When I saw this story about Sun
cutting
its work force at least 15 percent, my initial thought was "Ouch!" My second was "What does it mean for virtualization?"
Sun is a very aggressive company in this space, and sees the value in virtualization. This year alone it bought VirtualBox, a nice hosted hypervisor for desktop environments, and released xVM, its Xen-based server virtualization hypervisor. It also has a virtual desktop infrastructure product, and all the hardware of course, being Sun, after all. It's really the only company that can truly call itself an end-to-end virtualization provider.
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/20/20085 comments
It's kind of hard to believe, but a couple of Symantec's security tools -- Symantec Antivirus (SAV) and Symantec Endpoint Control (SEC) -- don't work with VMware's VMotion.
This Symantec Knowledgebase article tells the tale (hat tip vinternals). What I love is this part of the article:
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/19/20081 comments
Now we know a little more about the new Microsoft hypervisor that is part of the Azure cloud computing initiative. Little has been known or reported up to this point, but Microsoft has provided me some additional details.
Here are some of the salient facts in a nutshell:
- It is a version of Hyper-V, customized for the Azure platform. This is new information, as previous reports said it was going to be a new hypervisor.
- You and I won't be able to get our hands on it. It sounds like it will be used on Microsoft's back end, and there will be no general availability to the public.
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/18/20086 comments
I sent out a call for virtualization product reviewers a few months ago, and got some good feedback, but I need some different kinds of reviews. What I need is folks who use virtualization products in a SMB or enterprise environment, who can test and use the products in a live setting.
If you don't have much (or any) previous writing experience, don't sweat it -- we can work with you, if you're passionate about virtualization and professional about meeting deadlines. You'll get paid for your efforts, and more than a token fee -- you won't get rich writing reviews (I think Walt Mossberg is about the only guy who does), but you will get a chunk o' change and the opportunity to play with cool stuff to which you might not otherwise have access. If you do have some writing background, so much the better.
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/13/20082 comments
So now we're getting some predictions about how the topsy-turvy stock market and sliding economy might start affecting IT operations. Market analysis firm IDC is
predicting
that U.S. IT spending, expected to grow at 4.2 percent next year, will instead decline 0.9 percent, marking a 5 percent drop.
Actually, that's not as bad as I expected it to be. Warnings about recessions -- and even worse -- are starting to appear in the press, and some analysts believe IT will be hit especially hard.
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/12/20085 comments
Parallels for Mac
has just released its latest version, 4.0. For those not familiar with it, Parallels allows you to run a copy of Windows (or Linux, or whatever) inside the Mac operating system. You can run the OSes side-by-side if you want, and have access to Windows programs on your Mac.
I've used Parallels in the past, but prefer VMware's "Windows on Mac" product, Fusion. I've found it to be faster and easier to use (although lots of folks love Parallels). A number of new features intrigue me, however, forcing me to revisit Parallels:
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/12/20080 comments
A Barron's blogger reports disturbing news about virtualization's leading light.
Eric Savitz, of Barron's technology investing blog Tech Trader Daily, quotes Trip Chowdhry of Global Equities Research pronouncing major gloom and doom for the tech sector. For example, here are Chowdhry's first two predictions:
- "Almost every Silicon Valley company is facing deteriorating business conditions and will cut their workforce by 3%-10% by year end.
- Project cancellations are accelerating in almost every vertical, including financial services, retail, transportation and public sector."
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/12/20080 comments
So now VMware wants to add virtualization to
mobile phones
. That is an interesting new direction, to be sure. My question is, is this a legitimate play by VMware, or a desire to capitalize on a hot market, one currently untapped by virtualization?
I think it's more of the former. I like the idea of a bare-metal hypervisor on a smartphone/cellphone. It gives you the option of running whichever OS you like best, or taking the best of each. For instance, I would love to use the Windows Mobile OS to use Microsoft applications like Word and Excel on my iPhone. I'd use the iPhone OS for everything else, because it absolutely crushes Windows Mobile in all other areas, but being able to use Word on iPhone would be a big deal.
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/11/20081 comments
Buh-bye Terminal Services, hello Remote Desktop Services (RDS). Microsoft has made the
name switch
as it continues to evolve its virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) strategy.
RDS isn't any more interesting as a name, but it is more direct. It's also more comprehensive, since Microsoft needs to move beyond the model of users connecting remotely to one application at a time. What exactly is Microsoft's vision here? The blog entry explains:
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/11/20080 comments
David Marshall
reports
that Cisco is increasing its stake in VMware. Not a huge amount -- $13.3 million -- but it is a sign of the companies' growing relationship.
Cisco already had $150 million in VMware, and this just bumps its percentage of stock from 1.6 percent to 1.7 percent. Nothing to write home about, until you consider Cisco's Nexus 1000 virtual switch, which was all the rage at VMworld. The prospect of Cisco buying VMware has been floated before, and although Cisco CEO John Chambers has denied such a desire, one still has to wonder.
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/04/20080 comments
Reflex Security is no more; it's been replaced by
Reflex Systems
. In an e-mail, President and CEO Pete Privateer said that "security and management are inseparable," and of course he's right.
Broadening its focus beyond straight security is smart, but not without some risk for Reflex. Security definitely needs to be a part of the overall management strategy, and not a separate add-on. The danger is that it's horning its way into an already crowded elevator. There are many, many companies building management products; Reflex needs to make sure it's not white noise. It's got the reputation in security (you may know that Reflex was the first-ever virtual appliance for VMware, and also won a major award at VMworld); will it be able to leverage that strong background to become a main management player? We'll see.
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Posted by Keith Ward on 11/04/20080 comments
This IDC
report
on Microsoft's huge increase in hypervisor share, up to 23 percent of the market, has been widely covered in news reports and blogs. And it's easy to see why. From the IDC press release:
"When looking at new x86 virtualization licenses, VMware continues to hold on to its strong position in the x86 market with a combined market share of VMware ESX and VMware Server at 44%. However, in its first quarter of general availability Microsoft Hyper-V delivered a strong showing, and when combined with Virtual Server 2005, Microsoft's market share is 23% of new shipments."
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Posted by Keith Ward on 10/31/20080 comments