1.2. What's new in XenServer 4.0.1

This release of XenServer contains the following new features:

64-bit hypervisor This release incorporates Xen 3.1, which exploits 64-bit servers to tap the large memory capability of these machines, up to a maximum of 128 GB
Resource Pools, shared storage, and XenMotion™: live and static relocation of Virtual Machines XenServer now includes shared storage support, with a new administration model. You can now pool XenServer Host machines together to share storage devices, enabling live relocation of VMs between XenServer Hosts. A Resource Pool can contain up to sixteen (16) XenServer Hosts. This provides the XenCenter administrative interface with a way to address a single IP address to manage any XenServer Host within the Pool.
Enhanced storage support includes:
- XenServer formerly supported a single Storage Repository (SR) on a XenServer Host. This release supports multiple SRs, which can be attached or detached dynamically.
- Local and iSCSI (SCSI protocol over TCP/IP) LVM (Logical Volume Management) Storage Repositories
- File-based virtual disks in Microsoft's VHD (Virtual Hard Drive) image format stored locally and on NFS (Network File System) exported directories
- Pool-attached shared storage (iSCSI and NFS), accessible from multiple hosts, enabling XenMotion
- Thin provisioning of virtual disks for appropriate storage types using sparse files, so storage allocated to a Virtual Machine is not instantiated until required
- Fast Snapshot of virtual disks (via the CLI and API only, and for file-backed virtual disks only)
A new API and SDK XenAPI, implemented in both open source Xen and XenServer, is an extensible, upward-compatible API providing the programmable management interface to the XenServer product family. It is remoteable, and is used by XenCenter and the CLI. XenAPI is published for ISVs.
A software development kit (SDK) and a driver development kit (DDK), both packaged as VMs, are provided with this release to enable ISVs and IHVs to rapidly develop their products. The SDK and DDK run only on XenServer-based systems.
A new, renamed administrative interface and new CLI XenCenter, formerly called the Administrator Console, is now a native Windows application and makes use of the Xen API. The xe CLI has been extended to provide even more fine-grained control of the system. A backward-compatible mode enables conversion of existing scripts.
XenCenter and the CLI only support management of XenServer-based systems.