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Red Hat Releases Windows Virtualization Code
dan_johns writes "Only one month after Microsoft released Linux code to improve the performance of Linux guests on Windows, Red Hat has done the reverse. Red Hat has quietly released a set of drivers to improve the performance of Windows guests hosted on Linux's Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) hypervisor. The netkvm driver is a network driver and viostor is a Storport driver to improve the performance of high-end storage. This release includes paravirtual block drivers for Windows. Linux and Windows — virtually coming together at last."
Isn't it better when we all play nicely?
Gestures are good, but the proof is in the pudding. If Microsoft keeps up actions like this on a consistent basis, then good things will happen.
I just worry that this is more of a "Oh look, judge, the prosecution's arguments are invalid. Look at these two examples where we worked with open source! See?! We're not bad!"
Since when has Linux /not/ played nicely with windows?
It's the other direction that's strewn with landmines
Landmines explode in either direction. I think it's more like the metal spikes coming out of the ground when you try to drive out of a parking garage without paying.
"Thank you for using Stop-n-Drop, America's favorite suicide booth since 2008"
How is this new news? Xen and VMWare have had PV drivers for Windows for ages...
Tell me, since when does a press release for Techworld + a front-page /. article count as releasing "quietly"?
I am officially gone from
Not really. The authors of the code wanted it released in such a way that it could be incorporated into the kernel source code. This meant it had to be GPL or the kernel maintainers would not add it. It is irrelevant whether or not releasing it some other way would violate the GPL, as the authors never intended to do that.
The real news is that somehow magically Microsoft was not forced to GPL every bit of code that they ever wrote, despite their repeated claims that the GPL is a "virus" that "infects everything it touches". They basically proved that they directly lied about this.
It might be a legit improvement and a strategic move from Microsoft. Windows doesn't care if they are being run in a VM on a Linux box. They still sell support, licenses and all that other good stuff. In fact, VM's might mean more windows installs, more license keys sold, more support requests, and more money for Microsoft. Why would they want to stop paying customers from doing what they want on their box. Hell, Microsoft is probably thrilled that people are running Linux on a licensed copy of Windows in a VM rather than native and they are probably thrilled that windows is being installed on VM's on a Linux host. Win win for Microsoft and Linux. Soon they will both have 100% market share. lol.
You call that beautiful? Just because you can make a desktop rotate doesn't mean you should.