Like Hyper-V? Get Ready for Hyper-V Server

There's a lot of news this morning on the Hyper-V and virtualization fronts, with a Microsoft launch event planned for later in the day. You can get the bullet points of the important news at the Windows Virtualization Team blog, but here are the highlights:

• Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008, a new hypervisor-based server virtualization product, will be released within 30 days and be available at no cost via the Web. Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 provides a simplified, reliable, and optimized virtualization solution that allows customers to consolidate Windows or Linux workloads onto a single physical server. Hyper-V Server 2008 allows customers to leverage their existing patching, provisioning, management and support tools, processes and skills.

• System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 will be released within 30 days. System Center Virtual Machine Manager enables customers to configure and deploy new virtual machines and centrally manage their virtualized infrastructure, whether running on Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2, Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 or VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3. System Center Virtual Machine Manager is part of the System Center suite of products, which provides centralized, enterprise-class management of physical and virtual resources across desktops and datacenters

• There is a “Get Virtual Now” event series is designed to educate more than 250,000 IT professionals on Microsoft virtualization products, deployment tools and partner solutions. The series of more than 125 events started Aug. 3 in South Africa, and by early 2009 will have covered more than 50 other countries.

Also of note: Microsoft’s global server OEM partners report that nearly 100% of their customers who order Windows Server 2008 with hardware are also choosing to have Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V included with their order.