Hypervisor and IBM's open source
by Ian McDonald
Found the article mentioned last night - was as CNet not Slashdot...
It's not the full Hypervisor - parts of it
IBM throws weight behind multi-OS push
By Stephen Shankland
http://news.com.com/IBM+throws+weight+behind+multi-OS+push/2100-1016_3-55...
Story last modified Thu Feb 24 04:00:00 PST 2005
IBM has quietly added a new option to the suddenly vogue market for
"hypervisor" software that lets a computer run multiple operating
systems simultaneously, CNET News.com has learned.
But Big Blue's efforts aren't likely to squash a potential rival just
flexing its muscles.
IBM has released source code for its Research Hypervisor, or rHype, on
its Web site, letting anyone examine the approach of a company
renowned for its expertise in the field. One distinguishing feature:
rHype works with multiple processor varieties, including IBM's Power
family, widely used x86 chips such as Intel's Xeon, and the new Cell
microprocessor codeveloped by IBM, Sony and Toshiba.
News.context
What's new:
Big Blue quietly enters the noisy market for "hypervisor" software,
which lets a computer run multiple operating systems simultaneously.
Bottom line:
Considering its open-source nature and IBM's actions so far, rHype is
more likely to be a help than a hindrance to a competing project
called Xen.
More stories on hypervisor
The project potentially competes with two commercial
products--Microsoft's Virtual Server and EMC's VMware--and with the
open-source Xen software that has attracted support from numerous
computing heavyweights.
But given rHype's open-source nature and IBM's actions so far, rHype
is more likely to be a help than a hindrance to Xen. Specifically, it
could help Xen move from its current base of x86 chips to IBM's Power.
"We've spent quite some time talking to its authors," Xen founder Ian
Pratt said. "Now that the rHype code is open source, it's a great
starting point for a port of Xen to Power."
The rHype software may be incorporated directly into Xen because both
packages are governed by the General Public License (GPL), Pratt said.
And IBM isn't shying away: Its programmers have been contributing to
the Xen project.
It makes sense for IBM to help Xen, said Charles King, principal
analyst of Pund-IT Research. "It sounds like a natural point of
intersection, given IBM's natural interest in open source and in
virtualization," King said.
IBM is the 800-pound gorilla when it comes to hypervisor software,
which it has supported for decades on its mainframes and has brought
to its Power-based Unix servers. But for x86 servers, IBM chose a
partnership with VMware rather than bring its own technology to
market.
IBM declined to comment on most details of rHype. However, Tom
Bradicich, chief technology officer for IBM's Intel-based xSeries
server line, said Tuesday that it's not likely IBM will turn rHype
into a product.
"It's in the realm of the possible, but we don't foresee it at this
time," Bradicich said.
IBM has used rHype to aid three internal projects. One is sHype, the
Secure Hypervisor project to build barriers between different virtual
machines. Another is validating features of the Cell processor, which
has nine separate processing cores. And a third is an IBM
supercomputing project called PERCS (Productive, Easy-to-use, Reliable
Computing System).
Hypervisor hype
A hypervisor--a term IBM is trying to trademark--is basic software
that runs atop the processor, allocating resources such as processing
power, memory and network links. By creating virtual connections to
these resources--"virtualizing" them--the hypervisor provides a
flexible foundation that can let a computer run multiple operating
systems and thus multiple tasks more efficiently.
Juggling numerous tasks has long been a useful ability for corporate
computing centers. Now such abilities are increasingly useful at home
as computer networks get more complex and useful, King said.
"It's fascinating to me that something that's been seen as a benefit
for enterprise data centers is percolating its way down into the
set-top box," King said.
The rHype software virtualizes only some resources, which makes it
fall into the same "paravirtualization" category as the Xen hypervisor
project. IBM developed security software called sHype on the rHype
software, but in January it pledged to create a version that will work
with Xen.
Among features IBM touts with rHype:
• A design that can handle sophisticated memory tasks and that works
well with high-speed cache memory.
• Support for IBM's open-source K42 operating system for multiprocessor servers.
• The ability to run on several processor simulators, including the
"Mambo" simulator of IBM's PowerPC 970 family of processors, the
general-purpose QEMU simulator and the BOCHS x86 simulator. rHype also
has run on VMware.
