By allowing greater ability to run Linux on the Hyper-V virtualization platform, Microsoft is making a compelling case that it could be the vendor of choice for consolidation of Windows and Linux applications, says Gartner analyst George Weiss. Microsoft still lags behind VMware in enterprise features such as live migration. But once Microsoft proves itself "good enough" in terms of functionality, many customers will be intrigued by Hyper-V as a lower-cost alternative to VMware, Weiss says.

"Windows with Hyper-V can be a good consolidation story for running Windows and Linux applications," Weiss says. The ability to take over more of the world of both Windows and Linux applications, which is what VMware has been doing, should help Microsoft in its battle against VMware.”

Gartner's research shows that VMware still holds 80% to 90% of the x86 hypervisor market, according to Weiss.

Microsoft's big Linux push Monday involved the submission of driver source code for inclusion in the Linux Kernel, which will provide the hooks for any distribution of Linux to run on Windows Server 2008 and its Hyper-V hypervisor technology. of Linux-based guest operating systems was previously limited to several versions of SUSE Linux Enterprise Server.  Microsoft provided integration components and technical support to customers who wanted to run SUSE Linux.