Microsoft Makes Hyper-V Available

REDMOND, Wash. -- Reaching the next major milestonein virtualization development, Microsoft Corp. today made broadly available afeature-complete release candidate of Microsoft Hyper-V, the hypervisor-basedvirtualization software available with various versions of Windows Server 2008. Abeta of Hyper-V was included with Windows Server 2008 when it launched last month,and this release candidate provides updated, near-final code.

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Hyper-V provides customers with efficient and cost-effective virtualizationinfrastructure software. It enables customers to reduce operating costs byincreasing hardware utilization, optimizing infrastructure and improving serveravailability. Customers and partners can download the release candidate athttp://www.microsoft.com/Hyper-V by 10 a.m. PDT today.

"As customers begin deploying Windows Server 2008, we want to ensure they have thetools to optimize their IT infrastructure. Hyper-V will help customers consolidateIT systems and allow their businesses to respond more rapidly to ever-changingmarket conditions," said Bill Hilf, general manager of the Windows Server Divisionat Microsoft. "Virtualization has been too complicated and expensive for mostorganizations, which is why less than 10 percent of servers are virtualized today.Our goal is to make Hyper-V broadly available, easy to adopt and cost-effectivewhile delivering powerful systems management capabilities for customers' traditionaland virtualized IT environments."

Microsoft Corp.