Hyper-V Server Now Available!

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The free Hyper-V Server is now available here: https://www.microsoft.com/servers/hyper-v-server/how-to-get.mspx

If you have not been paying attention as to what Hyper-V Server is - let me steal some content from the official web page:

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 provides a simplified, reliable, and optimized virtualization solution, enabling improved server utilization and reduced costs. Since Hyper-V Server is a dedicated stand-alone product, which contains only the Windows Hypervisor, Windows Server driver model and virtualization components, it provides a small footprint and minimal overhead. It easily plugs into customers’ existing IT environments, leveraging their existing patching, provisioning, management, support tools, processes, and skills.

And here is the official comparison table:

The following table outlines which Hyper-V–enabled product would suit your needs:

Virtualization Needs

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008

Windows Server 2008 Standard

Windows Server 2008 Enterprise

Windows Server 2008 Datacenter

Server Consolidation

 Available Available Available Available

Test and Development

 Available Available Available Available

Mixed OS Virtualization (Linux and Windows)

 Available Available Available Available

Local Graphical User Interface

   Available Available Available

High Availability—Clustering

     Available Available

Quick Migration

     Available Available

Large Memory Support (Host OS) > 32 GB RAM

     Available Available

Support for > 4 Processors (Host OS)

     Available Available

Ability to Add Additional Server Roles

   Available Available Available

Virtualization Rights per Server License

Each VM Guest requires a server license

1 Physical + 1 VM

1 Physical + 4 VMs

1 Physical + Unlimited VMs

So go grab a copy and check it out!

Cheers,
Ben