Xensource squeaks of world domination

ALL SERVERS SHALL become virtual. The Palo Alto start-up Xensource, is convinced the trick to its mantra is the pricing for its long-awaited Windows applications. Three versions of these hit the streets this Monday gone.

"We will scorch the earth with the pricing", boasted Peter Levine, Xensource's top dog, during a surprise visit to a gathering of partners and users in the Netherlands late last week.

He assured us the destruction of the market leader VMWare is not his goal. "Our mission is to have Xen run on the remaining 94 per cent of servers not yet using virtualisation," he said.

Xensource for Windows comes in three flavours. The Enterprise product is meant for mixing multiple operating systems. Targeted at the enthusiasts at the other end is its Express version. Flagship product is the Server edition, meant to eat into VMWare's market share and secure just 94 per cent world domination.

Levine explained why it took his company so long to deliver the software: "Since we are going after the Windows market, installation has to be absolutely simple, simple, simple. It should not take more than ten minutes from install to running Xen to running a guest system."

And reboot. µ