VMware Reveals its Server Strategy
VMware recently announced the release of two new server-class virtual machine products.
The GSX server allows an administrator to create multiple virtual servers on a single large Linux-based server. This would clearly be useful for running Windows-specific server software without dedicating separate servers to it.
The ESX Server is the closest thing we have seen to IBM VM that has been deployed to a PC-style server using the Intel architecture. If this product were combined with clustering, we think it will represent the ultimate in high availability for service provider markets like large-scale Web farming and Application Service Providing.
Martin O'Donnell wonders how long it will take for people in the co-location business to realize the implications of these products? If processor speeds continue to improve and the Intel architecture continues to scale, we may find that the era of rackmounting dozens of small servers in a data center is coming to an end.