Windows Server 2008. The beta is available for download at: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/audsel.mspx.

For Hyper-V beta details, and a discussion around Microsoft’s virtualization plans in 2008, read the posting from Mike Neil, general manager for virtualization strategy, on the Windows Server Division blog. On the systems management front, Larry Orecklin, general manager of System Center product management and virtualization marketing, discusses the importance of systems management to adoption and deployment of virtualization on the Nexus SC: System Center team blog. In addition, Jeff Woolsey, senior program manager focused on virtualization, has also posted some information (and videos) on Hyper-V beta features on the Windows Virtualization team blog this morning.

Also of note: Mike Neil will take a deep-dive in to the Hyper-V beta next Tuesday as part of a webcast series on InfoWorld.

Windows Server News from IT Forum

Brittany M. — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 08:00:00 GMT

Today at IT Forum, Bob Kelly, corporate vice president in the Server and Tools Business at Microsoft, announced pricing, packaging and licensing for Windows Server 2008 and introduced a new product, Microsoft Hyper-V Server. Specifically:

The Windows Server 2008 lineup includes the following familiar editions -- Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web and Itanium.
Microsoft Hyper-V was introduced as the official name of the server virtualization technology within Windows Server 2008 (previously code-named Viridian).
Microsoft also announced Microsoft Hyper-V Server, a stand-alone version of Microsoft’s virtualization technology that includes only the Windows hypervisor and additional components needed to support virtualization. Complementary to the Microsoft Hyper-V technology within Windows Server 2008, this stand-alone version allows customers to consolidate workloads onto a single physical server.

Continuing Microsoft’s efforts in the virtualization space, Kelly also announced the Server Virtualization Validation Program. Beginning in June 2008, vendors will be able to self-test and validate certain technical requirements of their server virtualization software running Windows Server 2008 and prior versions. The program will enable Microsoft to offer cooperative technical support to customers running Windows Server on validated, non-Windows server virtualization software.

For more information on this announcement, please visit the IT Forum Virtual Press Room or Windows Server press release:

http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/press/2007/nov07/11-12HyperVPR.mspx. A video interview with Zane Adam, Senior Director Product Management, Windows Server Division, can be found here: http://www.virtualteched.com/Videos/ZANEADAM.asx