Software in Virtual Machines Usable across Virtualization Products
Situation: Distribution and adoption of software in virtual machines has become a key use case for virtualization. There are more than 400 virtual appliances available from the VMware Technology Network alone. These appliances range from Oracle databases to CRM packages to firewalls to email security solutions to operating systems like Red Hat Enterprise Linux. All are freely downloadable for use with any platform or product. Microsoft also offers virtual machines but had restricted their four evaluation VMs for Exchange, SQL Server, Windows Server 2003, and ISA Server to only run on Microsoft Virtual Server.
The Opportunity: As software becomes distributed more and more in virtual machines, customers need to be able to easily acquire and use virtual machines in an interoperable fashion. Given the importance of Windows to the market, the ability to run Windows virtual appliances on any virtualization product is vital to end users who want to use Windows-based software and virtualization.
Update: Microsoft’s usage policy as described on Microsoft.com has been revised. Microsoft’s clarification is a significant positive step for end users.
Feb 24, 2007
March 28, 2007
Interoperability Across Virtual Machine Formats
Situation: Software vendors are widely distributing their products as pre-configured, pre-packaged virtual appliances that can be installed and run seamlessly in customer virtual infrastructure environments. VMware’s virtual machine disk format is openly available and freely usable to anyone. Virtual machines created with this specification by developers, ISVs, or OEMs are usable with no limitations on usage, distribution, or conversion. VMware made its virtual machine disk format available and freely usable in April, 2006. Microsoft followed suit and made their VHD format available in October 2006.
Microsoft distributes demonstration and evaluation virtual machines for popular software packages such as SQL Server, Exchange, and Windows Server. These VMs can technically work with other virtualization products such as VMware’s, but Microsoft’s website, click-through EULAs and READMEs say that these virtual machines cannot be converted to other virtual disk formats, thereby artificially restricting their use. This Exchange demo virtual machine is one example.
Moreover, under Microsoft’s VHD Test Drive program, ISVs are required to distribute Windows-based virtual machines only in Microsoft’s VHD format, as well as activate these demo virtual machines with Microsoft qualified tools, which are currently limited to Microsoft Virtual PC or Virtual Server. Third-party virtualization products that use virtual machine disk format technology other than Microsoft’s are thus excluded from Microsoft’s virtual machine software distribution program, even though these products are fully capable of running Windows virtual machines robustly. Moreover, once these virtual machines are activated in a Microsoft virtualization product, Microsoft’s existing anti-piracy and activation mechanisms will cause these pre-activated virtual machines to de-activate when they are run on other virtualization products, such as VMware. An example of this effect is this Internet Explorer / Windows XP trial VM.
The Opportunity: Customers typically have little interest in file format specifications. Interoperability and application availability are far more important, especially in a rapidly developing market. There is no value to vendors or customers in precluding interoperability or the use of conversion tools that accommodate basic customer preferences. Microsoft should allow ISVs to create Windows virtual machines in whatever product and virtual machine format they prefer. If licensing and activation mechanisms impede users’ ability to freely run Windows virtual appliances, innovation is slowed, and end users will ultimately find Windows virtual appliances to less flexible and usable than their counterparts in environments like Linux.