Microsoft has today annonced that Virtual Server 2005 R2 product is now available as a no-charge download. Combined with the flexible virtualization licensing now available with Windows Server 2003 R2 Enterprise Edition (Buy the Enterprise version and get 4 Windows Server 2003 std. licenses), this means there is little barrier to adoption for customers who want to realize the benefits of server virtualization.
Microsoft is proberly following VMware who made their GSX Server (now VMware Server) available for free some time ago. Their product is still in beta though.
I find Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 to be a great product, especially for creating certain test systems or maybe setup a server with a development/QA environment. Great for testing or developing web environments.
Read the full Press release at source:
Bringing the Benefits of Virtualization Technology to the Mainstream.
Download it here:
Download or Order Virtual Server 2005 R2 Enterprise Edition for Free.