Red Hat Moves Into Virtualisation

April 3rd, 2006: Enterprise software developer Red Hat has jumped in to the virtualisation game with the announcement that it will be working with the likes of AMD, Intel, Network Appliance and XenSource to create an Open Source virtualisation environment.

Red Hat is looking to integrate virtualisation capabilities into its Linux-based operating system to make it more attractive to not only the enterprise, but also to “drive virtualization deeply into the mainstream" says Tony Iams, Vice President of System Software Research at Ideas International.

With server computing power far outstripping use, virtualisation is becoming increasingly attractive to budget-conscious enterprises. Red Hat says that the cost benefits of open source coupled with better support for virtualisation and consolidation, means more flexible lifecycle management and improved workload management and availability.

"Conservative estimates show that servers typically operate at between 15 and 25 percent of CPU capacity, but with virtualization that could improved to 80 percent," says Brian Stevens, CTO at Red Hat. "Our customers, who already see Red Hat Enterprise Linux as the choice for lower cost of ownership, will be able to ride this next wave of virtualization to further reduce costs and increase operational efficiency. Red Hat's strategy is to methodically target and reduce every cost driver associated with deploying IT infrastructure, we believe integrated virtualization will be a major milestone in this effort."

Red Hat has already released a preview of its planned improvements in its Fedora Core 5, released in late March. The company says it will make Virtualisation Migration and Assessment Services available alongside its Virtualisation beta, Red Hat Enterprise Linux v. 5, which is currently scheduled for release at end of 2006

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