Microsoft stuns Linux world, submits source code for kernel

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And he added that the Linux driver contribution will change the way Microsoft donates code in the future. "It will raise our sights for how broadly we think about open source contributions and how open source drives our business."

Kroah-Hartman called the submission a milestone for Linux because "Microsoft is publicly stating that GPLv2 is a valid development license and something that is acceptable for contributing code. It validates our development model and that makes me very happy."

Linux Foundation boss Zemlin echoed those comments and said, "This is the culmination of a Microsoft that realizes they need to work with others to succeed."

For Microsoft, the submission is a dramatic turn of events in a relationship that has had its share of acrimony such as the 1998 Halloween memos attacking Linux, CEO Steve Ballmer calling the open source operating system a cancer in 2001 and Microsoft's claim Linux and open source violates 235 of its patents.

But over the past few years, Ramji has taken up damage control and continued work started by Microsoft's Bill Hilf, now general manager of platform strategy, to reach out to the open source community in a constructive way and to chip away at the distrust and resentment that had built up over the years.

In 2006, Microsoft inked a business and technology partnership with Novell to develop integration software around Linux and Windows, but instead of good will, the Linux community criticized the partnership's cross-patent licensing. However, the working relationship helped produce the driver technology underlying the source code Microsoft submitted to the Linux kernel.
And over the past year, Microsoft has made its first ever code submission to the PHP community and become one of only three Platinum sponsors of the Apache Foundation.

Microsoft has eased off its public attacks on Linux and open source as corporations have pushed the vendor to provide interoperability for their ever-increasing mix of Windows and Linux in their environments.

Behind Microsoft's strategy

While observers hail Microsoft's Linux kernel code submission as good for the industry and a substantial step forward, the move isn't pure altruism.

The drivers will make it easier to support Linux guest operating systems in their emerging cloud infrastructure, and it will guarantee Windows is a part of every enterprise conversation around virtual Linux servers.

And virtualization integration baked into the Linux kernel appears to provide Microsoft with a heavy stick with which to beat up VMware.

"Why should Microsoft let a religious distaste for Linux get in the way of making a lot of money on Windows Server 2008 being the hypervisor under all those Linux servers?" asked Jeffrey Hammond, an analyst with Forrester Research. "Microsoft's desire to take money away from VMware and other alternatives has outweighed its distaste for embracing Linux and the GPL. That is a sign of the opportunity they see here."

Microsoft, however, won't have an exclusive on virtualization drivers in Linux. VMware has certified kernel mode para-virtualization drivers but administrators have to install them separately because they are not part of the mainline Linux kernel.
"Microsoft is taking a short cut," said Chris Wolf, an analyst with the Burton Group."This is a big deal. When you get in the mainline Linux kernel it is a competitive advantage for Microsoft."