Ubuntu picks KVM over Xen for virtualization


Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server both use the Xen virtualization software, a "hypervisor" layer that lets multiple operating systems run on the same computer. In contrast, the KVM software runs on top of a version of Linux, the "host" operating system that provides a foundation for other "guest" operating systems to run in a virtual mode.

"We've chosen to settle on KVM as our main virtualization focus,&… Read more

Citrix strips XenSource of virtualization, open source...everything

Just what did Citrix buy when it bought XenSource? As Dana Blankenhorn analyzes, Citrix appears to be in a dead sprint to remove any and all value from open source, virtualization buzz, etc. that it may have acquired when it bought XenSource:

And now, a quarter after the deal was closed, Citrix officials have indicated that they will use the hot XenSource branding, but de-emphasize its identity as a virtualization company. Citrix's flasgship Presentation Server has been renamed to XenApp Server, a fitting title considering its function as an application delivery platform. But it has no XenSource code.

Citrix … Read more

Oracle: "Our virtualization is god!...a small one...sort of a demi-god...or not"

Oracle has a history of making BIG announcements about how much better its technology is, how it will crush feeble-minded competitors, and such. Its history of actual delivery is somewhat less grandiose. While Oracle has demonstrated an exceptional ability and voracious appetite for acquiring others' innovation, it has proved less adept at actually building things that are dramatically better than the opposition's.

A case in point may well be its virtualization technology, which it trumpeted as three times more efficient than rival products. But as Larry Dignan notes, analysts aren't buying the hype this time around. Oracle's crying wolf over Unbreakable Linux may well be the most immediate reason:

Oracle on Monday announced its own server virtualization software and claimed it was three times more efficient than rival products. VMware shares were whacked on the news. What a difference a day makes. On Tuesday, analysts called Oracle?s virtualization announcement "virtual FUD" and noted it was reminiscent to the company?s Unbreakable Linux announcement a year ago....… Read more

VMware's mistaken understanding of open source

Wow. I guess for those who have yet to be forced to compete with open source, it's permissible to come out with grossly inaccurate comments about open source. Even Microsoft would never say something like this, which Diane Greene (VMware's CEO) said to The Register:

There is still a lot of innovation going into our hypervisor. As long as there is a lot of innovation going in, (open source) is not the right model.


Um...no. That is completely false. It's not even a little, teensie weensie bit true. In fact, it's when one is in the midst of innovation that open source makes the most sense. Ms. Greene seems to be suggesting that open source makes sense when you're ready to put code out to pasture because it has passed its prime. Quite the opposite is true, if you're hoping to derive value from community, which is the whole point of open sourcing code.

Community-influenced innovation.

What Ms. Greene ought to have said is something like this:… Read more

New Virtual Iron CEO wants spotlight

Virtual Iron, a start-up trying to commercialize the open-source Xen virtualization software, has just gotten a new chief executive, and he wants to grab some of the attention lavished on rivals in the suddenly high-profile market.

The new CEO is Ed Walsh, who led Avamar Technologies, a company focusing on economizing storage by reducing duplicative data, which EMC acquired in 2004. John Thibault, who was named Virtual Iron's CEO in 2005, will remain executive chairman of the 73-employee Lowell, Mass.-based company, Virtual Iron plans to announce Monday.

Virtual Iron has been in the virtualization business for three years, … Read more

Citrix completes XenSource virtualization buy




NetWare and Linux cheek by jowl, courtesy Xen

For most of the world, Novell's NetWare operating system may have faded to footnote status, but Novell continues to grind away at its plan to modernize the software.

The new NetWare, called Open Enterprise Server, is an attempt to rebuild the operating system's services atop Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server (SLES). Version 1.0 essentially was a bundle that included both operating systems, but with OES 2.0, which Novell announced on Monday, the two operating systems got a lot closer.

The reason for the proximity: Xen virtualization software, which lets the same physical server run multiple … Read more

Zimbra's valuation...a hint of things to come (UPDATED w/ more accurate sales numbers)

I just heard from an unimpeachable source close to the company that Zimbra's revenue last year was ~$6 million. (Though the more interesting number is the significant increase they've had this year (on track to hit $20 million), which points to a strong future.) That makes the $350 million acquisition by Yahoo outstandingly profitable for Satish and crew. That's a ~60X valuation (on 12 months trailing revenues).

Was Yahoo foolish? Yahoo isn't a foolish company. I think it means that Yahoo believes Yahoo plus Zimbra is worth more than $350 million, and I think it's right. Citrix spent $500 million on a company that had $1 million in 12 months trailing revenues. Foolish? Not when you consider the future.… Read more

Sun christens its Xen-based virtualization xVM

SAN FRANCISCO--Sun Microsystems, a longtime participant in the Xen open-source hypervisor project, has named its Solaris-based offshoot xVM, short for x86 Virtual Machine.

"Because Xen is trademarked, we don't want to call the code we've implemented Xen," said Marc Hamilton, Sun's vice president of Solaris marketing, on Wednesday. It works only on computers with x86 chips such as Intel's Xeon; those with Sun's newer UltraSparc processors use an equivalent technology called logical domains, or LDoms.

Virtualization, blossoming as a technology foundation for x86 servers, lets a single computer run multiple operating systems simultaneously … Read more

VMware gets a little open-source religion

Apparently the road to victory in virtualization is heavily paved with open source. That's the lesson I'm taking from VMware's announcement today that it will be releasing a majority of VMware Tools as open source software as part of the project Open Virtual Machine Tools.

As VMware gets into open source, even if it's only dipping its toes right now, it makes it much harder for others (Xen, Virtual Iron, etc.) to compete. This is a smart initial move, but will become better if VMware keeps moving down this path.

From the press release:… Read more