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The Xen open-source hypervisor represents fast and strong competition to commercial server-virtualization products, chiefly because of its paravirtualization technology. The paravirtualization approach involves putting a thin layer between the hardware and the operating system. An I/O virtualization program uses a single set of drivers for all 'guest' operating systems. In the past, Windows users could not take advantage of Xen's product because it only ran on Linux and NetBSD servers. Now, however, the formation of XenSource, a commercial open-source firm created by the founders of Xen, offers XenEnterprise, an extension of Xen 3.0, which runs on x86-based operating systems, including Windows, without requiring changes to be made to the operating system. The product also supports Linux and Solaris, and the free version of Xen 3.0 also supports Linux. There is one factor that could be a problem for some users, however. The x86 servers must use Intel CPUs that include the VT-x hardware virtualization technology or AMD CPUs that have Secure Virtual Machine (SVM) technology. The hardware support eliminates the need for chip-set emulation, which degrades performance. According to Simon Crosby, chief technology officer of XenSource, the company's virtualization is one-third faster than that of the EMC and Microsoft virtualization products.
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Information Sources, Inc.
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