VMware ESX Server appliance coming

Friday, June 15, 2007 | 5 Comments |

SearchServerVirtualization is reporting a breaking news, still unconfirmed, about VMware preparing a lite version of ESX Server:

...

According to several sources close to VMware, ESX Lite is real and currently under development. The new lightweight hypervisor would be installed directly on the motherboard, simplifying the deployment of an ESX host and ensuring 100% hardware integration...

Read the whole article at source.

If confirmed this move would arrive without too much surprise, considering hard mission VMware has: take away hardware control (and its political power over industry) from Microsoft's hands.

Advent of KVM virtualization solution, which uses a different approach anyway, as Linux kernel module, makes this task even harder with big distributors like Red Hat and Novell having a new chance to maintain hardware control despite virtualization (just like Microsoft is trying to do with its upcoming hypervisor Windows Server Virtualization, codename Viridian).

Update: virtualization.info has just learned the information is confirmed. VMware and some OEM partners (Dell is one of them) are going to offer hardware with embedded ESX Server. Something which could be called a real hardware appliance.

5 Comments

Anonymous Friday, June 15, 2007 9:29:00 PM

I can see this one coming, but not before Barcelona is released..

Anonymous Saturday, June 16, 2007 5:15:00 PM

Can we then expect to see some kind of opensource embedded virtualization coming in the future?

itudk Sunday, June 17, 2007 9:28:00 PM

just great... I'm getting ready to do some serious virtualization within the upcomming months.. I wounder what the time scale for this is? But I do agree with the above statement, some sort of OpenSource similar to ESX lite would be nice.. Cuz VMware's prices are simply to high.. I know you get alot of things for the price.. But if ESX lite is used to capture more of the Virtualization market (then now).. That would really hampered free innovation in the long run.. (if only ESX lite from VMware get embedded into the MotherBoard/BIOS).

Anonymous Sunday, June 17, 2007 9:33:00 PM

I'd have to agree with the above statement. If ESX Lite is used to sentement VMware current market position and hamper other Virtualization vendors from getting embedded into the hardware.. then this would have really serious concequences for the Virtualization market as a whole.. VMware already owns to much of the market place.. and if ESX lite prevents other Virtualization vendors from entering into the market.. then you might be enticed to say --> "VMware OwnZ yOU!".

Wes Felter Wednesday, June 20, 2007 9:24:00 PM

Unless ESX lite is free, server vendors will continue to sell servers with no embedded hypervisor to save money for customers who don't want ESX. (Or maybe they will ship all servers with ESX lite present but disabled.) Intel is pushing for future EFI-based servers to include several MB of extra flash space where a customer could install their own stuff, like a stripped-down Linux+KVM distro.

VMware ESX Server appliance coming

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