Seven of the biggest server virtualization news stories in 2012

It’s hard to believe that server virtualization on the x86 platform has been around for 12 years already. For some of us, server virtualization is becoming old hat. But keep in mind, a new generation of virtualization administrators has only recently joined the club. If you’re among the new recruits, don’t worry — it’s far from boring! And if you thought the fun ended in 2011, you’re wrong: 2012 was another wild ride, with no shortage of drama, intrigue, fighting, change, technology advancement, or acquisitions.

To spotlight a few events taking place in 2012, here is a list of seven server virtualization news stories that rose to the top.

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1. VMware shakes things up with a CEO position change — again

In July, VMware put rumors to rest by announcing that Paul Maritz, CEO of the company since 2008, would be replaced by EMC chief operating officer Pat Gelsinger effective Sept. 1, and Maritz would move back to EMC as that company’s chief strategist.

Unlike the previous management bombshell that went off when VMware CEO and co-founder Diane Greene was removed from office and replaced with Maritz, the decision-making process behind this announcement seemed far more amicable. But the news raised a number of questions and gave VMware enthusiasts and customers pause just before VMworld, VMware’s largest virtualization event.

When discussing the move, EMC chairman and CEO Joe Tucci said VMware was moving to the next phase of cloud computing with the software-defined data center and solving the problems of the post-PC era. While Maritz and team had done a “stellar job” in positioning VMware as a leader of that transformation, EMC and VMware needed to make adjustments that would allow them “to become the leaders in building out the complete, software-defined data center.”

2. VMware releases a powerful server virtualization platform update, vSphere 5.1

For the past 12 years, VMware has proven itself to be the server virtualization market leader. It is the 800-pound gorilla that other virtualization companies are striving to match with their own hypervisor technologies. In 2012, that was still true; because of the technology it has created, VMware remained synonymous with server virtualization, much like Kleenex with tissues and Xerox with photocopies. In 2012 the company was far from resting on its laurels, especially with so many companies gunning for the top spot as the must-have hypervisor in the virtual data center.

In the case with many major dot-zero software releases, companies like to wait until all the bugs and issues are resolved before upgrading, and that robably held true with vSphere 5.0.

In September, InfoWorld’s Paul Venezia got his hands on the latest VMware release, vSphere 5.1, and set it up in the InfoWorld test lab. Venezia said that despite the fact that VMware’s latest edition was a point release, “there’s much more to this version than minor updates and bug fixes. In fact, this is a release that would have been comfortable wearing the number 6.”

Beyond bug fixes, vSphere 5.1 contributed to additional scalability and performance improvements. It extended support to more modern processors and operating systems. It also added a new Web management interface to replace the product’s previous fat client. Other significant improvements included updates to Auto Deploy, a bundling of vShield Endpoint, enhanced vMotion support that removed the shared storage requirement, and the addition of VM replication previously found in Site Recovery Manager.

3. Security alert: VMware ESX source code leaks

One of the more interesting stories in 2012 had to do with security. What gave this story a little more bite, beyond the normal security concerns that administrators deal with on a day-to-day basis, was the fact that it centered on a VMware ESX source code leak. Previously, VMware had been fortunate enough to remain below the radar from a security standpoint and hasn’t had to deal with numerous hacks such as those that have plagued Microsoft on the operating system side (read: Patch Tuesday). The company has been lucky, considering the hypervisor platform could be considered a high-dollar target based on its importance and level of control in a virtual data center environment.

When news of the leak broke, VMware sources were quick to point out that the ESX source code leaked by hackers was fairly dated, with code going back to the 2003-2004 timeframe. But since VMware’s ESX source code is closed, we don’t know what or how much has changed with newer versions, and we don’t know if any security holes can be found with this “older” version of the code that could affect newer installations. We did see VMware move quickly to address security concerns, and it offered security patches that everyone should implement.

If nothing else, the event was a wakeup call to server virtualization administrators to make sure they remember to patch and update their virtual environments. These things aren’t secure by nature just because they virtualize and isolate machines from one another. The message: Be aware of vulnerabilities and stay on top of developments.

4. The importance of cross-platform management is realized

When the hypervisor arguably became more of a commoditized entity, thanks to competing platforms from Citrix, Microsoft, Red Hat, and Oracle reaching feature and function parity with VMware’s ESX technology, the next logical step was to focus on virtualization management. Virtualization management was already a hot topic, but in 2012 it played an even larger role and was a more critical component in the virtual data center.

As hypervisor platforms improved, more and more virtual data centers moved into a heterogeneous environment. VMware vSphere still dominated the production side of the data center, but companies began experimenting with other hypervisor technologies for non-mission-critical servers. For that reason, heterogeneous or cross-platform management became more necessary in 2012.

To help compete with VMware, Microsoft started adding support for VMware vSphere environments within its System Center management software. This allowed a System Center user to manage both vSphere and Hyper-V from the same console.

Third-party virtualization management companies like Quest, SolarWinds, Veeam, and VKernel — all part of the VMware ecosystem — took hypervisor heterogeneity support and ran with it as another way to compete and differentiate their products from those of partner VMware.

