LOGIN | REGISTER NOW | SUBSCRIBE
 
print Printable version 
Most Read Latest News Blog Resources
CouchDB brings peer-based data replication
This NoSQL database is now production ready for developers who want to spread data out wit...
Experts: UML is active, but the buzz is lost
Since widespread acceptance, there is little enthusiasm around the language even ahead of ...
Compuware intros new GUI for mainframe tools
Beyond the GUI are plug-ins for data and debugging tools, as well as an OEM edition of Sli...
Black Hat conference fields suggestions for software security
Attendees give a wide variety of ideas about the subject, with Rex Black adding in some of...
Digg!  Digg
Reddit  Reddit
Slashdot  Slashdot
Share on facebook  Facebook
Share on Twitter  Twitter


            iphoneapp GET THE APP!

Virtualization 3.0


By Andrew Binstock
May 15, 2008 —  (Page 1 of 4)
Virtualization is taking the IT world by storm. The ability to unchain an operating system and application stack from the underlying hardware platform provides such compelling benefits that some sites are shifting entirely to virtualized infrastructure. Others are moving over non-critical systems—frequently as a pilot project in anticipation of virtualizing more-important systems. While the heavy buzz about virtualization began within the past 18 months, developers quietly have been using the technology for years. In fact, software development was the initial killer app for virtualization.

For a long time, development organizations were the primary target of VMware. During those years, the siren song that wooed developers was the ability to build and test software for a different platform without changing desktops. So, if you were coding C in Microsoft Visual Studio, for example, you could open a virtual machine running Linux, build your code with gcc and run it right away to ensure it compiled and ran correctly—without ever leaving your primary PC.

Likewise, you could back-test applications on earlier versions of Windows as well as on MS-DOS. In short, virtualization made it simpler to validate cross-platform code, with the sole proviso being that the operating systems were all x86-based. (This is a limitation that still characterizes virtualization today: Operating systems in VMs must run on the same chip architecture as the host. Technically, any other combination uses an emulator.)

Today, at sites that have embraced virtualization, software development leverages the technology for far more than simple cross-platform validation. Indeed, leading-edge sites are employing virtualization for development and testing.

The virtualization product to which developers flocked, and made famous, was VMware Workstation. During the years since its launch in 1999, VMware Workstation has steadily improved and added easy-to-program features, some of which will be enhanced in the upcoming version 6.5.

The most important of those features is the ability to take snapshots. At any point while running VMware Workstation, you can capture the entire state of the VM and save it in a file for reuse. There are two types: a linked snapshot, which contains the deltas from a known profile, or a full clone, in which the entire VM and its disk are copied. The latter often can consume multiple gigabytes, while the linked snapshot is much smaller. However, to run the linked snapshot later, the base profile must be available at runtime.

Related Search Term(s): Virtualization

Pages 1 2 3 4 


Share this link: http://www.sdtimes.com/link/32079
 

Add comment


Name*
Email*  
Country     


  • Comment
  • Preview
Loading



 
 
 
 
News on Monday
more>>
SharePoint Tech Report
more>>


   

 
 
Download Current Issue
ISSUE 8/1/2010 PDF

Need Back Issues?
DOWNLOAD HERE

Receive the print Edition?


 
blogs tab
Like Ruby n' Rails
Programming languages and Web frameworks go together like peas n carrots. Or Ruby n' Rails.
07/30/2010 04:36 PM EST

Adobe buys a Web-based IDE
Adobe looks to buy a rapid and agile Web development environment.
07/28/2010 03:49 PM EST

OpenStack opens up
OpenStack looks to be an intriguing new idea for running clouds.
07/28/2010 01:56 PM EST

 

Events calendar tab
SHARE
8/1/2010 to 8/5/2010
Boston
SHARE

VSLive
8/2/2010 to 8/6/2010
Redmond, Wash.
1105 Media

Agile 2010
8/9/2010 to 8/13/2010
Orlando
Agile Alliance

Delphi Live
8/23/2010 to 8/26/2010
San Jose
S&S Media

VMworld
8/30/2010 to 9/2/2010
San Francisco
VMware