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Wednesday, November 28, 2007

OpenVZ Project Pushes Technology Boundaries Combines Different Types of Open Source Virtualization

HERNDON, Va., November 28, 2007 — The OpenVZ project shows what is possible using its open source virtualization software in combination with virtual machine open source Xen software — effectively creating many virtual servers to improve utilization of the physical server.

A software download available at the OpenVZ website, http://openvz.org/download/kernel/rhel5, enables users to divide one physical server into virtual servers using Xen software, and then creating OpenVZ virtual environments inside those virtual machines.

The software download is based on the RHEL5 Xen kernel with builds available for both x86 and x86_64 platforms. The software can run on the Xen hypervisor in both Dom0 and DomU.

"We wanted to show people what is possible with the low overhead of our operating system (OS) virtualization open source OpenVZ software," said Kir Kolyshkin, manager of the OpenVZ project. "This is a marriage of complementary technologies that blends the flexibility of virtual machine technology, which is capable of running different operating systems, along with the efficiency of OS virtualization, which can run several times more virtual servers as compared with other virtualization technologies."

"This combination of open source virtualization technologies provides users with flexibility of running one or more guest operating systems, while also realizing high performance through low overhead," said Tom Schwaller, an expert in Linux, open source and virtualization technologies based in Germany. "We're seeing virtualization technologies maturing as we really understand what is possible."

Thursday, November 15, 2007

OpenVZ Virtualization Keeps E-mail Filtering Service Up and Running

JunkEmailFilter.com Uses Operating System Virtualization to Manage its Network of Servers

HERNDON, Va., November 15, 2007 – JunkEmailFilter.com works in the dangerous area of sorting through e-mail to filter out viruses and junk e-mails known as "spam," so that its clients receive only the e-mails they want to see. For higher levels of control and security, it uses open source virtualization software, known as OpenVZ.

"In our business, it's a necessity to have redundant systems in different locations in case bad things happen," says Marc Perkel, support manager at JunkEmailFilter.com. "People are dependent on us to get their e-mail through, so we cannot afford downtime."

The company has set up virtual servers with OpenVZ operating system server virtualization software and maintains backups so that, if necessary, a virtual server can be restored on another physical server and started up immediately.

There are four OpenVZ virtual servers on each of four physical servers that run e-mail server software, MySQL and SpamAssassin with virtual servers as large as 4 gigabytes.

"OpenVZ has almost no overhead, so we are giving up almost nothing in terms of performance to run virtual servers," says Perkel. "In our experience, OpenVZ has been compatible with most everything we run so it's one of those 'just works' solutions."

"We run different software programs in different virtual servers," says Perkel. "That way, one application isn't compromised if another application has an issue."

"With OpenVZ, we can also limit applications to specified amounts of memory and processing power, which allows us to tune our resources very precisely. If necessary, those can be adjusted on the fly," says Perkel.

The company has used OpenVZ software to create templates for different virtual servers, such as its VoIP phone system and SpamAssassin servers that process e-mail. Each virtual server is deployed on a physical server independent of others, which enables virtual servers to be moved among physical servers to balance workloads.

About JunkEmailFilter.com

E-mail filtering is easy to set up and doesn't require users to change their existing e-mail server. Instead of e-mail coming from the Internet directly to the user's e-mail server, it goes to spam filtering e-mail servers. There, it is stripped of viruses and spam and within seconds is passed on to the user's existing e-mail server. JunkEmailFilter.com is based in San Bruno, California. More information can be found at www.junkemailfilter.com.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

VIRTUAL BRIDGES ANNOUNCES MAJOR UPDATE OF WIN4 PRO DESKTOP PRODUCTS

Windows Coexistence is the key to Linux and Solaris competitiveness


AUSTIN, TX -- Virtual Bridges, a provider of desktop and enterprise virtualization solutions for business, announced today the release of a major upgrade to its award-winning Win4* Family of Desktop Products.

“Virtualization in general offers a lot of potential, but Win4Lin specifically delivers it. With the master Win4Lin image it's easy to build a Windows Win4Lin desktop that is impervious to virus and malware,” said Jon Watson, President KPG Media Corp. “It's easy to back up entire Windows installations, which previously would have required expensive applications and a high degree of technical skill. It's even easy to run Windows apps floating on a Linux/BSD/Solaris desktop.”

The Virtual Bridges Win4* brand professional-grade virtualization products help businesses extend their Open Source desktops without additional hardware costs. There are three Win4 Desktop products: Win4Lin Pro Desktop allowing users to run Windows applications on the major Linux Distributions, Win4Solaris allowing users to run Windows applications on Sun Solaris and Win4BSD supporting users of FreeBSD and PCBSD.

