VMware CTO reviews VDC-OS, vCenter during VMworld 2008 keynote

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VMware CTO reviews VDC-OS, vCenter during VMworld 2008 keynote

Bridget Botelho, News Writer
LAS VEGAS – On Sept. 17, Steve Herrod, the chief technology officer at Palo Alto, Calif.-based VMware Inc. gave the VMworld 2008

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keynote address to discuss VMware's new infrastructure software, fault tolerance, and the ability to run VirtualCenter on Linux.

For more on VMworld 2008:
VMworld 2008 conference coverage

VMware CEO Paul Maritz delivers VMworld keynote

VMware unveils cloud computing initiatives

For the most part, Herrod's speech was a recap of news VMware announced earlier in the week, with a couple of demonstrations peppered in. He also dove into the new Virtual Datacenter Operating System (VDC-OS) and dissected the infrastructure layer to discuss its components.

VDC-OS the evolution of the current VMware Infrastructure platform that adds technologies to transform traditional data centers into so-called virtual data centers, or internal clouds.

VCenter as Linux-based virtual appliance
Probably the most well-received topic of discussion was Herrod's announcement that VirtualCenter, or vCenter as it is now called, will be available as a Linux-based virtual appliance.

Linux enthusiasts in the crowd clapped and cheered at the mention of vCenter on Linux, but the real benefit of this news is that it frees users from being forced to contend with the licensing snafus of Microsoft OSes.

Bogomil Balkansky, VMware's senior director of product marketing, said vCenter on Linux will have the same functionality as on other OSes, but now vCenter can be packaged as an appliance without any worries about licensing. "You can't ship a Windows license as a pre-packed appliance unless you are a certified Microsoft re-seller," which VMware is not.

VMware also plans to offer vCenter on multiple platforms, like iPhone, so it can be accessed from just about anywhere, Herrod said.

Herrod also offered a demonstration of VMware's evolution of Virtual Desktop Infrastructure, vClient, to help users understand how the technology works.

For more on the VMworld 2008 conference, check out our VMworld 2008 conference page.

Let us know what you think about the story; email Bridget Botelho, News Writer. And check out our Server Virtualization blog .