Microsoft Plants Seeds of Own Destruction
Charles Babcock over at the fine publication InformationWeek posted an article on Linux Gaining Strength during this econolypse.
Virtualization of the data center also aids Linux use in that Linux runs as a guest under a hypervisor on a Windows Server host. Instead of buying additional Windows licenses, Windows administrators can often create virtual machines running Linux to handle specific applications. Servers pre-loaded with virtualization software had reached 14.8% of all x86 servers by the third quarter of 2008, Gillen and Waldman wrote.
Lots of statistics and other information but the point that was interesting to me was that IT administrators already using Windows Server were finding that it’s easy to install Linux servers for specific applications.
I mused in my Is VMware the Next Netscape post that giving away parts of VMware or opening up portions of it would stave off Microsoft with Hyper-V. Well, perhaps VMware won’t make it but it looks like Microsoft could have planted another seed to their own destruction. What choice would you make as an IT administrator?
Bust out another Windows Server with the associated licensing fees or pop in a Linux machine for free? Especially when you can just put in a small server that does something very specific, like a firewall, and then when you started to get familiar with Linux, move up to more and more sophisticated software.
Of course in typical “win.com” fashion (Microsoft put code in a beta version of Windows 3.1 so that DR DOS wouldn’t run Windows correctly. I put a link to the history of the AARD detection code at the bottom of the post) there is a catch…
Mitchell Ashley published in NetworkWorld back in early 2008 proof of this type of shenanigans.
Though I’m anxious for Hyper-V to be released, especially the standalone version (which is not what this RC announcement was about), I’m very disappointed in Hyper-V’s lack of support for Linux.
No offense to SUSE Enterprise Server crowd, but only providing SUSE support in Hyper-V is a huge mistake. By not supporting Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, and BSD, Microsoft is telling us Hyper-V is a Microsoft only technology. More Mt. Redmond, Microsoft center of the universe thinking. That’s disappointing.
Hyper-V Leaves Linux Out In The Cold | NetworkWorld.com Community
Fast forward to early 2009 and so much has changed! Microsoft STILL only supports SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 and SP1. Right now on their FAQ page, it’s very ambiguous, at best, about if and when other Linux distros will be supported. I put my money on “not any time soon” (read: not ever).
Q. Will Microsoft continue to support Linux operating systems with Hyper-V?
A. Yes, Microsoft will provide integration components and technical support for customers running select Linux distributions as guest operating systems within Hyper-V. Beta Linux integration components are now available for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP2 and SP1 x86 and x64 Editions. These integration components enable Xen-enabled Linux to take advantage of the VSP/VSC architecture and provide improved performance. Beta Linux Integration components are available for immediate download through http://connect.microsoft.com.
Q. What about other Linux distributions?
A. We continue to listen to customer feedback and are working with the other Linux distributors. Please check the Supported Guest OS page for more information and updates.
Of course as I’ve thought in some of my other Microsoft posts, now that Bill Gates is gone and Ray Ozzie is Chief Software Architect and Steve Ballmer appears to have softened a bit, perhaps everything is going to run just fine.
Somehow…I doubt it. I think I would put Hyper-V supporting other Linux distros in the same development timeframe as say…….Internet Explorer 7? Six years+? Maybe they are developing that support right now but it needs a “reboot” like Longhorn?
Examining the Windows AARD Detection Code – by Andrew Schulman
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