It’s not just V. It’s {Hyper-V}.

Hyper-V, the virtualization capability comes with Windows Server 2008, is just finally released. The final version number is 18016. This is the complete Hyper-V RTM package for Windows Server 2008 x64. It includes the Hyper-V Server components for Full and Core installations. In addition, is contains the Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V Management components for Full installations. Notice once installed, this package is permanent and cannot be uninstalled.

If upgrading from Hyper-V RC0, RC1 Escrow, RC1 or RTM Escrow, you will not need to recreate your virtual machines or network settings. All virtual machine information will simply persist once the upgrade is complete. However, saved-state files and online snapshots are not supported during the upgrade. Integration Components are specific to the build of Hyper-V. New Integration Components (ICs) must be installed for your supported guest operating systems. Hyper-V RTM Integration Components for all supported Windows Operating Systems are provided using the ‘Action’ à ‘Insert Integration Services Setup Disk’ action.

New customers and partners can download Hyper-V at https://www.microsoft.com/hyper-v. Customers who have deployed Windows Server 2008 should receive Hyper-V from Windows Update beginning July 8. Here are some essential bookmarks on Hyper-V:

· Microsoft Virtualization web site

· Microsoft Virtualization Team Blogs

· Windows Server 2008 and Virtualization

Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit 3.1 is to help accelerate planning and deployment of virtualization solutions. More information is available at https://www.microsoft.com/map. The logo-qualified hardware and software for Windows Server 2008 and Hyper-V are available at https://www.windowsservercatalog.com.