Microsoft this week said the Live Migration feature for its hypervisor technology is slated for delivery with the next version of Windows Server, which is likely to be delivered in 2010.

The feature, which was pulled from Hyper-V in July last year, is a key performance feature designed to help it compete with rival VMware.

Microsoft plans to demonstrate the feature this week during a marketing event in Washington designed to show off its virtualization wares to IT. The "Get Virtual Now" event is one in a series that Microsoft plans to put on around the globe.

Live Migration will ship with Windows Server 2008 R2, which is expected to be released in 2010 if Microsoft can stick to its server release cycle that calls for an interim upgrade two years after a major release. Windows Server 2008 shipped in February.

Live Migration provides performance guarantees for dynamic workloads and helps balance loads to minimize the number of active servers. Critics of Microsoft's current Virtual Server software often cite its lack of live migration capabilities as one reason it is not ready to support performance-sensitive or critical applications.

Live Migration is offered in virtualization technology from VMware and Linux vendors. Critics have said that without Live Migration, manageability will be a tougher sell to users.

Also at the virtualization event, Microsoft has some 40 partners showing off wares that integrate or augment Hyper-V.