Microsoft offers Hyper-V for free

Microsoft began a major virtualisation push late yesterday, with the introduction of new virtualisation tools and by making its core hypervisor product free of charge. The new Hyper-V Server 2008 would be available via the web at no charge, Microsoft said in a statement. The download, which will go live in 30 days, supports virtual machines running Windows or Linux. The software comprises Hyper-V itself, plus a cut-down Server Core installation of Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008, and as such is a stand-alone version of the virtualisation solution.

Microsoft had previously said it would charge US$28 for the standalone Hyper-V product. As expected, Microsoft announced its new System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SVCMM) 2008, which will also be released within 30 days.

The software allows companies to centrally manage their virtual infrastructure, whether their virtual networks run on Microsoft’s Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, Server 2008 Hyper-V or Virtual Server 2005 R2; or on VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3. Also yesterday, Microsoft said it had demonstrated that for the first time it could run live migration in a virtualised environment.

Full story: ZDNet News

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