Linux Virtualization 2.0:Technology, Software, News and Downloads

CNR.com Delivers Linux Users One-Click Virtualization Software From Parallels

2008-03-12T10:36:00.000-07:00

Parallels Workstation Now Available Through Easy-to-use Linux Software Delivery Service At An Introductory Price of $44.99

San Diego, CA & Renton, WA – March 12th, 2008 - Linspire, Inc. developer of CNR.com, an easy-to-use, one-click digital software delivery service for desktop Linux software, 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 immediate download through the CNR.com free software delivery service to desktop Linux users. Currently available for the Freespire 2.0, Linspire 6.0 and Ubuntu 7.04, 7.10 operating systems, the CNR Service will expand to provide support for additional popular Linux distributions. Available at a special introductory price of $44.99, Parallels Workstation allows users of any skill level to easily run multiple operating systems on a single computer (http://www.cnr.com/product/parallels).

“As CNR expands its commercial offerings, we're happy to offer another quality virtualization solution in Parallels, a product our customers have requested,” says Larry Kettler, President and CEO of Linspire. “The Free CNR Service is designed to help users easily find and install the best that Linux software has to offer.”

CNR.com is a free standardized Web 2.0-based Linux software delivery service for desktop Linux users worldwide. It is designed to normalize the process of finding, installing, and updating Linux software for Linux distributions.

Parallels Workstation is an easy-to-use and cost-effective desktop virtualization solution. It enables the user to create completely networked and secure independent virtual machines on a single physical computer. Parallels Workstation's sophisticated virtualization engine enables each virtual machine to operate similarly to a physical computer.

“We’re excited to make Parallels Workstation 2.2 available through CNR.com,” said Benjamin Rudolph, Director of Corporate Communications. “By giving CNR users the ability to easily and seamlessly run multiple OSes, like Windows, at the same time as Linspire, Freespire or Ubuntu, Parallels Workstation makes working with these desktop Linux distributions even more fun and productive.”

The updated version of the Parallels Workstation includes a number of great new features that make using multiple operating systems simultaneously even easier.

New Features in the updated Parallels Workstation 2.2:

MS Windows from 3.1 up to Vista guest OS support
Linux guest OS tools: Smooth mouse transition between most popular Linux guest OSes and Windows and Linux primary OSes
Multiple network adapters support - support up to 5 network adapters in VM simultaneously
Parallels Workstation 2.2 installation on new Linux kernels (2.6.20, 2.6.22, 2.6.23)
Significantly improved AMD-V support

Desktop Virtualization: 5 Web 2.0 Applications

2008-03-05T16:41:00.000-08:00

CNR.com is now carrying Web 2.0 applications (aka WebApps and Webware) alongside Desktop Linux applications in a newly reorganized category structure at http://www.CNR.com.

Here is a list of Webware Desktop Virtualization products that are all free and allow you to take your Office documents, MP3's, email client and other productivity tools in a virtual desktop that you can open anywhere you have an internet connection.

ajaxWindows
Business & Productivity : Virtualization
ajaxWindows is a virtual operating system that lets you store, edit and share your files in a completely web-based AJAX platform.

YouOS
Business & Productivity : Virtualization
Allows running diverse programs in web browser, integrated program development and management, based on HTML and JavaScript. Descriptions.

DesktopTwo
Business & Productivity : Virtualization
Desktoptwo is a free web-based desktop or webtop.

GhostVirtualComputer
Business & Productivity : Virtualization
The G.ho.st VC manages your online mail, photos, docs and applications with one desktop, one sign-in, one file system.

ThinkFreeOnline
Business & Productivity : Virtualization
ThinkFree Online beta lets you store 1GB of documents. Create, view, and edit Microsoft Office compatible files over the Web

CNR.com Delivers Linux Users One-Click Cost Effective Virtualization Software From Virtual Bridges

2008-03-05T11:32:00.000-08:00

SAN DIEGO, and AUSTIN, Texas, March 4 Linspire, Inc. developer of CNR.com, an easy-to-use, one-click digital software delivery service for desktop Linux software, and Virtual Bridges, Inc. developers of the award-winning Win4Lin Pro virtualization software, today announced the immediate availability of Win4Lin Pro Desktop 4.5 through CNR.com's one-click Linux software delivery service located at http://www.cnr.com/product/win4lin. Available at a special introductory price of $34.99, Win4Lin Pro Desktop provides consumers, SMBs and enterprise customers an easy-to-use virtualization solution that allows Freespire 2.0, Linspire 6.0, Ubuntu 7.04 & 7.10 desktop Linux users to run Windows on Linux and assists in the complete migration process to desktop Linux.

"Virtualization solutions continue to draw strong interest as users continue to migrate over to the desktop Linux world," said Larry Kettler, President and CEO of Linspire. "Win4Lin Pro is the first of a number of virtualization products that will be available through CNR.com's one-click installation service.

"Virtual Bridges is proud to be a part of the ground-breaking CNR.com initiative," said Jim Curtin, president and CEO of Virtual Bridges. "Reaching the mass market through the easy-to-use, revolutionary CNR.com site means that the efficiencies and productivity gains of Win4Lin virtualization can now be enjoyed not only by enterprise customers, but now also by mainstream consumers as well."

Win4Lin Pro runs Windows as a Linux application and stores documents and settings in the Linux file system without dual booting. Integration with the user's Linux environment -- whether it is one specialized application or the whole desktop, Win4Lin Pro provides seamless support for Windows-on-Linux.

