Support policy for Microsoft software running in non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software

Hardware virtualization software lets you run multiple operating system instances at the same time on a single computer. Microsoft has three software offerings, Windows Server 2008, Microsoft Virtual PC, and Microsoft Virtual Server, which provide this functionality. Third parties also have software in the market that provides this functionality. This article describes support provided by Microsoft for its software running together with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software.

Except as described in this article, Microsoft does not test or support Microsoft software running together with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software.

For Microsoft customers with Premier-level support running non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software from vendors with which Microsoft does not have an established support relationship that covers virtualization solutions, Microsoft will investigate potential issues with Microsoft software running together with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software.

As part of the investigation, Microsoft may require the issue to be reproduced by the customer independently from the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. This may be done on Windows Server 2008 (with Hyper-V), the actual hardware platform with the Windows operating system installed directly upon it, or on both. Where issues are confirmed to be unrelated to the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software, Microsoft will support its software in a manner that is consistent with support provided on a server that has passed Microsoft's "Designed for" or "Certified for" testing criteria. For more information about "Designed for" or "Certified for" hardware, please see: Additionally, for vendors with whom Microsoft has established a support relationship that covers virtualization solutions, or for vendors who have Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) validated solutions, Microsoft will support server operating systems subject to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle policy for its customers who have support agreements when the operating system runs virtualized on non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. This support will include coordinating with the vendor to jointly investigate support issues. As part of the investigation, Microsoft may still require the issue to be reproduced independently from the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software. Where issues are confirmed to be unrelated to the non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software, Microsoft will support its software in a manner that is consistent with support provided when that software is not running together with non-Microsoft hardware virtualization software.

For more information about the support policy for running Microsoft server software in supported virtualization environments, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, about the performance or reliability of these products. Third parties are responsible for the testing of their software running together with Microsoft software. Microsoft software may not work as intended in third-party virtualized hardware environments.

For more information about third-party vendors whose virtualization software is associated with the SVVP, visit the following Web site or view the following article: For more information about third-party vendors who will support virtualization software, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: