Apple to Allow Virtualization under Leopard OSX Server

In a notable about-face, Apple has changed its stance with regard to allowing Mac OS X Server to be run inside a virtual machine (VM).

This is a strategically important change for Apple, and a critical step if they want to make any inroads at all in the Enterprise space with Xserve. Only time will tell if they are ready to embrace virtualization of OSX fully…

(Via tidbits.com)

Parallels Desktop and VMware Fusion make it possible to run Windows and other PC-based operating systems on a Mac. Until the release of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard Server, Apple’s software license agreement explicitly forbade running multiple copies of Mac OS X Server on a single Mac, preventing Parallels and VMware from including Mac OS X Server among the operating systems that could be virtualized legally.

However, a sharp-eyed systems engineer noticed that Leopard Server’s software license agreement is significantly different. Dave Schroeder, Senior Systems Engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, posted to the MacEnterprise.org mailing list about his finding, calling out this change:

“This License allows you to install and use one copy of the Mac OS X Server software (the “Mac OS X Server Software”) on a single Apple-labeled computer. You may also install and use other copies of Mac OS X Server Software on the same Apple-labeled computer, provided that you acquire an individual and valid license from Apple for each of these other copies of Mac OS X Server Software.”

This change applies only to Leopard Server, not to the desktop version of Leopard. Apple has not changed the software license agreements for either version of Tiger.

Ben Rudolph of Parallels emphasized this point, saying, “We’re hearing from our customers - like you are from your readers - that the ‘holy grail’ of Xserves is to run multiple, isolated, near-native instances of Mac OS X Server on the same box, at the same time. If you couple that with the ability to run Windows and Linux next to those instances of Mac OS X, you’ve just made Xserves even more compelling for enterprises large and small, even non-traditional Apple shops.”

Nevertheless, not everyone is an unalloyed fan of virtualization. IT analyst John Welch noted that virtualization is most important in the Windows world and isn’t as necessary with Unix-based operating systems like Mac OS X. “Normally, running more than one major service on a Windows box is a recipe for disaster. Windows simply doesn’t hold up well under continual heavy load. Unix allows for far higher utilization per box, so virtualization isn’t as big a deal. It comes down to use case and operational philosophy. Virtualization is great for some, not so great for others.”

Ben Rudolph of Parallels emphasized this final point, saying, “We’re hearing from our customers - like you are from your readers - that the ‘holy grail’ of Xserves is to run multiple, isolated, near-native instances of Mac OS X Server on the same box, at the same time. If you couple that with the ability to run Windows and Linux next to those instances of Mac OS X, you’ve just made Xserves even more compelling for enterprises large and small, even non-traditional Apple shops.”

Dave Schroeder responded, “Virtualization isn’t perfect for every task, but for distinct services that require their own servers and don’t utilize the hardware to its fullest, virtualization can more effectively utilize these hardware resources. This cuts costs not only on hardware, but on duplication of labor and other support costs. Each individual server, even in a virtualized environment, still has some baseline costs associated with it, but virtualization will help Mac OS X Server compete with the lower costs of some of our other virtualized platforms, such as Linux and Windows.”

Good News for the Xserve? Rudolph’s comment about making the Xserve even more compelling is important, and may hold the key to Apple’s change of heart. Although Apple is generally thought of as a hardware company, and there’s no doubt that the company wants to sell more Xserves, preventing virtualization may have been working against that goal.

See original article by Adam C. Engst - TidBITS Networking: Apple to Allow Virtualization of Leopard