OpenQRM, the open source data-center management platform, announced the availability of a beta version of release 4.0. This is a significant release as it is a complete rewrite and port frmo the Java platform to PHP, focusing on several design specifications:

• KIS (keep it simple)
• run everywhere (support for every linux distribution, especially Debian+Ubuntu)
• clean up (remove all not needed code)
• reduce code base (less code = less bugs)
• using existing components (instead of providing own binaries/libs)
• better packaging and dependencies
• enabling/disabling plugins via the GUI
• support for multiple databases (DB2, Mysql, Oracle, Postgres)
• porting from java to PHP
• focus on rapid-, appliance-based deployment, virtualization- and storage-management
• ease-up installation
• and more...

OpenQRM has seen quite some changes recently, including becoming independent from Qlusters. Those changes don't seem to have had impact on the dynamic of the project though.

Video interviews of Profoss speakers have been published on Virtualization.com. Here are links to the interviews of Tarry Singh , John Abbott , Werner Fischer , Frank Kohler and Matt Rechenburg

Those interviews have been recorded on the evening of the first day of the virtualisation event on 22 and 23 january 2008.

The acquisition spree continues as Sun acquires Innotek, maker of Virtualbox, "a general-purpose full virtualizer for x86 hardware".
The question one might ask these days is: will there still be independent free and open source companies left in the future?

With this buy, Sun, already the top Debian GNU/Linux contributor ahead of IBM and RedHat, is further positioning itself as a reference for free and open source software in the enterprise.

The release has been announced on the development mailing list and features

• Xen Security Modules (XSM)
• ACPI S3 suspend-to-RAM support for the host system
• Preliminary PCI pass-through support (using appropriate Intel or AMD
  I/O-virtualisation hardware)
• Preliminary support for a wider range of bootloaders in fully virtualised
• (HVM) guests, using full emulation of x86 'real mode'.

SwSoft, producer of the Virtuozzo virtualisation technology, which has a Open Source proposition OpenVZ, has decided to rename itself to Parallels, another well-known product in its portfolio.

The 451 Group had a press release stating that "Thanks to open source projects, the hypervisor – the software layer that enables physical machines to run multiple virtual machines – has become a commodity. As a result, hypervisor vendors have become virtualization management vendors and are now selling virtualization administration". In one year, their list of private companies in the category "VM management" has grown from 6 companies to 50!

It's been years that we hear software will become a commodity, with Sun clearly following that direction. Virtualisation is a clear example of that trend, with the sector's current leader VMWare well aware of this, and offering free downloads of its basic solutions. But Free and Open Source solutions are moving also, as illustrated by Open QRM (which will be represented by its project manager at the Virtualisation event organised by Profoss, where a session titled "The future is in the management tools" will also be organised)

Ubuntu announced the availability of Ubuntu JEOS (for Just Enough Operating System), specifically design to provide a minimal base operating system, hence reducing maintenance complexity, to be used in virtual appliances, ie images to be run on virtualisation technologies as Xen or VMWare. It is available for download, but currently only in 32 bits flavour.

Announced on monday, Oracle VM is now available for download. Oracle VM is touted as three time faster than the competition, but this claim is taken with a grain of salt. With the availability of the software, performance tests are now possible. Oracle is heavily pushing its own virtualisation solution against competitors, only supporting its products running in virtualised environments if it is virtualised with Oracle VM.
Guest operating system supported by Oracle VM are several versions of Oracle Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Windows. Note however that Windows runs significantly slower than on a physical machine, and that Oracle is working on Windows drivers to improve the situation.

It was a very active day for Redhat, as they also announced the release of Redhat Enterprise Linux 5.1, which integrates virtualisation, with features such as live migration and save/restore of fully virtualised guests..

A call for paper for the Profoss event about virtualisation has been sent out. If you're using virtualisation in a professional environment, and want to share your experience with professional ICT users, send your proposal!