• Interfaces to use the software on servers with multiple processors
and with multithreaded processors--those that can execute multiple
simultaneous instruction sequences.
Divide and conquer
Xen and rHype contrast with virtual machine software such as VMware
and Virtual Server, which employ full virtualization. That means an
operating system doesn't need to be modified, as generally is the case
with paravirtualization today, but runs more slowly.
There are other ways of dividing a system so it can run multiple
operating systems. Some higher-end IBM Intel servers have
hardware-based partitions. And Linux-Vserver, SW-soft's Virtuozzo and
Solaris containers divides a single instance of an operating system so
it appears that separate users have their own copies.
In addition to the rHype project, IBM has a commercial hypervisor
running on machines that use its Power processors. Because rHype uses
the same interfaces as the commercial hypervisor, Linux doesn't have
to be modified to run on an rHype-Power foundation. With rHype on x86
chips, Linux must be modified to work.
IBM isn't the only company interested in helping Xen grow beyond x86
servers. Hewlett-Packard programmers have been working on Xen for
computers using Intel's Itanium 2 processor.
Although IBM is sharing the source code underlying the rHype project,
it currently isn't accepting modifications from outsiders.
15 years, 3 months
IBM opensources more apps
by Ian McDonald
As I mentioned last night at meeting... Can't find reference to
Hypervisor here but will post if I find it....
IBM Helps Drive Open Source Development; New Resources Help Developers
Build Skills around New Software Technologies
Business Editors/Technology Writers
SOMERS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 25, 2005--IBM today
contributed more than 30 open source projects to SourceForge.net and
launched new online skills-building programs to spur innovation,
collaboration and development around emerging open source projects.
Additionally, IBM today announced it is extending support for
developers building Web applications using PHP, a popular open source
Web development language. Through a new business partnership and new
skill-building resources, IBM will help developers use PHP as part of
their Web services and services oriented architectures (SOA).
More than 30 IBM software projects will by hosted by
SourceForge.net to give developers broader access to open source
technologies. SourceForge.net, part of the OSTG Network, is the
world's largest collaborative development site, with more than one
million registered users and 96,000 projects. As a result, more
developers can collaborate and build upon technologies spanning Java,
Linux and wireless, fueling more innovation to drive next-generation
software applications.
The projects include IBM's Jikes(TM) software, a fast Java(TM)
compiler that helps developers speed their development time, and the
Life Science Identifier, which helps developers in healthcare build
life sciences applications by automatically scanning networks for
biologically significant data.
With today's announcement IBM is also expanding its developerWorks
Web site, launching new skills-building resources to help developers
more rapidly build solutions based on emerging open source
technologies, such as PHP. IBM developerWorks (ibm.com/developerWorks)
is IBM's growing online developer community with more than 4.5 million
registered users. The site offers tools and education to help
developers build and deploy applications across heterogeneous systems.
In conjunction with the partnership announced today between IBM
and Zend Technologies, IBM launched a new section on IBM
developerWorks devoted to PHP. The new PHP section features technical
articles, tutorials and forums to drive further skills and development
of PHP, which currently accounts for more than 40 percent of the
overall Web programming language market.
IBM and Zend Technologies are working together to develop
integrated software based on PHP using IBM's Cloudscape database. In
August, IBM offered "Derby," a copy of Cloudscape to the Apache
Software Foundation to spur more collaborative innovation for software
application development. IBM and Zend Technologies plan to offer their
integrated software to developers on IBM developerWorks in the second
quarter of 2005.
"The momentum of open source and its adoption by governments and
businesses worldwide points to the increasingly critical role of the
software developer within business," said Gina Poole, vice president
of developer relations, IBM. "Organizations looking for innovative
software applications to drive their business projects are looking for
developers with the tools and skills of tomorrow - based on open
technologies."
Other resources on IBM developerWorks to help open source
developers include:
-- Open source special topic sections for a broad range of emerging
open source projects such as Apache Derby, Eclipse, Globus, Linux and
PHP, providing access to hundreds of technical articles, tutorials,
forums and blogs
-- Plug-ins, along with technical articles and demonstrations, to
help developers streamline their Apache Derby database development
leveraging the Eclipse environment, helping developers reap more value
out of these growing open source projects
-- The IBM Linux Software Evaluation Kit, with triple the amount of
complimentary trial software available to developers looking to build,
run, manage and deploy using IBM software running on Linux. For the
first time, IBM Rational software development tools for Linux will be
included. IBM Rational tools can help organizations more rapidly build
applications on Linux.
