Old dogs may struggle with new tricks, but they seem to be able to figure out new licenses.
In a shocking move, Microsoft announced Monday the release of Hyper-V Linux Integration Components (LinuxIC).
The news reflects Microsoft's continued interest in lobotomizing its virtualization competition through low prices, but also the recognition that it must open up if it wants to fend off insurgent virtualization strategies from Red Hat, Novell, and others in the open-source camp.
But the truly startling news is that LinuxIC is being released under the GNU General Public License (version 2). Microsoft once called GPL anti-American. Now it calls it friend.
The gods must be crazy.
Or maybe Microsoft is simply recognizing (finally!) that GPL can be a capitalist's close ally. That and the fact that many components within the Linux kernel are GPLv2-licensed make the move completely natural...at least, once you forget that this is Microsoft embracing GPL, rather than some other company like Red Hat.
LinuxIC is a collection of kernel drivers that enable Linux to recognize that it is running on Microsoft's Hyper-V and optimize accordingly, resulting in an "enlightened version of Linux," according to market researcher IDC. The device drivers have yet to be accepted into the Linux kernel, but the GPL license and general utility makes their inclusion probable.
The move opens up Hyper-V to much more than Windows, which has arguably been its weakest point. As IDC notes, this embrace of Linux is a "key element if Microsoft is going to successfully go head to head with VMware in large accounts--many of which already are dedicated VMware customers."
Importantly, Microsoft is now opening up even beyond its long-time Linux partner, Novell, to embrace an array of other Linux partners, including Red Hat. While Novell was the first Linux vendor to certify for Hyper-V, Microsoft's lack of real support beyond Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise Server was a weakness, as some have complained.
But this is arguably a new Microsoft. Redmond recently announced that Office 2010 will support Internet Explorer and Mozilla's Firefox. The company is learning that its customers run heterogeneous software environments, and it's (slowly) responding. Microsoft's Sam Ramji, senior director of Platform Strategy, notes: "We are seeing Microsoft communities and open source communities grow together, which is ultimately of benefit to our customers."
Microsoft, in short, can't ignore open source, including Linux, without ignoring its own customers.
But surely this move is more Machiavelli than Santa Claus? Maybe, maybe not. I asked Novell's Greg Kroah-Hartman, a prominent Linux kernel developer who was deeply involved in influencing Microsoft to release LinuxIC, what Microsoft's move means for Linux. His response reflects an enthusiasm that is as surprising as it is refreshing:
We want Linux to work well for everybody. This move is not bad in any way for Linux, Xen (Novell's preferred virtualization technology), or KVM (Red Hat's preferred virtualization technology). This is not a competition, per se.
With LinuxIC, Microsoft is doing two things. First, it's saying that contributing open-source software under GPL is acceptable. And second, it's supporting the idea, which I and others in the Linux kernel community have long advanced, that all Linux kernel drivers should be open source.
LinuxIC is the latest example of how Microsoft is changing, and it's a big proof point. When Microsoft embraces Linux, that's news. When it does so by embracing GPL, it's perhaps time to start the countdown to Armageddon.
Follow me on Twitter @mjasay.
One of the nice advantages of server virtualization is the ability to run Linux and Windows on the same server. One of the headaches, though, is getting help when something goes wrong.
Microsoft and Novell on Thursday said they are going to try to make things a little easier. The pair announced that they will jointly support a virtualization scenario in which Suse Linux is running as a guest operating system under Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization.
The companies said partners such as Dell will test the setup at the joint lab the two companies have in Cambridge, Mass. It's the latest fruit of a nearly 2-year-old alliance between the two companies.
"The collaboration between Microsoft and Novell has been built by our desire to meet our customers' and partners' IT needs, and to deliver solutions that support customers' mixed-source environments," Microsoft Vice President Bob Kelly said in a statement. "For customers standardizing on Microsoft's hypervisor who also have a mixed-source IT environment, this virtualization solution gives that choice. For channel partners who need a cross-platform hypervisor offering, our work with Novell gives them an easy starting point."
Mr. Virtualization (aka ESG analyst Mark Bowker) called me Monday from the big Microsoft virtualization gala. From his description it was vintage Microsoft: company senior managers, partners, demos, and multimedia presentations. I kind of wish I was there for the demonstration of Buddy Guy's virtual guitar playing on a Gibson Flying V. (You had to be there.)
Microsoft's Bobs (Kelly and Muglia) kicked off the day with keynote presentations around customer case studies and Microsoft's technology vision. But what's most interesting to me is what Microsoft didn't say. According to Bowker, Microsoft hardly mentioned its recently released hypervisor (Hyper-V). Instead, the folks from Redmond focused on the virtualization environment highlighting best practices, management, implementation, and future growth.
To me, this strategy is very telling. One to two years ago, it was all about the hypervisor, and VMware ruled. Now it is about building and managing data centers and desktops built on any hypervisor. How will users deploy virtual objects? How will they manage and secure them? These are the real issues.
The hypervisor wars are over now. The real virtualization winners will be those that provide the best supporting services and technologies. Microsoft is demonstrating that it gets this.
Microsoft said on Monday that it now plans to offer its server virtualization product for free.
Ahead of a virtualization event in Redmond, Wash., Microsoft said that its Hyper-V Server 2008 will be released within 30 days and be available at no cost via the Web. The software maker had planned to charge $28 for the product.
Also on Monday, Microsoft plans to show off a live migration feature that will be part of the next version of its Hyper-V virtualization technology. Live migration allows companies to move a running virtual machine from one server to another.
The feature will be part of Windows Server R2, Microsoft said Monday. The software maker had originally intended to make Live Migration part of the first Hyper-V product, but pulled the feature in order to try to make its shipping deadline.
Microsoft also said that major computer makers note that nearly all of their customers who order Windows Server 2008-based systems are opting to include Hyper-V. Microsoft finalized the Hyper-V code back in June.
There wasn't a ton of news out of day 2 of Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference, but the company did announce a few product milestones.
Its small and midsize business server products have both hit the near-final "release candidate" stage. Windows Essential Business Server 2008 (formerly code-named Centro) and Small Business Server 2008 (nee Cougar) are scheduled to launch and be fully available on November 12.
Microsoft also said its recently completed Hyper-V virtualization hypervisor is now available via Windows Update, as expected. The product had been available since late last month, but only as a manual download.
The software maker said it distributed 1.5 million copies of the pre-release version, though if I'm not mistaken, every copy of Windows Server 2008 came with a pre-release version of Hyper-V.
And, as I noted on Tuesday, Microsoft also made available several new online tools for partners, including Digital Forum--a social-networking tool for partners to share tips, ideas, and war stories, as well as Microsoft PinPoint--an updated version of its online catalog of partner offerings.
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