Xen.org to release an Open Source Cloud Distribution: Citrix to Open Source XenServer Code

August 29, 2009 by 3 Comments

I recently had a really interesting call with Simon Crosby and Ian Pratt about a significant announcement that should impact many cloud computing decisions in the future.

Simon Crosby

Simon Crosby

Xen.org is set to release Xen Cloud Platform (XCP). XCP will provide essentially a ready-made set of federated open source cloud enabling projects under a single distribution to help accelerate organizations that want to deploy a private or hybrid cloud.

Press Release Quick Read:

A key focus of the XCP initiative will be to provide technology that permits easy interoperability between internal enterprise “private clouds” and leading external cloud platforms like Amazon EC2 and Rackspace Cloud Servers.

The Xen Cloud Platform will accelerate the development of a wide variety of key technologies and standards that address this need in an open, non-proprietary way, including:

  • Broad interoperability across disparate virtualization platforms – Through standards such as the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) Open Virtualization Format (OVF), virtual appliances will be packaged in a hypervisor-independent format for easy transport between internal and external clouds with no proprietary vendor lock-in.
  • Support for new and existing applications – Existing applications currently running in enterprise datacenters will be enabled to run in Xen-based cloud platforms without modification. This flexibility will allow users to choose where each application should run based on business needs rather than limitations of the technology or proprietary requirements of their current virtualization or cloud vendor.
  • Federated compute capacity – With federated capacity, the process of moving application workloads between
    Ian Pratt

    Ian Pratt

    virtual datacenters and disparate cloud service providers will be simplified. Standardized virtualization management – Support for DMTF standards will allow complete open management of virtual infrastructures.

  • Rich virtual networking capabilities – A powerful open virtual switch will make it easy for cloud providers to add sophisticated network service offerings, including per-tenant network management, intrusion detection, firewalling, routing, and load balancing.
  • Cloud-scale virtual storage infrastructures – Advanced storage features required by enterprise workloads will enable virtual machines and their physical storage to be widely separated without disrupting application performance.

Citrix to open source their code

I asked Simon about a detail he had mentioned during their initial comments to make sure I was understanding accurately. He confirmed that proprietary code that XenSource and Citrix developed as value-added features such as XenMotion, virtual switches and storage links will be part of the open-source code from Citrix that the XCP will have as part of the distribution.

My analysis: Why would Citrix open-source their code?

We discussed the the expected impact to Citrix and XenServer. Both Simon and Ian think that having a bigger footprint of XenServer is good for Citrix and  ISVs in general because the  XCP won’t necessarily be focused on the management layer, but the foundational components to having a stable, functioning cloud platform. After all, Citrix is already providing XenServer for free.

In fact, the orchestration and management capabilities of open source projects Eucalyptus and OpenNebula.org as well as commercial offerings from vendors and cloud providers will integrate with XCP since these projects are Xen-based already.

Simon said the plan is for Citrix Essentials to work with XCP, so this makes business sense to me.  Citrix gets more XenServer in organizations that already are running Xen to power their clouds and have an opportunity to sell more Citrix Essentials.

Release Date

Ian said that the release is scheduled for Q409, but reminded me that open-source projects don’t necessarily adhere to firm release dates because of their community-dependent nature. Ian felt that it would be sooner than later however, because all of the components are already being used in production environments, so there shouldn’t be the version 1.0 mystery that most products have and its just packaging them together into a cohesive distribution.

Filed Under: Citrix, Clouds, Commentary, Interviews, XenServer Tagged With: , , , ,

Handy Cloud Applications and Web Based Services Make My Migrations Much Easier

July 14, 2009 by 2 Comments

I move between computers and OS’s fairly regularly. I’ve started using a few really handy web-based applications to make the moves as painless as possible and without having a long downtime when I choose to install a different Linux distro or Windows 7 as the pre-release versions drip out from Microsoft.

As I’ve added these apps, I’m finding that I can move pretty quickly to a new setup very quickly now. Here are the ones I’ve found so far to be the most handy.

Free:

Office applications, email, calendaring.

Google Mail, Docs, Calendar http://google.com

File storage, free up to 2GB. It’s easy to set up and use.

Great note-taking, pasting functions. This is quickly becoming my memory. In fact, I wrote this blog post in Evernote.

Firefox plug-ins:

Xmarks - syncs your bookmarks and passwords

Delicious – I still use Delicious to go across browsers to bookmark links.

Not Free (for full versions):

Google Apps http://google.com/a I really like Google Apps. They do nearly everything I need on a normal basis.

Carbonite www.carbonite.com All my critical files are automatically backed up and updated every day. I don’t even think about it anymore.

I’m sure I’ll add more to this list and some may be replaced eventually since that’s the nature of our business.

Filed Under: Application Virtualization, Clouds, Commentary Tagged With: , , , ,

Citrix Dazzle

May 5, 2009 by 3 Comments

I like the idea of Citrix Dazzle. Citrix is taking the approach with applications that they can be subscribed to by end users from any device from anywhere and still have a secure connection. According to Citrix, Dazzle is:

  • A self-service “Application Store” for corporate employees
  • A simple store front for applications published by Citrix XenApp
  • A familiar interface for end users to install applications for use with little or no training. The feel is like adding Acrobat Reader or some other web application
  • Free (2H09)
Citrix Dazzle

Citrix Dazzle

Cloud computing won’t just all of a sudden be adopted by organizations; but this approach does fit in with building a core that enables clouds eventually.

Filed Under: Citrix, Clouds, XenApp Tagged With: , ,

How Fast Will Cloud Computing be Embraced by Companies?

March 2, 2009 by Leave a Comment

As virtualization seems like it might be eventually destined for cloud computing, I don’t think the adoption rate will be a tidal wave of activity anytime soon. There are still too many technical and organizational challenges to overcome before ubiquitous computing  is the standard.

cloudsCloud computing essentially asks companies to use servers and infrastructure that they may not know anything about to trust the cloud with their data.

To say most of these companies are risk averse is an understatement.

One recent professional service engagement we completed illustrates the organizational challenges. The client enlisted the software vendor’s professional services team even though they knew that our company would be delivering the services.  The software vendor charged them double what we would have charged,  and did nothing except pass paper around, just so middle management  could tell upper management that they had engaged the software vendor. This has happened many times over the years.

Hurting the adoption rate further will be the legitmate concern about the security of private data and its reliability. The horror story at Journalspace as told by TechCrunch, might technically fall under software as a service (SaaS) but the core issue is the same.

Companies will have to build up both technically and mentally to accept clouds. The implementation will probably sound similar to the adoption of virtualization itself.

  1. The organization starts with test machines
  2. Infrastucture services and security issues are resolved (this may take awhile considering security is still immature for virtualization)
  3. It proves that it is a reliable solution
  4. Machines that are not critical are deployed
  5. Management can count on the ROI; it is embraced as a viable solution.
  6. Good cloud candidates are picked and deployed
  7. The rest of the IT management world reads about successful cloud stories and decides to try it

So a very rough timeline for a cutting edge, aggressive company with budget might go like: [Read more...]

Filed Under: Clouds, Commentary Tagged With: ,
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