Microsoft aims at VMware&#39;s virtualization lead
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Microsoft Corp. , seeking to  preserve the dominance of its Windows franchise, launched a new  software application that takes aim at VMware Inc. , the  leader in &quot;virtualization&quot; technology that allows a single  computer server to operate like many machines.
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(InfoWorld) - The president of virtualization software leader VMware Wednesday questioned the strategy of rivals that are integrating virtualization functionality into their operating systems. Diane Greene made the comments at the third and final day of the Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco. VMware, a subsidiary of storage vendor EMC, doubled revenue in EMC's latest quarterly report, compared to the year ago quarter, as enterprises embrace VMware's virtualization software to make more efficient use of the servers in their data centers. RivalsÂ like Red Hat and Microsoft have responded to VMware's dominance by integrating virtualization into coming new operating systems. Red Hat is introducing Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 next week, and Microsoft's new Windows server OS is due later this year. But Greene, in discussing virtualization with analysts for the investment firm, said she wonders how effective the competition's virtualization features can be. "Traditionally, the operating system manages the hardware and manages the application. Once you virtualize with a hypervisor, that is now what is managing the hardware, not the OS," Greene said, in a presentation that was distributed via webcast. "Now the operating system is just managing the application. So certainly Windows and Red Hat are moving to integrate virtualization into their OS, but part of the value proposition seems to be lost when you do that." Spokespeople for Microsoft and Red Hat did not respond to requests for comment. VMware is a strong contributor to the earnings of parent company EMC, which also sells storage hardware and security software. Greene also is executive vice president of EMC. Revenue for VMware increased to $232 million in the fourth quarter of 2006, 101 percent more than a year prior. The growth comes from increased demand for VMware Infrastructure 3, a virtualization software suite for servers and storage networks. VMware's growth prompted EMC to recently announce plans toÂ spin off 10 percent of VMware in an IPO. EMC executives said they anticipate releasing the prospectus later this month for the IPO, expected about midyear. Greene noted the stock sale will benefit VMware employees as well as potential shareholders. "Our stock-based compensation will track our performance, and that is the ideal model," she said. Also at the Morgan Stanley conference, Greene acknowledged that virtualizing servers, which helps them use more of their designed capacity, may suppress server sales growth. But she said many customers are upgrading servers as they introduce virtualization into their operations. Those new servers are more high-end products, with greater processing power, and should yield higher margins for server vendors. EMC reported fourth quarter 2006 financial results Jan. 23, posting net income of $389 million, or $0.17 a share, on revenue of $3.21 billion. It edged out analysts' estimates of $0.16 a share. Â
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VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems, announced 4-Way VMware Virtual SMP (symmetric multiprocessing).
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'Is that you, Serguei?' Microsoft continues to make nice with non-VMware entities in the server virtualization market. The software maker this week, for example, firmed up a support deal with SWsoft that will see its rival's customers gain access to Microsoft's own army of Windows Server experts.â¦
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Microsoft today released a beta for a much-anticipated technology -- its Windows Server 2008 virtualization technology Hyper-V -- ahead of schedule.
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Microsoft unveiled a public beta for its hypervisor-based server virtualization technology. Known as Hyper-V, the technology is featured with some versions of Windows Server 2008.
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In a move to compete against XenSource and Virtual Iron, VMware on Monday announced a new bundle of virtualization tools for small companies. The new set of tools is designed to provide SMBs using the free VMware Server with an easy and cost-effective way to manage it. For $1,500, SMBs can get a bundle that includes the VMware Server platform with the VirtualCenter management tool.
