Microsoft releases 'near final' hypervisor for Windows Server
Microsoft said Wednesday that the first release candidate of its Hyper-V hypervisor will be available for download.
This release will be the near-final code of the virtualization utility that Microsoft is building into Windows Server 2008. The final version will be available in August, according to Microsoft.
(Credit:
Microsoft)
Microsoft released the beta of Hyper-V late last year, and it was also included with Windows Server 2008 when that software was launched last month.
The company has had to strip out some of the virtualization features it had originally planned in order to get a product to market this year and take on market leader VMWare.
People can download the release candidate starting at 10:00 a.m. PDT at Microsoft's Hyper-V page.
Update 7:00 a.m. Pacific: Microsoft said in December last year that it would ship Hyper-V within 180 days of the Windows Server 2008 product launch in late February.
Martin LaMonica is a senior writer for CNET's Green Tech blog. He started at CNET News in 2002, covering IT and Web development. Before that, he was executive editor at IT publication InfoWorld. E-mail Martin. 
