Virtualization gives us the ability to encapsulate an entire server and compute power into a file or virtual hard disk. This instance is called a virtual machine, and VMware has taken that virtual machine up the food chain some time ago when it packaged it all up into a nice and convenient little package, complete with a bow on top and called it a "Virtual Appliance". People immediately went crazy for it, mainly Virtualization gives us the ability to encapsulate an entire server and compute power into a file or virtual hard disk. This instance is called a virtual machine, and VMware has taken that virtual machine up the food chain some time ago when it packaged it all up into a nice and convenient little package, complete with a bow on top and called it a “Virtual Appliance”. People immediately went crazy for it, mainly because of the convenience factor that it offered. Think about it, someone can create a virtual machine, complete with an installed operating system and a configured application or group of applications, tie it all together to meet some demand or use case, and then share that virtual appliance with others who need to make use of a similar instance to alleviate them from the pains of creating an identical environment. Thus, the virtual appliance was born, and people have been sharing them all over the Web ever since. VMware even created an entire “virtual appliance challenge” last February around it to try and get people to put their thinking caps on and come up with the next great appliance idea. And VMware’s VMTN site even boasts about housing more than 300 virtual appliances online. But one thing was missing from the virtual appliance space. That one thing was Microsoft. You see, you can’t “share” your Microsoft operating systems because of licensing restrictions – so people have been creating virtual appliances on VMware using Linux distributions for their guest operating systems.That is, until now. Well, sort of.At VMworld 2006, Microsoft is going to make available their new virtual hard disk (VHD) Test Drive Program. It is going to allow customers to confidently evaluate enterprise software from Microsoft and its software partners in a fraction of the time. According to Microsoft, its VHD Test Drive Program will provide customers with an enhanced server-based software evaluation experience that’s faster, better supported and more flexible. You can now access the entire catalog of pre-configured Microsoft and partner products and solutions in the VHD format and start evaluating and testing today from www.microsoft.com/vhd. “This program enables Microsoft and its partners to distribute their enterprise software and applications within a virtual machine so that IT professionals can confidently and quickly evaluate Windows Server-based software,” said Mike Neil, senior director of virtualization strategy in Microsoft’s Windows Server Division. He continued, “A similar program for Windows Vista will be available in the first quarter of 2007.”Furthermore, Neil explained, “These virtual machines, which are provided in Microsoft’s virtual hard disk image format, are pre-built and pre-configured so that they can be downloaded or distributed for easy setup and evaluation. This allows customers to evaluate software in a fraction of the time it usually takes, such as setting up SQL Server 2005 in minutes instead of hours.” The VHD Test Drive Program is designed to offer the more than 7,000 software vendors the ability to start delivering pre-configured applications within Windows Server-based virtual machines to their customers. Microsoft expects more than 20 partners to begin distributing their software via the VHD Test Drive Program later this quarter, including Altiris, BEA Systems, Check Point, Citrix, CommVault, Dell, FullArmor, HP, Network Appliance, Platespin, Portlock, Quest Software, SourceCode Technology Holdings, Symantec and UGS. Microsoft’s VHD Download Center currently has four VHD Test Drive products for download. SQL Server 2005 – Microsoft SQL Server 2005 is a comprehensive, integrated, end-to-end data solution that empowers your people by providing a more secure, reliable, and productive platform for enterprise data and BI applications.Windows Server 2005 R2 – evaluate the new features of Windows Server 2003 R2, the most productive infrastructure platform for powering connected applications, networks, and Web services from the workgroup to the data center.ISA Server 2006 – ISA Server 2006 is the integrated edge security gateway that helps protect your IT environment from Internet-based threats while providing users with fast and secure remote access to applications and data. Exchange Server 2007 – evaluate how Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 and Microsoft Office Live Communications Server 2005 together can help create an optimized messaging system for your organization.While four Test Drive environments is a far cry from 300+ VMware Virtual Appliances, Microsoft claims that partners and customers should expect to see additional Microsoft software added to this program in the near future. It is, after all, only the first day. Software Development