With Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, customers get increased availability with support for planned and unplanned downtime scenarios with live migration and host clustering support. All of these features are available at no additional charge and enables customers to deploy cost-effective virtualization compared to competitive offerings.
Available as a free download
Support for live migration for “zero downtime” planned migrations
Support for host clustering for unplanned downtime protection
Lower total cost of ownership compared to VMware ESX 3i
Improved scalability with support for 1 TB host memory and up to 8 sockets
Here is a list of the features in Hyper-V Server 2008 R2
The following table showcases specific scenarios where Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 should be used:
New Functionality in Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate (RC) Build
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Q. What is new in the Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC build compared to the R2 Beta?
A.
The Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Release Candidate build includes the following improved and new functionality over beta.
Support for up to 64 Logical Processors –increasing the logical processors support from 24 to 64 enables customers to achieve higher consolidation ratios and more scalable virtualization scenarios on Windows Server than ever before.
Processor Compatibility Mode for live migration– allows live migration across different CPU versions within the same processor family, (e.g.”Intel Core 2-to-Intel Pentium 4” or “AMD Opteron-to-AMD Athlon”) enabling migration across a broader range of Hyper-V host hardware.
VM Chimney (TCP Offload) and VMQ support are disabled by default
The following are new Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 features that were also in the R2 beta.
Live Migration
Jumbo Frame Support
Hot Add/Remove of storage (VHDs and Pass Through Disks)
Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) processor support for both Intel (EPT) and AMD (RVI)
Core Parking
Improved network performance via support for TCP Chimney and VMQ (specific hardware NICs required)
Improved VHD performance for dynamic and difference disks
Q. Are production deployments of Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC supported?
A.
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is still in the pre-release phase and production deployments are not recommended / supported.
Q. What is the price of Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2? Will it require CALs? Will it be available in all channels?
A.
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 will continue to be available for free as a download from www.microsoft.com/hvs or from OEMs. Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 includes greater scalability and live migration and these are included for free.
CALs are only required for Windows Server and all Windows Server images that are virtualized, regardless of virtualization platform. No CALs are required for Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2.
Q. When will Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RTM?
A.
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 will RTM in the second half of 2009.
Q. How many guest OSes can I run?
A.
The actual number of guest OSes will depend on the physical hardware and the characteristics of the different virtualized workloads. Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 will support up to 8 sockets and 1 TB of memory for the host system. We will announce the maximum number of guest instances than can run on Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 closer to RTM. Additionally, each guest OS must have a valid license.
Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server require special drivers for hardware?
A.
No, Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 shares kernel components with Windows Server 2008 R2. We do not expect special hardware drivers to be required to run Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2.
Q. Does Microsoft Hyper-V Server have a special logo program?
A.
No. Since Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V have the same Windows hypervisor and shares kernel components and device drivers, we expect ISV applications that are certified for Windows with the Hyper-V designation to work on Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2.
Supported Guests
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Q. What operating systems are supported as guests on Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC?
A.
The following operating systems are supported as guests with integration services with Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC:
Windows Server 2000 Server and Advanced Server with SP4 (uniprocessor)
Windows XP SP3 32 bit (uniprocessor)
Windows Vista SP1 32 & 64 bit (uniprocessor)
Windows 7 client 32 & 64 bit (uniprocessor)
Windows 7 client 32 & 64 bit (multiprocessor, two virtual processors)
Windows Server 2003 SP2 32 & 64 bit (uniprocessor)
Windows Server 2003 SP2 32 & 64 bit (multiprocessor, two virtual processors)
Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 32 & 64 bit (uniprocessor)
Windows Server 2003 R2 SP2 32 & 64 bit (multiprocessor, two virtual processors)
Windows Server 2008 32 & 64 bit (uniprocessor)
Windows Server 2008 32 & 64 bit (multiprocessor, four virtual processors)
Windows Server 2008 R2 32 & 64 bit (uniprocessor)
Windows Server 2008 R2 32 & 64 bit (multiprocessor, four virtual processors)
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 (x86/x64) (uniprocessor, no integration components)
Q. What Linux guests are supported in Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC?
A.
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is still in the pre-release phase and production deployments are not recommended / supported. Single processor VMs of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 without integration components are currently the only recommended Linux distribution during RC.
At RTM of Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 and RedHat RHEL 5 will be supported.
Q. Can I upgrade my existing Hyper-V Server 2008 host to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC?
A.
No. There is no in-place upgrade path from Hyper-V Server 2008 to HVS2008 R2. You can backup all the VHDs, reinstall Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and then add back the VMs to the new Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 host.
Q. I have a number of virtual machines that I created using Hyper-V Server 2008. Can I move these virtual machines to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC?
A.
The following methods of moving a VM from HVS2008 to HVS2008 R2 RC will be supported:
At the end of each operation above, the VM configurations that were created in HVS2008 will still be registered in HVS2008 R2 RC.
Although all guest synthetic devices with continue to function with the older drivers on RC, updating the guest integration services to the latest R2 version is highly recommended to access the optimal performance of the R2 drivers and integration services of RC.
Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 (Beta) -> Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 (RC)
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Q. Will I be able to upgrade my Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 (Beta) host to the R2 RC?
A.
Yes. Upgrade of installations from Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC is supported. You can perform an in-place upgrade of your machine from Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC and still have all the virtual machines available.
Q. Will I be able to reuse my virtual machines that were created with the R2 beta release with Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC?
A.
The following methods of moving a VM from R2 Beta to R2 RC will be supported:
In-place upgrade of the host from Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta to Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC.
Exporting a VM from a machine running HVS2008 R2 Beta and importing to a machine running Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC.
Backing up a VM from Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Beta and restoring it on Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC
Save states and snapshots will upgrade normally with beta to RC upgrades.
Although all guest synthetic devices with continue to function with the beta drivers on RC, updating the guest integration services to the latest R2 version is highly recommended to access the optimal performance of the R2 drivers and integration services for RC.
System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) Support
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Q. Can I manage Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 hosts with SCVMM?
A.
The SCVMM 2008 R2 release will enable management of Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 hosts from SCVMM. A beta version of SCVMM 2008 R2 is currently available for customers from www.microsoft.com/scvmm.
Q. Can I manage Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC hosts with SCVMM R2 Beta?
A.
No, The current beta of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 will not support managing Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 RC. The RC for SCVMM 2008 R2 will be available by June 2009. A beta version of SCVMM 2008 R2 is currently available for customers from www.microsoft.com/scvmm.