Microsoft has wrapped up the development process of the Linux Integration Components for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, and has made the gold bits available for download. At this point in time, the final version of the components is live exclusively on Microsoft Connect.

The Microsoft developed Linux Integration Components for Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V are designed to be installed into a virtual machine integrating a supported version of the open source Linux operating system. In this context, the components will deliver additional functionality for the guest platform.

According to Microsoft, the Linux Components for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V are set up to deliver driver support for synthetic devices, hypercall adapter, and Fastpath Boot Support. However, do not expect much from the Linux Integration Components for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, especially in terms of support for the open source operating system. This because the components will only integrate exclusively SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 x86 and SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 x64 from Novell. Still, Microsoft did move fast with the Linux Integration Components for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, as just in July 2008, it was offering the Release Candidate 2 Build.

“The Linux integration components include support for both the synthetic network controller and synthetic storage controller that have been developed specifically for Hyper-V. These components take advantage of the new high-speed bus, VMBus, which was developed for Hyper-V. The Hypercall adapter is a thin layer of software that translates the Xen-specific virtualization function calls from a Xen-enabled Linux kernel to Microsoft Hyper-V hypercalls. This results in improved performance for the Linux virtual machine. Fastpath Boot Support: Boot devices now take advantage of the storage VSC to provide enhanced performance,” revealed a Product Manager for Windows Server and Solutions division, Hyper-V.