Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 available

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MicrosoftVirtualization I’ve written a lot about Hyper-V Server 2008. And while I came to love Hyper-V Server as my favorite virtualization platform for single server scenarios, I was really looking forward to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, because I feel Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is a very promising product in the virtualization space:

  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is no longer crippled.
    Hyper-V Server 2008 was based on the standard edition of Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V and supported a maximum of 4 processors and 32GB RAM.
    Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is feature-based on the Enterprise Edition, except for licensing rights of course. Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is limited to 64 logical processors, (8 sockets), 1TB RAM and a maximum of 384 virtual machines (or 512 virtual processors) per host.
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 offers Live Migration for free.
    In scenarios where customers have licensed their virtual Windows servers appropriately, Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 offers Server Hardware Virtualization, High Availability and Live Migration capabilities for free. Using Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 is recommended, but optional.
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 offers a low attack surface .
    In comparison with Full and Server Core installations of  Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is optimized as a Hyper-V host. Using Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) on top of a full installation of Windows Server is recommended, but optional.
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 requires the least amount of patches.
    In comparison with Full and Server Core installations of  Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2008 R2, Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 requires the least amount of patches. This amount is not just based on the patch footprint in  Jeff Woolsey’s series, but also based on my own historical data.
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is available as a free download.
    Despite these major changes Microsoft still offers Hyper-V Server as a free download. Now anyone can download Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 from the Microsoft Downloads website. TechNet and MSDN subscribers have had access to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 since August 14, 2009.
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 supports boot from flash.
    Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 includes the unique ability (compared to Windows Server Hyper-V) to boot from flash. While Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 will be available as a DVD ISO download only, OEM partners will soon be delivering server hardware virtualization solutions where Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 runs from (included) flash media.
  • Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is easier than Hyper-V Server 2008.
    Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 was the first incarnation of Microsofts free hypervisor. Based on feedback, Microsoft has included several management enhancements in Hyper-V Server 2008 R2:

    • An updated configuration tool, (sconfig)
    • A graphical user interface for iSCSI configuration (iscscpl)
    • A graphical user interface for MPIO configuration (mpiocpl)

Go ahead! Download your free, highly available, highly scalable virtualization solution today.

Sounds too good to be true? Read the official Microsoft information on the Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 product page.

 

Related posts

Analyzing the Server Core Updates Estimate
About Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008
The Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Surprise
iSCSI configuration in Hyper-V Server 2008 R2

Further reading

Download Details: Microsoft® Hyper-V™ Server 2008 R2
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RTM & More.
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 (Free live migration anyone!) available for download
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RTM Released [Release Alert]
Permanent Link to Microsoft makes standalone Hyper-V R2 server available for download
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RTM Download
Free Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 now available
Free Hyper-V Server R2 Cluster and Live Migration
Release- Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
Video: Hyper-V Server 2008 R2: Bare Metal to Live Migration (In about an hour!)

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