Tags: Linux, Microsoft

Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 is now available for free!

Software giants Microsoft have announced that they are now giving away their Virtual Server 2005 R2 for free. The company added that they had developed virtual machine additions for Red Hat and Novell SuSE Linux distributions and also showcased some of its new open-source wares at the LinuxWorld trade show.

The company also pledged to support “select” Linux virtual machines on its platform. Microsoft is however yet to confirm if they would offer a technical support option for Linux virtual machines running on Virtual Server 2005 R2.

Microsoft claims that they have as many as 5,000 Virtual Server customers and more than 45 ISVs now supporting its Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) format. These include some popular names like XenSource, Brocade, BMC Software, Diskeeper, Fujitsu-Siemens, Network Appliance, Softricity, and Virtual Iron.