The Evolution of Virtualization: Anand, Intel & VMware Chat on Video
by Anand Lal Shimpi on April 7, 2010 1:18 PM EST- Posted in
- CPUs
For those of you who read the RV870 and RV770 stories, you'll know the sort of information that can come out of a meeting with experts in the industry. Carrell Killebrew is a unique example because he's the type of person who is not only a master of his field, but does a great job telling stories.
I've had the pleasure of working with a handful of these types of people in the industry. Folks like Pat Gelsinger, Jonah Alben and Ronak Singhal to name a few. Unfortunately, it's usually very rare that I get to write about most of what we talk about in these sorts of meetings. The most interesting details are usually too sensitive to let out and even if they're not, PR is usually too nervous to let one of these discussions proceed openly. Carrell was the first exception, and I'm working to try and make more things like that happen in the future.
One opportunity presented itself a few months ago that is finally coming to fruition. Intel and VMware want to have a discussion about virtualization and where it's headed. They want to do it live on camera. And they want to do it with me.
I told them that it's only interesting if we can get a couple of these types of folks. Masters of their domain, certified genius types to partake in the discussion. I wanted it to be good. And I wanted to be able to talk, live, uncensored, about their respective roadmaps and what sort of stuff we can expect in the next 5 - 10 years. I even wanted to talk about GPU virtualization.
It looks like it's going to happen. In two weeks I'll fly to Portland for the fireside chat between myself, Rich Brunner (Chief Platform Architect for VMware) and Rich Uhlig (Intel Fellow & Chief Architect). No PR, no one limiting questions, just a behind the scenes look at what these sorts of discussions look like. A day in the life of an AT editor in one of those mythical meetings I'm always talking about.
If you're interested in seeing how it all works and care about virtualization at all (and where it's headed), head over to this page to register for the chat. The more support we can get, the more of these types of opportunities we're going to be able to convince folks to do in the future so signing up does help.
For now, it's back to finishing up this iPad review :)
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pradeepjindal - Friday, May 21, 2010 - link
I was also looking to add one more simultaneous user to my single machine (for various advantages including go green by reducing energy footprint)here is my setup (alternate to thinsoft)
core 2 duo intel
4GB RAM
ATI Radeon 5670 triple display card
two display monitor
two set of usb keyboard and mouse
windows xp or windows 7
virtualbox or vmware
run virtual machine,
assign one set of usb keyboard and mouse exclusively to it,
put it on second screen,
make it full screen.
Happy dual user on the same machine. completely independent and networked.
Pradeep Jindal
GeorgeH - Wednesday, April 7, 2010 - link
Very cool.The question I'd most like answered is when/if we can expect something like VMware View and Teradici's PCoIP for consumers. At home I've got absolutely no use for a 12-thread 980X in a single machine, but if I could seamlessly serve a few virtual machines to stateless thin clients I'd be all over it.
My dream setup would be a 12+ core machine with multiple graphics cards serving ~3 gaming PCs and ~5 low intensity PCs out of a single box, sending full display/USB/peripheral data over low latency optical fiber. Combining VMware's IP with Intel's processors and Light Peak tech, that dream seems like it could be attainable in the near future.
shotage - Wednesday, April 7, 2010 - link
Very cool idea!!!!I would be very interested in the potential of a setup like this!
SolMiester - Wednesday, April 7, 2010 - link
Hi Anand, could you please record this webcastfors those of us on the other side of the world who wont be up to watch!Ta
Greg
thebeastie - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link
Why do you guys just get some technical insight and not even run "Virtualized" and run in FULL NATIVE SPEED your OS instances for perfect segmented server environments in Solaris containers or FreeBSD Jails.FreeBSD jails came out 10 years ago and have provided the ultimate segmented OS for clean and secure environments for such a long time.
Why are you guys so bound by point and click AND Microsoft sock movements, it isn't a coincidence that
Windows 7 came out during the same time MS stock has fallen in its history it is perfectly aligned.
You can be as pathetic as you want to be but your technology movements are bound by peoples stock price and nothing else. You will be waiting for ever for proper native speed segmented OS in Windows because it is destructive to their earnings.
Why not use refined stuff that has been around for a decade and is native speed.
Sorry for the tough words but I am just sick of this rubbish because you guys have no technical insight.
pradeepjindal - Friday, May 21, 2010 - link
www.icoresoftware.com virtual accounts can bring limited functionality of BSD Jail to windows machine.kahwaji_n - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link
i already attend a security conference hold by trend micro and really most of the talk was about virtualization, i was so surprised by the fact most of the IT attendances didn't have a clear idea about virtualization so folks try to enter this world if you want a good work opportunities,cant wait the Web cast :)semo - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link
Does any one know if VT-d is supported in their player / workstation products. I think they aren't and wonder when it'll be implemented.blckgrffn - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link
First off,LOL @ BSD guy. Get it over it. Like the virtualization approaches both of the platforms you mentioned don't have their own significant drawbacks? Performance is not the only way IT systems are measured and many times it easy the first priority.
Second,
I am really looking forward to this, but hope there will be some decent IT-level conversations. I know that home virtualization is likely a sexy topic for many Anandtech readers, but IT is where the money is and where many big questions need to be answered.
For example, I would love to see a thin hypervisor (like esxi) on all the desktops in an oragnization yet give the people sitting at them the same type of experience they would get if the OS was not abstracted. Think about image updates, hardware swaps, data security and device lock down, it could all be more centralized and efficient.
GeorgeH - Thursday, April 8, 2010 - link
You're absolutely right that IT is where the money is, and that's the problem. In the consumer space the i7-920/930 is going on 18 months of being the ultimate chip south of $1000, and looking at Intel's roadmaps it'll probably stay that way until at least this time next year. A 30-month shelf life for high end parts (which typically have the highest profit margin) isn't a good recipe for any chip maker's bottom line.One way Intel has been looking to "fix" that problem by expanding x86 into the low-end market to compete with ARM, with limited success. Another way they could fix the problem is by selling one or two $1500 CPUs for home use instead of their current model of 3 or 4 $100-300 CPUs. The consumer won't see the price difference, because 3+ extra cases, power supplies, motherboards, and assorted periphery will negate the CPU price differences, but Intel's bottom line will see a huge benefit as they would immediately grab a higher percentage of every dollar spent on consumer PC purchases. Additionally, core count bumps (like the 980X) would have immediate benefits for the average consumer, meaning a temporary end to 2+ year shelf lives on their high end parts.