Following the availability of Windows Vista Service Pack 1 and Windows Server 2008 RTM/SP1 Microsoft has literally joined its client and server operating systems at the hip. So much so that the client can stretch all the way to the server and manage the hypervisor role. This scenario was valid with the first service pack for Vista, and it continues to be valid after the release of SP2. All that end users need to do is make sure that they deploy the Update for Windows Vista Service Pack 2 Management Tools for Hyper-V. The Refresh will allow Vista SP2 users to remotely manage a server running Windows Server 2008 with the Hyper-V role enabled.

“This update package includes fixes for the Hyper-V Management Tools on systems that are running Windows Vista Service Pack 2,” Microsoft explained. “The Hyper-V Management Tools must be installed in order to install this update.”

The update is offered in both 32-bit and 64-bit flavors, tailored to the respective versions of Vista SP2. Microsoft released SP2 for Vista to manufacturing at the end of April 2009. A month later, the first five languages of Vista SP2 were released to web for download, and through Windows Update. The end of June 2009 brought with it the final wave of Vista SP2 releases. Now Vista SP2 RTM and Windows Server 2008 SP2 RTM are available for download in all localized versions, in correlation with the supported languages for the two platforms.

“This update fixes the following issues: The Japanese version of the Hyper-V Manager Microsoft Management Console (MMC) snap-in contains text that is translated incorrectly. The Hyper-V Manager MMC snap-in crashes when you browse for files to attach to a virtual machine. The "More about virtual hard disks" hyperlink in the New Virtual Hard Disk Wizard points to the incorrect Help file. The Hyper-V Manager MMC snap-in cannot connect to a Hyper-V server that only uses IPv6,” Microsoft explained.