Win4 4.5 Desktop Highlights include:

Support for multimedia-rich LTSP setups, including remote audio playback and recording to/from the terminals (Win4Lin only)
Full bridged networking functionality and options
Support for newer Linux host kernels (2.6.22 and up) (Win4Lin only)
New full-screen Windows session option from Linux login screen (Win4Lin only)
Improved, dynamic single-application launch capabilities
Automatic, seamless default color printing, and improve printing performance
Improve mouse tracking and click response on remote displays
Enhanced audio support on Solaris Workstations and Sun Rays,
Including recording capabilities (Win4Solaris only)
Maintenance roll-up from 4.0, many other bug fixes and minor enhancements
Automatic support for ALSA playback and recording (Win4Lin only)
Automatic detection and support for EsounD playback and recording

Monday, May 21, 2007

Linspire & Parallels to Expand Desktop Linux Virtualization

Partnership gives Linspire & Freespire users single-click access to easy-to-use, consumer friendly desktop virtualization software

San Diego, CA & Renton, WA - May 21st, 2007 - Linspire, Inc., developer of the Linspire commercial and Freespire community desktop Linux operating systems, and Parallels, Inc., maker of award-winning desktop virtualization solutions for Windows, Linux and Mac OS X, today announced the immediate availability of Parallels’ Workstation 2.2 desktop virtualization solution for Linspire and Freespire desktop Linux users via CNR, a one-click delivery service for desktop Linux software.

"Virtualization continues to impact the industry," said Randy Linnell, Vice President of Business Development of Linspire. "We're excited about expanding our relationship with one of the leaders. Parallels has been a heavily requested product that delivers great performance and ease-of-use at an attractive price point, we're happy to satisfy our customers by making it available through CNR."

Parallels Workstation for Linux is a powerful, easy-to-use, and cost-effective virtualization solution which empowers Linux users to simultaneously run any version of Windows, including Windows Vista, any Linux distribution, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, OS/2, eComStation or DOS, in a stable, secure virtual machine on any Linux-powered PC. No re-booting or partitioning is required, and users never need to shut down or leave their home desktop to access a virtual machine. The companies recently announced a technology partnership where Linspire is working as a Parallels Technology Network Partner to make a Freespire Virtual Appliance available.

"The combination is a perfect fit: Linspire, Freespire and Parallels Workstation already work flawlessly together and each of these products was designed from the beginning with user convenience in mind," said Benjamin Rudolph, Director of Corporate Communications, Parallels. "By introducing Parallels Workstation to CNR, Linspire and Freespire users now have a great way to experience multi-OS functionality within their current distribution."

Availability
Parallels Workstation is available immediately to Linspire and Freespire users for $49.99. Linspire and Freespire users can download and buy Parallels Workstation via CNR at http://www.linspire.com/parallels

About Linspire

Linspire, Inc. (http://www.linspire.com) was founded in 2001 to bring choice into the operating system market. The company's flagship product, the Linspire operating system, is an affordable, easy-to-use Linux-based operating system distributed primarily pre-installed on PCs for home, school, and business users. Linspire pioneered CNR Technology, which allows Linspire users access to thousands of software programs, each of which can be downloaded and installed with just one mouse click. The thousands of software titles available in the CNR Warehouse (http://www.linspire.com/cnr) include full office and productivity suites, games, multimedia players, photo management software, accounting tools, and more.

About Parallels

Parallels, an SWsoft company, builds powerful, user-friendly, cost-effective server and workstation hardware virtualization solutions for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Headquartered in Renton, Wash., Parallels is a global company that employs a rapidly-growing team of experienced technical and business professionals. For more information, please visit www.parallels.com.

Cost Effective Virtualization Offerings Continue Desktop Linux Expansion

Win4Lin Pro Desktop Virtualization Software Available Via One-click CNR Technology at introductory price of $29.99

San Diego, CA & Austin, TX - May 21st, 2007 - Linspire, Inc. developer of the Linspire commercial and Freespire community desktop Linux operating systems and developer of CNR, a one-click digital software delivery service for desktop Linux software, and Virtual Bridges, Inc. developers of the award-winning Win4Lin Pro virtualization software aimed at consumer, SMB and enterprise customers migrating from Windows to Linux, Solaris, BSD and SCO Unix, today announced the immediate availability of Win4Lin Pro Desktop for Linspire and Freespire users. Available for download and installation with one-click through CNR technology, Win4Lin Pro Desktop is the latest version of the popular Win4Lin product line that has set the standard for running Windows on Linux.

