"You want a friend in Washington? Get a dog." -Harry Truman



   
BentUser Updates Feed     


Featured Articles
iPhone 3G Review, Gripes and Praise: Part I
Xbox Live Arcade 2008 Preview: Part I
Resident Evil 5 Preview
Customer Service?
The Fallout from Sony’s E3 Press Conference
Windows XP and Vista b5270 Side-by-Side
DRM Hell
Sharp XR-10X LCD Projector Review
Xbox 360 Launch
Microsoft BOB Review
Logitech V200 Wireless Notebook Mouse
Office 12 Screenshot Gallery
Apple Thinks Same, Goes Intel
.NET 2.0 vs. Java 1.5 Shootout
Microsoft Windows Vista Build 5231 Indepth Look - Part 2
Why Google is Being Sued by Publishers
Microsoft Windows Vista Build 5231 Indepth Look - Part I
Comprehensive Tablet PC Review with the HP tc1100
IBM / Lenovo ThinkPad T43 Review
Windows OneCare Live Preview
OpenOffice 2.0 Writer Beta Preview
Windows Mobile 5.0 Preview
Battle of the Betas: IE7 vs. Firefox 1.5
Unicomp Customizer 101 Keyboard Review
Dell UltraSharp 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor - 2405FPW Review
Yahoo! Music Engine First Look
TopDesk Review
More
 
  Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 Review
  By Andy

  Front > Software
  10/7/2005
  Specifications    Images    

 

Virtual Server 2005 Logo
Virtual Server 2005 Logo 

A Little History

Virtualization software is nothing new, and dates back quite some time.  One of the most popular examples for the end user was Connectix Virtual PC for the Mac.  Since there are a pretty huge number of programs that are only available on Windows, this created a strong market niche to let Mac users run Windows programs, even if at reduced speed.  Virtual PC for the Mac, rather than emulating Windows, emulated the x86 architecture and the requisite peripheral devices, such as a video and sound card.  This meant that emulation could work quite flawlessly, but also that any user would need to purchase a copy of Windows as well and then install it onto the Virtual PC.  Virtual PC was a success and Connectix later created a Windows version which let you run most x86 OSes – something quite useful for developers, enthusiasts, and IT professionals.

Another successful application of software-based virtualization technology was VMware’s collection of server virtualization products.  IT departments with a large number of under-utilized or legacy servers could easily consolidate all of these servers onto a single newer machine and save on maintenance, floor space, and complexity.

In 2003, Microsoft bought most of Connectix’s product line – including Virtual PC and the upcoming Virtual Server, along with much of the development and support staff.  Since then Microsoft released an update to Virtual PC for Windows, Virtual PC 2004, and this year released Virtual Server 2005.  It is also rumored that the backward-compatibility emulation which allows the non-x86 Xbox 360 to play Xbox 1 games is based on Virtual PC.

Setup

Virtual Server is different from Virtual PC in that it is optimized for higher-performance applications.  It also is administered through a web-based interface, and runs as a service within Windows.  It is important to note that Virtual Server is not an operating system itself and runs as a service within a host operating system.  It is also important to note that Virtual Server does not require Windows Server, but performance will probably be better on Windows Server over Windows XP Professional.

Like most Microsoft products, Virtual Server is easy to install and after selecting a port to put the administration site on, you should be up and running in no time.  No reboots required.




     Next  
[ The Administrator Site ]
 

 

Contact Us        Links:  NLP APIs      




Copyright � 2005 Retro Reviews LLC.  All Rights Reserved.
Technorati Profile