| XenSource, anyone? |
Sep. 13, 2006
For all of our talk about Xen virtualization and Red Hat and SUSE, we've been overlooking that one of XenSource's goal was to create a standalone virtualization program. Well, we don't have to wait any longer. XenEnterprise 3.0 is finally here.
Despite the "3.0" designation, this is actually XenSource's first real product release of the Xen VM (virtual machine). For a first release, eWEEK Labs found it quite good.
That's an important phrase, though: "for a first release." As it is, you can only run instances of Debian GNU/Linux 3.1, RHEL (Red Hat Enterprise Linux) 4.1 and 3.6; and SLES (SUSE Linux Enterprise Server) 9 Service Pack 2 out of the box. That's a far cry from the proprietary VMWare's dozens of virtual operating systems and applications.
Of course, you can add your own VMs to XenSource by hand, or to Xen on SLES 10 and the forthcoming RHEL 5. It is, however, far more difficult to do with Xen than it is with VMWare.
You see, in VMWare, the VM BIOS hands control over to the install disk's boot manager, which in turn hands control over to the system's operating system. It's a straightforward operation that doesn't require the base operating system to be set up for VMWare.
The problem with Xen is that it doesn't virtualize the pre-boot environment, so it takes a lot more work to get the Xen VM onto the system in the first place. It also requires that the base operating system be customized to work with Xen. So, while with VMWare you can pretty much install it on any Linux without any changes to the distribution, with Xen the distribution's kernel must be customized for Xen before you can run any VM.
At this time, the only mainstream commercial Linux that supports Xen is SLES 10.
As Xen matures, it will doubtlessly gain more pre-built VMs and become easier to install and manage. For now, though, its complicated pricing structure -- which is based on physical servers, number of sockets per server, and perpetual or annual subscription pricing -- makes it a pricey experiment. Since VMWare offers both a free VMWare Player for desktops and VMWare Server, it's hard to see XenEnterprise 3.0 gaining many customers.
Of course, Xen is also an open-source project, so administrators who want to work with the raw code can do so. There's also a thirty-day free trial of the commercialized version.
Looking ahead, the commercial Xen should do better in the future. Xen does have close partnerships with the major Linux companies and beyond. In fact, Xen even has a partnership with the anti-Linux company: Microsoft. Perhaps even more amazing, former Microsoft VP of SQL Server and Exchange, Gordon Mangione just became XenSource's senior vice president of product operations.
XenEnterprise isn't as good as VMWare in this go-around, but its future still looks bright.
For a guided tour of the latest Xen, visit the eWEEK XenEnterprise 3.0 slideshow.
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
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