At VMworld 2007, a major obstacle in virtual machine sharing apparently has been overcome…
“The two companies have agreed to standardize their technologies for delivering Windows desktops and applications to thin clients on Microsoft’s Virtual Hard Disk format.”
San Francisco — At VMworld 2007, Microsoft Corp. and Citrix Systems Inc. on Tuesday announced strengthening their longtime integration alliance in the desktop and application to use Microsoft’s Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) format as a common standard for virtualization machine storage.
“This philosophy of sharing in the virtualization world will likely be the first of many to come as they hone in on a single, workable standard.”
IT managers concerned about the growing complexity of virtual environments may have a bit less to worry about with the decision by the two companies to adopt a single VHD format.
“Both companies have announced they are now committed to providing the best possible virtualization experience.”
The VHD specifies how a virtual machine hard disk is formatted.
Citrix said it plans to adopt VHD as the common runtime environment for virtualized operating systems and applications in future versions of its Desktop Server. Microsoft, on the other hand, plans to eventually incorporate the format in the company’s SoftGrid Application Virtualization for both the desktop and Terminal Services.
This collaboration will result in future versions of Citrix’s Desktop Server and virtual application solutions adopting the Microsoft VHD format.
In April 2006, Microsoft had inked a deal with XenSource Inc. for interoperability between both vendors’ platforms. XenSource said it would use Microsoft’s VHD format in its Xen 3.0 virtualization server.
IT professionals within large organizations have an increasing need to maintain control over desktop environments. The cost of deploying and administering PCs — sometimes tens of thousands of PCs — across an enterprise can be significant, especially without the proper infrastructure in place to aid in the automation of these tasks.
Microsoft and Citrix will also collaborate on emerging virtualization technologies and virtual infrastructure management tools to help ensure interoperability and simplified administration for end users.
The partners also have agreed to collaborate on emerging virtualization technologies and virtual infrastructure management tools.
“Customers want options for making desktop computing and applications more broadly accessible. Their needs vary widely depending upon bandwidth, user location, and application type and information sensitivity.”
“By standardizing on a common virtualization format for both operating systems and applications, Microsoft and Citrix will enable customers to run interoperable solutions that can be centrally managed using our technologies,” Mike Neil, general manager of virtualization strategy at Microsoft, said in a statement released at the VMworld conference in San Francisco.
“It is a process called para-virtualization, and it can increase program flexibility and usability when properly applied.”
Shared visions like this open up doors that many other developers can now use. There a wider virtual machine support base on the same standard. Because of that they can invest resources toward creating software or hardware products for that standard. It is something the virtualization industry needs much more of.
Microsoft offers a comprehensive suite of virtualization products at the server, desktop and application levels, and the management platform for both physical and virtual environments, so customers can deliver computing in a much more flexible, dynamic and responsive manner. Citrix provides infrastructure technology for delivering applications over a network.
The movement will allow both companies to leverage their existing product bases for more directly developed virtualization environments. Citrix has a significant infiltration in the Fortune 500 companies and their software is designed to distribute any application anywhere. Being able to target virtualized software environments directly through a common interface will allow their software developers to work more cooperatively within a virtualized environment.
Market leader VMware Inc., which is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., has its own disk format that it made freely available in April 2006. Microsoft followed suit in October 2006.
Citrix, which announced last month its intention to acquire virtual infrastructure vendor XenSource, plans to extend support for the VHD format to include operating system streaming to both servers and desktops. XenSource supports VHD as its native runtime format for virtual machines.
“Agreement on VHD is a necessary first step we are taking to ensure IT can rapidly adopt the full benefits of virtualization,” Wes Wasson, VP of worldwide marketing at Citrix, said in a joint statement with Microsoft.
“Today’s announcement signals our continuing, joint commitment with Microsoft to provide virtualization solutions to create and manage dynamic IT environments well into the future.”
“But IT managers care less about the formats than about interoperability in general.”
“For administrators, it is expected,” said Brian Madden, a Washington, D.C.-based independent consultant. “Microsoft and Citrix have a long history. Citrix bought XenSource. Microsoft bought Softricity. We hope they integrate it all together to make it easier.”