Microsoft announces the availability of the beta release of the Linux Integration Services v2.1. This new version includes new functionality, including timesync, integrated shutdown, and SMP support.

When installed on a virtual machine that is running a supported Linux operating system, the Linux Integration Services for Hyper-V provide the following functionality:

  • Driver support for synthetic devices: The Linux Integration Services support the synthetic network controller and the synthetic storage controller that were developed specifically for Hyper-V.
  • Fastpath Boot Support for Hyper-V: Boot devices now take advantage of the block Virtualization Service Client (VSC) to provide enhanced performance.
  • NEW: Timesync: The clock inside the virtual machine will now remain synchronized with the clock on the host.
  • NEW: Integrated Shutdown: Virtual machines running Linux can now be shut down from either the Hyper-V Manager or the VMConnect application using the “Shut Down” command.
  • NEW: Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) Support: Supported Linux distributions can now properly use up to 4 virtual processors (VP) per virtual machine.

It is officially supported for the following versions of Linux:

  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3 x86 and x64
    • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 will no longer be supported by Novell as of April 12, 2010. Novell recommends that users migrate to SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3.
  • SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 x86 and x64
  • Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4 x86 and x64

This release is currently available on Connect (http://connect.microsoft.com) under the “Linux Integration Services for Microsoft Hyper-V” connection (which you can go and sign up for right now).

This is a beta release. To use the previously released version, download them from this link.