Virtual Explosion

By Doug Barney

Have you had enough talk about virtualization lately? You better get used to it, as the hype is only going to increase.

In this case, though, all the hoopla is well worth it. Virtualization is going to make all aspects of IT more useful, and allow you to do far more with your laptop, desktop, server, storage arrays, or network.

Here’s a synopsis of some of the latest action: Virtualization kingpin VMware, Inc. of Palo Alto, CA (vmware.com),  updated its server line by announcing, in part, VMware ESX Server 3.5 and the new VirtualCenter 2.5. While many vendors are just getting into virtualization,  these VMware announcements show just how mature this company’s offerings are.

The new ESX Server boosts the speed of virtual machines, especially for I/O-heavy applications that many are afraid of virtualizing.

VirtualCenter,  an automation and management tool, now includes the VMware Guided Consolidation, a tool that makes it easy for smaller companies or those new to virtualization to start consolidating servers.

Meanwhile SWsoft of Herndon, VA, is changing its name to Parallels (the same name as the company’s popular desktop virtualization tool). I had a chance to talk to SWsoft (I mean Parallels) CEO Serguei Beloussov about the new name and his strategy going forward.

Key to the company’s future is the Parallels Open Platform, a multi-platform system of virtual tools including a hypervisor, desktop virtualization, as well as automation tools. The company is also touting virtualization delivered as software as a service (SaaS). Here the company already has a major role in helping virtualize service providers.

Here’s how SWsoft (the company name hasn’t officially changed yet) sees its architecture: http://www.swsoft.com/optimizedcomputing.

The battle for virtual supremacy hasn’t even started, and as I see it, there are three main players: current leader VMware; Citrix, Inc. (citrix.com), which recently acquired XenSource (still big with Linux vendors); and last to the party is Microsoft. All three, to varying degrees, are trying to establish themselves as the dominant platform.

VMware currently has the most third-party developers, but some wonder just how open the VMware platform is. Citrix has a terrific platform with Xen, but sees most of the action in tools like management, high availability, security, and others that run on top of the core platforms. Microsoft Corp. of Redmond,WA (microsoft.com), won’t make its real push till late in the year when its new platform, Hyper-V, is expected to ship. Microsoft has a history of recruiting developers, and it might be a simple matter of convincing existing Windows Server ISVs to add support for Hyper-V. Could VMware be irrelevant in a few years, or will VMware remain the leader, relegating Microsoft to also-ran status? Meanwhile the folks from SWsoft are no slouches, either.

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