Microsoft steps up virtualisation push

Bill Gates talks up virtualisation at WinHEC in Seattle

Microsoft has revealed plans to launch a beta of its virtualisation 'hypervisor' management console earlier than expected.

The release is now scheduled for the end of this year, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said in an opening keynote at the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in Seattle. 

The final product is due to ship within 180 days of the launch of Microsoft's next server operating system, codenamed Windows Longhorn Server, which is expected in late 2007.

Microsoft also unveiled the new System Center Virtual Machine Manager which allows users to manage images and templates and migrate workloads between virtual machines.

The tool also provides a self-service console for individual users where they can set up a virtual environment for testing or development purposes within the boundaries set by an administrator.

Virtualisation allows for server virtualisation and migration by running multiple operating systems on a single physical system.

"We see this really helping with the IT challenge," Gates told delegates. " It is helping IT administrators to simplify the things they do, running older applications and freeing them up for what they really ought to be doing with innovative applications."

In a first public demonstration of Microsoft's virtualisation product during Gates's keynote, Microsoft touted the software's "hot add functionality".

This feature allows administrators to add resources such as memory or processor cores to a virtual partition without having to shut down the partition.

Microsoft's is the only virtualisation technology in the market that offers such a 'hot add' feature, the firm claims.

The virtualisation hypervisor is referred to as hardware-based virtualisation, where the virtual compartments act as if they are running on their own hardware.

A more granular level of virtualisation can be provided by operating system services, in which each virtual compartment shares certain parts of the operating system, including the kernel, requiring less resources for each compartment.

Microsoft has made some investments in this area, but does not expect to have any products out in the immediate future, according to Bob Muglia, senior vice president for Microsoft's server and tools business.

A third level of virtualisation is achieved through application virtualisation, which allows applications to be delivered over a network.

Microsoft announced at WinHEC that it had acquired Softricity, a company specialising in application virtualisation. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

"Softricity has really cut costs and built a product that customers find does an amazing job in their environment," said Muglia.

Microsoft plans to integrate the Softricity technology into its other products, allowing the company to catch up in the field of virtualisation.

Microsoft is trailing behind the open source Xen technology and VMware, especially in hardware virtualisation.

"With Xen rapidly gaining mindshare, Microsoft has to act fast if it is to remain a contender," noted John Abbott, an analyst with The 451 Group.