Windows Server 2008 Virtualization

New to the 64-bit editions of Windows Server 2008 is built-in virtualization (also known as Hyper-V), which enables you to run multiple instances of operating systems on a single server. It presents a robust, scalable virtualization platform with capabilities to run both 32- and 64-bit guest operating systems, as well as non-Windows operating systems, such as Linux. Previous editions of Windows Server required that you use an add-on product such as Microsoft Virtual Server 2005. Unlike such add-on products, Hyper-V acts as a true hypervisor, sitting directly above the hardware in the server architecture design. Consequently, Hyper-V machines should run much faster than previous virtualization designs.

The following are some of the advantages of Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008: