What's better than a book that teaches you everything you need to know about deploying and managing virtualization technologies? How about a free book that teaches you everything you need to know about deploying and managing virtualization technologies?

Yep, we're talking about Understanding Microsoft Virtualization Solutions, the Microsoft Press e-book we first wrote about last August. However, as you may have guessed from the title of this post, something's changed: The book is now called Understanding Microsoft Virtualization R2 Solutions.

What's different? In case the name change doesn't clue you in, the book now includes coverage of Windows Server 2008 R2--in the form of about 60 extra pages (for a grand total of 466). Here's an overview of the scope:

This is the book for IT professionals who want to learn more about the latest Microsoft virtualization technologies, including Hyper-V and Remote Desktop Services in Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, Microsoft Application Virtualization 4.5, Microsoft Enterprise Desktop Virtualization, Windows Virtual PC and Windows XP Mode, System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008, and Microsoft's private and public cloud computing platforms including Windows Azure.

The book is available in both PDF and XPS formats. And this time you don't need to complete a registration form or even supply a Windows Live ID--just download and go.

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