HyperV - Windows 2008 RTM specific

Q. What version of Hyper-V is available with Windows Server 2008?

A. A RC version of Hyper-V is now available with Windows Server 2008 RTM for x64 editions. Previously a customer technology preview (CTP) version of Hyper-V was made available as a part of the 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2008 Release Candidate 0 (RC0).

Q. How do users access the Hyper-V RC?

A. Users can download and install the update for RC from here or via Windows Update. Users can go to Server Manager and install the Hyper-V role. After the Hyper-V role is enabled, Hyper-V Manager will become available as a part of Administrative Tools. From the Hyper-V Manager users can easily create and configure virtual machines.

Q. Who should take part in the beta? Is the beta open to anyone?

A. Microsoft is encouraging all customers and partners to test and evaluate the beta of Hyper-V. Detailed installation instructions are available at How to Install Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V page.

Q. Who should take part in the Release Candidate? Is the RC open to anyone?

A. Microsoft is encouraging all customers and partners to test and evaluate the RC of Hyper-V. With RC, Hyper-V is now feature complete and provides a seamless upgrade path to RTM of Hyper-V. Detailed installation instructions are available at How to Install Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V page.

Q. What are the key differences between what is in RC versus the Beta for Hyper-V?

A. The RC of Hyper-V is available for Windows Server 2008 x64 editions. Customers are encouraged to use this release to evaluate and test Hyper-V. With RC, Hyper-V is now feature complete and provides a seamless upgrade path to RTM of Hyper-V. The key new updates that are in Hyper-V RC are stability and usability improvements including partial localization for German and Japanese, additional Guest OS support, and improved performance. For a full list of features, refer to the key features in Hyper-V RC.

Q. Is this RC feature complete? Do you expect to make any feature additions or subtractions going forward?

A. The Hyper-V RC is feature complete, and is designed for test and evaluation of the final deployment scenarios. This provides the opportunity for Microsoft to get valuable feedback from customers and partners.

Q. What are the goals of this RC?

A. The goal of this RC is to provide customers and partners with a feature complete version of Hyper-V to evaluate and begin planning and testing, and provide Microsoft feedback.

Q. What will testers see when they download the Hyper-V RC?

A. Customers will download Windows Server 2008 x64 editions, and they'll have to enable the virtualization role through Server Manager. The update for the RC version is available as a separate download or via Windows Update. After the Hyper-V role is enabled, Hyper-V Manager will become available as a part of Administrative Tools. From the Hyper-V Manager users can easily create and configure virtual machines.

Q. Does Microsoft provide technical support to RC participants?

A. There is no direct technical support. We will have newsgroup support only.

Q. What is the guidance for using/deploying Hyper-V RC?

A. Hyper-V RC should be used for evaluation and testing purposes only. Production deployments of the RC will not be supported.

Q. What is the expected performance of the Hyper-V RC? How does it compare to Virtual Server? How does it compare to ESX server?

A. We will be doing most of the performance-related work between the beta and RTM of Hyper-V. At this point, we are happy with the progress made on the performance side between Beta and RC. We will not be publishing performance numbers at this time.

Q. Can I upgrade from the Hyper-V Beta to the Hyper-V RC?

A. Customers will be able to upgrade their current Hyper-V Beta systems running on Windows Server 2008 RTM with the Windows Update. It is recommended that customers backup their VHDs before installing the updates. Customer will be required to re-create the virtual machine settings and virtual switch settings on the host but can re-use their existing VHDs. Get detailed instructions for Hyper V migration.

Q. What is the list of guests that will be supported on Hyper-V? When can we expect support for key operating systems like Windows Vista, Windows XP, Linux, etc.?

A. In general, Microsoft does not support pre-release software which includes CTP, beta, and Release Candidates. However, online forums and newsgroup support are available. The guest operating systems that have been tested on Hyper-V RC are: Windows Server 2003 editions, Windows Server 2008 editions, Windows Vista SP1 x86, Windows XP SP3 x86 editions, and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 with Service Pack 1. In fact, beta Linux integration components are now available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1 x86 and x64 Editions. The Linux integration components include support for both the synthetic network adapter and synthetic storage controller. The integration components also include the Hypercall Adapter. The Hypercall adapter is a thin layer of software that resides below the Xen-enable Linux kernel and translates the Xen-specific virtualization calls to Microsoft Hyper-V hypercalls resulting in improved performance. Beta Linux Integration components are available for immediate download through http://www.connect.microsoft.com. For the complete list of operating systems that will be supported for the Hyper-V RTM, please refer to http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/us/hyperv-supported-guest-os.aspx.

Q. What Guest OS is supported with Hyper-V at RC?

A. In general, Microsoft does not support pre-release software which includes CTP, beta, and Release Candidates. However, online forums and newsgroup support is available. The guest operating systems that have been tested on Hyper-V RC are:

Windows Server 2008, Windows Server 2003, Vista, XP and SUSE 10 will be supported with Hyper-V.

* Windows Server 2008 x86 (VM configured as 1, 2 or 4-way SMP)
* Windows Server 2008 x64 (VM configured as 1, 2 or 4-way SMP)
* Windows Server 2003 x86 (VMs configured as 1 or 2-way SMP only)
* Windows Server 2003 x64 (VMs configured as 1-way only)
* Windows Vista x86 with Service Pack 1 (VMs configured as 1-way only)
* Windows XP x86 with Service Pack 3 (VMs configured as 1-way only)
* SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 with Service Pack 1 x86 Edition
* SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 with Service Pack 1 x64 Edition

Q. What are the differences between Hyper-V and Virtual Server?

A. Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 is the current server virtualization solution from Microsoft and is based on a hosted virtualization platform. Hyper-V, a key feature of Windows Server 2008, is a hypervisor-based virtualization platform that will enable customers to not only consolidate a vast array of workloads but also enable moving toward a dynamic IT environment. Core feature set differences include support for 64 guest virtual machines, SMP support, performance improvements, and other key features in Hyper-V.

Q. Will localized versions of Hyper-V be made available?

A. Hyper-V RC is now available in English and partially localized in German and Japanese. We have not announced the localization schedule for Hyper-V yet.