OpenVZ to release kernel for Suse Linux Enterprise 10

The OpenVZ Project Thursday will release its kernel for Novell’s Suse Linux Enterprise 10, said project officials.

OpenVZ, a scaled-down, open source version of SWSoft’s Virtuozzo technology, is operating system-level virtualization technology built on Linux. It lets users create isolated, virtual private servers on a single physical server to improve server utilization. Each virtual server can be rebooted independently.

The OpenVZ Project also is in discussions with Red Hat to incorporate OpenVZ into Red Hat’s Linux distribution, said Kirill Kolyshkin, who heads the project. The main goal is to incorporate OpenVZ into the mainstream Linux kernel, Kolyshkin said.

Red Hat and Novell also are integrating the Xen open source virtualization technology from XenSource into their Linux distributions.

The OpenVZ project sees its technology as complementary to Xen. While OpenVZ can run multiple copies, or instances, of the same operating system on the same server, Xen enables multiple, different operating systems to run on a single server. So, OpenVZ could theoretically be used within the Xen domain, Kolyshkin said.

“We consider that we’re working on the same goal to show people how virtualization can be used in their environments and how it can help them,” Kolyshkin said.

Novell officials were not available for comment.