VMWare, the current king of the relatively new arena that is virtualization, introduced today a new version of Vmware Server 2. The release of the software today is probably not a coincidence, but more a response to both Microsoft and Oracle making similar announcements this week.

While it is certain that VMWare has a considerable advantage in both technology and marketshare over their competitors, they will have to step up their fight in the the days ahead if they are to remain that way. Hopefully they use the cash infusion from their recent IPO to spur development of their platforms, and not rely on what's already been done.

The new release includes many new features particularly appealing to the enterprise, such as a newer management interface, support for more operating systems, larger capacity for RAM and SMP support and others. USB 2.0 support is included. You can read more about Server 2.0 itself and download the beta at VMWare's site. As with the existing release of VMWare Server, it is a free product – including for home and desktop users who are so inclined to experiment.