May 23, 2018 Platform virtualization offers a variety of advantages to organizations looking to improve development scalability, security, and performance as they migrate to a DevOps paradigm. In an always-on environment, migrating to virtualization can help the DevOps team deliver software more frequently and more quickly and automatically conduct high.
Top 10 Virtualization Software Technology Companies
Any discussion of server virtualization software typically ends in clicking glasses and high fives, heated discussions or slap fights, but it almost always begins with VMware, as does this list. These top ten virtualization vendors deliver the best virtualization software solutions on the market today.
When it comes to server virtualization software technology offerings, you might not require every bit and byte of programming they're composed of, but you'll rejoice at the components of their feature sets when you need them.
These solutions scale from a few virtual machines that host a handful of Web sites, virtual desktops or intranet services all the way up to tens of thousands of virtual machines serving millions of Internet users. If you don't know all the virtualization software names on this list, it's time for an introduction.VMware
1. VMware
Find a major data center anywhere in the world that doesn't use VMware, and then pat yourself on the back because you've found one of the few. VMware dominates the server virtualization market. Its domination doesn't stop with its commercial product, VMware vSphere. VMware also dominates the desktop-level virtualization market and perhaps even the free server virtualization market with its VMware Server product. VMware remains in the dominant spot due to its innovations, strategic partnerships and rock-solid products.
Microsoft
2. Microsoft
Microsoft came up with the only non-Linux hypervisor, Hyper-V, to compete in a tight server virtualization market that VMware currently dominates. Not easily outdone in the data center space, Microsoft offers attractive licensing for its Hyper-V product and the operating systems that live on it.
For all Microsoft shops, Hyper-V is a viable solution that has only gotten more competitive in the virtualization space with each new Windows Server release. Microsoft has also been steadily gaining traction with enterprises looking to leverage the company's Azure cloud services as well as those interested in managing both on-premises Hyper-V services and Azure services.Citrix
3. Citrix
Citrix was once the lone wolf of application virtualization, but now it also owns the world's most-used cloud vendor software: Xen (the basis for its commercial XenServer). Amazon uses Xen for its Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) services. So do Rackspace, Carpathia, SoftLayer and 1and1 for their cloud offerings. On the corporate side, you're in good company with Bechtel, SAP and TESCO.
Red Hat
4. Red Hat
For the past 15 years, everyone has recognized Red Hat as an industry leader and open source champion. Hailed as the most successful open source company, Red Hat entered the world of virtualization in 2008 when it purchased Qumranet and with it, its own virtual solution: KVM and SPICE (Simple Protocol for Independent Computing Environment). Red Hat released the SPICE protocol as open source in December 2009.
The company's renowned Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization (RHEV) desktop and server virtualization platform is based on the KVM hypervisor and Red Hat's Enterprise Linux (RHEL) server operating system. RHEV is based on open standards and works with Linux and Windows, as well as enterprise applications like SAP, SAS and Oracle.Oracle
5. Oracle
If Oracle's world domination of the enterprise database server market doesn't impress you, its acquisition of Sun Microsystems has made it an impressive virtualization player. Additionally, Oracle owns an operating system (Sun Solaris), multiple virtualization software solutions (Solaris Zones, LDoms and xVM) and server hardware (SPARC). What happens when you pit an unstoppable force (Oracle) against an immovable object (the Data Center)? You get the Oracle-centered Data Center.
Amazon
6. Amazon
Amazon's Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) is the industry-standard virtualization platform. Ubuntu's Cloud Server supports seamless integration with Amazon's EC2 services. EngineYard's Ruby application services leverage Amazon's cloud as well.
Google
7. Google
When you think of Google, virtualization might not make the top of the list of things that come to mind, but its Google Apps, AppEngine and extensive Business Services list demonstrates how it has embraced cloud-oriented services.
The company's open source Google Ganeti cluster virtual server management software tool is built on top of existing virtualization technologies like Xen or KVM and essentially serves as a wrapper around these hypervisors to help system admins set up clusters.It has 35 fonts options to choose from. Buzz Edit and the Buzz Word. For editing designs, you would need to get Edit 'N Stitch as well. Which is the Best Monogram software for brother PE770If you want to work with multi-line, single-line, vertical layouts and circle text, then Letter IT is a decent choice. Amazing Designs Personalize 'N Stitch to add personalized text to the designs, and it comes with many designs.
