Who will want to use virtual hard disks?
Enterprise environments already managing and using .vhd files for virtual machine deployment will find the most benefit from the disk management support for .vhd files and native-boot virtual hard disk capabilities. Many data center customers are transitioning to virtual machines on a server running Hyper-V in order to consolidate servers and lower energy costs. Native virtual hard disk support in the disk management utilities and core storage system simplify creation and image management in .vhd files.
While moving an increasing number of applications to virtual machines, enterprise environments still operate a significant part of the data center on physical computers. IT administrators have to maintain two sets of images: one set based on the .wim format for physical computers, and another set based on the .vhd format for virtual machines. The common image format supporting both physical and virtual machines provides flexibility in image deployment while simplifying the process of image management.
Developers and testers are using virtual machines to test new system and application software. Virtual machines provide a convenient, isolated test environment and reduce the need for dedicated test hardware. But sometimes you need to run tests on a physical computers to access a specific hardware device, like the graphics card, or to get accurate performance profiling. A common image format that runs on both virtual and physical machines also benefits developers and testers. A native boot from a virtual hard disk enables booting a Windows 7 image from a file without creating a separate physical disk partition in which to install Windows.
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