Windows Server 2003 Datacenter - new announcement for Virtualisation

As you may have seen by now (John got there before me again!), Windows Server 2003 Datacenter has been optomised for Virtualization.  The full announcements can be found here, well full maybe too strong a word, so expect more details to come.

PressPass: What news did you announce today about Windows Server Datacenter Edition?

Lees: Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition is optimized for enterprises requiring the highest levels of scalability and availability. It enables critical solutions for databases, ERP, high volume real-time transaction processing and server consolidation. Beginning October 1, customers will be able to purchase Windows Server Datacenter Edition on their Microsoft Volume Licensing agreement from Microsoft resellers and account managers and we’re adding unlimited virtualization rights. Customers will also be able to purchase Windows Server Datacenter Edition from OEMs preinstalled on servers with two to 64 processors, with or without the Datacenter High Availability Program.

With unlimited virtualization rights on Windows Server Datacenter, customers can run as many Windows Servers in virtual machines as they wish without purchasing additional licenses. This significantly extends the savings that customers can realize through server consolidation on the Windows Server platform. We see virtualization as a key enabling technology for the vision of self-managing dynamic systems, and we will continue our efforts to make virtualization more broadly accessible and affordable for partners and customers.