However, one caveat to the announcement is that the guest operating system has to be Windows Server 2008 or Windows Server 2003, according to an SAP "virtualization on Windows" Web page. Organizations can use Microsoft's Hyper-V to run SAP's NetWeaver integration platform (versions 6.40+) in a virtual machine. Alternatively, NetWeaver can be run in a virtual machine using VMware's ESX Server 3.x or vSphere platforms.
A thumbnail sketch of the requirements needed to get SAP's NetWeaver software running in a virtual machine using Microsoft's technology is provided in an SAP white paper (PDF) on the topic. Newer generation 64-bit hardware is required to run SAP software in a virtual machine.
A Microsoft virtualization blog clarified that SAP is now supporting Hyper-V R2 as the platform for virtualization. Hyper-V R2 adds additional functionality over its predecessor, such as a "live migration" capability, which enables virtual machines to be moved with few or no performance delays seen among end users. It also adds "second level address translation," a technology that can improve the system's performance by reducing processor and memory overhead.
Microsoft also argues that virtualization of SAP software using Windows Server 2008 R2 can save energy costs for organizations through the operating system's "core parking" feature, according to a Microsoft team blog on SAP technology. This feature puts cores into sleep mode when the resources aren't required for a given workload.
One of the benefits of using virtualization with SAP software is that users can configure the system for high availability and spread the workload across multiple virtual machines, according to a Microsoft white paper, "Best Practices for SAP on Hyper-V," which was released in April. The white paper, which can be accessed here, was written for the initial release of Hyper-V but it is still relevant for Hyper-V R2, according to Microsoft's virtualization blog.
SAP provides a number of resources to help its customers and partners with virtualization on the Windows and VMware platforms at its Community Network portal. Visitors seeking information can sign up to access the portal, but they'll be blocked from accessing certain documents reserved just for partners and customers. That includes a document called "Virtualization on Windows" (1409608), according to an SAP network team support spokesperson.
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