Open source waits for a Xen moment in 2006

By Jack Loftus, News Writer 18 Jan 2006 | SearchOpenSource.com

Enterprise Linux headlines Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

In the past month, there's been much ado about Xen in the online community, both from developers, columnists and the SearchOpenSource.com audience at large.

First Xen was given the green light to become an open source killer app, thanks to the work done by companies like XenSource with its XenOptimizer 3.0 upgrade.

Meanwhile, some users and analysts said the technology was unproven and had a ways to go before the killer app label would fit. .

Xen, for the unfamiliar, is a virtual machine monitor for x86 that allows a user to run several operating systems at the same time.

So why is Xen so important, and why could it be an open source force in 2006 and beyond?

The people dismissing or touting Xen's promise need to look at Xen from both sides now, says Tony Iams, senior analyst for Rye Brook, N.Y.-based IDEAS International.

The three tiers of Xen There are the basic virtualization functions, which really enables the ability to run multiple operating systems on a single server. Then there is the second tier, the tools for managing the virtual resources and OS interfaces, GUIs and various layered management tools controlling which resource assigned to which virtual machine. The 3rd tier is the one that is furthest out, but is strategically the most important – defining the business-driven policies to control those management tools. It really is an automation phase, where you auto trigger the second tier tools based on business priorities. - Tony Iams, IDEAS International

Xen, Iams said, is early in its development and will require at least until the end of 2006 to mature. At that point, it should be able to compete with established commercial virtualization products like VMware.

It's a mistake to dismiss Xen as just neat technology or compare it to entirely different applications, such as SWsoft's Virtual Private Servers, according to Iams. "I don't know anyone involved with virtualization applications who are not taking Xen seriously," he said. "Yes, Xen just shipped 3.0, but like all open source there is a specific staging process."

That process, which is familiar to any open source developer, begins as a core project that is tested by a community. If all goes according to plan -- as it will with Xen -- the project is packaged in a commercial form and sold with services and support.

"Where [Xen] is now in that life cycle is that the developers have submitted an application to the community, and now we are in the middle of the second phase where community members are starting to integrate Xen into their own offerings," Iams said.

This next stage, most importantly, will include a period when vendors Red Hat and Novell build Xen into their latest Linux releases.

"That's when [Xen] will really enter the mainstream; when normal users are adopting it, and not just the sophisticated developers who are able to install the raw technology," Iams said.

The Linux Factor

As Xen enters the mainstream, experts like Bernard Golden see its benefits extending to firms that are today constrained from making a major switch to Linux due to application unavailability.

I don't know anyone involved with virtualization applications who are not taking Xen seriously. Tony Iams Senior Analyst, IDEAS International

With Xen, he said, these companies will be able to install Linux machines and then use Xen to allow Windows-only apps. "If you want to simplify your server farm, take a look at Xen," he said.

Xen will also become mainstream thanks to its no-cost/low cost nature, according to Hayward, Calif.-based Pund-IT senior analyst Charles King. From a practical standpoint, he said, Xen will have an immediate impact in entry level space because it is significantly lower in price than VMware.

"The [project] has ambitions, and the real question is whether or not VMware is ensconced in its leadership position in x86 virtualization at this point. It's not clear if Xen will be able to drive adoption and revenues," he said.

For more on Xen and virtualization: Golden's Rules: Get server control, virtualization with free, open source Xen Xen virtualization quickly becoming open source 'killer app'

While King isn't predicting an immediate avalanche of Xen implementations, he does see the fact that Linux has grown at a "blistering pace" on the server as an indicator Xen will have many opportunities this year.

The ascent of Linux happened quickly once IBM, Dell and other major systems vendors got behind. Xen will also benefit from in high places. So, our sources said, Xen may not be virtualization's killer app today, but it's well on its way to fitting that handle.

Digg This!     StumbleUpon     Del.icio.us

RELATED RESOURCES 2020software.com, trial software downloads for accounting software, ERP software, CRM software and business software systems Search Bitpipe.com for the latest white papers and business webcasts Whatis.com, the online computer dictionary