OpenVZ Project Pushes Technology Boundaries<br/>Combines Different Types of Open Source Virtualization
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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."
About the OpenVZ 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 20,000 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.
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.