Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V Brings Major Improvements

Windows Server 2012 R2 includes improvements to the Hyper-V role that runs virtual machines (VMs). Improvements should enable organizations to deploy and maintain VMs faster and more easily than with Windows Server 2012 and provide more comprehensive high availability and disaster recovery to guests. The updated Hyper-V requires upgrading to Windows Server 2012 R2 Standard, Datacenter, and Essentials editions, which may have licensing repercussions, or using the free Hyper-V Server 2012 R2.

Improved Administration

Many updates included in the Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V virtualization role (Hyper-V) are intended to make creation and manageability of VMs easier and increase the performance of Hyper-V VMs. Enhancements to Hyper-V enable faster boot, better security, and easier maintenance of VMs.

Updated Virtual Hardware

Windows Server 2012 R2 Hyper-V includes updated virtual hardware, the simulated devices that appear to the guest OSs running in VMs. Updating to devices that are more modern allows VMs to boot faster and benefit from other performance improvements, and it allows Microsoft to remove many legacy drivers from Windows. It could also allow VMs to deliver support for new features in Windows that rely on more recent hardware.