Parallels / Odin
8. Parallels / Odin
Parallels uses its open source OpenVZ project for its commercial hosting product for Linux virtual private servers (VPS). High density and low cost are the two keywords you'll hear when experiencing a Parallels-based hosting solution.
These are the two main reasons why the world's largest hosting companies choose Parallels. But the innovation doesn't stop at Linux-containerized virtual hosting. Parallels has also developed a containerized Windows platform to maximize the number of Windows hosts for a given amount of hardware.
While Parallels remains best known for its desktop and application virtualization offerings, including Parallels Desktop and Server products for Mac, the company's Service Provider business has since been rebranded as of March 2015 to Odin, and its Parallels Cloud Server offering has been renamed Virtuozzo. Virtuozzo allows applications to run in lightweight, separate containers, and Odin has been working closely with both Docker and Google on container standards.Huawei
9. Huawei
Huawei is one of the newer players on the virtualization scene, having launched its enterprise business in 2011. While still relatively unknown in the U.S., Huawei has established a strong market base with telcos and in emerging markets and countries like China, Brazil, Russia and India.
The company's FusionSphere virtualization infrastructure software headlines Huawei's virtualization and cloud infrastructure stack, and is based on Xen. As with many of the leading virtualization vendors, Huawei leverages OpenStack across its FusionSphere and FusionCloud solutions.VERDE VDI
10. VERDE VDI
Virtual Bridges is the company that invented what's now known as virtual desktop infrastructure, or VDI. Virtual Bridges' VERDE product has allowed companies to deploy Windows and Linux Desktops from any 32-bit or 64-bit Linux server infrastructure running kernel 2.6 or above. (You can learn more about this Desktop-as-a-Managed Service by downloading the VERDE whitepaper.)
In February 2015, NIMBOXX acquired Virtual Bridges' VERDE VDI business. NIMBOXX currently uses the VERDE VDI technology as a turnkey offering for virtual desktop workloads and also as part of its broader mission of delivering software-defined data center-in-a-box solutions to companies of all sizes.EmbroideryWorks Everyday, EmbroideryWorks Advanced, and Creator Level 1, 2, and 3 (Mac) Update for Embroideryworks Everyday, Embroidery Works Advanced and Creator Level 1, 2, and 3 Version 1.162. Designers gallery software for mac.
- Hardware virtualization or platform virtualization refers to the creation of a virtual machine that acts like a real computer with an operating system. Software executed on these virtual machines is separated from the underlying hardware resources. For example, a computer that is running Microsoft Windows may host a virtual machine that looks like a computer with the Ubuntu Linux operating.
- Nov 16, 2016 The ultimate point of virtualization software is flexibility. Virtualization software enables IaaS, or Infrastructure as a Service. In this model, a company hosts customers’ hardware, software, servers, storage, and other infrastructure components.
Containers may be stealing the headlines these days, but server virtualization software technology still dominates the data center. Check out ten virtualization vendors that deliver the best virtualization software solutions today.
Desktop virtualization is a software technology that separates the desktop environment and associated application software from the physical client device that is used to access it.
Desktop virtualization can be used in conjunction with application virtualization and user profile management systems, now termed 'user virtualization', to provide a comprehensive desktop environment management system. In this mode, all the components of the desktop are virtualized, which allows for a highly flexible and much more secure desktop delivery model. In addition, this approach supports a more complete desktop disaster recovery strategy as all components are essentially saved in the data center and backed up through traditional redundant maintenance systems. If a user's device or hardware is lost, the restore is straightforward and simple, because the components will be present at login from another device. In addition, because no data are saved to the user's device, if that device is lost, there is much less chance that any critical data can be retrieved and compromised.
