In an 18 month period, Sun xVM VirtualBox has been downloaded more than five million times, Sun reports. Version 1.6 of the open source desktop virtualization software is the first free hypervisor to support all major host operating systems (OS), including Mac OS X, Linux, Windows, Solaris and OpenSolaris. This latest version includes more than 2,000 enhancements and features newly added support for high performance virtual devices, improved scalability and Web services for remote administration.

xVM VirtualBox software allows end users to access software using any operating system - from the latest Microsoft Vista and OpenSolaris applications to old Windows 98, OS2 or DOS alongside Apple applications on a new Mac laptop - and developers can easily build, test and run cross-platform, multi-tier applications on a single laptop or desktop computer. With the software, users create "virtual machines" into which they can install whichever operating system they choose, so the same computer can run multiple operating systems and applications at the same time.

"Sun xVM VirtualBox is transforming the way people develop software," said Steve Wilson, vice president for xVM, Sun. "Developers no longer need to be tethered to big testing labs. xVM VirtualBox software empowers developers to create multiple virtual machines, network them together and deploy them using their favorite operating system - all from a single laptop. With our xVM family of products, Sun delivers technologies to meet every virtualization need from the desktop to the datacenter."

The 20 megabyte free download is compact and efficient, installing in less than five minutes. It is licensed in an open source edition under GPLv2 as well as in its binary form under a Personal Use License.

xVM VirtualBox software is a key component of Sun\'s broader xVM virtualization and management software portfolio, which includes Sun xVM Ops Center, Sun xVM Server, expected for release in the Summer of 2008, and the Sun Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) Software.

Download xVM VirtualBox software at http://www.virtualbox.org and http://www.openxvm.org

Sun has posted a talk and demo on VirtualBox that features Sun's Vijay Sarathy and RedMonk's Michael Cote. See a video of Cote's talk with Vijay and a demo of VirtualBox in which Vijay creates a Vista instance and runs it on his Mac in a couple of minutes.

For more information regarding just how Sun xVM VirtualBox works, who it is best for, how it is different, what it looks like, etc., visit its feature page on the Sun Website. [...read more...]

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