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Red Hat buys virtualization specialist Qumranet

By Jacqueline Emigh, BetaNews

September 5, 2008, 7:10 PM

The Linux vendor will now add KVM to its existing hypervisor-based approach to virtualization, an advantage the company envisions as providing as complete a portfolio as VMware, Microsoft, and Xen.

In a move that gives Red Hat new ways of managing Windows and Linux desktops, the Linux vendor on Thursday acquired virtualization player Qumranet.

With the buyout, Red Hat obtains Qumranet's KVM (Kernel Virtual Machine) platform along with SolidICE, designed to enable a user's Windows or Linux desktop to operate in a virtual machine hosted on a central server, officials said during a press conference.

Now joining Red Hat are the Santa Clara, California-based start-up's team of engineers, including the leaders of the Qumranet-sponsored open source KVM Project. That team was founded in 2006 to do development work around a new, Linux-based mechanism for splitting a single physical computer into multiple VMs.

KVM got started with a patch to Linux designed to let higher-level software take advantage of hardware virtualization features built into the latest Intel and AMD processors. Competing technologies to KVM use low-level software-based hypervisors, not built into the Linux kernel.

Red Hat's operating system, Red Hat Enterprise Linux, already includes an embedded hypervisor.

"Red Hat will be one of only two companies in the world with a comprehensive virtualization portfolio," contended Paul Cormier, Red Hat's VP of tools and technologies, speaking during the press conference.

Add a Comment (6 Comments)

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By Joco

posted Sep 8, 2008 - 1:41 AM

Would KVM still remain Open Source and benefit all Linux distros or would it become exclusive to RedHat?

Score: 0

By Scotch Moose

posted Sep 8, 2008 - 11:05 AM

Red had has no history of buying open source companies and making them proprietary. I seriously doubt they are going to start now. Since KVM is part of Linus's official Linux kernel tree other distros can use it now and into the foreseeable future. I use Debian and KVM works great.

Score: 0

By Joco

posted Sep 8, 2008 - 11:26 PM

Thanks for the info. Super cool, it's a noble intention from RedHat to let KVM free, thanks.

Score: 0

By foxfyre

edited Sep 6, 2008 - 3:36 PM

Great. Just what we need.

As if RedHat offers much more to the Enterprise user than exorbitant licensing that makes MS look attractive in comparison.

Fine if you simply have a need for an overpriced solution for a shop with no Linux expertise. Which begs the question as to why one would be drawn to RedHat...

Score: 0

By Scotch Moose

edited Sep 6, 2008 - 3:23 PM

KVM is great to work with on the desktop. Since Linux is the hypervisor all your VMs run like user tasks in their own window. You can do the same sort of thing with XEN but it's more like a remote X server. XEN has been great for my servers, where I don't need X and I don't ever change the VM's, but it is tricky to run a different kernel than dom0 or a different operating system in a VM. With KVM I can fire up Windows in an X window, try different kernels, different distros, or even boot a CD in a window, all with a command line. The only thing I tried that didn't work was Solaris. But then I've never tried Vista.

Score: 0

By zridling

posted Sep 5, 2008 - 8:36 PM

The attraction of this move means that almost any virtualized app/OS in Red Hat will be as fast as using Red Hat itself. Once again, the importance of the OS takes another step down in favor of virtualization.

Score: 0

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