VM Ware per eseguire più sistemi operativi in un ambiente virtuale ~ Re Ubuntu

VMware è un serie di software sviluppati dalla VMware Inc. che consentono di eseguire più sistemi operativi in un ambiente virtuale.

Il primo vantaggio che si può vedere e capire logicamente è la possibilità di poter implementare su una piattaforma con sistema operativo Windows o Linux e con relativo hardware, un numero n di altre macchine virtuali con sistema operativo diverso.

Questo genere di software vengono definiti virtual machine, macchine virtuali, termine che sta ad indicare la creazione di uno o più ambienti virtuali in un unico computer, fornisce una completa emulazione dell'hardware senza intaccare le risorse della macchina nativa ed emulando sistemi operativi tra loro differenti.

Si può pensare che le prestazioni del sistema operativo emulato possano esser minori rispetto a quelle che ha il sistema operativo se fosse eseguito "realmente" ma in realtà le prestazioni sono comparabili perché il sistema è pensato per essere eseguito su macchine multiprocessore: ogni virtual machine lavora con un core, o lo gestisce in real-time in base a criteri di condivisione e si possono quindi ottenere prestazioni elevate (da sistema nativo).

VMware riesce ad emulare architetture x86 (con processore Intel Pentium1-4 oppure AMD Athlon) e x86-64 (AMD Athlon 64/ Intel Xeon) ed emula anche processori dual-core.

VMware è disponibile per Microsoft Windows, GNU/Linux e Mac OS X.

L'11 settembre Canonical Ltd., sponsor commerciale di Ubuntu, ha annunciato la disponibilità di JeOS (Just Enough Operanting System) Edition. Scopo: ottimizzare la VMWare per il pinguino.

Ecco le news:

Ubuntu JeOS (pronounced "Juice") is an efficient variant of the popular desktop and server operating system, configured specifically for virtual appliances.

"The efficiencies inherent in an operating system that is built for a virtualised world mean that ISVs looking to deploy their applications in this lucrative and growing market have an obvious deployment target in the Ubuntu JeOS Edition," said Stephen O'Grady, analyst at RedMonk. "As the delivery platforms and economics of licensing continue to change, the flexibility and reach of the Ubuntu operating system make it an increasingly popular choice for far sighted ISVs."

ISVs looking to develop virtual appliances will have a compelling platform in Ubuntu JeOS, an OS optimised for virtualisation that greatly reduces the complexity and maintenance overhead normally associated with general purpose operating systems. Ubuntu JeOS Edition has been tuned to take advantage of key performance technologies of the latest virtualisation products from VMware. This combination of reduced size and optimized performance ensures that Ubuntu JeOS Edition delivers a highly efficient use of server resources in large virtual deployments.

"Canonical has produced a robust virtualised OS core in the Ubuntu JeOS Edition that is optimized for virtual appliances," said Dan Chu, vice president of emerging products and markets at VMware. "Virtual Appliances are fundamentally changing how software is developed and deployed, with ISVs now including a thin and highly optimized OS along with their application in a ready-to-run virtual machine. We are excited that Canonical is providing Ubuntu JeOS for vendors interested in building VMware virtual appliances."

Business Objects today unveiled a virtual appliance based on Ubuntu JeOS that is being demonstrated at VMworld.

"Ubuntu fits naturally into the place where computing is happening today," said Mark Shuttleworth, founder of the Ubuntu Project. "Virtualisation is the key driver of data center restructuring at present, and Ubuntu's popularity with developers makes it an excellent choice for the next generation of virtualized environments. We have worked with VMware to deliver a version of Ubuntu that complements its exceptional virtualisation capabilities, providing a solution for the ISVs building virtual appliances and for the enterprises planning to deploy them."

About Canonical and Ubuntu

Canonical, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu, is headquartered in Europe and is committed to the development, distribution and support of open source software products and communities. World-class 24x7 commercial support for Ubuntu is available through Canonical's global support team and partners. Since its launch in October 2004 Ubuntu has become one of the most highly regarded Linux distributions with millions of users around the world. Ubuntu will always be free to download, free to use and free to distribute to others. With these goals in mind, Ubuntu aims to be the most widely used Linux system, and is the centre of a global open source software ecosystem. For more information visit www.canonical.com or www.ubuntu.com.