Microsoft has released a beta version of
Microsoft
Enterprise Desktop Virtualisation (MED-V), which enables firms to deploy and
manage virtual machines running on Windows Vista client systems.
MED-V is based on technology
acquired
from virtualisation specialist Kidaro in 2008, and this beta is the first
release from Microsoft since that time.
The full version is scheduled for the second quarter of 2009 as part of
Microsoft's
Desktop
Optimisation Pack (MDOP).
The tool is principally designed to address compatibility issues in Windows
Vista by letting IT managers deploy problem applications inside centrally
managed virtual machines based on Microsoft's
Virtual
PC 2007.
One of the key features of Kidaro's technology is that it operates invisibly
to end users, who simply launch the virtualised applications from the Start Menu
or shortcuts exactly like a native application.
The release was announced by Ran Oelgiesser, senior product manager for
MED-V, on Microsoft's
official
MDOP blog.
Oelgiesser said that MED-V 1.0 lets companies create, deliver and centrally
manage virtual Windows XP or 2000 environments, and that there is "no need to
wait for the testing and migration of those incompatible applications to
complete".
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