Product Support Updated in Virtual Machines

New guidelines and programs expand the product support Microsoft will offer for its server applications on virtual machines (VMs). Expanded support helps customers who want to improve server utilization and management through hardware virtualization, which enables multiple OS installations to share the same server hardware by running in a VM. However, to get support, organizations might need to upgrade to the latest Microsoft OSs, virtualization software, and server applications, and some server software, such as the Communications Server, is not supported in any VM. Furthermore, support in some cases may be limited to “commercially reasonable efforts to investigate potential issues.”

Hardware Virtualization Complicates Support

Hardware virtualization expands the mix of hardware and software supporting business applications and services, which could make problems more difficult to troubleshoot. Virtualization also complicates setup and configuration. For example, hardware virtualization software has its own requirements, such as the need with Microsoft’s Hyper-V hypervisor to use processors with virtualization support, and it often requires the use of specific versions of OS and server application software, including the installation of specific service packs or other fixes. Installation of those prerequisites may trigger the need to update other components, such as device drivers for the OS.