From CEDIA EXPO 2007

One of my favorite MCE apps just got even better…free!

Microsoft also revealed that as of Sept. 5, 2007, the popular third-party placeshifting plug-in application for Windows Media Center is available at no cost. WebGuide allows Windows Media Center consumers to view live and recorded TV, schedule and manage recorded television programs, and access music, pictures and videos remotely from any Web browser. Further details are available at http://www.asciiexpress.com/webguide.

And..this would be better if they included the UK (and the rest of the world) in thennouncement

Internet TV for Windows Media Center

The number of content providers delivering video over the Internet continues to grow, and Microsoft is supporting this by adding a new Internet TV feature to Windows Media Center. Microsoft said its Internet TV service will be available for all Windows Vista Home Premium-and Windows Vista Ultimate-based PCs in the U.S. This new capability will allow a range of video content to be streamed to any Windows Media Center or Extender in the connected home. Further details will be announced at the DigitalLife event in New York on Sept. 27, 2007.

The main website has undergone a major overhaul – take a look here: http://www.microsoft.com/windowsserversystem/virtualization/default.mspx

….resume

Sorry for the blog drought in the last month or so, a combination of holiday, work events and the normal yearly week long (9days actually) training trip to Seattle last week have kept me busy.

In addition I’ve moved role – I’m now a Server Virtualization person (rather than a Windows Server person doing some virtualization).  This means I’ll be spending my time primarily focused on System Center Virtual Machine Manager and Windows Server Enterprise and Datacenter editions, and the virtulization engines: Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 and Windows Server virtualization (WSv).

This should be an exciting year!

Clive

I’ve always tried to use the tools available that ship with products but sometimes a better alternative exists.  We have had this tool internally for some time, it’s great to see it available to all.  The Tabbed interface and the fact it’s not a web page work for me as the prime advantages!

Keith has the details and links to the downloads (x86 and x64 versions are available)

One of my favorite pieces of software (or should that be feature rich OS) has just hit Release Candidate status, the Windows Home Server blog has all the details.

100,000+ of you have already had the chance to beta this, more places will be made available for this RC.

The wait is over, you can now download from here.  Extra details can be found here and in the FAQ from where I pulled out these details on the new features.  Bink.nu also has more of a write up than time allows me to produce today 

What’s New in This Release

Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 includes the following new capabilities:

Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 Enterprise Edition can be installed on servers with up to 32 physical processors.

Virtual Server host clustering. Support for host-to-host connectivity lets you cluster all virtual machines running on a host.

iSCSI support. iSCSI clustering enables guest-to-guest connectivity across physical machines.

x64 support. Virtual Server runs natively within a 64-bit Windows host operating system, providing increased performance and memory headroom.

Enhanced PXE booting. PXE boot support has been added to the virtual machine network adapter. This means that when the appropriate network infrastructure is in place, you can perform a network installation of a guest operating system in the same way as physical servers.

Other improvements. Virtual Server now includes improved hyperthreading, support for F6 Disk (SCSI driver), Active Directory integration using service connection points, and virtual disk pre-compactor functionality.

Performance improvements.

New Features in Virtual Server R2 SP1

Hardware-assisted virtualization

Supports both Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) and AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) hardware-assisted virtualization.

VHD Mount Command-line Tool and APIs

Provides the ability to mount a virtual hard disk file (.vhd file) as a virtual disk device on another operating system.

Support for Volume Shadow Copy Service

Allows back-up of Virtual Server and its running virtual machines without needing to install backup agents inside the guest operating system of the virtual machines.

Larger default size for dynamically expanding virtual hard disks

The default size for dynamically expanding virtual hard disks has been changed from 16 GB to 127 GB, making the VHD file format even more useful for enterprise production, test, and disaster-recovery workloads.

Support for greater than 64 virtual machines on x64-based hosts

Virtual Server can run more than 64 virtual machines on x64-based hosts. The 64 virtual machine limit remains when running on 32-bit hosts.

