Trying to give something back to the Community...
From the System Center Experts blog:
Today, I wanted to take a look back at 2009. It is simply amazing when you look at where Microsoft® System Center and Microsoft Virtualization were at the beginning of the year and where we are today.
When we started 2009, we were really still promoting the new releases of Windows Server® 2008 Hyper-V and Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2008. The combination of Hyper-V and VMM 2008 really brought a complete, Enterprise ready virtualization solution to the masses.
But if there is one theme to this year, it’s progress. There were certainly some pro-VMware critics out there that assumed that Microsoft would rest on our laurels on these releases. As we discussed future capabilities and features, we would occasionally hear comments that suggested Microsoft would deliver those features in 2011. Little did they know that we were hard at work on our R2 releases, Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V and VMM 2008 R2.
The first public discussion of all the new capabilities came at MMS 2009. At the day 1 keynote of MMS 2009, we demonstrated some of the advanced capabilities with our new products, including:
· Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, with the new Live Migration and Power Management capabilities
· VMM 2008 R2, with updated Performance Resource Optimization (PRO) capabilities
· Operations Manager (OpsMgr) 2007 R2, with integrated Power Management, PRO, and Linux management capabilities
In one single demonstration, we showed why the Microsoft virtualization solution is the one right one for the future of IT. Using Hyper-V R2, VMM, and Ops Mgr, we demonstrated how an administrator can link virtualization specific actions, such as Live Migration, to application and services. As I have written before, the ability to manage the applications and services inside the virtual machine is key. That in-guest capability is the key to integrating the great capabilities and features that virtualization enables to all parts of IT, not just the virtualization specific areas.
Beyond just the product previews, we also showed some great technology previews, including VMM managing migration of virtual machines from the private cloud to the public cloud, and the capability of bringing App-V like Application Virtualization technology to server applications.
Here is the entire MMS 2009 Day 1 keynote:
After MMS 2009, we continued working on our new releases, preparing them for release to manufacturing. We demonstrated and presented even more information at TechEd North America 2009, as the final releases of all the new products neared. And in the fall, we had our Virtual Launch Event, which brought all these products to the forefront.
The key is that with our new R2 releases, Microsoft now offers a virtualization solution that has all the key features that customers need for their virtualization scenarios. The key features of both Hyper-V R2 and VMM 2008 R2 can be seen in these summary slides:
Not only do we provide key features that drive virtualization, it is also about bringing the cost of Virtualization down, so that everyone can take advantage of it. I’ve written some blog posts in the past about value of Microsoft’s Virtualization compared to VMware. I really feel that Microsoft brings the best combination of features, management, and price for virtualization. I recorded a short video at TechEd EMEA 2009 that articulates even more about this, and there’s another video that makes the case as well.
Finally, as we look forward to 2010, I can assure you that we are continuing to work on Microsoft Virtualization. One key area that we are focusing on is virtualization management for the small and medium business. With the upcoming release of System Center Essentials (SCE) 2010, we are bringing the powerful functions of VMM 2008 R2 to the powerful capabilities of SCE 2007, creating a single console for the management of both physical and virtual systems.
I recently competed a couple videos on SCE 2010, including a preview of SCE 2010 and it’s interface, along with a discussion on how SCE compares to VMware solutions.
This has been an amazing year for Microsoft Virtualization and System Center and I think that 2010 will be just as exciting and rewarding as 2009. I look forward to telling everyone about all the new things we plan to have in 2010! Don't forget, you can follow me on twitter (@edwinyuen) and my personal blog, Virtualization Planet. Happy holidays to all!
Edwin Yuen Senior Technical Product Manager – Virtualization
http://blogs.technet.com/systemcenterexperts/archive/2009/12/10/looking-back-moving-forward-system-center-and-virtualization.aspx
Read the complete post at http://wmug.co.uk/blogs/cliffs_blog/archive/2009/12/14/virtualisation-looking-back-moving-forward-system-center-and-virtualization.aspx