Around the same time that VMware updated its Workstation product with a new refresh build, Microsoft also updated both of its hosted virtualization platforms, Virtual PC 2007 and Virtual Server 2005 R2, with Service Pack 1 updates.

As we all know, Microsoft is really pushing their Hyper-V technology. So why are they updating “legacy” virtualization technology? The fact is, it doesn’t look like there are any new interesting features added to either product. No, instead, Microsoft is making sure that these two platforms are able to work with newer operating systems. Don’t forget, these platforms are free, work extremely well, and have been downloaded a lot! Remember, it was only a few short months after releasing Virtual PC 2007 back in February 2007 before it reached over 2 million downloads.

Also keep in mind, not everyone has the luxury of upgrading their hardware to the latest AMD-V or Intel VT virtualization technology chipsets. So if you aren’t running the latest and greatest 64-bit virtualization enhanced processors, you may not be able to run Microsoft’s Hyper-V. But you can still join the millions who have downloaded Virtual PC 2007 and Virtual Server 2005 R2 and still run the latest Microsoft operating systems with the Service Pack 1 updates.

When you upgrade your environment, make sure that none of your virtual machines are in a suspended or saved state as that may cause corruption of your virtual machines. Also, be prepared to also update your virtual machines to the latest Virtual Machine Additions.