• Driver support for synthetic devices: Linux Integration Services supports the synthetic network controller and the synthetic storage controller that were developed specifically for Hyper-V.
• Fastpath Boot Support for Hyper-V: Boot devices take advantage of the block Virtualization Service Client (VSC) to provide enhanced performance.
• Timesync: The clock inside the virtual machine will remain synchronized with the clock on the host.
• Integrated Shutdown: Virtual machines running Linux can be gracefully shut down from either Hyper-V Manager or System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
• Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) Support: Supported Linux distributions can use up to 4 virtual processors (VP) per virtual machine.
• Heartbeat: Allows the host to detect whether the guest is running and responsive.
• Pluggable Time Source: A pluggable clock source module is included to provide a more accurate time source to the guest.

This version of the integration services for Hyper-V supports Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.4 / 5.5. You can obtain the Linux IS’s via the Microsoft Download Center.

I’ve been told that this realease also fixes some major time drifting issues on Linux guests running with the SMP (multiprocessor) option activated that were present in the RC version. On this note, I’ll also be releasing a screencast (in Romanian) on running Linux under Hyper-V soon, along with some best practices.

As far as Dynamic Memory is concerned, there’s a very comprehensible article on the Virtualization Team’s blog, and a post on Ben Armstrong’s blog as well. Ben also mentions all the supported guest operating systems for both the DM beta and the release, and he also spoke about it at TechEd US 2010.

Also, when it comes to RemoteFX, while many SBC (server-based computing) players announced their support for it (e.g. VMWare, Quest, Wyse Technology), I do think nVidia is the one that stands out, because this brings a huge opportunity for them to enter the server market.

Vista RTM is also scheduled to enter end-of-support in April 2010. More details on the Microsoft website.

I’ve been using it for quite some time now, and it’s one of the best tools of its kind.

A quick note here: even with the newly introduced support for more VMs per node, you’re still limited to 1000 VMs per cluster.

“Public beta of service pack 1 (SP1) for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 coming by end of July. The new virtualization tools in SP1 will help Windows Server 2008 R2 users prepare for cloud computing, Remote FX provides rich 3-D graphical experience for remote users, and Dynamic Memory enables more control to adjust memory usage without sacrificing performance. The service pack also will include a series of incremental updates, previously delivered through Windows Update, for both Windows Server and Windows 7 users.”

Ben Armstrong (Virtualization Program Manager) was also there at TechEd, talking about Dynamic Memory in Hyper-V R2 SP1 (download available).

Later edit: check out the DM presentation recording here.

To be honest, I find that the biggest security problem with Windows is actually it’s popularity: in the long run, using Linux or MacOS might in fact be less secure if attacked directly, even if there really are more known attacks/viruses/worms/trojans built  for Windows than there are for MacOS or Linux. After all, the security of a computer system depends very much on it being up to date and properly configured, while also running latest versions of any software being used. Having an outdated and/or badly configured version of any OS is a dangerous thing to do, no matter which OS it is. And switching to another OS simply because you can’t properly and securely configure the previous one is a really dumb move.

In any case, both links above are worth a read.

Later edit: Google have also announced that ChromeOS will be out “later this fall” -  do you really think this is just a coincidence?

The report is full of some pretty cool pieces of information. All in all, quite an interesting lecture.

To be honest, due to all the extra features it comes with, I definitely believe SCE 2010 is hands-down the best tool to manage small virtualized or mixed infrastructures (of up to 50 servers):

System Center Essentials 2010 (SCE 2010) provides IT professionals in mid-sized organizations with a unified physical and virtual management experience. It enables you to better secure, update, monitor, and troubleshoot from a single console, so you can efficiently and proactively manage your IT environment.

The main addition to this second System Center Essentials release is the seamless integration of Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2 technology, making it quick and easy for midsize business to begin realizing the cost-cutting benefits of server consolidation using virtualization. SCE 2010 will enable you to rapidly move from a physical to virtual server environment while maintaining the control and simple management you have come to expect from the product.

Data Protection Manager 2010 also comes with a few (very nice) improvements as well:

System Center Data Protection (DPM) 2010, meantime, delivers unified data protection for Windows servers such as SQL Server, Exchange, SharePoint, Virtualization and file servers — as well as Windows desktops and laptops. Microsoft has re-engineered DPM 2010 to be more scalable so that both midsize and enterprise-class organizations can take advantage of it.

Key additions in DPM 2010 include:

• The ability for roaming laptops to get centrally managed policies around desktop protection, so that your laptop data is protected, whether you are connected to the corporate network or remote
• Enhanced virtualization protection, including Hyper-V R2 LiveMigration scenarios and the ability to recover single-files from within host-based backups
• Additional protection and recovery capabilities for Windows application servers like SQL Server, Exchange or SharePoint
• Native site-to-site replication for disaster recovery to either another DPM server or an off-site cloud provider
• Significant enterprise-scalability increases for deploying DPM in large environments
• Centrally managed System State and Bare Metal Recovery

This is amazing news for the mid-market/SMB segment!

Also, another interesting Windows client management cloud product was announced today, called Windows Intune. Head out to the official website for more info.

• a 3-week trip to the US, visiting Seattle/Bellevue/Redmond (MVP Summit), New Jersey/New York (SolarVPS HQ), Miami (Parallels Summit) and Las Vegas (Channel Partners Conference); had a great time with Ross (@solarvps), Jason (@dedicatednow) and Bogdan (@bogdanfetita)
• a 4-week national launch tour for System Center Essentials 2010, along with Adrian Stoian (System Center MVP), covering 9 events in 5 cities around Romania (Bucharest, Cluj, Timișoara, Iași and Brașov); we’ve had somewhere around 500 people attending the events
• 15 airplane flights (that’s an average of one every four days) on 6 different airlines
• 8 train rides (each with an average timespan of 7-8 hours)
• 30.000+ km in total (flights, trains, etc)

All in all, even though it’s been very tiresome, I had a lot of fun!

Now that I’m back, besides the fact that I’m (hopefully) done travelling for a while, I’ll be spending some time catching up with some of the pending stuff, and I’ll also go back to work on a little project that I’ll be announcing soon.

On a side note, Visual Studio 2010, .NET 4 and Silverlight 4 are out, and Office 2010 and SharePoint 2010 RTM-ed and will be coming out soon.