may the force be with you

Amazing story wasn't it, when that iconic tech company said it would help users run the operating system of its longtime rival as well as its own? No, not the Apple Computer-Windows announcement, but one made at about the same time that got vastly less attention, even though it may be more significant. On April 3, Microsoft surprised everyone when it said that from now on, it will support business customers who also use Linux.

Considering how, not long ago, a top Microsoft executive was comparing the free Linux operating system to cancer, it was quite a switch. But two trends forced the company's hand. The first was that, whether Microsoft likes it or not, Linux has become an accepted part of the technology mix used behind the scenes at thousands of big and small companies. The second is that many of these business users are mixing Linux and Windows inside a single computer using an increasingly important technology known as "virtualization."

Virtualization involves using software to make one computer act like many. The technology is barely understood outside IT shops, but it is changing the way big businesses use computers. Think of having five or 10 windows open on your PC, but with each of them functioning as an entirely different computer, no different than if they were separate machines spread out around the room.

The speed of modern microprocessors makes virtualization possible. A typical story: Welch's, of grape-juice fame, runs most operations at its Concord, Mass., headquarters on roughly 100 "virtual" machines running on just 10 Dell servers. Each of these "virtual machines" performs a separate back-office function, such as accounting or Web hosting; some are Windows-based, others use Linux. Had it not been for virtualization and the space savings that resulted, says George Scangas, who works in Welch's IT shop, his operation would have had to move out of its 1,600-square-foot computer room and into bigger digs.

But once businesses start using virtualization to cut back on the number of machines they need to buy, "a light bulb goes on over their head," says Tony Iams, who follows the field for Ideas International, an analyst group. Other uses become apparent, such as backing up data or easily adding processor power to a particular application as the need arises.

A small number of servers are now virtualized -- estimates range from 5% to 10% -- but everyone expects the number to skyrocket over the next few years. As a result, Gordon Haff, of the Illuminata research outfit in Nashua, N.H., says that virtualization is becoming a "control point" in the IT world -- a strategically important technology that big players will fight to be able to make their own.

While virtualization has long been common on mainframes, its growing use on PC-type machines over the last few years is largely the result of pioneering technical work by VMware, a Palo Alto, Calif., company founded in 1998. VMware was purchased for $635 million by EMC, the storage company, in 2003. The move was initially seen as an odd fit, but EMC has made good on its promise to leave VMware alone. While currently less than 5% of EMC's sales, VMware is one of the company's fastest-growing units.

But even though VMware pioneered the market, it now has to contend with the increased competition that is a consequence of its success. For instance, both Intel and Advanced Micro Devices are building virtualization capabilities into their microprocessors, making it easier than ever to load up a server with numerous "virtual" computers inside.

Another recent development is Xen, a free, open-source virtualization software that has a for-profit Silicon Valley company, XenSource, pushing it. Xen got a big boost when Linux companies like Red Hat announced earlier this month that they will be including it in their Linux distributions.

VMware isn't cheap; Welch's Mr. Scangas, for instance, spent $125,000 for the full suite of VMware products for his 14 high-end servers. As open-source virtualization products like Xen become more popular, some of that market will go away, the same phenomenon Microsoft faces with Linux.

VMware President Diane Greene says her company is preparing for the low end of the software virtualization market to become commoditized, even free. Her product line, she says, increasingly stresses the sorts of higher-end software tools that allow companies to more easily manage their growing populations of virtual computers.

The other big player out there, of course, is Microsoft, which is expected to offer sophisticated virtualization products in the next year or two. The company currently has a fairly rudimentary product, which was involved in its big Linux announcement earlier this month. Microsoft said it will try to help customers who use its virtualization software run Linux in addition to Windows. (Previously, it would have brushed them off.)

Virtualization used to be seen as a mortal threat to Microsoft because it gave business users an easy way to run Linux and other Windows alternatives. The fact that Microsoft is now supporting, if only grudgingly, that sort of mix shows how much things can change even while staying the same.

source:http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB114539664636129168-X0sSg2eJKYbadPlQuV_Y5x3T0fk_20070418.html?mod=blogs

# posted by dark master : 4/21/2006 09:20:00 AM