What the ????

Story: Red Hat hypervisor tools to run on Windows onlyTotal Replies: 16
Author Content
softwarejanitor

Sep 08, 2009
12:58 PM EDT
I would have expected better than this from Red Hat!

Shame on them. Shame!
dumper4311

Sep 08, 2009
1:27 PM EDT
Microsoft's next PR campain: "Even Red Hat doesn't run THEIR OWN management tools on Linux, what does that say about whether Linux is enterprise-ready?".

This is potentially a HUGE blunder by RH. Not so much from the functionality end, but from the perception side of the equation, and that is really where the pointy-haired bosses make their decisions.
caitlyn

Sep 08, 2009
1:34 PM EDT
Red Hat's hypervisor (kvm) is already included in Red Hat Enterprise Linux and works just fine, thankyouverymuch. I don't know which "tools" would be present for Windows that are somehow lacking for Linux. This article doesn't make a lot of sense and I would NOT jump to conclusions.l It seems to me that the tools for Windows are about Windows interoperability with RHEL.
vainrveenr

Sep 08, 2009
1:45 PM EDT
Quoting:I would have expected better than this from Red Hat!
... and persons reading threads here at LXer are already aware of Novell's clear "accommodation" of Moonlight, see http://lxer.com/module/forums/t/29539/ (note: the second commentator in that thread is the same as the one just above here ;-)

In a larger sense, this could perhaps be seen as a perpetuation of Microsoft's L.S.D. strategies regarding the impending release of Windows 7. To wit :

Legal. Microsoft's Legal SW-patent defenses and direct/indirect blocks against F/OSS vendors, e.g., - 'The i4i v. Microsoft Order Staying the Injunction - Updated' at http://www.groklaw.net/article.php?story=20090904195554466 - 'Microsoft Litigation', http://www.groklaw.net/staticpages/index.php?page=2005010107... - Microsoft's Gutierrez & Smith's infamous anti-innovation tactics description in 'Three Scenarios For How Microsoft's Open Source Threat Could End', http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/linux/showArtic...

Sales. Microsoft Sales' FUD regarding Linux, e.g., from the piece 'New Anti-Linux Propaganda from Microsoft' linked at LXer via http://lxer.com/module/newswire/view/125264

Development. Microsoft Development's "Interoperability" and "Embracing/Extending" ploys to Red Hat, Novell (Moonlight), and to other F/OSS vendors. Note within the particular ZDNet Asia piece here
Quoting:"I agonized over this as I thought I would have engineers at my door with pitchforks," said Cormier on Wednesday, who added that the decision was based on customer feedback and demand. "The management tools will run on Windows out of the gate."
One could indeed speculate as to what (or who) was the REAL factor behind this "customer feedback and demand" causing RHEL's president of products and technologies to prioritize development of hypervisor tools to run first on MS-Windows.

Back up to the Legal approach from here, one can re-review 'Microsoft takes aim at Red Hat for Patents, IP' at http://blog.internetnews.com/skerner/2009/07/microsoft-takes...

---

Perhaps more blatant revelations of these L.S.D. tactics will continue to reappear as the impending release of Windows 7 approaches ??

jdixon

Sep 08, 2009
1:59 PM EDT
> Red Hat's hypervisor (kvm) is already included in Red Hat Enterprise Linux and works just fine, thankyouverymuch.

Knowing what I know of Red Hat, I'd guess that it's most likely an extension of already existing Linux capabilities to Windows.

Embrace and extend, you know. :)
dumper4311

Sep 08, 2009
2:03 PM EDT
@caitlyn:

You're right, the article is short on specifics, and it's not wise to jump to conclusions, but that's kind of my point. While in-the-know tech types will be able to more rationally assess the situation, Microsoft has never played straight and level with the truth (get the facts, anyone?), and the predictable spin will potentially lead many management types astray.

It's not about facts, it's about perception, and from that perspective I think RH has made a mistake.
rahulsundaram

Sep 08, 2009
3:41 PM EDT
This story is clearly meant to be sensational and doesn't give the full picture at all. Red Hat has a very large number of virtualization tools including libvirt and several management tools written on top of libvirt including virt-manager

Red Hat a while back Qumranet, the developers of KVM and they had already built a management tool around KVM that happened to be Windows only. Red Hat is releasing that but also working on the next version which is to be cross platform.

Hope that gives a better understanding.
softwarejanitor

Sep 08, 2009
4:11 PM EDT
@rahulsundaram Have they tried to re-build it with winelib or at least tried to make sure it will run under wine?
rahulsundaram

Sep 08, 2009
4:51 PM EDT
I don't think Qumranet ever built these tools with anything except Windows in mind since their originally business strategy was squarely around virtualizing Windows desktops. The next revision that Red Hat is building will be from the ground up to be cross platform.
caitlyn

Sep 08, 2009
5:27 PM EDT
@dumper4311: I don't think Red Hat made a mistake. I think a reporter who isn't very technically sharp took something completely out of context and ran with it.

Will the usual FUDmeisters quote this piece of nonsense? Of course. Is that somehow Red Hat's fault? I don't think so.
chalbersma

Sep 08, 2009
5:36 PM EDT
So RH taking a cue from Microsoft's book eh? Embrase Extend Extinguish right?
caitlyn

Sep 08, 2009
7:21 PM EDT
@ chalbersma: No, not hardly. Rather they are doing just what they say they are doing: meeting customer demand. The fact is that probably 99% of IT shops that have *nix also have Windows. The two have to be interoperable in the real world.
flufferbeer

Sep 08, 2009
8:49 PM EDT
@caitlyn, Actually, I'd reverse your spin on real world interoperability. I'd wager the facts (not money) that MANY more IT shops that already have Windows are better meeting customer demand by GREATER incorporation of F/OSS and *nix. Yes!! +1 softwarejanitor
caitlyn

Sep 08, 2009
10:46 PM EDT
@ flufferbeer: i don't disagree with you at all. I still have yet to run into a 100% *nix or FOSS shop. I'd love to work in one.
flufferbeer

Sep 08, 2009
11:20 PM EDT
@caitlyn, Are you for real?? Just the past week there was some interview with ZaReason's CEO Cathy Malmrose. Probably was noted here on LXer too. ZaReason out in Berkeley,CA is a "100% *nix or FOSS shop" and I'd think that YOU as a woman IT expert who's published at Distrowatch would AT LEAST KNOW of Cathy Malmrose's very admirable business efforts using F/OSS at her ZaReason !!! Guess not.... my bad.
flufferbeer

Sep 08, 2009
11:29 PM EDT
BTW, I found the interview with Cathy Malmrose. It was posted by tuxchick just last week, on 09/03, and the interview was mostly about ZaReason's netbook initiatives. That was it.
caitlyn

Sep 09, 2009
12:51 AM EDT
@flufferbeer: Yes, I'm sure a small business selling Linux will run Linux. I'm also sure that the Linux Foundation runs Linux and that the Open Source Lab at OSU is probably all FOSS. I should have put a qualifier that excluded Linux-specific or *nix-specific businesses, meaning ones that sell Linux or UNIX.

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