The answer to this question apparently keeps changing, and Microsoft keeps changing its policies regarding this. So this is a request for a status update in December 2012.
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Currently all searches for "Free Hyper V" keep leading back to a single Microsoft web page, which has absolutely NOTHING listed about any free anything:
http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/server-cloud/virtualization/default.aspx
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The only "free" route appears to be the 180-day "trial" for Server 2012, which is not what I mean by free. I want to install Hyper V / Server 2012 Core, pay nothing for it, and run other hosted linux operating systems and previously purchased Windows servers on it.
Can I do that? There is absolutely no explanation on this URL to explain how to do it.
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VMWare allows me to run vSphere 5.1 / ESXi for free, no purchase required.
http://www.vmware.com/products/vsphere-hypervisor/overview.html
As a small organization, we've been using the free VMWare Server and ESXi for years and years now, on a single physical server. Works fine, doesn't cost us anything.
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