<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2802" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=2>ok, now just if i could find those callmanager registry
hacks.... ;)</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2><A
href="http://news.com.com/VMware+to+make+server+product+free/2100-1012_3-6034615.html?tag=nefd.top">http://news.com.com/VMware+to+make+server+product+free/2100-1012_3-6034615.html?tag=nefd.top</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV>
<P><B>VMware, an EMC subsidiary whose software lets multiple operating systems
run on the same computer, is expected to announce next week that it will begin
giving away one of its key products for free, CNET News.com has learned. </B>
<P>The company sells three core products, <A
title="VMware releases Workstation 5.5 -- Wednesday, Nov 30, 2005"
href="http://news.com.com/VMware+releases+Workstation+5.5/2110-1006_3-5977151.html?tag=nl">VMware
Workstation</A>, GSX Server and ESX Server, but competition is on the horizon in
a market VMware once had to itself. On Monday, however, the company is expected
to announce it will give away GSX for free, sources familiar with the plan said.
</P>
<P><!-- Search Engine Component -->GSX runs on a "host" Windows or Linux
operating system and then lets "guest" operating systems run atop it in
compartments called virtual machines. The higher-end ESX product, in contrast,
needs no host and runs below the operating system layer. </P>
<P>VMware may gain two advantages from the move. First, because virtual machines
can be moved from GSX to ESX, customers who try the former may choose to upgrade
to the latter. Second, giving the software away for free could make VMware's
technology more popular and cement the company's lead over emerging rivals. </P>
<P>Today, GSX costs $1,400 for dual-processor servers and $2,800 for more
powerful machines. ESX, while more expensive, permits more sophisticated
features such as VMotion, which lets one running operating system be moved from
one server to another while it's still running. </P>
<P>VMware didn't immediately respond to requests for comment. </P>
<P>VMware is an established power in the realm of virtualization, a technology
that permits computing equipment to be more flexible and run more tasks
efficiently. Its software lets different operating systems run in virtual
machines; each virtual machine appears to be an entirely separate computer, but
in fact each shares the same hardware with others. </P>
<P>Such technology has been available on high-end computers for years, but
VMware brought it to the realm of mainstream computers using x86 processors such
as Intel's Pentium and Advanced Micro Devices' Opteron. The move is timely:
Virtual machines let more work be done on a single server, an efficiency move
that helps ameliorate the <A
title="Electric slide for tech industry? -- Wednesday, Feb 1, 2006"
href="http://news.com.com/Electric+slide+for+tech+industry/2100-1010_3-6033598.html?tag=nl">computer
industry's growing electrical power problem</A>. </P>
<P>Now, though, VMware faces new challengers, most of them immature but also
already available for free. </P></DIV>
<DIV>
<P>First in line is the <A
title="Xen lures big-name endorsements -- Friday, Feb 18, 2005"
href="http://news.com.com/Xen+lures+big-name+endorsements/2100-7344_3-5581484.html?tag=nl">open-source
Xen effort</A> that will become part of the two major commercial versions of
Linux: <A title="Red Hat updates premium Linux -- Tuesday, Feb 15, 2005"
href="http://news.com.com/Red+Hat+updates+premium+Linux/2100-7344_3-5576507.html?tag=nl">Red
Hat Enterprise Linux</A> and Novell's <A
title="Novell launches new Linux--with JBoss Java -- Tuesday, Aug 3, 2004"
href="http://news.com.com/Novell+launches+new+Linux--with+JBoss+Java/2100-7344_3-5295548.html?tag=nl">Suse
Linux Enterprise Server</A>. In addition, Microsoft is working on similar
software it plans to add to its next server operating system, called "Longhorn
Server." Others such as Virtual Iron and <A
title="Companies push Linux partitioning effort -- Tuesday, Jan 17, 2006"
href="http://news.com.com/Companies+push+Linux+partitioning+effort/2100-1016_3-6027219.html?tag=nl">SWsoft's
Virtuozzo</A> have technology that overlaps. </P>
<P>Most of these virtualization software projects are getting a boost from new
processor features. Intel Virtualization Technology--code-named Vanderpool and
now emerging in server processors--accelerates some operations and makes it
possible to run Windows on Xen without modifications to Windows that otherwise
would be necessary. </P>
<P>AMD's rival technology, code-named Pacifica, is scheduled to arrive later
this year in the company's "Rev F" Opteron models. </P></DIV>
<DIV><FONT
size=2>--------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR>Lelio
Fulgenzi, B.A.<BR>Network Analyst (CCS) * University of Guelph * Guelph, Ontario
N1G 2W1<BR>(519) 824-4120 x56354 (519) 767-1060 FAX
(JNHN)<BR>^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
<BR>"I had a coffee and Coke at lunch today...and now, I've got more jitter than
an<BR>IP phone on a long haul 10base2
connection"
LFJ</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>