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
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
    Home Applications
    • Applications
    • IT Management
    • Networking

    VMware Retorts to Microsoft Hyper-V Advent

    Written by

    Peter Galli
    Published December 13, 2007
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      eWEEK content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More.

      No sooner had Microsoft announced the availability of the public beta for Hyper-V, its hypervisor-based server virtualization technology, than VMware went on the attack, claiming its ESX Server is a comparable, but better, product.

      “Hyper-V is Microsoft’s hypervisor, while ESX Server is ours. But I don’t think you can really compare Microsoft’s newly announced beta offering and our product, which has been available for seven years,” Bogomil Balkansky, VMware’s senior director of product marketing, told eWEEK.

      “Customers want stability, maturity, robustness and resilience from their virtualization products, and we have the benefit of having it proven in production all around the world, with customers running mission-critical applications on ESX Server,” Balkansky said.

      In contrast, seven years after VMware brought its offering to market, Microsoft announced the public beta of its first-generation hypervisor product, he said, adding that customers want more than just a hypervisor, which is the piece of software that partitions a server into multiple virtual machines.

      Microsoft released the public beta for Hyper-V on Dec. 13, well ahead of schedule, and said it remains on track to ship within 180 days of the release to manufacturing of Windows Server 2008, which will be released to manufacturing before its Feb. 27, 2008, launch event.

      Read more here about the release of the public beta for Hyper-V.

      Customers also want the capabilities that were delivered on top of the hypervisor, capabilities that Microsoft’s offering lacks, Balkansky said, which include the automated restart of machines, the automated load balancing of virtual machines across a pool of physical servers and the live migration of virtual machines from one physical server to another, a capability that is currently being used by more than 60 percent of VMware customers.

      “These are the kinds of capabilities that honestly create the net, new opportunities for customers to optimize their environment leveraging the power of virtualization, and these are the kinds of capabilities that allow customer environments to become more highly available, more resilient and simpler to manage,” he said.

      But, while Mike Neil, Microsoft’s general manager of virtualization strategy, declined to comment on the specific points made by Balkansky, he told eWEEK that the software maker is glad its Hyper-V product has clearly grabbed VMware’s attention.

      “Hyper-V is an exciting and ubiquitous technology that all customers can take advantage of. That’s why it’s an important part of the operating system. With this beta, Hyper-V is ready for broad customer evaluation,” he said.

      VMware is preparing several updates to its Virtual Infrastructure 3 suite. Click here to read more.

      Balkansky countered that, while Microsoft was working on Hyper-V, VMware was innovating and extending its lead in the virtualization space.

      Its next-generation hypervisor architecture, known as ESX Server 3i, is a hardware-integrated hypervisor built on a next-generation thin architecture and does not incorporate or rely on a general-purpose operating system, thereby eliminating many common reliability issues and security vulnerabilities, he said.

      This new server technology also brings a dramatically reduced footprint, down to 32MB, a fraction of the size of a general-purpose operating system, which results in a smaller attack surface while minimizing the effort required for tasks such as security hardening, user access control, anti-virus and backup.

      In addition, the hypervisor can now be embedded in server systems, with all of the major server vendors already committed to embedding ESX Server 3i in different server lines, he said. “We expect to see the first of these servers to start rolling off the production line in early 2008—long before Windows Server 2008 or Hyper-V are even released,” Balkansky said.

      In addition, the new server product supports those operating systems running on x86 hardware, including Windows, Linux and Solaris. “Our ESX Server hypervisor product is proven to run Windows operating systems very well, and we have a seven-year track record of this,” he said.

      There are eight different versions of Windows Server 2008. Read about them here.

      But, like Microsoft, which will also release the Hyper-V server, a stand-alone product that allows customers to virtualize workloads onto a single physical server at a retail price of $28, those users who want to buy ESX Server 3i as a stand-alone product will be able to do so at a cost of $495 per two CPUs.

      VMware will continue to support its existing ESX Server 3.5, which was made generally available earlier this week, and which will exist concurrently with the ESX Server 3i for a period of time.

      People virtualize their environments to achieve specific goals, which include decreasing the overall cost of their infrastructure and making that simpler to manage, more available and resilient. “We deliver all of these capabilities, and for now, and some time to come, VMware is the safe place to run Windows operating systems,” Balkansky said.

      Check out eWEEK.com’s Infrastructure Center for the latest news, views and analysis on servers, switches and networking protocols for the enterprise and small businesses.

      Peter Galli
      Peter Galli
      Peter Galli has been a technology reporter for 12 years at leading publications in South Africa, the UK and the US. He has comprehensively covered Microsoft and its Windows and .Net platforms, as well as the many legal challenges it has faced. He has also focused on Sun Microsystems and its Solaris operating environment, Java and Unix offerings. He covers developments in the open source community, particularly around the Linux kernel and the effects it will have on the enterprise. He has written extensively about new products for the Linux and Unix platforms, the development of open standards and critically looked at the potential Linux has to offer an alternative operating system and platform to Windows, .Net and Unix-based solutions like Solaris.

      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.

      ×