Not keen on downloading the actual Windows Server 2008 and actually deploying it on a system or installing it in a virtual machine yourself? Well, you don't have to. Microsoft has thought ahead and is delivering a solution to take off just such scenarios. And as it has become somewhat of a tradition over at the Redmond company to associate test-drive software releases with its virtualization offerings, the full installation of Windows Server 2008 is available for download as a pre-configured virtual hard disk. The VHD comes with the current beta 3 build of Windows Server 2008 and is designed to integrate seamlessly into Microsoft's server side virtualization solution Virtual Server 2005 R2 (download here).

As Windows Server 2008, formerly codenamed Longhorn, is currently in beta 3 stage, the download is of course free. This is also not the first time that the Redmond company is offering a virtualized version of Windows Server 2008. The previous download dates back to the beginning of August, but via the fresh release users have access to the updated product, following the development evolution of Microsoft's last 32-bit server operating system.

Microsoft has applauded in excess of 300,000 downloads of Windows Sever 2008 beta 3, the first public milestone of the product. And in this context, the company has also updated its line-up of beta 3 builds of Windows Server 2008 offered as stand-alone ISO images. Downloads of Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 for Itanium-based Systems, Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 Datacenter, Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 Enterprise, Windows Web Server 2008 Beta 3, Windows Server 2008 Beta 3 Standard can be accessed from here.

Microsoft initially planned to release Windows Server 2008 to manufacturing by the end of 2007. However, recently the company changed its tune and postponed the RTM date to the first quarter of 2008, contradicting the original assurances it presented. Despite the fact that the Windows Server 2008 code will not go gold until 2008, Microsoft is still targeting the end of February 2008 as the official launch. The one downside of postponing Windows Server 2008 is the fact that, as the server client is intimately connected with the first service pack for the desktop operating system, Windows Vista SP1 was also pushed back to the first quarter of 2008.