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images/news/windows.jpgA lesser known sibling to Windows 7, Microsoft’s new server release could be equally significant.
Windows 7 may be grabbing the headlines, but it’s not the only new operating system on the block. Originally dubbed Windows 7 Server, the now more conservatively styled Windows Server 2008 (WS 2008) R2 could do for servers what the Vista replacement is expected to deliver on the desktop. That’s because, unlike the R2 for Windows Server 2003, the WS 2008 R2 is packed full of enhanced and, in some cases, totally new features, the most keenly awaited of which has to be Hyper-V 2.0.
The new Windows hypervisor removes the thorn of live migration from Microsoft’s side, enabling virtual machines to be migrated between host servers while still running, for example to balance loads or allow for server maintenance. Rival VMware has had this option with VMotion for years but it’s costly, whereas with Hyper-V 2.0 it’s bundled in both the full Windows Server 2008 R2 package and the standalone Hyper-V Server implementation.
Live migration is facilitated by another new feature of the R2 release called Clustered Shared Volume (CSV), part of an enhanced Failover Clustering role that enables virtual hard disks (VHDs) used by virtual machines (VMs) to be shared.
Read on at V3
Windows 7 may be grabbing the headlines, but it’s not the only new operating system on the block. Originally dubbed Windows 7 Server, the now more conservatively styled Windows Server 2008 (WS 2008) R2 could do for servers what the Vista replacement is expected to deliver on the desktop. That’s because, unlike the R2 for Windows Server 2003, the WS 2008 R2 is packed full of enhanced and, in some cases, totally new features, the most keenly awaited of which has to be Hyper-V 2.0.
The new Windows hypervisor removes the thorn of live migration from Microsoft’s side, enabling virtual machines to be migrated between host servers while still running, for example to balance loads or allow for server maintenance. Rival VMware has had this option with VMotion for years but it’s costly, whereas with Hyper-V 2.0 it’s bundled in both the full Windows Server 2008 R2 package and the standalone Hyper-V Server implementation.
Live migration is facilitated by another new feature of the R2 release called Clustered Shared Volume (CSV), part of an enhanced Failover Clustering role that enables virtual hard disks (VHDs) used by virtual machines (VMs) to be shared.
Read on at V3
