Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) in the community technology preview (CTP) of System Center 2012 SP1 provides the following new features:
- Network virtualization
- VHDX support
- Support for file shares that use the Server Message Block (SMB) 2.2 protocol
- Live migration enhancements
VMM in the CTP release of System Center 2012 SP1 provides support for the network virtualization capabilities available in Windows Server “8” Beta.
Network virtualization provides the ability to run multiple virtual network infrastructures, potentially with overlapping IP addresses, on the same physical network. With network virtualization, each virtual network infrastructure operates as if it is the only one running on the shared network infrastructure. This will allow two different business groups using VMM to use the same IP addressing scheme without conflict. In addition, network virtualization provides isolation, so that only those virtual machines on a specific virtual network infrastructure can communicate with each other.
VMM in the CTP release of System Center 2012 SP1 supports the new version of the virtual hard disk (VHD) format that is introduced in Windows Server “8” Beta. This new format is referred to as VHDX. VHDX has a much larger storage capacity (up to 64 TB) than the older VHD format. It also provides data corruption protection during power failures. Additionally, it offers improved alignment of the virtual hard disk format to work well on large-sector physical disks.
VMM in the CTP release of System Center 2012 SP1 adds support for designating network file shares on Windows Server “8” Beta computers as the storage location for virtual machine files, such as configuration, virtual hard disk (.vhd/.vhdx) files and checkpoints. This functionality leverages the new 2.2 version of the Server Message Block (SMB) protocol that is introduced in Windows Server “8” Beta.
VMM in the CTP release of System Center 2012 SP1 includes several live migration enhancements that enable the migration of a running virtual machine with no downtime.
Source and more information:
http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/confirmation.aspx?id=29094
