News

Evaluation Version of VMM 2008 R2 Released

The new release will be able to work with competitor VMware's virtualization product.

Microsoft in August released a 180-day evaluation version of System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 (VMM 2008 R2). The product has reached the released to manufacturing (RTM) milestone and will be generally available on the first of this month for volume-licensing customers.

Microsoft has been testing VMM 2008 R2 in conjunction with Windows Server 2008 R2, according to a blog by Rakesh Malhotra, a Microsoft group program manager. Microsoft released the RTM version of Windows Server 2008 R2 in July and made it available to TechNet subscribers, Microsoft Developer Network subscribers and volume-licensing customers earlier in August.

According to the product's description, VMM 2008 R2 works with Windows Server 2008 Datacenter, Windows Server 2008 Enterprise, Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows Server 2008 Standard.

VMM 2008 R2 also works with competitor VMware Inc.'s virtualization product. Microsoft's Server and Tools Business News Bytes blog states that: "One key additional feature of VMM [20]08 R2 is the ability to manage VMs running on VMware vSphere 4.0."

New in the R2 version of VMM 2008 R2 are storage migration, live migration queuing, rapid provisioning, host-compatibility checks, support for third-party clustered file systems and support for the Veritas Volume Manager.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is senior news producer for 1105 Media's Converge360 group.

Featured

  • Microsoft Offers Support Extensions for Exchange 2016 and 2019

    Microsoft has introduced a paid Extended Security Update (ESU) program for on-premises Exchange Server 2016 and 2019, offering a crucial safety cushion as both versions near their Oct. 14, 2025 end-of-support date.

  • An image of planes flying around a globe

    2025 Microsoft Conference Calendar: For Partners, IT Pros and Developers

    Here's your guide to all the IT training sessions, partner meet-ups and annual Microsoft conferences you won't want to miss.

  • Notebook

    Microsoft Centers AI, Security and Partner Dogfooding at MCAPS

    Microsoft's second annual MCAPS for Partners event took place Tuesday, delivering a volley of updates and directives for its partners for fiscal 2026.

  • Microsoft Layoffs: AI Is the Obvious Elephant in the Room

    As Microsoft doubles down on an $80 billion bet on AI this fiscal year, its workforce reductions are drawing scrutiny over whether AI's ascent is quietly reshaping its human capital strategy, even as official messaging avoids drawing a direct line.

Most   Popular