Microsoft Virtual Server
Microsoft Virtual Server is a virtualization technology that facilitates the creation of virtual machines on the Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows Server 2003 operating systems. Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 is the new server virtualization technology designed for Windows Server System platform that runs most x86 operating systems in a guest environment.
Important functions of Virtual Server 2005 R2 are summarized as below:
Consolidate infrastructure, application, and branch office server workloads.
Consolidate and re-host legacy applications.
Automate and consolidate software test and development environments.
Simplify disaster and recovery planning.
Virtual Server 2005 R2 features COM Application Programming Interface (API) and supports virtual networking. It provides administrators with complete scripted control of portable, connected virtual machines and enables easy automation of deployment, and ongoing change and configuration.
Add-ins provide greater CPU and IO performance for Windows Server guest operating systems and certain third-party x86 operating systems. The server natively runs within a 64-bit Windows host operating system, providing increased performance and memory headroom.
With a wide variety of existing Microsoft and third-party management tools, Virtual Server 2005 R2 allows IT managers to seamlessly manage the server environment with their existing physical server management tools.
Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 is provided with a set of new capabilities such as virtual server host clustering, iSCSI support, enhanced PXE booting, and x64 support. The Enterprise Edition of the server is available; it can be installed on servers with up to 32 physical processors. It supports both Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) and AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) hardware assisted virtualization.
