Microsoft is to give its virtualisation software away
free of charge, following in the footsteps of VMWare's free
entry-level server released in February.
Microsoft also said last week that it would support users who
want to run Linux as well as Windows in virtual environments.
Virtualisation software - also known as hypervisors - allows
companies to run multiple operating systems and applications on a
single server, making cost savings through consolidation and the
more efficient use of hardware.
Microsoft's free software, Virtual Server 2005 R2, was
previously priced at either £56 for up to four physical processors
or £114 for an unlimited number of processors.
Microsoft's move could prompt IT managers to ask why they should
pay for virtualisation software, such as VMWare's ESX Server, when
they can get it free of charge, said analysts.
Microsoft's longer-term strategy is to build the technology into
its Longhorn server, due in 2008, through its hypervisor
technology, code-named Viridian.
Clive Longbottom, service director, business process analysis at
Quocirca, said, "For those looking at larger servers, or those who
want to look at the technology in a test or semi-production
environment, Microsoft's free virtualisation software is great
news."
He said virtualisation was fast becoming a commodity technology,
with free open source programs such as Xen's hypervisor becoming
popular, and chip suppliers such as Azul Systems and Intel building
virtualisation into their architectures.
"I think that this has made both EMC-owned VMWare and Microsoft
look at what is happening and realise that they have to get people
on to their platform if they want to be able to play the 'value
add' card later," said Longbottom.
In February, VMware released a beta version of VMware Server, a
free entry-level hosted virtualisation product for Linux and
Windows servers. The completed product is expected to be generally
available by the summer.
The VMWare product supports a variety of Linux, Netware, Solaris
x86 and Windows guest operating systems, said VMWare.
Suppliers focus on Xen hypervisor
Two virtualisation start-ups outlined their strategies at last
week's LinuxWorld user conference in Boston.
Virtual Iron and XenSource are both backing the open source Xen
project, with Virtual Iron abandoning its own virtualisation
software in favour of the Xen 3.0 hypervisor.
XenSource has decided to move away from developing management
tools, to concentrate on its virtualisation technology and
developing an alternative to VMWare.