VHD Test Drive
Virtualization just got a notch better with Microsoft. Recent moves in the Microsoft virtualization strategy are significant steps in helping adoption of virtualization technologies and providing technology and infrastructure supporting standardization of virtualization across the industry:
- Virtual Server 2005 R2 is now available for free
- Partners can redistribute Virtual Server together with their products
- The Microsoft licensing model changed significantly
- The Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) format specification is available to everyone under the OSP Open Software Promise.
Today Microsoft announces another important step in driving virtualization adoption. The VHD Test Drive Program just went life. Details at www.microsoft.com/vhd.
VHD Test Drive enables MSDN and TechNet subscribers to download Microsoft preinstalled and preconfigured VHDs. One virtual disk has Windows Server Enterprise Edition (EE) preinstalled; others have additional server applications installed on top of EE. SQL Server, an early build of Exchange 2007 or applications like Life Communication Server and Internet Security and Acceleration Server. All images can be downloaded from MSDN and TechNet (subscriber downloads). The number of readily available images from Microsoft is expected to grow fast. MSDN and TechNet license agreements apply.
This is only half of the story. The coolest thing ever is the second part of the program. VHD Test Drive enables 3rd parties to download the before mentioned images from connect.microsoft.com and complement the Microsoft images with own applications. These extended images can now be made available at no cost to customers or prospects for test and evaluation purposes.
Want to know more about the VHD Test Drive, read this PressPass article, check out the MSDN and TechNet sections about virtualization and feel free to comment on this post or send me email with your questions. For additional information – after you have checked the Microsoft landing page for the VHD Test Drive www.microsoft.com/vhd – you can send email to vhdinfo@microsoft.com.
The VHD Test Drive enables Microsoft and its partners to distribute enterprise software and applications within a virtual machine so IT professionals can confidently and quickly evaluate server-based software. Optional Microsoft keeps track of all the images that are available from partners and from Microsoft on Microsoft websites.
While this week's VMworld and next week's TechEd IT-Forum will be about this new program big time, the ones using the Microsoft provided VHDs are attending TechEd Developer in Barcelona this week. In case you are in Barcelona and want to chat, drop me a line.
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Here's the actual webpage on TechNet: https://www.microsoft.com/technet/try/vhd/overview.mspx