Microsoft and Citrix embrace heterogeneous environments VMware Kuiranbudong

Most large enterprises have a hybrid operating system environment that runs at least two operating systems in Windows, Linux, and UNIX. In the future, there is likely to be a similar scenario for virtual machine management programs: Many businesses may soon be combining multiple virtualization technologies, with at least one of the Hyper-V, Xen, or KVM operations, in addition to VMware Virtual machine management programs.

Why? One reason is that many companies are interested in cloud computing, especially in building private clouds. Solutions based on open stack or project Olympus are likely to be more cost-effective than similar VMware solutions. (OpenStack is a cloud computing program developed by NASA and Rackspace, which is licensed by Apache licenses and is a free software and open source project.) OpenStack is the IaaS (infrastructure, service) software that allows anyone to build and provide cloud computing services on their own. Microsoft said in October 2010 that it supports OpenStack integration with Windows Server 2008 R2. and Citrix will launch project Olympus in the second half of 2011, especially to strengthen the integration of OpenStack and Citrix XenServer. )

Another reason is that many organizations have tried to virtualize server virtualization by using VMware Solutions, which are being used for virtualization of a non-critical Windows Server, and, according to Navin Thadani, senior executive of Red Hat Company virtualization, these companies are now hoping to " Virtualization of Everything. " "Now that the CIO's office has the value of virtualization technology, and now looks at the Linux side of the enterprise, they find that there are some very good alternative solutions, in addition to VMware." ”

Thadani is talking about the Red Hat KVM virtualization technology; Recently, the industry has joined together to set up the Open Virtualization Alliance (open virtualization Alliance) to support KVM virtualization technology, which is expected to be a strong impetus; However, Hyper-V and Xen are also practical two alternative solutions for companies that are now looking to buy other virtualization technologies and solutions with VMware Solutions.

Microsoft clearly believes that a hybrid virtualization environment will become more common. The company's System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2012 already supports VMware vsphere (obviously also support hyper–v). In the beta version of the XenServer 6.0 beta (code-named "Project Boston"), two new features are eye-catching:

• You can use Microsoft's System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM) 2012来 to manage XenServer hosts and virtual machines.

• You can use Microsoft's System Center Operations Manager 2012 and Jie to monitor XenServer hosts in a supplemental package provided after Microsoft releases System Center 2012.

In addition, the feature of Project Olympus is that the XenServer version of cloud optimization is integrated with OpenStack and supports both vsphere and Hyper-V.

VMware's approach is in stark contrast to that. The company's vcenter management product only supports its own hypervisor and does not want customers to run mixed environments. Admittedly, the company has launched Vcenter XVP Manager and accept, which supports Hyper-V in vcenter, but it's a symbolic move, and let's not forget: The software is in the hands of the VMware Labs and is a technical preview. Because of this, VMware is simply not obligated to support or maintain the software.

This tool is installed as a vcenter management plug-in, "provides basic virtualization management capabilities for vsphere Hypervisor platforms, and aims to achieve centralized understanding and control across heterogeneous virtual infrastructures", in other words, the tool allows vcenter to manage Hyper-V hosts and virtual machines. It also simplifies and implements easy migration of virtual machines from Hyper-V to VMware vsphere but you'd better not have a lot of expectations.

While many of the vendors involved in the field of server virtualization are forming alliances, supporting each other's products, and preparing for the environment in which many virtual machine management programs coexist and the growing interest in cloud computing, VMware itself appears to be not worried about competition at all. Take a closer look at the "VDI Kick start" (Startup Virtual Desktop infrastructure) and the "Rescue for VMware VDI" (Rescue VMware VDI) promotions that are currently being jointly promoted by Microsoft and the two companies. This event provides an opportunity for eligible customers to get the best possible VDI solution without breaking a large fee. "VMware, get it!"

How does VMware respond to this? There's no movement.

No, the company is too busy planning its future business expansion to worry about vendors like Jerry or Microsoft: VMware has just won more than 1 million square feet of land in Silicon Valley, one of the biggest real estate deals it has made in recent years. The company plans to increase its number of buildings in Silicon Valley from 4 to 22, to accommodate some of the 7,500 new employees admitted in the past four years, and the number of employees has increased to four times times.

Heterogeneous virtualized environments may be the future, but VMware clearly does not.

(Responsible editor: The good of the Legacy)