Linux news

2008 08 28

New Open Source Release of Citrix-controlled Xen

Xen.org Delivers Version 3.3 of the Xen Hypervisor

Xen.org, which is behind the open source Xen virtualization project, is out with its new Xen 3.3 engine. You can download it now, and grab a PDF datasheet as well. Xen 3.3 is faster and more scalable than previous versions, and has better graphics capabilities. It targets more types of chipsets--from supercomputing to handheld chipsets. Yes that's right, handhelds. The new Xen is smaller than ever. What else is under the hood?

http://s5h.net/u?zce23
Recent: Citrix, Virtual Iron Duke It Out

A war of words has erupted between two bitter opponents in the Xen open source-based hypervisor (define) market. Citrix, which owns XenSource and drives the Xen project, has insulted arch-rival Virtual Iron, saying, among other things, that it owns the hypervisor while Virtual Iron just consumes the product. This fired up Virtual Iron's chief strategy officer Tony Asaro, who slapped back by saying Citrix chief technology officer Simon Crosby is out of line because Virtual Iron has been a substantial contributor to the Xen project and Xen belongs to the open source community. A fuming Asaro told InternetNews.com "the dangerous thing Simon said is that Citrix owns the hypervisor. That's wrong; Citrix bought Xen and sells the Citrix commercial product and are the drivers or owners of the open source project, but it's the community that works on open source." Crosby's "irresponsible statement about the open source community is counter to the philosophy of open source which he's the biggest proponent of," Asaro added.

http://s5h.net/u?z664d
KVM and Xen cofounders engage in war of words

Maybe, but Pratt was responding to his KVM's competitors' claims that Xen's days are numbered because of KVM's tight integration with the Linux kernel.

http://s5h.net/u?z1037
Citrix opens Xen for business, still Linux shy

Xen may have become the de facto virtualization platform for Linux, but, ironically, don't expect to see Citrix applications running natively on Linux any time soon. "It's market driven and we never got the uptake on Linux," Willis said. "Our focus for XenApp (formerly Presentation Server) is as a Windows application which we recommend customers run on bare metal for performance reasons." Willis said Citrix has partnered with Microsoft to develop Linux extensions for its Hyper-V platform.

http://s5h.net/u?z097e
Ubuntu picks KVM over Xen for virtualization

KVM will be built into Ubuntu's next version, called Hardy Heron and due in April. "For the Hardy Heron release, we've really picked up the virtualization ball. Virtualization is making its way into data centers and onto developer workstations everywhere. Even 'regular' users are using it to run Ubuntu on Mac OS X all the time," Hansen said. "Virtualization has been on our agenda for a long time, but it became a top priority at UDS (Ubuntu Developer Summit) in November. We could see that demand for it was growing."

http://s5h.net/u?z95339
Related: Citrix strays far from XenSource's original open source mission

"Citrix is not a virtualization company," said Phil Montgomery, Senior Director of Citrix's Virtualization and Management Division. "We're not trying to be another VMware. Citrix is an application delivery software company." In spite of that new positioning, XenSource is - or was - a virtualization company. But the competitive equation is now Microsoft + Citrix versus VMware, Montgomery told ZDNet last night.

http://s5h.net/u?z9ad52
Citrix strips XenSource of virtualization, open source...everything

Citrix either got completely snowed in the acquisition or, much more likely, it's getting pressure from its bosom-buddy, Microsoft. What it's not getting is much value for its $500 million.

http://s5h.net/u?z902d
Microsoft, Citrix grow alliance

Microsoft Corp. and Citrix Systems said they have expanded their alliance to deliver and market joint virtualization products with Windows Server 2008.

http://s5h.net/u?z99fe
Citrix Systems Tops Estimates

Citrix completed the acquisition of open source virtualization developer XenSource about halfway through the quarter. It added $2 million to Citrix revenue. XenSource is expected to generate $50 million in revenue for 2008 and about $50 million to $60 million in expenses. For 2009, XenSource is expected to contribute $200 million to the top line. The bulk of that will come from its server products, CEO Mark Templeton said. XenSource desktop virtualization products will initially be used in corporate pilot programs. "We think we can build in the server virtualization market the same kind of symbiotic relationship with Microsoft (MSFT - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) that we had with [the Citrix] Presentation Server," which works atop Windows Server, Templeton said. "We'll be the third player in server virtualization" after VMware (VMW - Cramer's Take - Stockpickr) and partner Microsoft.

