Microsoft will not release a successor standalone Hyper-V Server 2019
Microsoft will not develop a new version of the free Hyper-V Server tool. There will be no Hyper-V Server 2022 release following the release of Windows Server 2022. Instead, administrators are advised to use Azure Stack HCI.
On Microsoft’s Tech Community platform, Microsoft project manager Elden Christensen states that a “strategic choice” has been made to deploy Azure Stack HCI as a hypervisor platform. Microsoft will therefore not develop a new version of Hyper-V Server, making Hyper-V Server 2019 the last version of the free tool. The tool allows users to manage virtual machines and build hybrid cloud environments. The tool is available as iso for free and can be used as long as no Windows VM is running. The Windows hypervisor technology of the standalone Hyper-V Server 2019 is the same as the Hyper-V role in Windows Server 2019, but consists only of the hypervisor, a Windows Server driver model, and the virtualization components. A license is still required to run Windows virtual machines on Hyper-V Server 2019.
Microsoft refers users who use the tool for free to Azure Stack HCI, which costs nine euros per physical core per month. Windows Server 2022 was available in preview from March and received its official release on August 18. Users of Microsoft’s Tech Community wondered if a 2022 edition of the standalone Hyper-V Server would also be released, but Microsoft confirms that there will not be. According to The Register, the Hyper-V role will continue to be installed in Windows Server 2022, which will allow users to set up a virtual machine.
On the Tech Community platform and on Reddit, users are dissatisfied with having to subscribe to a product that was previously free. In addition, they indicate that Azure Stack HCI has a larger footprint. Windows Server 2019 and Hyper-V Server 2019 will be supported until January 2029.
Update, 17.40: Article has been supplemented and clarified. Thanks to themedone.