Close
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • 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
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • 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
    Home Cloud
    • Cloud
    • Networking
    • Virtualization

    Citrix to Take On VMware in the Cloud

    By
    Jeff Burt
    -
    August 29, 2009
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      Citrix Systems and Xen.org are going to use the first day of VMware’s VMworld 2009 show to announce a plan to take on the virtualization giant in the cloud.

      Citrix and Xen.org will announce that they will expand their reach beyond the Xen virtualization hypervisor by developing a full-blown cloud computing platform that will rival VMware’s vCloud offering. The cloud platform will be the central focus of Xen.org’s new charter.

      Simon Crosby, CTO of Citrix’s Virtualization and Management Division, and Ian Pratt, chairman of Xen.org, said in an interview that the goal of the Xen Cloud Platform is to create a cloud computing environment that virtualizes everything, from servers to storage to networking devices, and that will run anyone’s virtualization technologies, including VMware’s and Microsoft’s.

      That last part is a key differentiator for Citrix and Xen.org, given that VMware’s strategy is based more on building features that work best with its own products.

      “What we’re offering is a richer model, with the flexibility of open source,” Crosby said. “With the richer cloud infrastructure, soon we all can start to [see] the advantages of cloud computing.”

      Citrix and the Xen.org will announce the plan Aug. 31, the first day of VMworld, which runs through Sept. 3 in San Francisco.

      The announcement will come amid reports that VMware officials have tried to limit the exposure of its largest rivals, Citrix and Microsoft, at the show. VMware is limiting those companies to 10-by-10-foot booths and requiring Citrix and Microsoft employees to stay within those boundaries.

      A host of tech vendors, including Advanced Micro Devices, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Intel, NetApp and Novell, reportedly are pushing the idea of an open-source cloud platform based on Xen, and Citrix is contributing its own code, including XenServer, a virtual switch and XenMotion, which enables easy movement of virtual machines between physical hosts, similar to VMware’s VMotion offering.

      “A lot of vendors are contributing to Xen and participating in [the Xen Cloud Platform strategy],” Pratt said.

      Citrix and Xen.org will not be bringing new software for such tasks as management and orchestration, Crosby and Pratt said. Much of that will be supplied by organizations like the Globus Alliance and Eucalyptus, which already offer such capabilities.

      Simon said the Xen Cloud Platform-the first features of which will start appearing in the fourth quarter-will have all the necessary features demanded by enterprises, such as multitenancy capabilities, security, encryption, shared storage, dynamic provisioning of cloud resources and a public API.

      The platform also will offer users the ability to interoperate easily with public cloud computing platforms, such as those offered by Amazon with its EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) and Rackspace with its Rackspace Cloud environment.

      Pratt said it shouldn’t take long to bring the Xen Cloud Platform together. Many of the necessary features are available now from companies that already innovate based on the Xen hypervisor.

      “We just need to package them together,” he said.

      Xen is playing a key role in enterprises and cloud computing already, Crosby said. Xen is used in about 20 percent of enterprises, and most public clouds are built on it.

      Jeff Burt
      Jeffrey Burt has been with eWEEK since 2000, covering an array of areas that includes servers, networking, PCs, processors, converged infrastructure, unified communications and the Internet of things.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.
      Get the Free Newsletter!
      Subscribe to Daily Tech Insider for top news, trends & analysis
      This email address is invalid.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      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
      Applications

      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
      IT Management

      Intuit’s Nhung Ho on AI for the...

      James Maguire - May 13, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nhung Ho, Vice President of AI at Intuit, about adoption of AI in the small and medium-sized business market, and how...
      Read more
      Applications

      Kyndryl’s Nicolas Sekkaki on Handling AI and...

      James Maguire - November 9, 2022 0
      I spoke with Nicolas Sekkaki, Group Practice Leader for Applications, Data and AI at Kyndryl, about how companies can boost both their AI and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      IGEL CEO Jed Ayres on Edge and...

      James Maguire - June 14, 2022 0
      I spoke with Jed Ayres, CEO of IGEL, about the endpoint sector, and an open source OS for the cloud; we also spoke about...
      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.
      © 2022 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.

      ×