Linux Integration Services

The Microsoft corporation announced the final version of set of the integration Linux Integration Services (LIS) 2.1 components which will help to improve support of the Linux platform in virtual environments based on Hyper-V hypervisor.

The main improvement presented in the new version is support of symmetric multiprocessor processing (SMP). The hypervisor of Hyper-V allows to appoint up to four virtual processors for each virtual machine. Support of SMP is the crucial requirement for many client organizations which use virtual machines for accomplishment of resource-intensive calculations.

In a set of components the possibility of time synchronization between a host system and the virtual machine, the built-in mechanisms of fault detection (the Heartbeat technology will allow to be convinced a host system that guest OS responds to the requests and is completely ready to work) is also implemented and also performance thanks to support of Fastpath Boot technology is increased. IT administrators also had an opportunity of completion of a session of the virtual machine running Linux from the management console of Hyper-V Manager or System Center Virtual Machine Manager.

Upgraded version of Linux Integration Services 2.1 guarantees support of the virtual machines working under control of Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (version 10 of SP3 and 11) and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (version from 5.2 to 5.5).

2015: There was a release of Linux Integration Services 4.0 for Hyper-V

On August 19, 2015 it became known of release Microsoft of updating of Linux Integration Services 4.0 for Hyper-V by the company. It is a packet of drivers, utilities and improvements for the guest OS Linux working in virtual machines at platforms Hyper-V and Azure^[1].

Are officially supported Linux system:

• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.5-5.11 is 32-bit, 32-bit PAE and 64-bit
• 32-and 64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.0-6.7
• 64-bit Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.0-7.1
• CentOS 5.5-5.11 32-bit, 32-bit PAE и 64-bit
• CentOS 6.0-6.7 32-bit and 64-bit
• CentOS 7.0-7.1 64-bit
• Oracle Linux 6.4-6.7 with a core of Red Hat Compatible Kernel 32-bit and 64-bit
• Oracle Linux 7.0-7.1 with a core of Red Hat Compatible Kernel 64-bit

After installation in guest Linux OS of the virtual machine, Linux Integration Services 4.0 allow to receive:

• New drivers: now virtual devices (network controllers, IDE and SCSI controllers) which were developed especially for Hyper-V are supported.
• Fastpath Boot Support - loading devices use possibilities of Virtualization Service Client (VSC) for performance improvement.
• Time Keeping - in guest OS are reliably synchronized hours about a host server through service Timesync.
• Integrated Shutdown - can complete correctly the work of OS not from the console, and from Hyper-V Manager or System Center Virtual Machine Manager.
• Support of Symmetric Multi-Processing (SMP) - VM with supported by Linux OS can have several virtual processors.
• Heartbeat - an opportunity to understand from outside a host server whether a guest system is available now and whether she answers commands.
• KVP (Key Value Pair) Exchange - about a host server of Windows Server 2008 can request the VM parameters in the Key/Value format.
• Integrated Mouse Support is a full support of a mouse.
• Live Migration - support of technology of hot migration of VM between Hyper-V host servers.
• Jumbo Frames - can use VM Linux for exchange of the big personnel (more than 1500 bytes of formatted capacity).
• VLAN tagging and trunking - for synthetic network adapters can use one or several VLAN ID.
• Static IP Injection - is allowed migration of VM with the static IP address.
• Possibility of dynamic size variation of a virtual disk of VHDX connected to the virtual machine.
• Support of synthetic Fibre Channel adapters.
• Support of a hot backup of virtual machines with Linux OS without their stop.
• Support of the memory ballooning equipment - selection of memory at idle virtual machines and distribution by her person in need VM.
• Support of the synthetic graphics adapter with the improved performance for guest OS of Linux.
• Drivers with support of PAE kernel.

Notes