Quoting from Business Wire:
XenSource, Inc. today announced plans to incorporate certain technology contributions from Intel Corporation into release 3.0 of the Xen hypervisor — the industry standard Open Source virtualization application that allows multiple operating systems to run concurrently on the same physical server. Intel has contributed code to the Xen project to enable support for Intel(R) Virtualization Technology (formerly code named Vanderpool), part of a collection of premier Intel technologies that can deliver new and improved computing benefits for home users and for business users and IT managers.
Xen is an Open Source hypervisor, spun-out from the University of Cambridge and developed and maintained by XenSource, Inc, that allows multiple operating systems to run concurrently on the same physical server, reducing the complexity of data center management and cost of ownership. Today the hypervisor must manage the complexity of operating system virtualization in software. Intel processors enhanced with Intel Virtualization Technology enable the hypervisor to efficiently run multiple operating systems, including unmodified legacy operating systems, in independent, isolated partitions. With virtualization, one computer system can function as multiple “virtual” systems. With enhancements to Intel’s various platforms, Intel Virtualization Technology can improve the robustness and performance of today’s software-only solutions. Xen 3.0 is targeted for availability early in the third quarter of this year, and will also include support for 64 bit processors and Symmetric Multi-Processor (SMP) guest operating systems.
“Intel Virtualization Technology, with a Xen-based hypervisor, helps allow the platform to natively support multiple operating systems and applications, and in particular makes it possible for the Xen hypervisor to run unmodified operating systems,” said Philip Brace, General Manager Marketing, Server Platform Group of Intel Corporation. “We plan continued support for the Xen project, and will work with XenSource and the Xen community to help ensure that Intel Virtualization Technology enabled Xen is available coincident with Intel platform availability.”
Intel has supported the development of Xen since its origins as a University research project at Cambridge, and continues to fund research and ongoing development of Xen. “Intel has been a first class supporter of Xen and has contributed to the Open Source code-base. This contribution will dramatically enhance the breadth of operating systems supported by the Xen hypervisor on Intel Virtualization Technology enabled servers,” said Ian Pratt, University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory and founder of XenSource. “Intel’s involvement has been invaluable, and we look forward to continuing our collaboration.”