* XenEnterprise is based on the latest Xen hypervisor
XenSource last week launched XenEnterprise for Windows and Linux, a software package based on the Xen virtualization hypervisor.
The software, which lets Windows and Linux operate as guest operating systems under Xen, is expected to be available in December for SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 and Red Hat. It will support Windows Server 2003 and Windows XP. Support for Windows 2000, Red Hat Linux 5 and SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 is expected to be available in the first quarter of next year.
XenEnterprise is based on the latest Xen hypervisor, Version 3.0.3, which was developed by the Xen open source community. It is the first commercially packaged version of Xen.
The software includes a management and monitoring console which lets IT configure virtualized servers.
XenEnterprise works on x86 servers with processors from Intel and AMD. It supports as many as 32 symmetrical multiprocessing virtual machines and as many as 32 physical machines.
XenEnterprise competes with VMware’s ESX Server, VMware’s Infrastructure 3 (which the company introduced in June) and Microsoft’s Virtual Server. It uses paravirtualization to allow virtualized guest performance on par with physical servers.
XenEnterprise for Windows and Linux is now in beta testing. More than 1,500 people have applied to beta test the product. Interested users of XenEnterprise 3.1 for Windows and Linux can apply for the beta test software here.
The software is licensed perpetually at $750 per dual socket server. An annual subscription is also available for $488 per dual socket server.
