What are the new features of Windows server 2008 virtualization?

There are several new features in Windows Server virtualization that help create a scalable, secure and highly available virtualization platform as a part of Windows Server 2008. The following are some of the key components and features of Windows Server virtualization.

· Windows hypervisor. This is a very thin layer of software that leverages the Windows Server driver support and hardware assisted virtualization technology. The minimal code base with no third-party code or drivers helps create a more secure and robust base for virtualization solutions.

· 64-bit guest support. A key new feature of the Windows Server virtualization platform is the ability to support 64-bit guests. This enables organizations to virtualize more applications that are memory-intensive and benefit from the increased memory pool accessible in a 64-bit environment.

· Multiprocessor guest support. Windows Server virtualization now provides the capability to allocate multiple CPU resources to a single virtual machine and enables virtualization of multithreaded applications. This capability combined with the 64-bit guest support makes Windows Server virtualization a scalable platform for virtualization

· Migration of virtual machines. Windows Server virtualization will provide the ability to move a virtual machine from one physical machine to another with minimal downtime. This capability combined with host clustering of physical machines provides high availability and flexibility to achieve an agile and dynamic datacenter.

· New device virtualization architecture. Windows Server virtualization provides a new virtualized I/O architecture. This provides customers with high performance and low overhead.

· Offline VHD manipulation. Windows Server virtualization provides administrators with the ability to securely access files within a VHD without having to instantiate a virtual machine. This provides administrators with granular access to VHDs and the ability to perform some management tasks offline.