If you missed our webcast on the upcoming Nexus 1000V release for Microsoft Hyper-V, you missed the announcement that we are now making available a beta version to the general public, as of March 6.(Note: Everyone asks, so, no, we haven't announced the availability date for the GA version yet, but it's coming soon). This should be great news for the large number of folks that we had to turn away that we couldn't support in our earlier alpha and high-touch beta releases.

In the webcast, Damian Flynn, a 2012 Microsoft MVP for Data Center and Cloud, and IT Architect for Lionbridge Technologies in Ireland, who was one of the early beta-testers for the Nexus 1000V Hyper-V version, gave an outstanding overview of the Nexus 1000V in a Hyper-V and System Center environment. It's worth listening to the webcast replay if you have the time. Damian had some really exciting things to say about his experiences. The webcast was admirably co-hosted by our own Appaji Malla, product manager for  Nexus 1000V for Hyper-V.

The new beta version is available to anyone with a valid email address, and who provide their company name and contact address. Beta users must be willing to test the product and provide constructive feedback. Beta users are also encouraged to participate in the discussion forums and contribute to the Nexus 1000V beta community site.

As described in this week's webcast (download the slides here; or watch the replay here), the beta process starts with an email to: [email protected]. A link to a beta site will be sent in an email invitation (you must have a userID on Cisco.com to access this site). You will then be prompted to accept the beta agreement, and then get access to the beta code and documentation. Please use the available discussion forums for support, questions and feedback.  

This beta version works only with Hyper-V 3.0, the version that is shipped with Microsoft Windows Server 2012. Users also need to have System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2012 SP1 to use and manage the beta release.

Nexus 1000V for Hyper-V is an extension to the Microsoft Hyper-V Extensible Switch Platform, and is well-integrated with SCVMM. Nexus 1000V provides consistent switching features across all hypervisor implementations (now ESX and Hyper-V), as well as consistency with the physical network infrastructure (through NX-OS feature set), and consistency across private and public cloud deployments (through Nexus 1000V InterCloud). It also provides the vPath service insertion technology that is integral to incorporating virtual services like firewalls and WAN optimization into your virtual networks.

The beta bundle on the Nexus 1000V community page consists of:

• Nexus 1000V Virtual Supervisor Module (VSM) ISO (n1000vh-dk9.5.2.1.SM1.5.0.1.iso)
• Nexus 1000V Virtual Ethernet Module (VEM) MSI package (Nexus1000V.msi)
• VSEM Provider MSI Package (CiscoProviderInstaller.msi)
• Nexus 1000V Installer App
• Getting Started Guide
• Beta Test-cases Document
• Product Documentation

Note that this beta version of the Nexus 1000V does not include the Virtual Security Gateway (VSG).

Additional Resources:

• Cisco-Microsoft Partnership Site: http://cisco.com/go/microsoft
• Nexus 1000V information: http://cisco.com/go/1000v
• Solution Overview: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns340/ns517/ns224/ns955/ns963/solution_overview_c22-687087.html
• Product Q&A document: http://www.cisco.com/en/US/solutions/collateral/ns340/ns517/ns224/ns955/ns963/faq_c67_687090_ns1154_Networking_Solutions_Q_and_A.html