I plan to live forever. So far, so good.

The Microsoft Virtualization Team blog has recently announced that version 2.1 of the Linux Integration Services has been released. Quoting from their website, the following features are included in the 2.1 release:

• Driver support for synthetic devices: Linux Integration Services supports the synthetic network controller and the synthetic storage controller that were developed specifically for Hyper-V.
• Fastpath Boot Support for Hyper-V: Boot devices take advantage of the block Virtualization Service Client (VSC) to provide enhanced performance.
• Timesync: The clock inside the virtual machine will remain synchronized with the clock on the host.
• Integrated Shutdown: Virtual machines running Linux can be gracefully shut down from either Hyper-V Manager or System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
• Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) Support: Supported Linux distributions can use up to 4 virtual processors (VP) per virtual machine.
• Heartbeat: Allows the host to detect whether the guest is running and responsive.
• Pluggable Time Source: A pluggable clock source module is included to provide a more accurate time source to the guest.

This version of the integration services for Hyper-V supports Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11, and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2 / 5.3 / 5.4 / 5.5. You can obtain the Linux IS’s via the Microsoft Download Center.

I’ve been told that this realease also fixes some major time drifting issues on Linux guests running with the SMP (multiprocessor) option activated that were present in the RC version. On this note, I’ll also be releasing a screencast (in Romanian) on running Linux under Hyper-V soon, along with some best practices.

Yup, Network Monitor 3.4 is out – more details on the official blog post.

I’ve been using it for quite some time now, and it’s one of the best tools of its kind.

Yesterday, David Mills, Senior Product Manager on System Center announced that the System Center Essentials 2010 Release Candidate is available. This is from the Nexus SC blog:

Microsoft® System Center Essentials 2010 provides a unified IT management solution that enables you to simply and efficiently perform complex management tasks across virtual and physical servers, PCs, hardware, software and IT services from a single console.

Essentials 2010 -

• Delivers single console monitoring and management with summary information, common tasks, alerts and reports, allowing you to quickly see and manage your IT environment.
• Provides rapid provisioning, importation, management and live migration of virtual servers.
• Simplifies complex management tasks like packaging and deploying software, and configuring Microsoft and third-party updates.
• Helps quickly solve problems using integrated alerting, expert knowledge and troubleshooting for servers, PCs and IT services running in your IT environment.

Here is the SCE 2010 Release Candidate download link.

A very useful free eBook is available on Microsoft Downloads: Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance

Overview:

Microsoft’s eBook Deploying Windows® 7 Essential Guidance from the Windows 7 Resource Kit and TechNet Magazine combine selected chapters written by industry experts Mitch Tulloch, Tony Northrup, Jerry Honeycutt, Ed Wilson, and the Windows 7 Team with select Windows 7 articles from TechNet Magazine. Sample topics include: Deployment Platform, Planning Deployment, Testing Application Compatability, and 8 Common Issues in Windows 7 Migrations.