Windows Server

Microsoft Releases Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 As Free Standalone HyperVisor

Windows Server 2008 Icon :: groovyPost.comLast month I attended the Get Virtual Now event Microsoft hosted.  Bob Muglia announced they were working on and would be releasing within 30 days a Free Standalone HyperVisor called Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008.

I was jubilant to discover on MicrosoftPost.com that Microsoft has done JUST that!  You can find the Download Link for The Free download is an obvious response to .

At first glance, however, it looks like Microsoft needs to streamline the Hypervisor.  The download page is showing the Hyper-V Server 2008 download as a WHOPPING 1 GIG! and the Requirements Page says 2 GIG’S for a full install. That’s a huge gap from VMWare’s free Hypervisor ESXi which has just a 32 MEG disk footprint.  It looks like the Redmond boys need to drop some of the FAT!

Here’s a few Exerts from the Download Page:

Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008

The standalone hypervisor-based virtualization solution  Hyper-V Server 2008 provides a simplified, reliable and optimized virtualization solution, enabling improved server utilization and reduced costs.

Microsoft® Hyper-V™ Server 2008 is a stand-alone product that provides a simplified, reliable, cost-effective and optimized virtualization solution enabling organizations to improve server utilization and reduce costs. It allows organizations to consolidate workloads onto a single physical server and is a good solution for organizations who want a basic and simplified virtualization solution for consolidating servers as well as for development and test environments. Low utilization infrastructure workloads, departmental applications and simple branch office workloads are also candidates to virtualize using Hyper-V Server 2008.
Hyper-V Server 2008 is a cost-effective solution that is convenient because it plugs into existing IT infrastructures enabling companies to reduce costs, improve utilization and provision new servers. It allows IT professionals to leverage existing patching, provisioning, management and support tools and processes. IT Professionals can continue to leverage their individual skills and the collective knowledge of Microsoft tools, minimizing the learning curve to manage Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008. In addition, with Microsoft providing comprehensive support for Microsoft applications and heterogeneous guest operating systems support, customers can virtualize with confidence and peace of mind.
To obtain a license for Microsoft Hyper-V Server, you must:

  1. Review the Microsoft Hyper-V Server license terms .
  2. Print and retain a copy of the Microsoft Hyper-V Server license terms for your records.
  3. Accept the license terms. By downloading, installing, or using Microsoft Hyper-V Server, you agree to accept the license terms. If you do not agree to the license terms, do not use the software.

System Requirements

  • Supported Operating Systems: Windows Server 2008
  • Note: Hyper-V Server 2008 is a 64-bit only technology and requires a 64-bit capable hardware with Intel VT or AMD-V technology enabled.
  • Processor : Intel Pentium 4, Xeon, Core 2 DUO processor; AMD Opteron, Athlon 64, Athlon X2, . Hardware Data Execution Protection (DEP) must be available and be enabled. Specifically, you must enable Intel XD bit (execute disable bit) or AMD NX bit (no execute bit).
  • Minimum CPU speed : 1 GHz; Recommended: 2 GHz or faster
  • RAM : Minimum: 1 GB RAM; Recommended: 2+ GB RAM; Maximum 32 GB
  • Required Available disk space: 2GB of available hard disk space (additional disk space needed for each guest operating system)

It will be fun to play with, and I’ll be sure to start posting some How-To Tutorials once I have time to pull up my sleeves and get this bad boy installed.

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3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. shockersh

    I’m SOOO pissed I can’t install this on my home servers! Yes, I have 64BIT but I don’t have the Intel VT capable CPU!

    PISSED!

  2. MrGroove

    @shockersh – Agreed. I had to make a few purchases for my “Home Lab” in order to begin playing with Microsoft Hyper-V inside Windows Server 2008. Fortunately, most new desktops and even Notebooks come standard now with 64bit VT capable CPU’s. But yes, I understand the frustration.

  3. tonyle

    awesome news! thanks for the update. I know what I’m doing tonight!

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