In February VMware launched an unprecedented attack against Microsoft, publishing a whitepaper to highlight software giant unfair behaviour in applying Windows licensing in virtualization scenarios.
After a polite unofficial answer from General Manager for Virtualization Strategy Mike Neil, Microsoft didn’t take any other public action so far, leaving customers on themselves in deciding if all VMware claims are founded or not.
Three months after VMware silently publishes an addendum to that whitepaper, clarifying some statements made in main paper, and updating others to reflect Microsoft renewed actions in the licensing space.
It revisits/update comment on the following areas:
- Running Microsoft Virtual Machines on Third-Party Virtualization Software
- Activation of Microsoft Virtual Machines on Third-Party Virtualization Software
- Server Virtual Machine Mobility
- Virtualization for Hosted Desktops
- Mobility for Virtualized Desktops
- Availability of Virtualized Windows for Desktops from OEMs
Read the whole addendum at source.
Despite this addendum is a welcome action from VMware (even if it should be included at bottom of original paper and not as a separate download), it’s not enough to clarify Microsoft strategy about virtualization. Customers are still required to do some serious investigations with both vendors’ representative to separate facts from marketing.