One of the best ways to select which virtualization platform to choose for your environment is usually based on benchmark or performance findings. Unfortunately, many of us cannot perform these benchmark tests ourselves, for any number of reasons. And so, we rely on others in the industry to help provide us with this data to help us determine the best platform choice.

Until recently, doing an Internet search for any published benchmark numbers comparing one virtualization platform to another just simply did not return any useful information. One reason for that is the end-user license agreement (EULA) that you must agree to from VMware that states that you cannot publish benchmark findings using their products. VMware changed that policy somewhat last year when it stated that they would allow people to publish their results once VMware has reviewed and approved of the methodology, assumptions and other parameters of the study.

TechWorld recently asked VMware about its benchmarking policy. Speaking with VMware's senior director of enterprise and technology marketing, Andrea Eubanks, TechWorld finds out more about VMware's stand on VM benchmarking and the publication of results.

Read the entire Q&A interview, here, to find out about VMware's involvement with SPEC, VMware's free benchmarking tool - VMmark, why VMware's EULA prohibits publising benchmarking results, and why it has taken so long to come up with a virtualization benchmarking solution.

Posted by David Marshall on May 6, 2007 06:03 AM