System architectures[edit]
Virtualization Software For Windows 10
Desktop virtualization implementations are classified based on whether the virtual desktop runs remotely or locally, on whether the access is required to be constant or is designed to be intermittent, and on whether or not the virtual desktop persists between sessions. Typically, software products that deliver desktop virtualization solutions can combine local and remote implementations into a single product to provide the most appropriate support specific to requirements. The degrees of independent functionality of the client device is necessarily interdependent with the server location and access strategy. And virtualization is not strictly required for remote control to exist. Virtualization is employed to present independent instances to multiple users and requires a strategic segmentation of the host server and presentation at some layer of the host's architecture. The enabling layer—usually application software—is called a hypervisor.[1]
Remote desktop virtualization[edit]
Remote desktop virtualization implementations operate in a client/server computing environment. Application execution takes place on a remote operating system which communicates with the local client device over a network using a remote display protocol through which the user interacts with applications. All applications and data used remain on the remote system with only display, keyboard, and mouse information communicated with the local client device, which may be a conventional PC/laptop, a thin client device, a tablet, or even a smartphone. A common implementation of this approach involves hosting multiple desktop operating system instances on a server hardware platform running a hypervisor. This is derivative of the earlier Multiwin Engine developed by Citrix under license from Microsoft. Its latest iteration is generally referred to as 'Virtual Desktop Infrastructure', or 'VDI'. (Note that 'VDI' is often used incorrectly to refer to any desktop virtualization implementation.[2]). Forrester Research identified in its report the Forrester Wave on Server-Hosted Virtual Desktops (VDI), Q3 2015 [3] the seven most significant software providers: Citrix (XenDesktop), Dell (Quest – EOL), LISTEQ, Microsoft (Hyper-V), Nimboxx (VERDE – now part of NComputing), Oracle (VirtualBox), and VMware (Horizon View).
Remote desktop virtualization is frequently used in the following scenarios:
- in distributed environments with high availability requirements and where desk-side technical support is not readily available, such as branch office and retail environments.
- in environments where high network latency degrades the performance of conventional client/server applications[citation needed]
- in environments where remote access and data security requirements create conflicting requirements that can be addressed by retaining all (application) data within the data center – with only display, keyboard, and mouse information communicated with the remote client.
It is also used as a means of providing access to Windows applications on non-Windows endpoints (including tablets, smartphones, and non-Windows-based desktop PCs and laptops).
Remote desktop virtualization can also provide a means of resource sharing, to distribute low-cost desktop computing services in environments where providing every user with a dedicated desktop PC is either too expensive or otherwise unnecessary.
Virtualization Software
For IT administrators, this means a more centralized, efficient client environment that is easier to maintain and able to respond more quickly to the changing needs of the user and business.[4][5]
Presentation virtualization[edit]
Remote Desktop Services (formerly called 'Terminal Services') is a server-based computing/presentation virtualization component of Microsoft Windows that allows a user to access applications and data on a remote computer over a network using a remote-display protocol called RDP. Another example of presentation virtualization is Citrix XenApp. A VDI service provides individual desktop operating system instances (e.g., Windows XP, 7, 8.1, 10, etc.) for each user, whereas Remote Desktop Services sessions run in a single shared-server operating system (e.g., Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2012, etc.). Both session collections and virtual machines support full desktop based sessions and RemoteApp deployment.[6][7]
The use of a single shared-server operating system instead of individual desktop operating system instances consumes significantly fewer resources than the same number of VDI sessions. At the same time, VDI licensing is both more expensive and less flexible than equivalent Remote Desktop Services licenses. Together, these factors can combine to make Remote Desktop Services-based remote desktop virtualization more attractive than VDI.
VDI implementations allow for delivering personalized workspace back to a user, which retains all the user's customizations. There are several methods to accomplish this.
Application virtualization[edit]
Application virtualization improves delivery and compatibility of applications by encapsulating them from the underlying operating system on which they are executed. A fully virtualized application is not installed on hardware in the traditional sense. Instead, a hypervisor layer intercepts the application, which at runtime acts as if it is interfacing with the original operating system and all the resources managed by it when in reality it is not.
