Windows Server 2008 R2 to introduce shareable LUNs for Hyper-V VMs, native VHD support

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The Microsoft premiere conference about Windows internals, WinHEC, is approaching (this year is planned for Nov. 5-9) and the agenda is being populated with several sessions about Hyper-V.

Some of the abstracts unveil upcoming features like the capability to share the same LUN for Hyper-V virtual machines and the native Windows support for the VHD format:

Windows Virtualization and Cluster Shared Volumes – ENT-T588

Presenter(s): Jeff Mastro, Bryon Surace

Windows Server 2008 R2 will introduce a new feature for Failover Clustering called Cluster Shared Volumes (CSV). CSV is an enhancement that allows multiple virtual hard disk (VHD) images to be mounted on a single logical volume. It allows the migration of virtual machines from one physical host server to another with minimal downtime. This session discusses the architecture and implementation details of CSV and illustrates its utility in Windows virtualization deployments.

Windows Boot from Virtual Hard Disk – ENT-T606

Presenter(s): Paul Rambo, Peter Brundrett

Virtual hard disk (VHD) is a de facto standard image format for virtual machine operating system images. This session discusses native support of VHD in Windows Server 2008 R2. This support allows users, administrators, and vendors of storage and management tools to operate on VHDs as they would other storage devices. This creates opportunities for lowering operational costs by enabling customers to use a single image creation, deployment, and maintenance process and toolset across virtual and physical environments.