New technology driving virtualization push Software virtualization plans from a number of vendors were looking pretty real at the LinuxWorld Expo and Conference in Boston last week, as new hardware and software drives a renewed interest in virtualization.New multicore processors, multiple-resource I/O capabilities, and virtualization technologies in processors from AMD and Intel are driving interest in software virtualization, Dell CTO Kevin Kettler said in his keynote address.Buzz about virtualization and Linux began prior to LinuxWorld and came from an unlikely source: Archnemesis Microsoft caused a stir with news on April 4 that it would release Virtual Server R2, which can host multiple VMs running either Linux or Windows, for free. Startups XenSource and Virtual Iron Software used LinuxWorld to debut new versions of virtualization tools based on the Xen open source hypervisor. SWsoft unveiled tools to ease management of virtual datacenters.“We have already gone with VMware, but … the choice would be much more difficult,” said Timothy Antonowicz, a systems administrator at Bowdoin College.Not everyone is jumping on the virtualization bandwagon. Several attendees said they didn’t see a need for virtualization and that the technology isn’t mature enough. Software DevelopmentTechnology IndustrySmall and Medium Business