Open source virtualization initiative, the OpenVZ project has just announced the availability of its open source virtualization software for servers using Sun's UltraSPARC T1 CoolThreads processor.

OpenVZ is an operating system level server virtualization software technology built on Linux. It creates multiple 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.

Making the announcement, Kir Kolyshkin, manager of the OpenVZ project commented, "Now, users of servers powered by Sun's UltraSPARC T1 processor can benefit from our open source virtualization software. Porting OpenVZ software to the the UltraSPARC T1 processor is a simple procedure since 95 percent of the code is platform-independent. OpenVZ is easily portable across different architectures and the project currently supports servers using x86, x86_64, IA64 and Power 64-bit processors."

Many believe that with the kind of power Sun's UltraSPARC T1 processor delivers, hardware is often under utilized. However, with the new virtualization technology, the server can effectively be split into many small ones, each running its own tasks so that the whole server is utilized more efficiently.

"Having open source virtualization software for Sun servers, such as the Sun Fire T2000, is great news for our users," said Fadi Azhari, director of marketing, OpenSPARC, Sun Microsystems. He added, "The OpenVZ project provides even greater value by helping to increase utilization rates without impacting performance of SPARC-based servers."

The OpenVZ software including UltraSPARC T1 support can be downloaded at http://openvz.org/download/kernel/devel/.