Microsoft unveiled a public beta for its hypervisor-based server virtualization technology. Known as Hyper-V, the technology is featured with some versions of Windows Server 2008.The beta for Windows Server 2008 with Hyper-V offers features not previously available in the September 2007 Community Technology Preview, such as quick migration, server core roles, and server manager integration.

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Microsoft said Hyper-V is designed to help reduce operating costs, increase hardware use, optimize  infrastructure, and improve server availability.

Microsoft Hyper-V could receive a warm welcome, especially from small and midsize businesses, according to Gordon Haff, an analyst at Illuminata I spoke with earlier this week for a story I penned at NewsFactor. There is a large number of Microsoft shops in the marketplace, he said, that tend to prefer to use Microsoft software across the board.

What do you think of Hyper-V? Or virtualization technology in general, for that matter? Pundits have been spreading its coming fame for years, and it seems that its day has finally arrived.