Microsoft Unleashes Hyper-V Hypervisor Earlier Than Expected

Microsoft Unleashes Hyper-V Hypervisor Earlier Than Expected

The virtualization software, formerly called Viridian, is slated to become part of the Windows Server 2008, sometime after Windows Server gets upgraded in February.

By Charles Babcock InformationWeek December 13, 2007 06:35 PM

Microsoft delivered what it called "a holiday surprise" to its customers and business partners Thursday by issuing a beta version of its Hyper-V virtualization hypervisor.

"Delivering the high-quality Hyper-V beta earlier than expected allows our customers and partners to begin evaluating this feature of Windows Server 2008 and provide us with valuable feedback" said Bill Laing, general manager of the Windows Server Division, in a prepared statement.

Hyper-V is slated to become part of the Windows Server 2008, sometime after Windows Server gets upgraded in February. Microsoft has said Hyper-V will be available within six months of the release of Windows Server 2008. The beta software was included in Windows Server 2008, Release Candidate 1 Enterprise, which became available for download.