"Virtual Bridges has been offering products through CNR Technology for over 5 years now and we are excited to help expand their market reach with our new CNR.com service," continued Kettler. "Providing Windows users the benefits of Linux, while providing them access to specific Windows programs they still rely on is key to stimulating Linux adoption."

Win4Lin 4.5 Pro Desktop Highlights include:

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

Pricing & Availability

Win4Lin Pro Desktop is available immediately for download and purchase at http://www.cnr.com/product/win4lin.
Basic CNR price: $69.99
Premium CNR price: $34.99
Win4Lin Pro 9X users will be able to upgrade at a discounted price of $19.99.

New VMware VMsafe™ Technology Allows the Virtual Datacenter to Be More Secure Than Physical Environments

2008-02-27T15:13:00.001-08:00

Twenty Industry-Leading Security Vendors, Including CheckPoint, McAfee and Symantec, Endorse VMsafe Technology and Announce Plans to Build Interoperable Security Solutions

Cannes, FRANCE, February 27, 2008 – VMware, Inc. (NYSE: VMW), the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the datacenter, today announced new security technology called VMware VMsafe™ that protects applications running in virtual machines in ways previously not possible in physical environments. The VMsafe APIs allow vendors to develop advanced security products that combat the latest generation of malware. VMsafe technology integrates into the VMware hypervisor and provides the transparency to prevent threats and attacks such as viruses, trojans and keyloggers from ever reaching a virtual machine. Twenty security vendors have embraced VMsafe technology and are building products that will further enhance the security of virtual machines, making the virtual environment unmatched in the level of security and protection it provides compared to physical systems.

“VMware already has the most trusted virtualization platform for running applications, and we are now raising the bar on security in ways that physical systems simply cannot match,” said Raghu Raghuram, vice president of datacenter products and solutions. “The industry has come out in full force to support VMware VMsafe technology with plans for a whole new class of security products that offer customers new advantages to running applications in virtual machines.”

Partners Embrace VMware VMsafe Technology

VMsafe technology integrates at the hypervisor layer of virtualization to provide a completely new way to detect and eliminate the latest generation of malware. The VMware hypervisor is an ultra-thin layer of software that runs directly on server hardware independently of the operating system, enabling users to create virtual machines on the server in which to run applications. VMsafe technology provides transparency into the memory, CPU, disk and I/O systems of the virtual machine, and monitors every aspect of the execution of the system. Security products built on VMsafe technology are able to stop malware before it harms a machine or steals data, including the latest generation of rootkits, trojans and viruses, which are undetectable on physical machines.

Today, 20 security vendors have announced plans to use VMsafe APIs to build a new class of open, interoperable and cross-platform innovations for virtual machines. Partner quotes are below.

Using KVM On Ubuntu 7.10 (Gutsy Gibbon)

2008-02-26T13:28:00.000-08:00

The Kernel Virtual Machine is part of Ubuntu 7.04 and 7.10. It's a fast and simple way to run entire operating systems, including Windows, inside Linux.

Contents

Virtualization in Linux: a Review of Four Software Choices

2008-02-08T17:03:00.000-08:00

This week Canonical, the company behind Ubuntu Linux, announced a partnership with Parallels, maker of the Virtualization products Parallels Workstation and Parallels Desktop for Mac. This article compares four virtualization products available for Linux: the free, open source x86 emulator Qemu; the closed-but-free versions of VirtualBox and VMware-Server, and the commercial Parallels Workstation.

OpenVZ Project Makes Available Its Virtual Appliance Software for Ubuntu

2008-01-09T10:58:00.000-08:00

Gives Users Ability to Quickly Create Multiple Ubuntu "Images"

HERNDON, Va., January 9, 2008-- The OpenVZ project released today virtual appliance software for Ubuntu giving users the ability to run the popular Ubuntu 7.10 distribution in a Linux container. The software template can be downloaded at the OpenVZ website, http://openvz.org/download/template/cache.

"Ubuntu is by far the fastest growing Linux distribution," said Kir Kolyshkin, manager of the OpenVZ project. "We wanted to give our users a fast, easy way to deploy Ubuntu in a virtualized environment."

Users simply download a file and then can use OpenVZ software to create a virtual server running Ubuntu 7.10 in about one minute.

"This combination of open source technologies enables someone new to Ubuntu a really easy way to get up and running, while current users have alternative method of running Ubuntu with negligible -- if any -- impact on their system resources," said Malcolm Yates, ISV alliances manager at Canonical, the commercial sponsor of the Ubuntu project.

The OpenVZ project freely distributes and offers support to its users, promoting operating system virtualization through a collaborative, community effort. Supported by SWsoft, the OpenVZ project serves the needs of the community developers, testers, documentation experts, and other technology enthusiasts who wish to participate in and accelerate the technology development process. OpenVZ is open source software that is used as the basis for the SWsoft Virtuozzo virtualization software product.

Since going into full production late in 2005, the OpenVZ project has been very active with the user community with more than 25,000 message posts on its support Forum. The OpenVZ website attracts tens of thousands of visitors each month as more businesses and individuals explore and contribute to the leading open source operating system virtualization project.

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

2007-11-28T11:00:00.000-08:00

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."

OpenVZ Virtualization Keeps E-mail Filtering Service Up and Running

2007-11-15T11:02:00.000-08:00

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.

VIRTUAL BRIDGES ANNOUNCES MAJOR UPDATE OF WIN4 PRO DESKTOP PRODUCTS

2007-11-08T18:13:00.000-08:00

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

Linspire & Parallels to Expand Desktop Linux Virtualization

2007-05-21T14:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

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.

About VMware

2007-01-01T11:04:00.000-08:00

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

2007-01-01T11:03:00.000-08:00

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.