Microsoft Virtual Server available for free

There is a lot of recent activity on the MSDN Blog site regarding the recent release of Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2. My machine seems to be up to the minimum specs, so I think I'll give it a go.

The big deal seems to be that it's free to download, and there's no expiration period on it. Since it seems at least somewhat related to Virtual PC, I took a look at that page and found it to be not free. There is a 45-day trial version, but I think I'll stick with free for now.

Now why are they releasing it free? Probably some nefarious plot to boost sales and maximize profits. Whatever the case, it's one more toy for me.

Update:
The "Complete" installation requires IIS to be installed and enabled in order to install the Virtual Server Web management tool (or something to that effect). No big deal. Just choose "Custom" from the installation menu and we're off to the races.

Update 2:
Nice little no-warning network adapter reset there at the end of installation. That was very freaky. A warning dialog would have been nice.

Update 3:
It seems like it wants IIS like a 6 year old wants a pony. Here goes. Hopefully this doesn't attract attention from IT...

Update 4:
Hi, I'm your Virtual Server 2005 Manager application. I don't work or play well with Firefox.