Novell has announced the industry`s first enterprise Linux-based virtualisation solution built on Xen, optimised for Intel Virtualisation Technology.
SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 from Novell running on Dual-Core Intel Xeon platforms will provide customers with a low-cost, high-performance virtualisation solution that has the ability to host Linux environments without the need to modify the guest operating systems.
With the integration of Intel Virtualisation Technology within Xen, Novell also announced plans to offer enterprise support for virtualised SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 and Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 running on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10, allowing Red Hat customers to migrate to Novell service and support while still running Red Hat Enterprise Linux in a virtualised environment.
"Being first to provide Xen virtualisation with enterprise Linux means our customers will be first to reap the benefits of running virtualised Linux platforms, including Red Hat, on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10," said Allison Singh, systems engineering manager at Novell South Africa.
"This cross-platform approach to virtualisation means both Novell and Red Hat customers will be able to take advantage of the cost and flexibility benefits of virtualisation at a fraction of the cost of existing virtualisation solutions."
Doug Fisher, Intel general manager, Core Software Division, said: "Intel and Novell have worked extensively together to deliver an enterprise-ready virtualisation solution based on Xen. With Intel Virtualisation Technology, SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 will virtualise data centre workloads on Linux environments with very low overhead and high performance, providing customers the ability to configure applications and systems for maximum efficiency."
Enterprise support for virtualisation
Novell will support Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 running on SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 with Intel Virtualisation Technology, up through and including Level 3 (or core engineering) support. That means Novell will provide technical support for the Xen hypervisor if a customer uncovers an issue running a virtual instance of Red Hat Linux and that issue is not reproducible in a native, or non-virtualised, environment.
If the customer runs a virtual SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 or 10 instance, Novell will offer Level 3 support for the host operating system, the Xen hypervisor and the guest operating system. In addition, Intel and Novell will work together to fix all issues which are related to the hypervisor and Intel VT hardware.
Mary Hubley, Gartner research director, said: "Many customers are currently choosing virtualisation to realise benefits from reduced hardware complexity and improved manageability and to capitalise on the hardware improvements in availability, reliability and scalability."
SUSE Linux Enterprise 10 is the next-generation platform for the open enterprise, and it is the first enterprise Linux distribution to include Xen. It includes SUSE Linux Enterprise Server and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop, providing a secure and reliable foundation for enterprise computing from the desktop to the data centre.
Intel Virtualisation Technology (VT) provides hardware-assist to virtualisation software (VMM) reducing the need of VMM intervention with complex, compute-intensive software translations. Intel has been shipping server and client processors with Intel VT since November 2005. Intel VT is the first instantiation of a multi-generational roadmap of increasingly powerful enhancements to Intel platforms that is expected to provide multiple levels of protection for virtual access of the entire platform resources: CPU, memory and I/O resources.
Availability
Novell will begin a pilot programme in late October with several large enterprise customers. General availability of this solution is expected by the end of the year. Servers featuring Dual-Core Intel Xeon platforms to run SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 virtualisation are now available through all major OEMs.
To bring this virtualisation solution to market, Novell and Intel are collaborating on Novell`s "Your Linux is ready" marketing campaign. For more information, visit http://www.novell.com/intel.
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Novell, Inc (Nasdaq: NOVL) delivers software for the open enterprise. With more than 50 000 customers in 43 countries, Novell helps customers manage, simplify, secure and integrate their technology environments by leveraging best-of-breed, open standards-based software. With more than 20 years of experience, 4 700 employees, 5 000 partners and support centres around the world, Novell helps customers gain control over their IT operating environments while reducing costs. More information about Novell can be found at http://www.novell.com.
Novell and SUSE are registered trademarks and Software for the Open Enterprise is a trademark of Novell, Inc in the United States and other countries. *Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other third-party trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
** "Virtualising x86 Servers Means More Than Just the Hypervisors and VMMs", Mary I Hubley, Gartner, 22 August 2006.
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