News
Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 Beta 2 Released
Try saying this three times quickly: Microsoft is shipping Beta 2 of Virtual
Server 2005 Release 2 Service Pack 1.
The company made the Beta 2 code available for download on Thursday.
According to statements on Microsoft's Web site, Virtual Server 2005
R2 SP1 Beta 2 includes compatibility with both AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) and
Intel Virtualization Technology (IVT), as well as providing Active Directory
integration using service connection points.
Beta 2 also includes Volume Shadow Service, which provides improved support
for backup and disaster recovery. Instead of scheduling downtime for backing
up each virtual machine individually, customers can take snapshot backups of
physical machines that will in turn take snapshots of all the virtual machines
on that physical host.
In addition, offline Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) mounting lets customers view
and manipulate files in a VHD without having to start the virtual machine. The
intent is to let administrators easily deploy scripts and perform virus scans
across VHDs without having to start each virtual machine.
Windows Vista will be supported as a guest OS when Virtual Server 2005 R2
SP1 becomes generally available, the company said.
Interested parties can download the beta here.
About the Author
Stuart J. Johnston has covered technology, especially Microsoft, since February 1988 for InfoWorld, Computerworld, Information Week, and PC World, as well as for Enterprise Developer, XML & Web Services, and .NET magazines.