"We value our long-standing relationship with one of the pioneers in the virtualization software space." said Randy Linnell, Vice President of Business Development of Linspire. "Offering the latest version of Win4Lin to our CNR users at an incredible value drives continued Linux adoption by providing Windows users the benefits of Linux, while providing them access to specific Windows programs they still rely on."

"The latest release of Win4Lin Pro Desktop is the perfect complement to the Linspire or Freespire user as it offers a seamless way to bring Windows application equivalency to their individual Linux desktop experience," said Jim Curtin, president and CEO of Virtual Bridges. " By allowing users to run their catalog of Windows productivity applications, they can meet the requirements of their day-to day computer use, while experiencing the benefits of Linux."

Win4Lin Pro Desktop allows Linux users to run Windows applications from the security of the Linux desktop.

Win4Lin Pro Desktop features include:
• Runs Windows 2000/XP Applications and Desktop on Linux Desktop at near-native speed
• Ability to display either full desktop mode or "floating" application mode
• Windows malware resistance through "renewable" Windows architecture
• Allows re-use of your existing Windows license for both cost-savings and broad application compatibility
• Full integration between the Linux Desktop and Windows file systems for user documents and settings

Availability
Win4Lin Pro Desktop is available immediately to Linspire and Freespire users for an introductory price of $29.99. Linspire and Freespire users can download and buy Win4Lin Desktop via CNR at http://www.linspire.com/win4linprodesktop

Win4Lin Product Family
Other products in the Win4Lin product family include, Win4Lin 9x Terminal Server and Win4Lin Virtual Desktop Server. These products are the company’s SMB and enterprise solutions for delivering Windows applications on thin clients via a Linux server. Win4Lin branded products allow Fortune 500 enterprises, educational institutions, SMB and desktop to run the Windows desktop and Windows applications on Linux in true Windows sessions. For more information about Win4Lin brand products please visit http://www.win4lin.com/.

About Linspire
Linspire, Inc. (http://www.linspire.com) was founded in 2001 to bring choice into the operating system market. The company's flagship product, the Linspire operating system, is an affordable, easy-to-use Linux-based operating system distributed primarily pre-installed on PCs for home, school, and business users. Linspire pioneered CNR Technology, which allows Linspire users access to thousands of software programs, each of which can be downloaded and installed with just one mouse click. The thousands of software titles available in the CNR Warehouse (http://www.linspire.com/cnr) include full office and productivity suites, games, multimedia players, photo management software, accounting tools, and more.

About Virtual Bridges

Virtual Bridges, Inc. develops SMB and enterprise virtualization solutions for business. Virtual Bridges’ products are multi-platform and are aimed at businesses that want to use virtualization solutions to create sustainable business advantage. Win4Lin, Win4Lin Pro Desktop, Win4BSD Pro Desktop, Win4Lin Virtual Desktop Server and Win4Lin 9X Terminal Server are trademarks or registered trademarks of Virtual Bridges, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Monday, January 1, 2007

About VMware

VMware (NYSE: VMW) is the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the datacenter. More than 100,000 customers rely on VMware to reduce capital and operating expenses, ensure business continuity, strengthen security and go green. With 2007 revenues of $1.3 billion and more than 10,000 partners, VMware is one of the fastest growing software companies. VMware is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and on the web at www.VMware.com.

About OpenVZ

OpenVZ is operating system server virtualization software technology, built on Linux, which creates multiple isolated, secure virtual environments on a single physical server – enabling greater server utilization and superior availability with fewer performance penalties. The virtual servers ensure that applications do not conflict and can be re-booted independently.

With the power of today's processors, hardware is often under utilized. With virtualization technology, the server can effectively be split into many small ones, each running its tasks so that the whole server is utilized more efficiently

OpenVZ software can be used to help consolidate servers and increase server utilization rates, or for creating "sandboxes" for test and development, or when sharing resources so that every user can have root access while being kept isolated from each other.

The OpenVZ software comes with user tools that help automate management of virtual servers. With its unique architecture that uses a single operating system instance, the virtual servers perform and execute like independent servers with their own memory, configuration files, users and applications. Each can be re-booted independently. Using template-based application deployment provides a simple way to get new virtual servers up and running in minutes and OpenVZ can run several times more virtual servers per CPU than other virtualization technologies. Also, the OpenVZ project maintains a blog site discussing virtualization technology, which can be accessed here, http://blog.openvz.org.