Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 is the hypervisor-based server virtualization product that allows you to consolidate workloads onto a single physical server. It is a stand-alone product that provides a reliable and optimized virtualization solution enabling organizations to improve server utilization and reduce costs. 

Since Hyper-V Server is a dedicated stand-alone product which contains only the Windows Hypervisor, Windows Server driver model, and virtualization components, it provides a small footprint and minimal overhead. 

Overview

Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1 Hyper-V builds on the architecture and functionality of Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V by adding multiple new features that enhance product flexibility. The adoption of virtualization in the enterprise has increased flexibility in deployment and life cycle management of applications. MA Technology Solutions deploy and use virtualization to consolidate workloads and reduce server sprawl. Additionally, we deploy virtualization with clustering technologies to provide a robust IT infrastructure with high availability and quick disaster recovery. Even so, customers are looking for more flexibility.

Hyper-V Benefits

Reduce Costs and Total Cost Ownership (TCO)

You are under increasing pressure to reduce costs and ensure the best return on investment possible. With Microsoft Virtualization you can lower your total cost of ownership (TCO) by: 

• Reducing power consumption and datacenter space
• Increasing hardware utilization
• Lowering upfront costs, including licensing fees
• Simplifying application and desktop lifecycle management
• Lowering operational costs for both maintenance and training
• Leveraging your Windows Server skills already in place
• Utilizing already purchased Windows Server capabilities

Increase Availability of Services

Microsoft Virtualization gives you the opportunity to increase the availability of services, thereby increasing end user satisfaction. With Microsoft Virtualization you can increase availability by:  

• Improving service levels
• Minimizing disruption t services
• Enhancing desktop business continuity
• Providing access to applications regardless of location
• Reducing application and user data deployment time

Improve Business Agility

Microsoft Virtualization helps your business become more flexible and adaptable. You can provide the IT resources your organization needs when you need them, and improve business agility by: 

• Integrating physical, virtual, and application management
• Accelerating responses to changing business needs
• Performing flexible desktop deployments
• Easily migrating to a new version of Windows
• Providing capacity on demand

Core Scenarios for Hyper-V

Hyper-V provides a dynamic, reliable, and scalable virtualization platform combined with a single set of integrated management tools to manage both physical and virtual resources, enabling you to create an agile and dynamic data center. Hyper-V enables: 

Dynamic Memory

New in Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1, Dynamic Memory enables customers to better utilize the memory resources of Hyper-V hosts by balancing how memory is distributed between running virtual machines. Memory can be dynamically reallocated between different virtual machines in response to the changing workloads of these machines. Dynamic Memory thus enables more efficient use of memory while maintaining consistent workload performance and scalability. Implementing Dynamic Memory means that higher levels of server consolidation can be achieved with minimal impact on performance. Dynamic Memory also means larger numbers of virtual desktops per Hyper-V host for VDI scenarios. The net result for both scenarios is more efficient use of expensive server hardware resources, which can translate into easier management and lower costs. Historically, different methods have been used to deploy operating systems and applications to physical and virtual computers 

Server Consolidation

Businesses are under pressure to ease management and reduce costs while retaining and enhancing competitive advantages, such as flexibility, reliability, scalability, and security. The fundamental use of virtualization to help consolidate many servers on a single system while maintaining isolation helps address these demands. One of the main benefits of server consolidation is a lower total cost of ownership (TCO), not just from lowering hardware requirements but also from lower power, cooling, and management costs. Businesses also benefit from server virtualization through infrastructure optimization, both from an asset utilization standpoint as well as the ability to balance workloads across different resources. Improved flexibility of the overall environment and the ability to freely integrate 32-bit and 64-bit workloads in the same environment is another benefit.

Testing and Development

Testing and development are frequently the first business functions to take advantage of virtualization technology. Using virtual machines, development staffs can create and test a wide variety of scenarios in a safe, self-contained environment that accurately approximates the operation of physical servers and clients. Hyper-V maximizes utilization of test hardware which can help reduce costs, improve life cycle management, and improve test coverage. With extensive guest OS support and checkpoint features, Hyper-V provides a great platform for your test and development environments. 

Business Continuity

Business continuity is the ability to minimize both scheduled and unscheduled downtime. That includes time lost to routine functions, such as maintenance and backup, as well as unanticipated outages. Hyper-V includes powerful business continuity features, such as live backup and quick migration, enabling businesses to meet stringent uptime and response metrics. 

Disaster Recovery

A key component of business continuity. Natural disasters, malicious attacks, and even simple configuration problems like software conflicts can cripple services and applications until administrators resolve the problems and restore any backed up data. Leveraging the clustering capabilities of Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V now provides support for disaster recovery (DR) within IT environments and across data centers, using geographically dispersed clustering capabilities. Rapid and reliable disaster and business recovery helps ensure minimal data loss and powerful remote management capabilities. 

Dynamic Datacenter

Hyper-V, together with your existing system management solutions, such as Microsoft System Center, can help you realize the dynamic data center vision of providing self-managing dynamic systems and operational agility. With features like automated virtual machine reconfiguration, flexible resource control, and quick migration, you can create a dynamic IT environment that uses virtualization to not only respond to problems, but also to anticipate increased demands. 

Expand Desktop Deployment Options

Much of the interest in virtualization solutions is in the server world. However, equally exciting advances are being made in server-based desktop virtualization, where processing happens on a server optimized for capacity and availability while graphics, keyboard, mouse, and other user I/O functions are handled at the user’s desktop. Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services extends the functionality of Session Virtualization from delivering session-based desktops and applications to also enabling the delivery of virtual desktops in a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). With Remote Desktop Services, both virtual and session-based desktops and applications are now available on the Windows 7 Start menu right alongside programs that are installed locally. VDI with Windows Server 2008 R2 with SP1 benefits from a rich end user experience with support for rich media and USB devices with Microsoft RemoteFX as well as a great better together story with Windows 7 as the guest OS due to increased VM density with Dynamic Memory and near-invisible integration of virtualized desktops in Windows 7.