First Bare-Metal Client Hypervisor Coming
It looks like Virtual Computer will be the Neil Armstrong of the bare-metal client hypervisor space. They will beat everyone to market with a desktop management product that includes a hypervisor that sits on top of the hardware, instead of sitting on top of the desktop OS.
In a press release announcing its partner program, Virtual Computer said the application, NxTop, will be available "this month." That's pretty quick turnaround, considering the final beta/release candidate only came out Feb. 23.
I've been writing, and thinking, a lot about bare-metal client hypervisors lately, as have Citrix and VMware. The fact that a small company like Virtual Computer will get to market first is surprising, and a real feather in Virtual Computer's cap. How good is NxTop? I have no idea; company official have walked me through a demo, and it looks very promising. How well it works in the real world is another thing altogether, however. I can't wait to hear your feedback on what you think of it. If you've used it in beta, please let me know.
I'm specially interested in hearing your thoughts on whether or not a bare-metal client hypervisor would get you that much closer to a VDI deployment, and if this is something you'd use on smartphones. Whatever the outcome, we're about to enter the next phase of desktop virtualization. Will the new hypervisors be hype or a game-changer? Stick around...
Posted by Keith Ward on 03/10/2009 at 12:48 PM