Microsoft has finally announced the release of
Windows Server 2008
Hyper-V, the hypervisor-based virtualisation feature that
allows multiple operating systems to run on a single host computer
at the same time.
Hypervisor is part of selected versions of
Windows Server 2008, and Microsoft says it is designed to help
with the server consolidation needs of companies that want to save
costs by reducing their hardware footprint.
Built to work with both physical and virtual machines, the
software giant says that this type of technology will be suited to
a new breed of more "dynamic" IT infrastructure where systems
automatically adjust to changing business conditions by aligning
computing resources with commercial objectives.
Speaking to Computerweekly.com, Bill Laing, corporate
vice-president of Windows server and solutions division at
Microsoft, said, "Hyper-V builds on Microsoft's focus to provide
tools which IT pros can rely on for their demanding,
mission-critical workloads."
"The release of Hyper-V means that UK-based customers are one
step closer to making their IT more self-managing and dynamic. This
demonstrates how we are working to deliver to customers a complete
set of virtualisation products that span from the desktop to the
datacentre," Laing added.
Analysts in the US such as EMA Group agree that virtualisation
can help transform an IT infrastructure. In April of this year EMA
reported that for 69% of US companies surveyed, server
consolidation and improved hardware utilisation is now the
strongest single driver for virtualisation.
According to Microsoft, Hyper-V addresses the problem of
under-utilised badly integrated server structures in large
organisations, a situation that technologists sometimes refer to as
"server sprawl". With much of the market new to this technology,
Microsoft has made a bid to help companies assess their servers'
suitability for virtualisation using Hyper-V by also announcing the
release of its Microsoft
Assessment and Planning Toolkit 3.1 Beta. The final release is
expected in July and will be free.
