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Windows Server 2008

Microsoft Shipping Hyper-V Tomorrow? (Update: Yes)

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Does Microsoft intend to start shipping Hyper-V tomorrow?

Update: no official news out of Redmond just yet, but both ZDNet and NetworkWorld have confirmed.

Update 2: finally confirmation by Microsoft

The Redmond software giant’s proprietary hypervisor is currently in Release Candidate mode, but the final, nonbeta version could be shipping tomorrow, according to SearchWinIT. That would be well before the company’s projected release date (which would be in about 2 months).

The software is part of the Windows Server 2008 license, although here is a standalone version of Hyper-V expected later this year that will sell for (only) $28. The Microsoft hypervisor is highly anticipated, and lots of analysts are expecting Hyper-V to (finally) give VMware a run for its money. Of course, let’s not forget Hyper-V was initially scheduled to be part of Windows Server 2008, but was ultimately delayed and rescheduled for availability about six months after its introduction.

PCWorld points out that the upcoming release for tomorrow has not been confirmed by Microsoft officials, so we’re a little hesitant to run with the story just yet. We’ll update the post when more information is available.

Update: no official news out of Redmond just yet, but both ZDNet and NetworkWorld have confirmed.

Update 2: finally confirmation by Microsoft

Update 3: It’s all over the wire! Get more perspective on the milestone release and how it will compete with VMware, Xen and others from The Register, Virtually Speaking, OStatic, Virtualization.info, InformationWeek, Computing, Network World, VMBlog, GigaOM, Virtualization Review, DaniWeb, ChannelWeb, Reuters, Forbes, Washington Post, Virtual Strategy Magazine, Microsoft Watch, Virtual PC Guy, Scott Lowe, Intel Software Network, Dugie’s Pensieve, NetApp Blogs, The Hypervisor, PC World Forums, Dustin’s Tech Notes, Vinternals, The System Administrator, ArsTechnica, Silicon, ITwire, VolkerW’s Weblog, ChrisWolf, InternetNews, etc.

Microsoft Releases Windows Server 2008 Images For Hyper-V and Virtual Server

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Microsoft has released Windows Server 2008 images for both Hyper-V and Virtual Server (thanks to Andrew Dugdell for pointing that out).

VHD Images for Microsoft Virtual Server:

  • WS08_RTM_x86_EnterpriseVHD.zip (single file)
  • WS08_ServerCorex86_EnterpriseVHD.zip (single file)
  • or download the multi-part image: 2008 VHD Images for VS2005

VHD Images for Microsoft Hyper-V:

Propalms Enters VDI Market With TSE 6.0 Beta

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Last January, Propalms announced that it would be entering the desktop virtualization market this year with the launch of its Virtual Desktop Manager technology within its new TSE product. Last week, the company launched the beta version of its new TSE 6.0 (register here), with a final version coming out before the end of June.

TSE 6.0 (PDF) sits on the new Microsoft Server 2008 product, and provides customers with additional functionality in Windows 2008 Terminal Services, such as Easy Web Based Management, Virtual Desktop Management, Hyper Print PDF printing utility, Content Publishing and Redirection, Virtual IP, plus additional features.

Propalms recently announced that it had completed the acquisition of vFortress, a leading security solution company. The acquisition gives Propalms the rights to all vFortress customers and property; including the worldwide IP rights and source code of a Virtual Private Network (VPN) solution.

Citrix XenApp 5.0 Delayed For Months?

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Independent technology analyst & author Brian Madden is speculating a multiple-month delay for Citrix XenApp 5.0, not hearing anything about it at Citrix’ annual Synergy event. He writes:

“The current Presentation Server 4.5 product does NOT work on Windows Server 2008, so if you want to use Citrix + Server 2008, you need XenApp 5. Citrix told us again and again in 2007 that the “Delaware” edition of Presentation Server would be released 90 days after Microsoft releases Windows Server 2008.

Windows Server 2008 came out on February 28. That means we should see XenApp 5 in the end of May. Today is May 21, which means that technically Citrix has another week to release XenApp 5, but it’s unlikely this will happen since they haven’t mentioned it at Synergy. In fact the rumor floating around is that XenApp 5 won’t actually make it out for another few months.”

When asking Citrix employees, Brian received two different responses: one claiming Windows Server 2008 is not yet widely adopted for Terminal Server applications, making a release of a new XenApp version unnecessary, and one claiming that the mentioned period was more a ‘target’ than a real ‘commitment’.

Be that as it may, Brian is right to add that neither of these excuses explain why excactly XenApp 5 is taking so long. He goes on trying to provide an explanation for the likely delay, which we suggest you go read on his blog.

Hyper-V RC1 Release Made Available on Microsoft Download Center

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Taylor Brown of the Microsoft Hyper-V Test Team has formally announced the availability of Hyper-V RC1 on Microsoft Download Center in a post on the Windows Virtualization Product Group team blog.

There’s a Hyper-V RC1 package for Windows Server 2008 x64, which must be installed on Hyper-V server’s (physical machines). It includes the Hyper-V Server components for Full and Core installs, the Hyper-V Integration Components for Server 2008 x64 and the Hyper-V Management Components for Full Windows installs.

Microsoft also released the Hyper-V RC1 package for Windows Server 2008 x86. This package includes only the Hyper-V Management Components for Full Windows installs and the Hyper-V Integration Components for Server 2008 x86. It does not contain the Hyper-V Server components (Hyper-V is x64 only).

More here.

Neterion 10 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter Drivers Embedded In Windows Server 2008

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Neterion, maker of 10 Gigabit Ethernet (10 GbE) adapters for server and storage environments, announced today that drivers for its 10 GbE adapters are embedded in the initial release of Windows Server 2008.

Neterion

Neterion is one of only two 10 GbE adapter vendors to be included in this release (the other being Intel). In addition, Neterion’s adapters are supported in the beta release of Microsoft Hyper-V, the hypervisor software for server virtualization that will be available with various versions of Windows Server 2008.

From the press release:

“Built with enhanced Web and virtualization capabilities, Windows Server 2008 is designed to increase the reliability and flexibility of server infrastructures while helping to save time and reduce costs by consolidating applications with virtualization licensing rights. Neterion 10 GbE adapters include advanced silicon based I/O Virtualization (IOV) capabilities that eliminate I/O bottlenecks within virtualized servers.”

“Neterion’s 10 GbE native driver support for Windows Server 2008 will add new levels of performance and flexibility for an enterprise-class server platform,” said Sandeep Singhal, director of program management at Microsoft. “Furthermore, Neterion’s native IOV support for Hyper-V will enable IT managers to achieve optimal performance and manageability of their hardware resources.”

The Neterion 10 GbE Xframe drivers and adapters are certified to provide native support for several Server 2008 configurations including Windows Server 2008 Standard, Windows Server 2008 Enterprise and Windows Server 2008 Datacenter. Each configuration offers a platform for deploying business-critical application and large scale virtualization on small and large servers.

Windows Server 2008 was announced on February 27th and Hyper-V is currently in beta testing and will be officially launched later this year.

[Source: Marketwire]