SWsoft in virtualization pact with Novell
The company will sell Virtuozzo integrated with Novell's Suse Linux in a new virtualization bundle.
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Virtuozzo and the OpenVZ open-source project on which it's based, let a single version of Linux be subdivided into several largely independent containers. It's a lighter-weight alternative to virtualization such as Xen or VMware that runs multiple operating systems, but at present the SWsoft approach isn't built into mainstream versions of Linux.
The Novell partnership brings SWsoft closer to customers. In it, SWsoft will integrate the two products, the company said.
"By creating a bundle with Virtuozzo to deliver through the SWsoft channel, we see this as an opportunity to expand our customer base," said Holger Dyroff, vice president of product management for Novell's Suse Linux Enterprise.
Virtualization holds the promise of more efficiently used servers, but a key issue is ensuring that the software people want to run on their computers won't be affected by the changes required to the underlying operating system. With the Novell-SWsoft partnership, SLES software certification carries over to the Virtuozzo foundation, and Novell still supports the software, an SWsoft representative said.
SWsoft also announced that Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5 customers can download a new operating system kernel to use Virtuozzo on the new Red Hat product announced Wednesday.