Microsoft steps up virtualisation push

Bill Gates talks up virtualisation at WinHEC in Seattle

Microsoft has revealed plans to launch a beta of its virtualisation 'hypervisor' management console earlier than expected.

The release is now scheduled for the end of this year, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said in an opening keynote at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle. 

The final product is due to ship within 180 days of the launch of Microsoft's next server operating system, codenamed Windows Longhorn Server, which is expected in late 2007.

Microsoft also unveiled the new System Center Virtual Machine Manager which allows users to manage images and templates and migrate workloads between virtual machines.

The tool also provides a self-service console for individual users where they can set up a virtual environment for testing or development purposes within the boundaries set by an administrator.

Virtualisation allows for server virtualisation and migration by running multiple operating systems on a single physical system.

"We see this really helping with the IT challenge," Gates told delegates. " It is helping IT administrators to simplify the things they do, running older applications and freeing them up for what they really ought to be doing with innovative applications."