XenSource Showcases Windows XP Running on Xen, Using Intel VT-Enabled Platforms.SAN FRANCISCO San Francisco (săn frănsĭs`kō), city (1990 pop. 723,959), coextensive with San Francisco co., W Calif., on the tip of a peninsula between the Pacific Ocean and San Francisco Bay, which are connected by the strait known as the Golden -- Collaboration Highlights Xen's Ability to Virtualize To cause a virtual technique to be performed. See virtualization. Both Modified and Unmodified Operating Systems Operating systems can be categorized by technology, ownership, licensing, working state, usage, and by many other characteristics. In practice, many of these groupings may overlap. Offering Revolutionary Way for Enterprises to Consolidate Hardware in Their Data Centers XenSource, Inc., the leading provider of enterprise grade virtualization An umbrella term for enhancing a computer's ability to do work. Following are the ways virtualization is used. Hardware Virtualization Partitioning the computer's memory into separate and isolated "virtual machines" simulates multiple machines within one physical computer. solutions based on the Open Source Xen hypervisor, today announced an industry first -- a demonstration of the Xen hypervisor hosting both para-virtualized and fully virtualized guest operating systems on Intel VT enabled processors at Intel Developer Forum Intel Developer Forum (IDF), is a twice yearly gathering of technologists to discuss Intel products and products based around Intel products. The first IDF was in 1997. There is usually a Spring IDF and a Fall IDF. (IDF (Intermediate Distribution Frame) A wiring rack located between the MDF (main distribution frame) and the intended end user devices (telephones, routers, PCs, etc.). Cables run from the outside world to the MDF and then to the IDFs. See MDF and wiring rack. ) in San Francisco, CA. The demonstration features a pre-release version of Xen 3.0 virtualizing both Linux and Microsoft Windows See Windows. (operating system) Microsoft Windows - Microsoft's proprietary window system and user interface software released in 1985 to run on top of MS-DOS. Widely criticised for being too slow (hence "Windoze", "Microsloth Windows") on the machines available then. XP SP2. Support for unmodified guests, such as Windows, is made possible by Intel's VT technology, which provides a privileged mode of execution that allows Xen to share platform resources between both modified and unmodified guest operating systems, providing CPU CPU in full central processing unit Principal component of a digital computer, composed of a control unit, an instruction-decoding unit, and an arithmetic-logic unit. , memory and I/O (Input/Output) The transfer of data between the CPU and a peripheral device. Every transfer is an output from one device and an input to another. See PC input/output. I/O - Input/Output resource guarantees. Xen is the industry's only hypervisor that supports VT today. Close collaboration between Intel and the Xen Open Source project ensured that the VT feature set was available in the hypervisor prior to Intel's first launch of the VT processor. This will enable enterprises to immediately take advantage of Xen's superior virtualization capabilities to achieve the benefits of increased utilization and workload consolidation on Intel's newest platforms. The demonstration, announced by Ian Pratt, Xen project leader and founder of XenSource, highlights the importance of the Open Source Xen hypervisor as the only independent layer of innovation outside the operating system. "The Xen hypervisor is an Open Source industry standard developed collaboratively by engineers from over 20 major corporations," said Pratt. "This demonstration highlights the close collaboration and support that Intel has given the Xen project over the last three years. Intel's investment in the Xen project has enabled Xen to lead the industry in exploiting Intel's latest innovation in hardware virtualization, and will be included in upcoming enterprise Linux distributions." Nick Gault n. 1. (Geol.) A series of beds of clay and marl in the South of England, between the upper and lower greensand of the Cretaceous period. , CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of XenSource Inc, stressed the commercial importance of the demonstration. "While this is a pre-production demonstration of Xen's ability to support unmodified guests, it is an important moment for the industry," said Gault. "XenSource is working closely with Xen ecosystem partners to enable full commercial support for Windows virtualized on Xen, using Intel VT platforms in the first half of 2006. Enterprises now have a choice between an open, free, high performance hypervisor, and expensive proprietary solutions. Xen combined with Intel VT is the high performance software/hardware virtualization solution that enterprises have been waiting for to achieve the benefits of consolidation and utility computing." The demonstration showcases new client technologies around Xen, enabling Windows XP to be installed and run in a virtualized environment. This illustrates Xen's capability to support multiple operating systems with the highest quality of service including unmodified, legacy systems, which will enable organizations/IT managers to consolidate hardware in their data centers, saving time and money, all while achieving greater optimization of their various operating systems, significantly improving the speed. Xen 3.0 is currently in community testing and is the industry's only one-hundred percent Open Source hypervisor capable of virtualizing all operating systems. Xen's para-virtualization technology offers optimal performance for Linux and together with Intel's VT technology enables virtualization of unmodified guest operating systems such as Windows XP. Combined, Xen and Intel's VT deliver a comprehensive high-performance, secure virtualization solution to the enterprise. Unlike traditional full virtualization hypervisors, which suffer a tremendous performance overhead from virtualization, Xen and Intel's VT technology complement each other to offer superb performance for para-virtualized guest operating systems and full support for unmodified guests, which run natively on the processor without need for emulation, under VT. As a result, Xen has the potential to deliver high performance, production-grade virtualization for all workloads, exploiting the latest innovation in CPU support. "Intel has been a supporter of the Xen Project since its inception. This showcase is a testament to Intel's commitment and contribution to the Xen hypervisor. Not only has Intel developed the VT support for Xen, they have also contributed to enable EM 64 T support for 64-bit hypervisors," said Pratt. A Xen 3.0 community release is targeted for availability at the end of the third quarter of this year. Hardened, enterprise-ready Xen distributions will be available from enterprise Linux distributors in early 2006. Xen 3.0 features support for SMP (Symmetric MultiProcessing) A multiprocessing architecture in which multiple CPUs, residing in one cabinet, share the same memory. SMP systems provide scalability. As business increases, additional CPUs can be added to absorb the increased transaction volume. guest operating systems, and can take advantage of 64-bit processors as well as supporting Physical Address Extensions (PAE PAE Physical Address Extension Pae Pseudomonas aeruginosa PAE Power-Added Efficiency PAE Programa de Aperfeiçoamento de Ensino (Brazil) PAE Port Access Entity (IEEE 802. ) for 32 bit servers with more than 4 GB of memory. For more information about Xen or to download releases, go to www.getxen.org. For more information about the Intel Developer Forum, go to www.intel.com/idf. About XenSource XenSource, Inc. develops enterprise grade virtualization solutions based on the industry's best server virtualization technology, the Open Source Xen hypervisor. Founded and run by the original Xen development team, XenSource products allow enterprises to realize the TCO (1) (Total Cost of Ownership) The cost of using a computer. It includes the cost of the hardware, software and upgrades as well as the cost of the inhouse staff and/or consultants that provide training and technical support. See ROI. savings that result from server consolidation, increased utilization, and reduced complexity in the datacenter. For more information, visit www.xensource.com. Intel is a trademark or registered trademark of Intel Corporation in the United States and other countries. |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion