Microsoft announced the release of Service Pack 1 for Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2008 R2.

Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1) contains the same virtualization feature set as the Hyper-V role in Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1.

Some of the features included in Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 are:

• Dynamic Memory: Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 introduces Dynamic Memory as a new feature to help use physical host memory more efficiently to potentially achieve higher virtual machine densities.

• RemoteFX: Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 includes RemoteFX as a new feature to deliver a rich desktop environment within virtual machines. It provides a 3D virtual adapter as well as the ability to redirect USB devices in virtual machines.

• Live migration: Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 includes support for live migration. Live migration enables customers to move running virtual machines from one host to another without service interruptions.

• Failover clustering: Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 includes host clustering technology to enable support for unplanned downtime. With live migration and failover clustering, customers receive high availability and dynamic migration capabilities for planned and unplanned downtimes.

• Processor and memory support: Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 supports up to 8-socket physical systems and provides support for up to 64 cores. In addition, Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 supports up to 1 TB of RAM on a physical system.

• Updated Server Configuration tool: The Server Configuration tool is designed to simplify the most common configuration tasks. It helps you configure the initial settings without having to type command-line strings. In Hyper-V Server 2008, this utility is called Hyper-V Configuration Utility (HVConfig). In Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, this tool is called the Server Configuration tool (SConfig.cmd). It is included in Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 and in the Server Core installation option of Windows Server 2008 R2. Two configuration options are available only when you run the Server Configuration tool on a server running Hyper-V Server 2008 R2:

• An option to have the Server Configuration tool start automatically every time you log on to a computer running Hyper-V Server with the Administrator account

• An option to configure failover clustering

For a detailed feature and support comparison between Hyper-V Server 2008, Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, and Windows Server 2008 R2, see the Virtualization Platform Comparison section.

In order to configure the new Hyper-V Server 2008 R2 SP1 feature settings (RemoteFX, Dynamic Memory), make sure to use the the latest Windows 7 SP1 Remote Server Administration Tool(RSAT) for the client or use Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1. The Windows 7 SP1 RSAT tool can be downloaded from here

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