http://s5h.net/u?zf38f
Microsoft targets VMware with new strategy

Citrix is developing a software tool that helps Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization feature in the upcoming Windows Server 2008 to work more easily with Citrix's XenServer product. [...] Microsoft has acquired a start-up company called Calista Technologies and expanded its alliance with Citrix Systems, targeting VMware's early lead in virtualization technology.

http://s5h.net/u?zdc12d
Microsoft Pushes Virtualization

Microsoft announced that it competed acquisituion of Calista Technologies, a San Jose, Calif.-based start-up that makes computer graphics for virtualized computers, and an expanded partnership with Citrix Systems (nasdaq: CTXS - news - people ), a VMware competitor based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Microsoft and Citrix will jointly market services that "virtualize" computers, operating systems and applications. Microsoft's shot across the bow at VMware is inevitable as companies throughout industry shift to Web-based services. "Microsoft needs to get something into the market quickly," says Roger Kay, president of technology research firm Endpoint Technologies Associate. "Windows Office has 10 years to burn, but it will become less relevant." [...] A Microsoft-Citrix combination could present formidable competition to VMware, he suggests. Buying Citrix, however, would be a significant deal: The company has a market capitalization of $6.4 billion.

http://s5h.net/u?z39c35
For Citrix, Target Acquired

You said earlier this year that Citrix is an "admirer" of Microsoft for its innovation, Adobe for its strong brand and Apple for its easy-to-use products. After watching your swift acquisition pace and the kind of companies you target for acquisition, I would argue Citrix is patterned more after Cisco Systems. Do you think that's a reasonable argument? You are thinking of the acquisition point of view instead of the comments I made. Those were about role models. Cisco has not been a role model for our acquisitions. They are a fabulous company. We love Cisco. When I talk about Microsoft, Adobe and Apple, they are role models for the things I cited. I happen to be a huge believer in role models. It's pragmatic: If someone does something really well, study it and translate that into your own business. I think it applies to companies and people. The way you better yourself is to find someone you want to be like and try to be like them. That impacts the way we work at Citrix.

http://s5h.net/u?z5826
Ballmer: Microsoft Will Buy Open-Source Companies

"We will do some buying of companies that are built around open-source products," Ballmer said during an onstage interview at the Web 2.0 Summit in San Francisco.

http://s5h.net/u?z9e6b
Is Microsoft Hijacking Open Source?

What really worries me is what looks like an emerging pattern in Microsoft's behaviour. The EU agreement is perhaps the first fruit of this, but I predict it will not be the last. What is happening is that Microsoft is effectively being allowed to define the meaning of "open source" as it wishes, not as everyone else understands the term. For example, in the pledge quoted above, an open source project is "not commercially distributed by its participants" - and this is a distinction also made by Kroes and her FAQ. In this context, the recent approval of two Microsoft licences as officially "open source" is only going to make things worse. Although I felt this was the right decision – to have ad hoc rules just because it's Microsoft would damage the open source process - I also believe it's going to prove a problem. After all, it means that Microsoft can rightfully point to its OSI-approved licences as proof that open source and Microsoft no longer stand in opposition to each other. This alone is likely to perplex people who thought they understood what open source meant. [...] What we are seeing here are a series of major assaults on different but related fields – open source, open file formats and open standards. All are directed to one goal: the hijacking of the very concept of openness. If we are to stop this inner corrosion, we must point out whenever we see wilful misuse and lazy misunderstandings of the term, and we must strive to make the real state of affairs quite clear. If we don't, then core concepts like "open source" will be massaged, kneaded and pummelled into uselessness.

http://s5h.net/u?z31ef
Will Microsoft Buy the New Citrix?

VMware, holding some 85 percent of the market, with its VI3 technologies offers a fully integrated stack and represents a third generation of virtualization technology, while Viridian and Xen-based products, including SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5, XenEnterprise and Virtual Iron, remain second-generation products, the report stated.

http://s5h.net/u?zc391
Heady Days for Virtual Systems

The former Microsoft general manager is now vice president of XenSource, a Palo Alto, Calif., virtualization company with a growing outpost in Redmond, Wash.

http://s5h.net/u?z1e61
What the XenSource deal says about open source

This is what Citrix is paying for. That and a close relationship with Microsoft that looks likely to get closer. "We will be building dynamic virtualization services and management tools on top of Viridian," Levine added. "We will build the same set of products we've built on top of Xen for Viridian. We've already hired a team to go do that up in Redmond." While Citrix maintained it will continue support for the Xen project, this deal is not about a proprietary vendor getting open source religion. It's about grabbing an emerging player in a rapidly expanding sector of the market.

http://s5h.net/u?zc590