In my last blog I talked about the differences between Xen, XCP, and XenServer and how those names are used interchangeably and incorrectly a lot. XenServer is not Xen, and while XCP is XenServer, it's not the latest version of XenServer. The differences between XCP and XenServer led to confusion in the X-Stack communities. With the launch of XenServer 6.2, Citrix has taken another step to clear things up and set the stage for a CLOUDY future.
The first step was back on April 15th when Citrix announced the Xen Project, the original Open Source Hypervisor and modern era corner stone to distributive computing (THE CLOUD), was moved to the Linux Foundation Collaborative Projects. The Linux Foundation launched a new web site, www.xenproject.org, "to focus upon the development and support of an open source hypervisor and related components." Go there if you want to play with Xen. Those of you brave enough to do so know who you are, and you are my xe-hero(s).
Citrix's next step? Surprise, with the XenServer 6.2 launch announcement, June 25th, it was clear that Citrix was to go beyond keeping the orginal promise that Xen remain open source. XCP was already open sourced for some time, but now XenServer and XCP would merge as a single open source hypervisor solution.
Citrix simplified the offering, replacing multiple editions with one full featured download, available for FREE. This sets the stage for experimentation, proof of concepts, and general access to one of the most interesting technologies available today. Anyone can get started and it won't cost you a dime. I can see innovative little clouds popping up everywhere.
If you want or need to take advantage of technical support and the automated update features in XenCenter, Citrix has updated their licensing on a per socket basis. With licensing, you will enjoy seamless installation of security and feature hotfixes. Otherwise, Hotfixes can be installed on unlicensed hosts using the xe command line interface.
There is a new community portal to support XenServer, go to www.xenserver.org and sign up, contribute, innovate.
For information on Dell PowerEdge Servers already certified to run XenServer 6.2 review the Hardware Compatibility List at http://hcl.xensource.com/
Check out these links on the announcement of XenServer's Open Source Strategy from Citrix:
The new #OpenXenServer is officially available, read the @citrix press release: http://ow.ly/mmyD6
BIG NEWS! #XenServer 6.2 is now out and is fully open source! Read more here: http://ow.ly/mmtf6