VMware Introduces Support for Cross-Platform Paravirtualisation


PALO ALTO, California, May 14 // --

- Linux Kernel Adopts Transparent, Cross-platform Paravirtualisation with Paravirt-ops; VMware Workstation 6 the Industry-First Commercial Product to Support Paravirt-ops

VMware, Inc., the global leader in software for industry-standard virtualised desktops and servers, today announced that it is supporting cross-platform paravirtualisation with the open-interface standard paravirt-ops in VMware Workstation 6, the sixth generation of its desktop virtualisation software product. VMware Workstation 6 became generally available today and is the first commercially available product to support paravirt-ops.

Paravirtualised Linux operating systems are modified operating systems specifically optimised to run in a virtual environment. Unlike current paravirtualisation technologies, paravirt-ops enables transparent paravirtualisation, which allows users to run the same Linux kernel in paravirtualised mode on a hypervisor as well as on native hardware. As a result, organisations have to support and maintain fewer Linux kernels, saving management costs and simplifying application development.

Paravirt-ops is an open interface developed through a community process that included collaboration from the Linux community as well commercial vendors IBM, Red Hat, VMware and XenSource. Paravirt-ops was included in the latest version of the Linux kernel (version 2.6.20) and includes support for the VMware VMI interface, which provides a hypervisor-agnostic paravirtualisation interface.

"Interoperability and open interfaces are a major focus for VMware," said Dan Chu, vice president of emerging products and markets at VMware. "VMware support for paravirtualisation through the paravirt-ops interface demonstrates our commitment to working with open communities such as Linux and with other leading vendors to achieve open interoperability and optimisations for end users."

"Ubuntu 7.04 is the first Linux distribution to support paravirt-ops,"
said Jane Silber, director of operations at Canonical Ltd., the primary sponsor of Ubuntu. "VMware and the Ubuntu community have worked closely together to ensure that Linux customers can use a single operating system for both virtual and physical environments as well as receive optimal performance and an excellent out-of-box experience in both environments."

"IBM is excited to see the inclusion of the paravirt-ops paravirtualisation interface in the next version of the Linux kernel," said Rich Lechner, vice president of IT optimisation and system software at IBM.

"This joint work is designed to make it easier for all virtualisation vendors to work in a Linux environment. As part of this work, IBM and Canonical have also collaborated on the new Ubuntu virtual appliance featuring IBM DB2 Express-C for optimised deployment with supported VMware products."

VMware has contributed to numerous open technology efforts, including transparent paravirtualisation with paravirt-ops as well as opening up the VMware Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) format for developers to use free of charge.

About VMware, Inc.

VMware, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC), is the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems. The world's largest companies use VMware solutions to simplify their IT, fully leverage their existing computing investments and respond faster to changing business demands. VMware is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.vmware.com or call 650-475-5000.

VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

About VMware, Inc.

VMware, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC), is the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems. The world's largest companies use VMware solutions to simplify their IT, fully leverage their existing computing investments and respond faster to changing business demands. VMware is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.vmware.com or call 650-475-5000.

VMware and Virtual SMP are registered trademarks or trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

Source: VMware, Inc.

For more information contact Henry Brake on henry.brake@axicom.com, tel: +44-(0)20-8392-4059

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