User virtualization[edit]
User virtualization separates all of the software aspects that define a user’s personality on a device from the operating system and applications to be managed independently and applied to a desktop as needed without the need for scripting, group policies, or use of roaming profiles. The term 'user virtualization' sounds misleading; this technology is not limited to virtual desktops. User virtualization can be used regardless of platform – physical, virtual, cloud, etc. The major desktop virtualization platform vendors, Citrix, Microsoft and VMware, all offer a form of basic user virtualization in their platforms.
Layering[edit]
Desktop layering is a method of desktop virtualization that divides a disk image into logical parts to be managed individually. For example, if all members of a user group use the same OS, then the core OS only needs to be backed up once for the entire environment who share this layer. Layering can be applied to local physical disk images, client-based virtual machines, or host-based desktops. Windows operating systems are not designed for layering, therefore each vendor must engineer their own proprietary solution.
Desktop as a service[edit]
Remote desktop virtualization can also be provided via cloud computing similar to that provided using a software as a service model. This approach is usually referred to as cloud-hosted virtual desktops. Cloud-hosted virtual desktops are divided into two technologies:
- Managed VDI, which is based on VDI technology provided as an outsourced managed service, and
- Desktop-as-a-service (DaaS), which provides a higher level of automation and real multi-tenancy, reducing the cost of the technology. The DaaS provider typically takes full responsibility for hosting and maintaining the computer, storage, and access infrastructure, as well as applications and application software licenses needed to provide the desktop service in return for a fixed monthly fee.
Cloud-hosted virtual desktops can be implemented using both VDI and Remote Desktop Services-based systems and can be provided through the public cloud, private cloud infrastructure, and hybrid cloud platforms. Private cloud implementations are commonly referred to as 'managed VDI'. Public cloud offerings tend to be based on desktop-as-a-service technology.
Local desktop virtualization[edit]
Local desktop virtualization implementations run the desktop environment on the client device using hardware virtualization or emulation. For hardware virtualization, depending on the implementation both Type I and Type II hypervisors may be used.[8]
Local desktop virtualization is well suited for environments where continuous network connectivity cannot be assumed and where application resource requirements can be better met by using local system resources. However, local desktop virtualization implementations do not always allow applications developed for one system architecture to run on another. For example, it is possible to use local desktop virtualization to run Windows 7 on top of OS X on an Intel-based Apple Mac, using a hypervisor such as VirtualBox, Parallels Desktop for Mac, or VMware Fusion, as both use the same x86 architecture, and it was possible to run Windows on a PowerPC-based Mac using Virtual PC.
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^Rouse, Margaret; Madden, Jack. 'Desktop virtualization'. TechTarget. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
- ^Keith Schultz (16 March 2012). 'Review: VDI without the server connection'. InfoWorld. Retrieved 3 January 2013.
One subset of VDI, dubbed client-hosted or offline mode
- ^'The Forrester Wave™: Server-Hosted Virtual Desktops (VDI), Q3 2015'. www.forrester.com. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
- ^Baburajan, Rajani, 'The Rising Cloud Storage Market Opportunity Strengthens Vendors,' infoTECH, August 24, 2011. It.tmcnet.com. 2011-08-24.
- ^Oestreich, Ken, 'Converged Infrastructure,' CTO Forum, November 15, 2010. Thectoforum.com.[need quotation to verify]Archived January 13, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
- ^'Configuring the RD Session Host Server to Host RemoteApp Programs'.
- ^'Configuring Virtual Desktops for RemoteApp and Desktop Connection'.
- ^'Desktop virtualization cheat sheet'. Networkworld.com. Archived from the original on 2010-02-27. Retrieved 2010-03-17.
Further reading[edit]
- Paul Venezia (April 13, 2011) Virtualization shoot-out: Citrix, Microsoft, Red Hat, and VMware. The leading server virtualization contenders tackle InfoWorld's ultimate virtualization challenge, InfoWorld
- Keith Schultz (December 14, 2011) VDI shoot-out: Citrix XenDesktop vs. VMware View. Citrix XenDesktop 5.5 and VMware View 5 vie for the most flexible, scalable, and complete virtual desktop infrastructure, InfoWorld
- Keith Schultz (December 14, 2011) VDI shoot-out: HDX vs. PCoIP. The differences between the Citrix and VMware remote desktop protocols are more than skin deep, InfoWorld