Microsoft has reduced the amount of flexibility that customers have when it comes to choosing the right virtualization software. They have limited the number of people who can run the software, and they have also placed controls on how the software is run.
Microsoft has taken the time to leverage the ownership it has in the market by persuading customers to make use of its virtualization products. One of the ways in which it does this is through virtualization licensing. In addition to this, they also make use of terms for distribution, especially when it comes to SQL Server and Windows Vista. This is largely accomplished via APIs and other formats that are connected to Windows.
Unlike VMotion, Microsoft does not make use of a number of virtual capabilities which are crucially important. They are also making it challenging for customers to make use of these capabilities. Since Microsoft does not make use of desktop offerings, they have made it hard or impossible for customers to get access to them.
It is also possible for the new layer to be controlled through requiring both specifications and APIs to work in the industry. There are a number of benefits that come with virtualization, and users should be able to reap the maximum benefits from them. One thing that virtualization is often praised for its the new enabling models that it allows.
To completely accomplish this vision, the industry must take the time to ensure the key market choice, as well as the interoperability of the ecosystem. The MS operating systems are very dominant in the market, and because of this, they do offer a great deal of value to the customers who use them.
At the same time, both the customers and the vendors should have more choices when it comes to deciding what to implement, and how to deliver their applications. They should be able to do this with any virtual platform that they wish to use.
Virtualization Support for Customers
Because Microsoft offers a great deal of support to customers who choose to virtualize their Microsoft products, these customers may be considered to be premier level. Throughout the industry, numerous software vendors have made the decision to hold similar positions, instead of simply making use of a tier for support.
While this is good for customers on the Premier-level, the customers who make the decision to buy the VMware products directly, but who do not own the Microsoft support agreement, will be subject to more restrictions. MS specialists may ask these customers to replicate the object on a machine which is physical.
However, some have argued that if Microsoft is capable of providing support to their Premier-level customers, and that there is absolutely no reason why the same should be denied to their other customers. Microsoft has also begun to place restrictions on who can use the VMs which have been published.
Some of the things which they have restricted include the VMs and the Virtual PC. This has caused a number of conflicts, and the reason for this is because it is critical for customers to be able to process virtual appliances for virtualization platforms. Additionally, vendors must be able to make use of this MS technology.
Despite this, one thing which has weakened software licensing is multi-core processors. Additionally, licensing mechanisms which are considered to be alternatives like SaaS are also being used as well. Much of the server software available is still being licensed for each CPU or socket, and these two concepts are essentially the same.
At the same time, being able to maximize the uses of the software will always require you to make use of hardware which is very high performance. It is very likely that both AMD and Intel will continue making rapid advances in this area.
Different Licensing Mechanisms
Licensing can come in many forms, and one good example of this is Per-chip licensing. This type of license is very good for software which is operating on hardware which is well defined. This also refers to both operating systems and applications, but virtualization could change many of these things by simply adding in a hypervisor which can shield the operating system for the hardware which underlies it.
VMware is also useful for the adoption of licensing per socket, and after XenSource was acquired by Citrix Systems, it has also continued making use of the licensing per server method. The problem with MS is the manner in which they treat the VM.
Microsoft will basically manage every VM in the form of a server which is physical, and it will do this with an identical number of sockets. The problem with this is that it is a major stumbling block when it comes to virtualization.
Those who have worked with high end versions of Windows Server 2003 will include the licenses for the additional virtual instances, and it will do this for the identical CPU, one for the standard edition, and four for the Enterprise Edition. Those who work with the Data Center Edition will find that there is no limit to these. Downgrade rights are also included in the server licenses from Microsoft.
