VMWare Cries Foul on XenSource-Microsoft Deal
While Microsoft will allow Linux onto its hypervisor, it will only do so with Microsoft software in control, not Linux.
“This is a one-way arrangement where Microsoft will allow Linux to run on future Microsoft hypervisors through translated calls to the hypervisor when Windows is controlling the hardware, but not the other way around. Under this arrangement, Longhorn ‘enlightenments’ will not be ported or licensed to run on a Xen hypervisor.”
This comment from Raghu Raghuram, VMware VP of Platform Products, came in via e-mail yesterday. (VMWare is a unit of EMC.) Brian Byun, vice president for products and alliances, called today and expanded on it.
“We think the way to do this is with open standards base. Make it freely available without a specific license,” he said. “The deal is not totally reciprocal."
“What the arrangement says is Linux will run fully optimized on Windows but the reverse won't be true. It favors Windows over Linux.
“The community should ask why that isn't true. You want full interoperability.”
(Sigh.) I guess you may not return to your regularly-scheduled Microsoft bashing.