Microsoft Updates Virtual Server 2005
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Beta 2 adds support for AMD's virtualization technology, plus integration with Active Directory.
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Microsoft will accelerate the rollout of Windows XP Service Pack 2 over the next month and has released the first official update for SP2 to fix a problem some users had with virtual private networks.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft has clarified how licensing for its current version of Windows Server works when paired with virtualization software. However, customers may face a whole new set of licensing rules once the next version, Windows Server 2008, is released later this year. In a white paper called "Licensing Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2 to Run with Virtualization Technologies," Microsoft outlines clearly how to license the current version of Windows Server -- Windows Server 2003 R2 -- for specific third-party virtualization technology, including VMware ESX, VMware Vmotion and SWsoft Virtuozzo. It also explains licensing for Microsoft's own System Center Virtual Machine Manager. The document can be found on a Web page that also includes previously released virtualization calculators that help customers determine the cost of Windows Server licensing in various virtualization scenarios. Virtualization has complicated server OS pricing because it allows more than one instance of server software to run on a single server, while traditional OS pricing has been per server, assuming that only one version of an OS can run on one piece of hardware. Virtualization allows software to be emulated via a virtual machine, and so run without having to be physically installed. But even if Microsoft has done enough to clarify how its current version of Windows Server should be licensed for virtualization scenarios, customers could find themselves needing new guidelines once Windows Server 2008 is released, something Microsoft expects to do by the end of the year. Formerly code-named Longhorn, the next version of Windows Server will have virtualization technology built in, which could preclude the need for third-party virtualization software. "We believe most customers will choose to use Windows Server virtualization, which comes as a role within Windows Server 2008," said Microsoft spokesman Patrick O'Rourke. "But customers still have the option to use third-party server virtualization software on Windows Server 2008." Pricing for Windows Server 2008 has not yet been announced. According to the Microsoft white paper, current virtualization pricing for Windows Server 2003 R2 is as follows: Windows Server 2003 R2 Standard Edition (SE) allows a customer to run only one instance of the software in either a physical or virtual way on a server. Users need to assign an SE license for each running instance of Windows Server on a system. Customers have more flexibility with the enterprise and datacenter editions of Windows Server 2003, however. They can run one physical instance of Windows Server and up to four simultaneous virtual instances with one Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition license, and can run unlimited physical or virtual versions of the software when Windows Server 2003 R2 Datacenter Edition is licensed for every physical processor in a server Windows Server 2008 is currently available in a beta 3 version.
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft released its first software designed specifically to manage virtual machines on a network ThursdayÂ and tweaked licensing for its system-management products to take into account virtualization. System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007, which has been in the works for about a year and a half, has been released to manufacturing and will be generally available in October as part of Microsoft's System Server Management Center suite of products, the company said. The new product is built on the same architecture as other products in the enterprise version of the suite -- which include Data Protection Manager, Operations Manager, and Configuration Manager -- and is aimed specifically at managing virtual machines in a data center that runs Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2, the current version of Microsoft's server virtualization technology, said Patrick O'Rourke, group manager, Windows Infrastructure. "Customers now can use the same tools to manage both virtual and physical assets [on the network]," he said. Microsoft also has changed the licensing model for its for its System Center Server Management Suite Enterprise, making it available for $860 per host server -- which means the actual server that hosts any instances of virtual software -- plus two years of Microsoft's Software Assurance plan. Previously, System Center software was licensed per device being managed in the data center, O'Rourke said. The new licensing should make managing virtualized environments with Microsoft's software more cost-effective for customers, he said. Microsoft has been developing and fine-tuning its virtualization strategy over the past several years to keep up with virtualization leader VMWare and others, as well as to serve the needs of large customers who increasingly are using virtualization in their data centers. However, the company's strategy has predictably hit some road bumps. Microsoft is developing next-generation virtualization technology, code-named Viridian, that takes advantage of virtualization-optimized processors from Intel and AMD and will help keep the company up to speed with competitors. However, though Viridian will be a component of Windows Server 2008, it won't be available until six months after that new OS is released. And because Microsoft recently pushed back the release of Windows Server 2008 to the first quarter of next year, Viridian's release is nearly a year away. The company also decided earlier this year to pull out some originally planned features of Viridian due to timing concerns. In the meantime, customers can use a combination of Microsoft's stand-alone Virtual Server and its System Center products to install and manage both virtual and physical machines in the data center. Microsoft also is planning a mid-market version of Virtual Machine Manager, called Workgroup edition, for release in January. The software will cost $499 per host server. Microsoft also plans to extend the capabilities of the next version of Virtual Machine Manager so that it not only supports Windows Server virtualization technologies but also third-party virtualization from VMware and XenSource Inc., O'Rourke said. A beta of that software is expected to be available around the same time as Windows Server 2008, and Microsoft plans to update its roadmap then as well.
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Early version of first significant Vista update released to testers. Also, near-final "release candidate" version of Windows Server 2008 to be available within 24 hours.
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Three years between betas VMware has hoisted a revamped version of its ACE desktop virtualization software onto a beta testing site.â¦
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SAP has decided to support virtual server installations.
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Microsoft on Monday debuted an almost-finished version of the first service pack for its Windows Server 2003 software, and like October&#39;s SP2 for the desktop Windows XP OS, stressed security in the update.
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Microsoft releases critical Explorer patch VNUNet.com
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In a matchup between VMware Server and Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2, our reviewer says they're both capable products and that the differences is "on the margin." Making the right choice is all about deciding what's most important to your infrastructure.
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Microsoft next month plans to distribute an updated beta version of its Visual Studio 2005 development tool that includes the first fruits of the company&#39;s ambitious initiative for team development.
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Microsoft Corp. wants to deliver its Windows Server 2003 update, known as &quot;R2,&quot; in 2005. To make sure it will be able do so, the company is prioritizing its feature list and moving some R2 features into later releases.
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Live Communications Server 2005, Microsoft&#39;s second-generation real-time communications server, is released to manufacturing and will be generally available on Dec. 1, the company said Tuesday.
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As it strives to improve its reputation in the server and desktop management arena, Microsoft announced on Tuesday Virtual Server 2005 and Microsoft Operations Manager (MOM) 2005 as well as the first public beta of Windows Update Services.
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InfoWorld - Microsoft released its first software designed specifically to manage virtual machines on a network Thursday&#160;and tweaked licensing for its system-management products to take into account virtualization.
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Microsoft has sent out new invitations for the Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 1 and Windows XP Professional 64-bit Edition beta tests. The new XP iteration is designed to operate with the AMD Athlon 64 and Opteron processors, as well as the Intel processors with EM64T.
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Microsoft Corp. released Service Pack 2 (SP2) for SQL Server 2005 on Tuesday, a free upgrade [&lt;a href="http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/sql/2005/downloads/servicepacks/sp2.mspx"&gt;available for download&lt;/a&gt;], in addition to new virtualization licensing for the database.