Intel and Microsoft last week unveiled technology to boost the performance and reliability of virtual machines running in server environments. The two companies also detailed plans to bring together their respective management technologies, which could result in significantly lower maintenance costs.

At its Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, Intel published specifications for hardware to handle mapping of I/O devices to virtual machines on servers. Virtualisation for Directed I/O (VT-d) is an extension of the Virtualisation Technology (VT) in current Intel chips and is expected to feature in server processors from 2007, Intel said.

The specifications were developed in collaboration with Microsoft, which said it will support the technology in the Windows hypervisor, a virtualisation layer that will form part of Longhorn Server.

“The VT-d hardware foundation combined with future versions of the Windows hypervisor will help provide customers with increased scalability and higher performance I/O by enabling direct assignment of devices to virtual machines,” said Bob Muglia, vice-president of Microsoft’s Server and Tools Business.

Intel VT will be supported in Virtual Server 2005 R2 service pack 1, which is set for beta release within 90 days, Microsoft said.

Also during IDF, Intel announced that its Active Management Technology (AMT) will link up with Microsoft’s Systems Management Server (SMS). The capability will come in SMS 2003 R2, due for general availability in May.

“Intel AMT and Microsoft SMS will mean relief for those who manage computer networks [and] have struggled to effectively control virus outbreaks, audit networked PCs or handle computer problems without affecting users’ productivity,” said Intel senior vice-president Pat Gelsinger.

AMT enables management tools to control network PCs, even if they are switched off or cannot boot.