Announcing Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows release 2.1

The Oracle Linux and Virtualization team is pleased to announce Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows release 2.1. The Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows are paravirtualized (PV) drivers for Microsoft Windows guests that are running on Oracle Linux KVM on the x86_64 processor architecture. Oracle Linux customers using the Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows will benefit from improved performance for network and block (disk) devices on Microsoft Windows guests.

What’s New?

Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows release 2.1 is an update that rebases to a newer version of the upstream Windows VirtIO Drivers. Notable enhancements in release 2.1 include:

  • Updated installer including enhanced messaging and workflows for unsupported platforms
  • A VirtIO VGA driver to enable a Windows VM to suspend and resume
  • Performance improvements in both network and block device drivers
  • Bug fixes for the VirtIO storage and network drivers

virtio 2.1 installer window

Oracle VirtIO Drivers Support

Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows support the KVM hypervisor with Oracle Linux on-premises and on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. The following guest Microsoft Windows operating systems are supported with the Oracle VirtIO Driver 2.1 release:

Microsoft Windows supported Guest Operating Systems

64-bit

32-bit
Microsoft Windows Server 2022 Yes N/A
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Yes N/A
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Yes N/A
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Yes N/A
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Yes N/A
Microsoft Windows 11 Yes Yes
Microsoft Windows 10 Yes Yes
Microsoft Windows 8.1 Yes Yes
Microsoft Windows 8 Yes Yes

For further details refer to Oracle Linux KVM VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows.

For further details related to Oracle Linux refer to the Oracle Linux KVM User’s Guide or the Oracle Linux 8 Documentation Library.

Microsoft Windows Compatibility Signing

The following table shows the Microsoft Windows operating systems for which the Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows release 2.1 have been signed and certified. Additional information on Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows certifications can be found in the Windows Server Catalog.

Guest Operating System

Signed and Certified by Microsoft

Tested by Oracle to Operate Successfully
Microsoft Windows Server 2022 Yes Yes
Microsoft Windows Server 2019 Yes Yes
Microsoft Windows Server 2016 Yes Yes
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 R2 Yes Yes
Microsoft Windows Server 2012 Yes Yes
Microsoft Windows 11 Yes Yes
Microsoft Windows 10 No Yes
Microsoft Windows 8.1 No Yes
Microsoft Windows 8 No Yes
 
Note: A security alert occurs during installation on a Windows operating system for which Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows are not signed.

Download Oracle VirtIO Drivers Now!

Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows release 2.1 is available on the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud by searching on “Oracle Linux” and select DLP: Oracle Linux 8.8.0.0.0 (Oracle Linux) or DLP: Oracle Linux 9.2.0.0.0 (Oracle Linux):

osdc search OL

Click on the “Add to Cart” button and then click on “Continue” in the upper right corner. On the following window, select “x86-64” and click on the “Continue” button:

Select OL

Accept the “Oracle Standard Terms and Restrictions” to continue and, on the following window, click on “V1037432-01.zip file name, Oracle VirtIO Drivers for Microsoft Windows, Version 2.1“ to download the drivers:

ol virtio driver select

The Oracle VirtIO Drivers release 2.1 is also available on the My Oracle Support by searching on Patch Number 27637937.

Additional Resources