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Hypercall API full of 'open promise' Microsoft has placed the hypercall application program interface (API) for its Viridian virtualization server under the banner of its Open Specification Promise (OSP). But will it help company notch up more open source street cred?â¦
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Microsoft Thursday did something it rarely does. The company released a beta for a long-awaited technology -- in this case its Windows Server 2008 virtualization technology Hyper-V -- ahead of schedule.Hyper-V, formerly code-named &quot;Viridian,&quot; is now available for download from Microsoft&#39;s Web site and is ready to be used with the current x64 beta version of Windows Server 2008, which is also available online. The technology, called a hypervisor, is the underlying virtualization technology for the server release, which is a major update that&#39;s expected to be released on Feb. 27, 2008. A beta of Hyper-V originally was planned to be released on that date as well.Virtualization, or the ability to use virtual machine technology to run multiple OSes on a physical server, is widely seen as a disruptive technology and is becoming increasingly important as companies seek to cut costs and consolidate hardware in their data centers and IT environments. Microsoft had originally intended to release Hyper-V as part of the original release Windows Server 2008, but the technology was delayed and is now scheduled to be generally available 180 days, or about six months, after Windows Server 2008 ships. Hyper-V&#39;s released was delayed earlier this year because Microsoft opted to pull out some originally planned features.Hyper-V takes advantage of virtualization-optimized microprocessors from Intel and&#160;AMD and is meant to help Microsoft compete with virtualization leader VMware, which already has hypervisor technology on the market. Hypervisors allow for cross-platform support so servers can run multiple versions of different OSes -- such as Windows and Linux -- side by side on one piece of hardware.Bill Hilf, general manager of Windows Server at Microsoft, said customers have been asking the company for a built-in virtualization technology that works directly within the Windows Server environment so it&#39;s easy to manage and implement. By design, Hyper-V is set up as what Microsoft calls a &quot;role&quot; within Windows Server 2008, and can be turned on or off as a customer wishes, he said. Roles are a new feature of the forthcoming release of the OS that allow servers to be set up so only the role or roles a customer wants them to play in the IT environment -- such as e-mail server or application server -- will be turned on.Mike Neal, general manager of virtualization at Microsoft, said Hyper-V is meant to make the virtualization market &quot;a two-horse race&quot; between Microsoft and VMware. However, with Hyper-V not scheduled to ship until the second half of next year, the company has a lot of ground to make up to topple VMware from its leadership position. And Microsoft also faces pressure in providing built-in OS virtualization from Linux leader Red Hat, which already has integrated cross-platform virtualization into Red Hat Enterprise Linux.Windows Server 2008 eventually will be available in multiple editions and will be offered with and without Hyper-V. Microsoft also plans to release a product called Microsoft Hyper-V Server specifically as a virtualization host environment in the second half of 2008.
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(Article Central) Microsoft will release Virtual Server 2005 next week, a product aimed to help companies effectively gather computing resources.
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Turn that SAP upgrade into a virtual headache VMware this week let loose yet another management product, which pushes the virtualization specialist deeper into the data center. Say 'hello' to the beta of VMware Stage Manager.â¦
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InfoWorld - In 2006, many enterprise IT groups saw the potential in virtualization, rushed to consolidate servers and subsequently propelled&#160;VMware&#160;software to a market-leading spot. As 2007 begins, VMware&#39;s prices are under attack, just as more CIOs look to virtualization to control server and storage sprawl and tame data center power costs.
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An acquisition and an alliance give Microsoft new tools to target market leader VMware.
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After two years of fits and starts, Microsoft will finally deliver its Virtual Server 2005 product, which company officials contend will be an important contributor to its Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), the company&#39;s plan for managing distributed
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Updated guidelines make clearer how to use Windows Server with third-party virtualization tools including VMware -- but that will all likely change before too long.
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After two years of fits and starts, Microsoft will finally deliver its Virtual Server 2005 product, which company officials contend will be an important contributor to its Dynamic Systems Initiative (DSI), the company's plan for managing distributed systems.
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In a bid to boost its desktop virtualization portfolio, VMware on Tuesday agreed to acquire application-based virtualization vendor Thinstall.The acquisition will boost VMware&#39;s virtualization technology to deploy, update, and manage desktop environments, said Ed Albanese, senior product marketing manager at VMware.Terms of the deal were not disclosed.Formed in 1999, Thinstall develops a platform that delivers applications to clients without the need for preinstalled software. Thinstall packages an application and delivers it to a desktop, where an application operates in its own sandbox, overcoming hardware and OS compatibility issues, Albanese said.It is designed to work with VMware&#39;s Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI), which allows users to access virtual desktops remotely from a traditional PC or thin client.Thinstall employees will be relocated from San Francisco to VMware&#39;s headquarters in Palo Alto, Calif. The deal is expected to close later this quarter, VMware said in a news release.VMware will boost the distribution of VDI and Thinstall technology through its acquisition, also announced Tuesday, of the assets of Foedus, a Portsmouth, N.H., provider of virtualization technologies and services, Albanese said.