Debian Linux Adopts OpenVZ Virtualization Software

WebKnowHow
Friday, August 4, 2006; 07:18 AM

The OpenVZ project announced its operating system-level server virtualization software technology is incorporated into Debian GNU/Linux giving users full access to OpenVZ software, which helps increase server utilization rates.

At the same time, the OpenVZ project revised licensing terms for its user-level utilities under the GNU GPL license to comply with the Debian Free Software Guidelines. Also, OpenVZ software now conforms with the LSB/FHS (Linux Standard Base/File Hierarchy Standard).

"This is an important milestone in delivering our open source virtualization software to the user community and the large base of Debian users," said Kir Kolyshkin, manager of the OpenVZ project. "This represents another step in our mission toward gaining adoption as part of the mainstream Linux kernel and other Linux distributions, which now include Debian, Mandriva, Gentoo Linux, and ALT Linux Sisyphus."

OpenVZ is operating system-level server virtualization software technology, built on Linux, which creates isolated, secure virtual environments on a single physical server - enabling greater server utilization and superior availability with fewer performance penalties. The virtual servers ensure that applications do not conflict and can be re-booted independently.

Debian (www.debian.org) is a free operating system, which uses the Linux kernel and adds functions from the GNU open source project including thousands of software programs available for easy installation. Initially, the OpenVZ software will be part of the Debian distribution known as "sid" or "unstable," which is where most development work is done.

Users can access helpful installation instructions from the OpenVZ wiki, http://wiki.openvz.org/Installation_on_Debian. The site serves as a forum to gain and share knowledge about OpenVZ and includes documentation and a knowledge base with helpful advice.

With the power of modern CPUs from both Intel and AMD (including the latest dual-core offerings), hardware is often under utilized. With virtualization technology, the server can effectively be split into many small ones, each running its tasks so that the whole server is utilized more efficiently.

Debian users will be able to provision physical servers to run applications on virtual servers, rather than a full physical server. The OpenVZ project makes available Debian templates that allow for almost instant (in many cases about a minute) provisioning of a virtual server.

"Making OpenVZ virtualization available is a huge benefit for the Debian user community," said Till Brehm, chief technology officer, HowtoForge.com. "We can gain significant benefits by carving physical servers into logical units - most of all improved utilization rates, which results directly in saved money."