Grid Meter » Hot Summer Fun - Virtualization Sizzles

July 21, 2006 | Comments: (0)

Hot Summer Fun - Virtualization Sizzles

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Wow, what a week for news in the virtualization space. Microsoft and XenSource partnered up, VMware then blasted their plans and IBM put their hand up to support Xen on Novell! Whew.

So what does it all mean? Let's start with Microsoft and XenSource teaming up. Paula Rooney at CRN provides a great recap of the deal:

"Microsoft and XenSource plan to provide interoperability between Xen-based Linux distributions and the virtualization technology planned for the "Longhorn" Windows Server.

The development of such a bridge would allow Microsoft partners and customers to deploy and run Xen-enabled Linux guest operating systems on the Longhorn's "Viridian" virtualization engine, which is slated to become available for Windows Server in the first half of 2008.
The move also enables Microsoft to position its virtualization server code, due to ship six months after Longhorn, as suitable for a variety of hardware platforms and heterogeneous environments--a key requirement as the Redmond, Wash., software giant and XenSource prepare to take on virtualization market leader VMware."

As the last sentence alludes, a fight is a brewing and VMware is coming out swinging. Check out Brian Byun's VMware's VP of Products and Alliances blog entry on the deal - some "highlights" of his comments below:

> "It's a one-way street that favors Microsoft and Windows running Linux."

> "XenSource, in diverging from its open source and Linux virtualization roots, is enabling the commercial interests of Windows and building to proprietary Windows API layers."

> "The timing is rather notable. It's odd to trumpet future interoperability for the Windows hypervisor whose first release is roughly two years away or more..."

And IBM announced that their low-end servers and middleware will support XenSource Inc.'s open-source Xen virtualization technology, since it's included in Novell Inc.'s new SUSE Linux distribution. As IBM's Scott Handy VP WorldWide Linux and Open Source Software notes:

"There's no doubt how important virtualization has become," said Scott Handy, vice president of worldwide Linux and open-source software at IBM. Servers are heavily underutilized. Being able to virtualize their hardware can be a real cost saver for companies."

My take - The 800 lb. gorilla that XenSource will need to face up to is VMware. There are 3 ways to attack - through product, through customers and with partners. VMware is defending their turf - no surprises there. This battle will be one to watch over the next 12 months and will, I believe, have a lasting effect on grid and distributed computing.

I also find it interesting that this is an area where Microsoft has not been able to freeze the market with a pending product announcement - a subject for a future blog.

Posted by Greg Nawrocki on July 21, 2006 06:50 AM

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