Microsoft has for the first time ever released driver code to
the Linux community.
The firm has released the 20,000 lines of code that make up
three device drivers under the GPLv2 licence, which is the Linux
community's preferred license.
The drivers are aimed at enhancing the performance of the Linux
operating system when virtualised on Microsoft Hyper-V Server
2008.
The news comes less than a week after Red Hat announced that it
had signed
reciprocal agreements with Microsoft to enable increased
interoperability for the companies' virtualization platforms.
Microsoft said its strategy is to enhance interoperability
between the Windows platform and many open source technologies,
which includes Linux, to provide the choices customers are asking
for.
"We are seeing Microsoft communities and open source communities
grow together, which is ultimately of benefit to our customers,"
said Microsoft's Sam Ramji, senior director of platform strategy in
the firm's Server and Tools organisation.