| Virtually speaking at LinuxWorld |
Apr. 03, 2006
There's only a handful of people at LinuxWorld Boston on Monday, but I've already heard some of them saying, "Why is everyone talking about virtualization?"
Mea culpa, here at the Ziff Davis family of publications, we've been covering Linux virtualization like paint too.
First off, we had Peter Galli's overview of how Red Hat and Novell are embracing Xen, "LinuxWorld: Virtualization Bake-In Off and Running". That was followed by an interview with VMWare's president Diane Greene and reviews of SWSoft's Virtuozzo for Linux 3.0 and Altiris Software Virtualization Solution 2.0.
So, why are we spending so much time on virtualization?
Because virtualization is becoming the hot buy in business computing this year.
You don't see it?
Well, Microsoft does. How else can you explain that Microsoft has made its Virtual Server 2005 R2 Enterprise Edition program available as a free download?
Oh, I know that Jim Ni, a group product manager for Microsoft's Windows Server team, told Galli that Microsoft's customers "expect and want [free virtualization] from us."
They do? Microsoft's customers expect something -- anything? -- for free from Redmond?! You could have fooled me.
What's really happening here, is that Microsoft realizes that they can lose customers to the flood of free and open-source virtualization programs that are now on the market.
Sure, Microsoft would like to make money from virtualization. But, Microsoft can afford to give it away, if that means it can stop big-business customers from defecting to Linux.
The reason behind all this is that while an entry-level server may not be able to run Vista, it certainly has enough power to run several instances of a server. This, in turn, means that a company can run and manage multiple servers for the same amount of hardware upfront costs and, in theory, for about the same system administration costs.
One of the ironies of Microsoft's PR move (giving away Virtual Server) is that it really makes no sense to run a virtual machine on top of Windows. Windows, as the forthcoming bloatware called Vista shows to an extreme, takes up a lot of resource. As David Berlind points out on his ZDNet blog, "One of the great advantages of Linux is how, when you're setting up a system, you can strip all of the bloat except for only those components that you need to support whatever you plan to run on the box."
Exactly. And Microsoft doesn't want business leaders looking any closer at Linux, Xen, VMWare, and all the rest of the virtual machine family that can run on Linux any closer than they are already. In short: Microsoft's move is a PR strike at Linux-based virtualization.
Sadly, from where I sit, Xen and the Linux distributors aren't likely to be bothered by this move. VMWare, however, which makes products I like, is another matter. Historically, Microsoft buries some of its enemies by incorporating their products' functionality into the operating system. The classic example, of course, is Netscape. I fear that this move is going to bury VMWare.
Still, I could be wrong. Try as I might, I can't think of anyone, even Microsoft fans, having much good to say about Virtual Server. On the other hand, I know many fans of VMWare, Xen, and Virtuozzo, and a goodly number of happy Virtualization Solution users.
The one thing I do know for sure, though, is that you're going to be hearing a lot more about virtualization both this week and in the year to come. It may not be very exciting to some, but for CIOs and CFOs, it's the number one subject.
-- Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols
Do you have comments on this story?
Talkback here
NOTE: Please post your comments regarding our articles using the above link. Be sure to use this article's title as the "Subject" in your posts. Before you create a new thread, please check to see if a discussion thread is already running on the article you plan to comment on. Thanks!
(Click here for further information)
|
|
|
7 Advantages of D2D Backup
For decades, tape has been the backup medium of choice. But, now, disk-to-disk (D2D) backup is gaining in favor. Learn why you should make the move in this whitepaper.
4 Legal Reasons to Control Internet Access
The Internet is obviously a valuable resource for many organizations. However, many are exposed to legal liability concerns because they fail to control Internet access. Learn if you're safe in this white paper.
Rapidly Resolve J2EE Application Problems
Whether you are in the process of building J2EE applications or have J2EE applications already running in production, you must ensure that they deliver the expected ROI. Learn how in this white paper.
Load Testing 2.0 for Web 2.0
There are many unknowns in stress testing Web 2.0 applications. Find out how to test the performance of Web 2.0 in this white paper.
Build Better Games Online
For the game infrastructure providers, life is complex. Making money from games has become more complicated. Why? Find out in this white paper.
Building a Virtual Infrastructure from Servers to Storage
This white paper discusses the virtual storage solutions that reduce cost, increase storage utilization, and address the challenges of backing up and restoring Server environments.
Gaining Faster Wireless Connections with WiMAX
Welcome to what is quickly becoming the hyperconnected world where anything that would benefit from being connected to the network will be connected. Learn more in this white paper.
Is Your Desktop a Security Threat?
The new wave of sophisticated crimeware not only targets specific companies, but also targets desktops and laptops as backdoor entryways into those business’ operations and resources. Learn how to stay safe in this white paper.
Increasing SAN Reliability by 100 Percent
Storage area networks (SAN) are a strong part of storage plans. Learn how to increase your reliability and uptime by 100 percent in this case study.
|
|
news feed