By Paul Kunert
28 July 2008
Customers are today able to download VMware’s scaled down server virtualisation software ESXi for free, more than matching the offer that relative newcomer Microsoft unveiled late last month.
On 26 June, Microsoft made available Hyper-V, a hypervisor-based virtualisation technology featured in select versions of the Window Server 2008 OS.
In turn VMware has tried to crank up the pressure on its rival though Matt Piercy, senior director for channels EMEA denied the free ESXi offer was in response to the Hyper V, “we have been planning this move for some time” he told Microscope.
“We want to remain the predominant virtualisation player and one of the key ways to do that is make our Hyperviser…available free of charge.”
The expectation is that customers will dabble with ESXi, virtualising two servers on one machine, and then upgrade the technology and management tools in order to deploy virtualisation more broadly in the business.
Piercy said Microsoft’s Hypervisor V was a “phase one” type of virtualisation and pointed out it cost $28 over and above the normal price of the OS license.
“The position that we are able to take that Microsoft is not is that we have a whole suite of technology above ESXi that allows customers to deploy in as broad a sense as you’d wish to deploy,” he said.
At the time Microsoft launched Hyper V, Bill Hilf, general manager of Windows Server Marketing and Platform Strategy said customers were getting benefits that included scalability, high performance and reliability.
He added, “It’s been designed as a Windows feature, which our customers know, so those with Windows Server certification will be familiar with it; the people with in-house skills on Windows Server will know how to use it.”