Host clustering step-by-step guide

Host clustering allows you to extend the high-availability benefits of clustering to non-cluster-aware applications and workloads.

Virtual SCSI fix for Linux guests

This fix resolves an issue some customers encountered when trying to install certain Linux distributions inside a virtual machine on the emulated SCSI bus.

VMRC ActiveX control and Internet Explorer Security Zones

The Virtual Machine Remote Control (VMRC) ActiveX control now uses the security zone information in Internet Explorer to determine whether to prompt you for your credentials when you load the control.

Service Publication using Active Directory Service Connection Points

Virtual Server service now publishes its binding information in Active Directory as a Service Connection Point (SCP) object.

The wait is over, you can now download from here.  Extra details can be found here and in the FAQ from where I pulled out thyese details on the new features

What’s New in This Release

Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 includes the following new capabilities:

Virtual Server 2005 R2 SP1 Enterprise Edition can be installed on servers with up to 32 physical processors.

Virtual Server host clustering. Support for host-to-host connectivity lets you cluster all virtual machines running on a host.

iSCSI support. iSCSI clustering enables guest-to-guest connectivity across physical machines.

x64 support. Virtual Server runs natively within a 64-bit Windows host operating system, providing increased performance and memory headroom.

Enhanced PXE booting. PXE boot support has been added to the virtual machine network adapter. This means that when the appropriate network infrastructure is in place, you can perform a network installation of a guest operating system in the same way as physical servers.

Other improvements. Virtual Server now includes improved hyperthreading, support for F6 Disk (SCSI driver), Active Directory integration using service connection points, and virtual disk pre-compactor functionality.

Performance improvements.

New Features in Virtual Server R2 SP1

Hardware-assisted virtualization

Supports both Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT) and AMD Virtualization (AMD-V) hardware-assisted virtualization.

VHD Mount Command-line Tool and APIs

Provides the ability to mount a virtual hard disk file (.vhd file) as a virtual disk device on another operating system.

Support for Volume Shadow Copy Service

Allows back-up of Virtual Server and its running virtual machines without needing to install backup agents inside the guest operating system of the virtual machines.

Larger default size for dynamically expanding virtual hard disks

The default size for dynamically expanding virtual hard disks has been changed from 16 GB to 127 GB, making the VHD file format even more useful for enterprise production, test, and disaster-recovery workloads.

Support for greater than 64 virtual machines on x64-based hosts

Virtual Server can run more than 64 virtual machines on x64-based hosts. The 64 virtual machine limit remains when running on 32-bit hosts.

Host clustering step-by-step guide

Host clustering allows you to extend the high-availability benefits of clustering to non-cluster-aware applications and workloads.

Virtual SCSI fix for Linux guests

This fix resolves an issue some customers encountered when trying to install certain Linux distributions inside a virtual machine on the emulated SCSI bus.

VMRC ActiveX control and Internet Explorer Security Zones

The Virtual Machine Remote Control (VMRC) ActiveX control now uses the security zone information in Internet Explorer to determine whether to prompt you for your credentials when you load the control.

Service Publication using Active Directory Service Connection Points

Virtual Server service now publishes its binding information in Active Directory as a Service Connection Point (SCP) object.

As James says, and just like little children worldwide – “I want one!”.  I can’t wait until this is available for the home rather than for commercial use, that said being able to walk into a store and really interact is amazing.   The on10.net video is very good and explains the art of the possible really well.

I stumbled on this today, it seems there is a second calculator now available (the first was made available in January).   

The licensing page has been updated to reflect the two calculators:

• Calculator 1 – is designed to estimate the licenses and cost of Windows Server by editions and numerous Microsoft server products on a single, physical server.
  
• Calculator 2 – is designed to estimate the licenses and cost of only Windows Server by edition for one or multiple physical servers.
  

There are also numerous links to other licensing briefs pertinent to Virtualization at the bottom of the page.

So the name just got announced at WinHEC during Bill’s keynote, Windows Server ”‘longhorn” will be Windows Server 2008…were you surprised?

Clive