Enterprise Server Strategies for the CIOHyper-V version 1.0 is the virtualization feature created for Microsoft Windows Server 2008.
Hyper-V creates a virtualization layer above which multiple partitions can be run. The parent partition runs the hypervisor layer and allows for the creation and management of child partitions.
Administrators can create many child partitions, depending on available system resources. Each child partition can then run its own independent, isolated operating system, often referred to as a "guest OS."
Microsoft originally bundled beta versions of Hyper-V with Windows Server 2008 under the codename Viridian, which was also known as Windows Server Virtualization (WSv). Both of these names are now obsolete, and the final technology is known only as Hyper-V.
Microsoft recommends Hyper-V for test and development, server consolidation, branch office consolidation and hosted desktop virtualization.