In April a startup named HotLink emerged with its own method of managing a heterogeneous hypervisor environment. Because most virtualization shops were VMware customers and already familiar with VMware vCenter, Hotlink decided on a different approach from other server virtualization management vendors. Instead of creating its own management console to compete with Center, HotLink instead created a transformation engine that abstracts and decouples the virtual infrastructure metadata from the virtualization management layer to enable native interoperability of hypervisors. Translating operational hypervisor system commands into a common form understood by other hypervisors makes it possible for administrators to manage Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Hyper-V, and Red Hat KVM from within VMware vCenter.

VMware held out as long as it could, but in October, the virtualization giant had to admit that supporting other platforms would be a requirement going forward for virtual data center administrators.

5. Wave good-bye to the VMware vRAM vTax

After what may be considered a failed, year-long licensing experiment with the introduction of vSphere 5.0, EMC VMware finally threw in the towel in August. It bid adieu to VMware’s unloved vSphere vRAM licensing change and returned to its previous licensing model.

Known in the industry as the vRAM vTax, VMware’s new vRAM licensing scheme took into account both the number of physical processors on the host server and the amount of vRAM allocated and used by the virtual machines on that same host, pushing up prices and reducing IT’s deployment flexibility. Hindsight has proven that instituting this pricing change alongside the launch of a new major version of vSphere was not the wisest decision. There was end-user confusion over pricing, and amid the loud and public jeers the positive message about features and functionality added into vSphere 5.0 was lost. Yes, Microsoft quickly took to the airwaves to help fan the fear and uncertainty.

VMware partners, customers, and industry pundits alike applauded VMware’s shift away from the vRAM licensing change in 2012.

6. SDN and virtual networking: New buzzwords

We couldn’t complete 2012 without updating the buzzword bingo sheet. This year we were quickly indoctrinated into the world of software-defined networking (SDN) and virtualized networks.

The SDN market is quickly emerging as one of the key architectural elements required for the next-generation public cloud and private virtual datac enter. SDN abstracts away the underlying hardware from the network, making it easier to program and more simple to manage. And let’s be honest: It’s arguably the most exciting thing to happen to the network market in the last 10 years.

At the beginning of the year VMware stuck its toe in the SDN waters when it joined the Open Networking Research Center, a group dedicated to furthering the development of SDN technology. In July VMware dove headfirst into the water with its $1.26 billion acquisition of Nicira, the company that created OpenFlow and helped pioneer the SDN market.

Other companies also jumped into SDN waters. In April, Cisco announced it was funding advanced networking startup Insieme with $100 million. Along with that initial funding, Cisco said it would have the option to eventually purchase the company for as much as an additional $750 million. In August, Oracle acquired Xsigo to address its own network virtualization challenges. And in November, Brocade acquired startup Vyatta to bolster its SDN solution. This relatively new market has also launched a Japanese startup, Midokura, which in October officially announced its U.S. launch and introduced its MidoNet software.

7. Microsoft and VMware squabble … again and again

Expect to see more of the same from Microsoft and VMware, as they continue to battle it out in 2013 much like they did throughout 2012. These two giants have not only been fighting the good fight in their respective R&D shops, they’ve also been going at it time and again in the public forum with marketing campaigns and, yes, marketing FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt).

Microsoft took to the airwaves with a humorous 1970s-style campaign called “VM-limited,” where Microsoft attempted to paint VMware as a company stuck in the past while trying to build a cloud solution for the future. VMware responded with a 1-2-3 punch: first poking fun at Microsoft’s “less than sales ready” product, then commissioning a third-party report to refute Microsoft’s cheaper pricing claims, and finally, launching a new marketing campaign of its own called “Get the Facts,” where it rebutted more of Microsoft’s claims against the company.

In November, Microsoft again threw down the gauntlet at VMware and went after the virtualization leader on price, claiming that Windows Server and Hyper-V is a much cheaper alternative than a comparable VMware offering. The company even tried using VMware’s own pricing calculator against it. VMware responded with a post on its Virtual Reality blog site titled “Flawed Logic Behind Microsoft’s Virtualization and Private Cloud Cost Comparisons,” saying the cost-per-application calculator was designed to rebut Microsoft claims that Hyper-V is five to 10 times cheaper. Beyond Microsoft’s single example, VMware’s calculator shows that the acquisition cost — even when choosing vSphere Enterprise Plus (VMware’s highest and most expensive edition) — is at parity with Microsoft and actually beats Microsoft for most configurations.

Beyond the squabbling, real competition like this does foster innovation, at the end of the day benefiting buyers and users. We’ve seen it pay off already with advancements in Hyper-V 3.0 and vSphere 5.1. The innovation will continue in 2013, but of course so will the FUD.

With everything that’s already taken place in 2012, I expect 2013 will be an equally eventful time for server virtualization. This market is a long way from becoming boring. Are you ready?

This article, “Seven of the biggest server virtualization news stories in 2012,” was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Follow the latest developments in virtualization at InfoWorld.com.