IBM has contributed more than 120 collaborative projects to the
open source community, helping drive innovation with projects such as
Eclipse, Derby and Globus. IBM also recently pledged 500 patents into
a "patent commons" to help drive innovation and future software
development.
Beginning March 1, IBM will also launch a series of technical
briefings to help developers migrate to and develop new applications
on Linux. Part of IBM's developerWorks Live! Technical Briefings, the
complimentary Linux briefings will run in Bangkok, Chicago, Kuala
Lampur, Los Angeles, Manila, San Francisco, Washington DC and more.
About OSTG, Inc.
OSTG is the cornerstone of the Open Source movement and the
leading online network for IT managers and development professionals.
OSTG's technology-focused sites include Slashdot.org, SourceForge.net,
ITManagersJournal.com, NewsForge.com, Linux.com and freshmeat.net.
OSTG also owns ThinkGeek.com, the leading retailer for innovative
technology products, and AnimationFactory.com, a leading online-image
content provider. The network serves more than 288 million page views
and 18 million unique visitors a month. OSTG is owned by VA Software
(NASDAQ:LNUX). For more information, visit www.ostg.com.
About IBM
IBM is the world's largest information technology company, with
more than 80 years of leadership in helping businesses innovate. For
more information, see http://www.ibm.com.
IBM, DB2, Lotus, Rational, Tivoli and WebSphere are trademarks or
registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation.
For a list of additional IBM trademarks, please see
www.ibm.com/legal/copytrade.shtml.
Slashdot, freshmeat and SourceForge.net are registered trademarks
of OSTG, Inc., in the United States and other countries. VA Software,
OSTG, and SourceForge are trademarks or registered trademarks of VA
Software Corporation in the United States and other countries.
ThinkGeek is a registered trademark of ThinkGeek, Inc. in the United
States and other countries.
All other company/product names and service marks may be
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
15 years, 3 months
Newbie to the meetings
by Graham Lauder
Greetings All
I'm Graham Lauder AKA Yorick or Yo
New Zealand Marketing Contact for OpenOffice.org
And I'd very much like to attend the next meeting.
The Bot doesn't say where however, Would someone care to enlighten me
Thanks and cheers
Yo
15 years, 3 months
hard Drives
by Gun Caundle
I cant install XP on a hard drive that had Linux (Centos 3) previously
installed.
Any suggestions would be appreciated
15 years, 3 months
free technical book...
by Nigel Nguyen
I got this piece of information from my usergroup back home. Could
helpful for us ?
<quote>
The Feb 05 issue of Linux Format (LF) has an announcement that they
will ship a box of Linux technical books (and some software) to LUGs
that send information about themselves to LF - and LF will include
information about the LUG in a future magazine - the offer is open to
LUGs overseas. They are interested in about 200 words on the user
group, and if possible include a photo of a meeting or event (kind of
hard to do with a virtual group though). LF will also announce future
events by the LUGs in future editions of the magazine, if they receive
the information early enough. The offer for free technical
documentation is good while the books last.
On a personal note, I receive Linux Magazine and Linux Format each
month (here in Hanoi) and each issue includes a DVD of current Linux
software. If anyone is interested, I would be glad to share copies of
the Linux DVDs and CDs that I have.
The e-mail contact for the Linux Magazine offer is lxf.lugs(a)futurenet.co.uk
LeRoy Duvall
lduvall(a)nwlink.com
+091 204 1920
</quote>
--
Ask not what the computer can do for you
Ask what you can do with your computer.
15 years, 3 months
Hula.
by Oliver Jones
Anyone had any experience with Hula (www.hula-project.org). It looks
like it could be a "very good thing".
Novell are doing some good things... They seem to be embracing the
whole Open Source idea really well. They're not even coming up with
their own esoteric licenses. Hula is LGPL/MPL....
Regards
--
Oliver Jones » Roving Code Warrior
oliver(a)deeperdesign.com » +64 (21) 41 2238 » www.deeperdesign.com
15 years, 3 months
