Virtualization Without The Hypervisor VMware created the server virtualization business, and Microsoft emerged as a formidable rival. But now those giants are scrambling to confront challengers bringing fresh technologies and lower costs to a changing virtualization landscape. EDITOR’S NOTE THE CHALLENGE WITH CONTAINERS, AN EARLY ADOPTER TO VMWARE AND MICROSOFT TRIES SEEKS CONTAINER MICROSOFT MULTIPLE FLAVORS SIMPLICITY EDITOR’S NOTE Microsoft, VMware Look over Their Shoulders Unchallenged for so long, it’s under- writes about some of the steps Microsoft is HOME standable that virtualization’s biggest players taking on the container front, notably (but not EDITOR’S NOTE haven’t been on alert for technologies that solely) regarding the inclusion of container could spoil their fun. But here are VMware and features in Windows Server 2016. Also in THE CHALLENGE TO VMWARE AND Microsoft, reacting and regrouping in the face this guide is the story of how one California MICROSOFT of what could be a serious threat to their virtu- media company is using an emerging container WITH CONTAINERS, alization dominance. technology from Rackspace to deliver content MICROSOFT TRIES Container platforms from CoreOS, Kuber- quickly and without complicated overhead. MULTIPLE FLAVORS netes and Cloud Foundry offer viable virtu- And if containers prove to be a less costly AN EARLY ADOPTER alization alternatives, and Docker containers way to virtualize workloads, businesses will be SEEKS CONTAINER SIMPLICITY have attained super-hype status in the world compelled to seriously consider if those hyper- of IT. While VMware and Microsoft at first visors are worth the expense. did little to respond to the container challenge, It’s unclear whether containers will be adop- they are shrugging off that complacency in ted on a major scale, but VMware and Microsoft noteworthy ways. In fact, both are developing certainly view them as enough of a force that serious container strategies. ignoring them is no longer prudent. n This three-part guide examines those shifts, with TechTarget’s Ed Scannell looking specifi- Phil Sweeney cally at what VMware and Microsoft are doing Senior Managing Editor to close the gaps in their virtualization portfo- Data Center and Virtualization Group, lios. Windows expert Brien Posey, meanwhile, TechTarget 2 VIRTUALIZATION WITHOUT THE HYPERVISOR THE CHALLENGE The Challenge to VMware and Microsoft VMware long ago established itself as the past glories and thinking the old days would HOME preeminent provider of server virtualization, last forever. At some point they have to get EDITOR’S NOTE reinventing the technology IBM first intro- out of the chair and show they can still run.” duced in the 1960s, and giving the technology These younger dogs that VMware needs THE CHALLENGE TO VMWARE AND new relevance in corporate data centers. For to chase typically have strategies that have MICROSOFT that, the company reaped rich rewards and at their core containers and bare-metal WITH CONTAINERS, helped reshape the direction of corporate com- servers used in various combinations with MICROSOFT TRIES puting over the past decade. hybrid clouds. Many are born in the cloud MULTIPLE FLAVORS But in the past couple of years, newer, or on the Web, which means they don’t come AN EARLY ADOPTER more captivating—and certainly less expen- with the installation and support headaches SEEKS CONTAINER SIMPLICITY sive—alternatives have come onto the scene. that typically arise when dealing with a range As these recent arrivals push their way into of legacy systems. And there’s this: They cost the spotlight, they are threatening to shove significantly less. VMware into the shadows. Compounding “It seems VMware can’t push itself away the problem has been VMware’s reluctance from this love affair with premium pricing for to compete on price and its slow response to many of its core products,” said one IT profes- these emerging technologies. sional with a large manufacturing company in As one IT veteran who has seen a few indus- St. Paul, Minn. “I hope with the arrival of their try giants lose their once iron grip on a major newer technologies, like an NSX or the open technology puts it: “They (VMware) look like source things, they will become a bit more aging bulldogs sitting around talking about realistic.” 3 VIRTUALIZATION WITHOUT THE HYPERVISOR THE CHALLENGE USERS ARE A DRIVING FORCE pushing containers. As expected, Microsoft Until recently, top-tier vendors, including is tying containers to its flagship Windows VMware, were reluctant to put together serious Server platform, which bundles its Hyper-V container strategies because the widespread virtualization software. In the upcoming Win- adoption of such technologies would threaten dows Server 2016, the company has promised their core products—not to mention their rev- Windows Server containers and Hyper-V con- HOME enue streams. tainer technologies. EDITOR’S NOTE But given the growing user interest, most Microsoft also released its Azure Contai- legacy vendors have delivered at least their ner Service, designed to let larger