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Hyper-V Server 2022
Anyone know whether there will be a Hyper-V Server 2022? i.e. the free version which is just for running VMs and has no GUI? I've seen mentions on forums that this SKU is being dropped, but not ...
Free 'Microsoft Hyper-V Server' product update
Since its introduction over a decade ago in Windows Server 2008, Hyper-V technology has been, and continues to be, the foundation of Microsoft’s hypervisor platform. Hyper-V is a strategic technology for Microsoft. Microsoft continues to invest heavily in Hyper-V for a variety of scenarios such as virtualization, security, containers, gaming, and more. Hyper-V is used in Azure, Azure Local, Windows Server, Windows Client, and Xbox among others.
Starting with Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019, the free ‘Microsoft Hyper-V Server’ product has been deprecated and is the final version of that product. Hyper-V Server 2019 is a free product available for download from the Microsoft Evaluation Center: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/evaluate-hyper-v-server-2019
Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019 will continue to be supported under its lifecycle policy until January 2029, see this link for additional information: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/lifecycle/products/hyperv-server-2019.
While Microsoft has made a business decision to no longer offer the free 'Microsoft Hyper-V Server' product, this has no impact to the many other products which include the Hyper-V feature and capabilities. This change has no impact to any customers who use Windows Server or Azure Local.
For customers looking to do test or evaluation of the Hyper-V feature, Azure Local includes a 60-day free trial and can be downloaded here: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/azure-local/ . Windows Server offers a free 180-day evaluation which can be downloaded from the Evaluation Center here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter
Microsoft remains committed to meeting customers where they are and delivering innovation for on-premises virtualization and bringing unique hybrid capabilities like no other can combined with the power of Azure Arc. We are announcing that Microsoft Hyper-V Server 2019 was the last version of the free download product and that customers begin transitioning to one of the several other products which include Hyper-V or consider Azure.
Thank you,
Elden Christensen
Principal Group PM Manager
Windows Server Development Team
Elden_Christensen
Microsoft
MicrosoftSzeraax Thank you for the thoughtful feedback. For kicking the tires and trying it out we currently have two options:
1. Free Trial - This was originally 30-days, but we bumped it up to 60-days based on feedback. I've even seen some customers script rebuild test systems to reset the trial timer. Azure Stack HCI 60-Day Free Trial Now Available | Azure updates | Microsoft Azure
2. Preview Channel - The Preview Channel gives early access to bits, but is not supported in production and comes without CSS support. Join the Azure Stack HCI preview channel - Azure Stack HCI | Microsoft Docs
Note: We also heard the feedback, which is important for your scenario to support 1-node... that's coming soon.
Do either of the above suit your home lab needs? If not, do you need full functionality? What if there was a mode that had significantly reduced functionality but allowed basic VM hosting? Such as maybe removing enterprise grade / production critical features... like clustering / HA? VM mobility? DR capabilities?
Thanks!
Elden
Different users are obviously going to have varying requirements, but from my perspective I want a basic hypervisor to run test VMs on (with a perpetual license - a 60-day trial is of no use) - advanced features such as DR and clustering are not required.
I really don't think the preview channel is appropriate - hypervisors need to be stable, and unless actually testing new hypervisor features use of the preview channel sounds like a very bad idea. Ideally it should be on the same update channel as Azure Stack HCI and Server 2022 (I notice that these two both share a category in WSUS now).
I also want something that will function as a standalone install - i.e. not requiring enrollment into an Azure tenant.
I really don't think the preview channel is appropriate - hypervisors need to be stable, and unless actually testing new hypervisor features use of the preview channel sounds like a very bad idea. Ideally it should be on the same update channel as Azure Stack HCI and Server 2022 (I notice that these two both share a category in WSUS now).
I also want something that will function as a standalone install - i.e. not requiring enrollment into an Azure tenant.