Server Virtualization

Welcome to the Windows Server Virtualization Validation Program

To improve customers' support experiences when running Windows Server on virtualization technologies other than Hyper-V™ and Virtual Server, Microsoft has launched the Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP).

SVVP is open to any vendor that delivers a machine virtualization solution that hosts Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 (SP2) and subsequent service packs. The virtualization solution can either be hypervisor-based or a hosted solution. The program enables vendors to validate various configurations so that Microsoft customers can receive technical support for Windows Server in virtualized environments.

Customers can benefit from the support provided by Microsoft as part of the regular Windows Server technical support framework when running Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008 and Windows Server 2003 SP2 and subsequent service packs on validated solutions running on server hardware Certified for Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2008 R2, with the same validated processor architecture and not exceeding the maximum virtual memory or processors validated. Microsoft Life Cycle Support policy still applies for support and end of support for specific versions of an operating system and Service Packs.

The Server Virtualization Validation Program is not a logo program, rather a reference that companies and customers will be able to use in conjunction with their validated solutions.

Validated Configurations

The list of validated configurations (Products) will enable customers to identify what configurations have been tested and validated to work with Windows Server, similar to a support matrix for hardware devices. A validated configuration consists of:

• Vendor Name
• Product Name
• Product Version
• Operating System Architecture [32-bit, x64, ia64]
• Processor Architecture [Opteron©, Xeon©, Itanium©]
• The Maximum Supported Processors and Memory validated for a virtual machine to qualify for support

The SVVP only validates virtualization products and Windows Server [all versions] running on server hardware that is Certified for Windows Server 2008 R2. Contact your virtualization vendor for detailed information on what systems, adapters, storage external to the system such as SAN and NAS products, and networking devices such as switches and routers, are supported by the virtualization vendor. Please note that the vendor's virtualization solution may support larger virtualization, additional Operating System architectures and Processor architectures than they have submitted for validation. Additional configurations will not be eligible for support until the vendor performs additional tests and validations.