Wednesday, Microsoft said Hyper-V beta for Windows Server 2008 is feature complete. Included in the list of operating systems supported are Windows Server 2003 SP2, Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP1, Windows Vista SP1 (x86), and Windows XP SP3 (x86). See John Fontana's article for more details about the Hyper-V RC announcement.
Though I'm anxious for Hyper-V to be released, especially the standalone version (which is not what this RC announcement was about), I'm very disappointed in Hyper-V's lack of support for Linux.
No offense to SUSE Enterprise Server crowd, but only providing SUSE support in Hyper-V is a huge mistake. By not supporting Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS, and BSD, Microsoft is telling us Hyper-V is a Microsoft only technology. More Mt. Redmond, Microsoft center of the universe thinking. That's disappointing.
Sure, if you are a Microsoft only shop, Hyper-V will be an option for virtualization. But so will VMware and XenServer. But if you run a mixed shop, Hyper-V won't solve your problems alone -- you'll have to also add VMware or Xen to your virtualized data center portfolio. Or just go with VMware and Xen and forego Hyper-V.
Microsoft, while I know you aren't keen on promoting non-Microsoft stuff, virtualization spans operating system technology. You're assuming, yet again, a Microsoft-only world. Data centers are already going virtual without you since Hyper-V and System Center Virtual Machine Manager aren't on the scene yet. When you're behind in the race you don't tie rocks to your ankles.
Leaving out support for the most widely used versions of Linux means an even bigger hill for Microsoft virtualization products to climb. If you can support SUSE, how hard can it be to support Red Hat, Fedora, CentOS (which are based on the same technology) and BSD?
You're only making an already tough job more difficult.
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? What ?!
So tell me how SUSE Linux is NOT Linux?
Is there something in the kernel that we don't know about?
Does MS have to name every Linux, or try to accommodate every Linux distro? Or should they honor and support their business partner, a company which is one of the mainstays of support for many OSS projects?
SuSE Is Linux, but ...
... keep in mind, only Novell has signed a patent agreement with MS, so SuSE Linux is the only "Officially Supported" Linux.
Officially Supported by MS, that is.
No one trusts Suse anymore
Because of the patent agreement, trust of Suse and the code they create is low. In the eyes of FOSS , they are traitors.
Huh?
It seems you are missing the point. If Microsoft has indeed decided that only Novell Linux will be supported, then they have eliminated themselves from consideration as a viable platform for the majority of their own customers that use Linux. Red Hat alone is more than 50 percent of the market in north america.
As it stands, this product will do little to stem the tide of systems integration consultants such as myself who are busy migrating Windows virtualization hosts over to Linux.
SUSE is only 14% of Linux market
Thanks, Anonymous, I think you and I are on the same page. It isn't that Hyper-V doesn't support any Linux, just that it's only officially supporting SUSE. Most surveys show SUSE around 14% +/- marketshare. Red Hat and Ubuntu are by far the dominant Linux distros used, likely representing 50+%.
That's a big part of the Linux market to ignore. Only proclaiming support for SUSE isn't going to win over too many Linux fans. Again, no offense intended to SUSE lovers.
Could Microsoft have added support for Red Hat, Ubuntu and others but just not announced support for them since there's no Novell-like agreement in place?
I wonder if that might be the case. It would be a smart move by Microsoft.
Mitchell Ashley
Converging Network, LLC
Personal blog: http://theconvergingnetwork.com
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Cooperation results
You know, the point might be that Novell actually helps Microsoft to engage on Linux and understand how open source works (though the progress might be small). Therefore it could not be that surprising that it's Novell SUSE Linux which actually works best.
Other Linux distros might work or not, but as long as RedHat does not care there's little motivation for MS to work with them I guess (not speaking about Ubuntu which mostly takes advantage of its current hype without giving much back).
Actually it's quite interesting to see the reactions, few years ago people would not believe MS really supports Linux, these days they rant about this being not sufficient. Sounds kind of funny.
The possibility that
The possibility that something like Red Hat could run on hyper-V is not the point. If it runs, great, but Microsoft does not support it. Just try getting any decent sized company to buy and use something that is not officially supported. If Microsoft decides to break compatibility in a later version than who can that company hold accountable for the breakage. At least if there is official support then when things go wrong you have someone to go to.
Microsoft does not support linux.
Microsoft does not support linux. Any action they do which makes you believe otherwise is a feint. Their true goal is to destroy linux.
Not capitulating is not lack of interest
> but as long as RedHat does not care there's little >motivation for MS to work with them I guess (not >speaking about Ubuntu which mostly takes advantage of >its current hype without giving much back).
Let me translate this Microsoft sponsored drivel:
RedHat and Ubuntu refused to sign the extortion deal that would have left them in the clear like it did Novell but screwed other distros, developers, users as well as 'Non-Compensated Individual Hobbyist Developers' like myself.
Your attempt to make it seem as if RedHat could care less when the truth of it is they had the courage that Novell lacked.
As for your passive aggressive comment about Ubuntu, I can only answer with a similiar "Have you stopped beating your wife yet?"
Redmond could have done the right thing but this way they get the best of both worlds while getting people spouting how the 'officially' sponsored Linux is better than others.
Numbers are off
You state that most market share surveys show SUSE around 14% market share and then get _really_ vague about Red Hat and Ubuntu, saying it's "likely" around 50%.
Huh? How do you class Ubuntu in with SUSE and Red Hat? If we're talking server here, Ubuntu's market share is hardly significant. It will be very interesting to see what the numbers are in the reports coming out next month are.
This whole situation is easy to understand, you don't announce support for products on a virtualization platform for enterprise datacenters that you can't provide levels of support for.
If you really want to see support for other platforms, I mean real support like there is for SUSE, then there will need to be some partnering and code-sharing to get that enterprise-level support.
Try getting support for various platforms on ESX Server from VMWare and see what results you get, enterprise-level support is different from "you can run this in a VM" support for installations.
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