IT shops THE CHALLENGE TO VMWARE AND first container products. It remains to be deploy and set up Apache Mesos to cluster MICROSOFT seen, though, whether these technologies can and schedule Docker applications across WITH CONTAINERS, smoothly integrate with and meet the techni- multiple virtual hosts. In addition, this ser- MICROSOFT TRIES cal requirements of legacy systems and, at the vice makes it possible to accommodate Linux MULTIPLE FLAVORS same time, compete with some of the born- containers. AN EARLY ADOPTER on-the-Web alternatives. Some analysts applaud Microsoft’s response SEEKS CONTAINER SIMPLICITY VMware, long criticized for being uncom- to the raft of new competitors, while noting promisingly proprietary in its approach to that the tech giant’s latest offerings are only a virtualization software, surprisingly unveiled start. two open source offerings in 2015. Project “Microsoft seems to be playing catch-up with Lightwave focuses on identity and access their strategy around Hyper-V,” said Andrew management; Project Photon looks at man- Smith, a software analyst with Technology aging containers and VMs on a single plat- Business Research. “[It] may need to rational- form. VMware hopes each offering will help ize the messaging around Hyper-V containers nudge its user base to develop cloud-native vs. Windows containers, because [it is] lagging applications. behind the Linux ecosystem in adopting next- Microsoft, too, has been more active in generation containers,” he said. 4 VIRTUALIZATION WITHOUT THE HYPERVISOR THE CHALLENGE MICROSOFT AND VMWARE STRIKE BACK The Open Container Project (OCP), in Wool- Once they can see through the fog of hype lacott’s view, should go a long way toward surrounding containers, IT professionals can driving the industry to one or two container better determine the ideal mix of workloads deployment methodologies that will func- and where and how those workloads should tionally merge several of these competing be hosted or deployed. Smith said he believes approaches. HOME vendors such as Microsoft and VMware will OCP so far has signed on both allies and EDITOR’S NOTE then be better able to compete with the newer, enemies alike, including Google, EMC, Amazon less expensive packaged offerings. Web Services, HP, IBM, Microsoft, Red Hat THE CHALLENGE TO VMWARE AND Still, other analysts question if these and VMware. MICROSOFT attempts by Microsoft and VMware will be WITH CONTAINERS, enough. MICROSOFT TRIES “Mature vendors’ message for these products THE BARE METAL, WORKSPACES OPTIONS MULTIPLE FLAVORS highlights the built-in, enterprise-grade secu- Meanwhile, RackSpace has unwrapped Carina, AN EARLY ADOPTER rity, but also positions them as alternatives to a container as a service designed to make SEEKS CONTAINER SIMPLICITY offerings from native cloud competitors,” said deployment easier. IT shops can access Docker Geoff Woollacott, an analyst with Technol- Swarm clusters using native Docker APIs to ogy Business Research. “But are they secure create container applications. The service is enough and [do they] balance the competing hosted on bare-metal servers, a market Rack- requirements of end-user flexibility, IT secu- space jumped into in 2014 with its OnMetal rity and stability? The questions still remain.” Cloud Servers. There are several major core container plat- One reason to believe bare-metal comput- form alternatives to VMware, including Docker, ing—yet another alternative to VMware’s CoreOS, Kubernetes and Cloud Foundry. traditional approach to virtualization—can VMware’s Project Photon will be shipped with carve out a profitable niche is corporate users’ the Pivotal Cloud Foundry. growing emphasis on collecting and analyzing 5 VIRTUALIZATION WITHOUT THE HYPERVISOR THE CHALLENGE mountains of big data. And with the blos- download customized desktops from any soming popularity of the Internet of Things HTML-enabled device. Workspaces are being pouring data through every crack and crevice offered by Google and Amazon Web Services, of large corporate accounts, the trend won’t be among others. slowing anytime soon. “It’s a very simple solution, but there are some downsides like limitations on the kinds HOME HTML Workspaces, which of software you can run,” said Steve Brasen, EDITOR’S NOTE allow users to log onto a Web research director with Enterprise Manage- ment Associates. “You are running on HTML, THE CHALLENGE space and download customized TO VMWARE AND so anything that is graphics-intensive is going MICROSOFT desktops, are being offered by to be a problem. But for basic use, it is a solid Google, AWS and others. WITH CONTAINERS, solution,” he said. MICROSOFT TRIES Much of the growth for workspaces is driven MULTIPLE FLAVORS “The speed you need for analytic queries by medium-sized companies that do not have AN EARLY ADOPTER lends itself to fast RISC or CICS processors, so the financial and support resources required to SEEKS CONTAINER SIMPLICITY you want to strip out the overhead that bogs build and manage a full desktop virtualization down the CPU through the software extraction environment.