Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Subscribe
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Video
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Subscribe
    Home Blogs First Read
    • Blogs
    • First Read

    VMware’s Love-Hate Relationship With OpenStack

    Written by

    Sean Michael Kerner
    Published August 16, 2013
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      VMware, perhaps more-so than any other vendor on the planet, is responsible for helping enterprises move to more agile and efficient virtualized server infrastructure. Simply put, VMware is the vendor to beat in the enterprise virtualized server space.

      When it comes to the cloud though, VMware’s dominance is not a foregone conclusion, with Amazon and perhaps more importantly OpenStack, leading the charge. OpenStack is an open-source multi-stakeholder effort that is building an open-cloud platform solution.

      Over the last several years, I’ve seen VMware flip-flop on different occasions about its positioning relative to OpenStack. Some in the media have always seen VMware as obviously being a competitor to the open-source OpenStack. This week there has been some media chatter about VMware’s CEO saying that OpenStack is not for the enterprise. The truth is, however, somewhat more nuanced.

      OpenStack, just like VMware, is not just a single product or thing. It is a collection of projects that collectively can be called OpenStack and includes compute, storage, networking, orchestration and identity services. VMware likewise has its tools including vSphere (with its ESX hypervisor) and the vCenter as well as the vCloud suite of management tools. While vCloud can be considered to be competitive with OpenStack, vSphere ESX really is not.

      OpenStack, unlike VMware, is very much about abstraction. It’s about enabling a high-level platform of capabilities that other vendor products and services can plug into. For example, in the OpenStack Nova Compute project, a user can choose to use VMware ESX as the virtualization hypervisor.

      That’s right, VMware can (and does) work inside OpenStack.

      Back in October 2012 at the OpenStack San Diego Summit, I watched in awe as then-CTO of VMware Steve Herrod explained how the company would be embracing OpenStack, in a limited way. Herrod didn’t just do a product pitch on that day; he stood his ground and answered a barrage of unscripted questions from the audience (including a few from yours truly). The vision that Herrod articulated then was of a hybrid world, recognizing the reality that some people don’t want a VMware-only stack.

      It’s a strategy that VMware is already executing on. During VMware’s fiscal 2013 second-quarter earnings call at the end of July, CEO Pat Gelsinger spoke very positively about how his company can work in an OpenStack world.

      “VMware’s goal is to be the cloud infrastructure software leader, and we’ve also made clear statements that we are building a strategy that will support OpenStack in a very effective way,” Gelsinger said. “We call it our component strategy where we are embracing the OpenStack APIs, adding them to our product and then selling our best-in-class common technologies into this OpenStack framework.”

      VMware is also one of the leading vendors and drivers behind the OpenStack Networking project (once known as Quantum, now being renamed to Neutron). That effort inside VMware is driven by its Nicira division (acquired by VMWare for $1.26 billion in 2012). OpenStack Networking is (just like the rest of OpenStack) an abstraction layer and the VMware Nicira network virtualization platform (apparently due for a major update in a week at VMworld) is a key technology that can plug in.

      OpenStack is successful so far and will continue to be successful in the future because it can be all things to all people. It’s an open platform that is extensible and enables a vast ecosystem of vendors to participate—even those that some might see as rivals, like VMware.

      Sean Michael Kerner is a senior editor at eWEEK and InternetNews.com. Follow him on Twitter @TechJournalist.

      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner
      Sean Michael Kerner is an Internet consultant, strategist, and writer for several leading IT business web sites.

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      Get the Free Newsletter!

      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Artificial Intelligence

      9 Best AI 3D Generators You Need...

      Sam Rinko - June 25, 2024 0
      AI 3D Generators are powerful tools for many different industries. Discover the best AI 3D Generators, and learn which is best for your specific use case.
      Read more
      Cloud

      RingCentral Expands Its Collaboration Platform

      Zeus Kerravala - November 22, 2023 0
      RingCentral adds AI-enabled contact center and hybrid event products to its suite of collaboration services.
      Read more
      Artificial Intelligence

      8 Best AI Data Analytics Software &...

      Aminu Abdullahi - January 18, 2024 0
      Learn the top AI data analytics software to use. Compare AI data analytics solutions & features to make the best choice for your business.
      Read more
      Latest News

      Zeus Kerravala on Networking: Multicloud, 5G, and...

      James Maguire - December 16, 2022 0
      I spoke with Zeus Kerravala, industry analyst at ZK Research, about the rapid changes in enterprise networking, as tech advances and digital transformation prompt...
      Read more
      Video

      Datadog President Amit Agarwal on Trends in...

      James Maguire - November 11, 2022 0
      I spoke with Amit Agarwal, President of Datadog, about infrastructure observability, from current trends to key challenges to the future of this rapidly growing...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2024 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×