Since its initial release, one of the key missing components of Microsoft's Virtual Server virtualization platform has been the lack of an enterprise class management application. Microsoft is finally correcting that problem with the release of System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2007. SCVMM has been in the works for nearly two years now and is expected to finally release to manufacturing sometime in O Since its initial release, one of the key missing components of Microsoft’s Virtual Server virtualization platform has been the lack of an enterprise class management application. Microsoft is finally correcting that problem with the release of System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2007.SCVMM has been in the works for nearly two years now and is expected to finally release to manufacturing sometime in October. To date, there have been over 20,678 public beta users of the product and over 32 Technology Adoption Partners giving great feedback to help it along. Microsoft itself has been using the product to manage 100% of their virtual environments (86 physical hosts running 1224 VMs) in production since Beta 2.The new product was created to have tight integration with existing Microsoft tools to help with multiple scenarios that make up virtual and physical machine management. To help provide health and performance monitoring, SCVMM integrates with Microsoft Operations Manager. For patching machines and images, the product integrates with Microsoft Configuration Manager. And for backup and restore, they integrated the product with Data Protection Manager so that you can backup all the virtual machines at the physical host level. Microsoft has also changed the licensing model. They announced the System Center Management Suite Enterprise license which gives you everything you need to manage your virtual environment at a price of $860 per physical host. This includes System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007, Enterprise Server Management licenses for System Center Configuration Manager 2007, System Center Operations Manager 2007 and System Center Data Protection Manager 2007. The license is on the physical host and includes an unlimited number of virtual machines on that host.Microsoft also announced pricing for the SMB market with a package called System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2007 Workgroup Edition, available in January 2008 at a price of $499. This package allows for management of up to 5 physical servers with an unlimited number of virtual machines. Microsoft is also developing its next generation of SCVMM based on great feedback from customers and Beta users. The roadmap includes support for not only Microsoft Windows Server Virtualization (Viridian), but also full management of non-Windows, third-party virtualization platforms from VMware and Xen. A Beta of the software is expected to be announced around the same time as Windows Server 2008. In case you missed it, some of the benefits found in SCVMM 2007 include: Centralized deployment and management of virtual machines Intelligent Placement analysis to determine the best servers for virtualization Quick physical-to-virtual and virtual-to-virtual conversion Ease of use with a familiar interface and seamless integration with other Microsoft products Faster deployments with administrator-managed self-service provisioning Resource efficiency with server consolidation and increased processor utilization Quick automation via PowerShell scripting integration Software Development