Microsoft has made the new version 20 H2 of its hyper-converged virtualization operating system Azure Stack HCI available for download. Azure Stack HCI is an independent operating system that provides virtualization and storage services as a hyper-convergent unit and, through a direct connection to Microsoft’s Azure cloud service, represents a hybrid cloud offering.

The technical basis for Azure Stack HCI is an operating system reduced to virtualization and storage functions (similar to VMware ESXi), which is based on the hypervisor that is also used in the Azure Cloud. In addition to the hypervisor, functions for software-defined storage and network are firmly integrated. The user interface on the individual Azure Stack HCI nodes is kept to a minimum, includes a command line and PowerShell for emergencies. Administrators manage Azure Stack HCI remotely through the Windows Admin Center. Additional server roles such as Active Directory Domain Services or network services are not provided on the HCI nodes.

Convenient disaster recovery In addition to the updated architecture, Azure Stack HCI now includes functions for setting up “stretched clusters”, which should please customers who have high requirements in the area of ​​disaster recovery. Azure Stack HCI supports both synchronous and asynchronous storage replication and automatic switchover (failover) in the event of a disaster. Updates are also conveniently solved: in cooperation with Microsoft’s hardware partners, customers can update the entire environment, including firmware and drivers.

Services are sufficient for monitoring the Azure Stack HCI environment and for security aspects the Azure Cloud is used. Microsoft has greatly simplified licensing: Azure Stack HCI nodes are billed at a list price of 10 USD per month and CPU core, here are the Costs for support and ongoing updates already included. Customers who are still using Windows Server 2008 and 2008 R2 will receive when using Azure Stack HCI will continue to receive security updates for these operating systems.

Customers who want to test Azure Stack HCI can apply for a free 30 – Day version under Azure Stack HCI Registration | Register Microsoft Azure. Servers from around 20 manufacturers are available for productive use; Microsoft provides the compatibility list under Azure Stack HCI Catalog | Microsoft ready. Further information can be found in two blog posts by Microsoft employee Thomas Maurer. (ur)