SearchServerVirtualization Blog: July, 2009 archives

SearchServerVirtualization Blog:

July, 2009

Jul 27 2009   3:08PM GMT

VMware: Amazon, Google and Azure aren’t real clouds



Posted by: Colin Steele
VMware User Group, cloud computing, Colin Steele

VMware is going to be a cloud company. A real cloud company.

That was the message at Thursday’s New England VMware User Group summer meeting in Brunswick, Maine. Mike DiPetrillo, VMware’s global cloud architect, described the one thing that will set VMware apart from Amazon, Google, Microsoft and other cloud providers: interoperability.

“These guys are completely proprietary,” DiPetrillo said, referring to Amazon Web Services, Google and Microsoft Azure.

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Jul 24 2009   6:40PM GMT

VMware finally warming up to EMC



Posted by: Colin Steele
VMware, VMware User Group, EMC, Colin Steele

EMC has owned VMware since 2004, but for the most part, the two companies have continued to operate separately. Very separately.

That may be changing.

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Jul 22 2009   11:37PM GMT

Microsoft releases Hyper-V R2 to manufacturing



Posted by: Colin Steele
Microsoft Hyper-V, Colin Steele

Microsoft released Hyper-V R2 to manufacturing today, along with Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7.

The release to manufacturing (RTM) means the final code is available for partners to test and install on their hardware. Microsoft will make the software available for evaluation in the first half of August and offer it to customers with Software Assurance in the second half of August, technical product manager Oliver Rist said on the Windows Server Division WebLog.

Microsoft said at last week’s Worldwide Partner Conference that Hyper-V R2 will be generally available in September, and the company is planning a launch event in November.

To be clear, there are two versions of Hyper-V R2: Windows Server 2008 R2 Hyper-V, which comes with Windows Server 2008 R2, and Hyper-V Server 2008 R2, a free, standalone hypervisor. The free version will still include many of R2’s most sought-after features, including Live Migration.

For more on the new features in Hyper-V R2, check out this podcast with expert Greg Shields, which, completely coincidentally, we just launched today.


Jul 22 2009   7:09PM GMT

Is Microsoft giving up on Windows?



Posted by: Colin Steele
Microsoft Hyper-V, Microsoft Windows, Windows 7, Linux and virtualization, VMware, Cisco, Google, Colin Steele

You probably read the above headline and had a question of your own. Something along the lines of, “Colin, what have you been smoking?”

I know, it seems ridonklulous to think that Microsoft would give up on its Windows operating system — a product that dominates its market like few others in IT or any other industry. But in light of Microsoft’s recent Linux outreach, it’s a legitimate question.

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Jul 17 2009   6:40PM GMT

Burton Group: XenServer 5.5 is enterprise-ready



Posted by: Colin Steele
Citrix XenServer, VMware, Colin Steele

You may remember that back in February, the Burton Group released a hypervisor comparison report. And in that report, the only hypervisor to meet 100% of the firm’s required criteria for enterprise readiness was VMware Virtual Infrastructure 3.5.

(If you don’t remember, you can check out a full recap in our recent list of the top 10 server virtualization news stories of the year so far.)

Anyway, since February — but before we published that list — something changed. Another hypervisor has since met 100% of the Burton Group’s criteria. And that hypervisor is Citrix XenServer 5.5.


Jul 7 2009   7:59PM GMT

Why does VMware care about Virtual Iron customers?



Posted by: Colin Steele
VMware, Virtual Iron, Oracle VM, vSphere, Colin Steele

Good news, Virtual Iron customers: In the words of Tom Petty, you don’t have to live like a refugee.

VMware is reaching out to Virtual Iron users, following Oracle’s decision to kill off the Virtual Iron product line last week. (Oracle acquired Virtual Iron in May.) As my colleague Alex Barrett reports today, VMware is offering Virtual Iron customers 40% off the list price of vSphere and vCenter.

The offer is an apparent attempt to keep Virtual Iron’s customers from moving to Oracle VM (which is what Oracle wants them to do). But that raises the question: Why does VMware care?

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Jul 1 2009   12:39PM GMT

Will Oracle kill Sun virtualization too?



Posted by: Colin Steele
Oracle, Sun Microsystems, Sun xVM, Virtual Iron, Colin Steele

Oracle has stopped selling Virtual Iron products, terminated its Virtual Iron reseller agreements and seen the departures of two top Virtual Iron execs.

We still don’t know what Oracle’s plans are for the Virtual Iron technology it acquired in May, but in light of these developments, a much bigger question is arising about a much bigger acquisition: Will Oracle kill off Sun Microsystems’ virtualization line too?

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