If you're an IT professional who's experienced in Windows and in need of a production-worthy virtualization platform, look no further than Microsoft Hyper-V. Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization ships as an already-in-the-box component of Windows Server 2008, which means that your existing licenses for Windows Server automatically grant you access to this powerful virtualization platform.
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Cathleen A. Gagne, Senior Editorial Director
If Hyper-V's easy availability and comfortable Windows-based management makes it a good fit for your business network, read on. Now in R2 with the release of Windows Server 2008 R2, Hyper-V includes the features and capabilities that a business needs to ensure high availability of virtual machines (VMs).
Clustering Hyper-V servers together atop Windows Failover Clustering enables Live Migration features that keep virtual machines running during planned outages. With the right architecture, that same clustering solution automatically rehosts and restarts VMs after a host failure. The result is the highest levels of virtual workload availability using hardware you likely have in-house.
In this guide on Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008 R2, we cover the Hyper-V role and your environment's requirements for Hyper-V, how to install Hyper-V and Windows Server 2008 ,managing Hyper-V and Windows Server 2008 with System Center Virtual Machine Manager, and some of the standout features of Hyper-V virtualization, including Live Migration and Cluster Shared Volumes.
This guide is designed to help you understand Microsoft Hyper-V requirements, smart solutions for Hyper-V implementation, and the features that make Hyper-V virtualization a compelling fit for IT environments of all sizes.
Greg Shields is an independent author, instructor, Microsoft MVP and IT consultant based in Denver. He is a co-founder of Concentrated Technology LLC and has nearly 15 years of experience in IT architecture and enterprise administration. Shields specializes in Microsoft administration, systems management and monitoring, and virtualization. He is the author of several books, including Windows Server 2008: What's New/What's Changed, available from Sapien Press.
This was first published in December 2009