Running in Parallels By Ann Ernst published: Tuesday, November 01 2005
Recently announced Parallels, Inc. is entirely focused on developing industry-leading workstation and server virtualization technologies.
VSM spoke with Ben Rudolph, Marketing Manager, about the startup and its vision.
VSM: Parallels is a new company. Can you tell us how it got started?
BR: Parallels is a new organization, but the core team has been working together since 1995, and entirely focused on virtualization since 1999.
In 2000 the team was commissioned by a large European stock registrar to develop a mainframe virtualization project. In 2001 the company was formally incorporated, and in 2005 we emerged from with the opening of our new DC area headquarters.
VSM: Do you have a product yet?
BR: With the launch of the company we launched our first product, the beta release of Parallels Workstation 2.0. Our server virtualization product, Parallels Server, and our pure-hardware server virtualization product, Parallels Enterprise Server, are due to reach the market in 2006.
We recently announced the beta3 version of Workstation 2.0, which is available to download on our website as a fully functional 60-day trial.
VSM: What does Parallels Workstation do?
BR: Parallels Workstation is the easiest-to-use desktop virtualization solution available. It is a hardware virtualization solution that empowers any user, from professional developers to sales executives to casual home users, to create completely networked, totally secure, independent, maximally stable virtual machines on a single physical machine running Windows or Linux.
The virtual machines can run a number of operating systems, including Windows back to version 3.1.0, Linux distributions from Red Hat, SuSE, Mandriva, Debian and Fedora Core, MS-DOS, OS/2, eComStation and FreeBSD. Support for Novell Netware, Sun Solaris and Mac OSX will all be included in upcoming versions of Workstation.
All you need is the startup disks, and you can install as many guest operating systems as you like. My Parallels-powered laptop runs an XP host as well as virtual machines running XP, Fedora Core, MS-DOS and OS/2 Warp.
One of the great things about the product is that you can prioritize virtual machines. For example, if you have an Access database running on the XP guest and you need to do a complex report from that, you want that XP guest to be a high priority virtual machine. The guest machine where you’re playing pinball or reading the news is a low priority machine. You can change which virtual machines are getting the most computing power on the fly.
VSM: Is that easy to do?
BR: Parallels Workstation’s interface runs like a Walkman or a VCR. There is a stop button, a pause button, a play button and a power button. That’s it. The menus are very easy to use. I’m no developer - I have an Art History degree - but I easily installed the product and was able to use it without incident from day 1. If you know how to use your physical computer, then you can use Workstation.
VSM: Because it has a light footprint, is there some critical mass at which performance slows if you have enough virtual machines running?
BR: Not really. If you have a sufficiently powerful machine you can run an unlimited number of guest PCs. On one of our machines with a 3.4GB Pentium 4 with 1.5GB RAM, I have simultaneously run an XP host with a Windows 2000 guest, a Windows 2003 guest, a SuSE Linux guest and a Red Hat Linux guest, and they all moved very quickly.
VSM: Once all the virtual machines are running on Workstation can you attach to a network and share them with the rest of the development group?
BR: Yes. All the virtual machines are self-contained files and act exactly like standalone machines. You can package them and email them to someone to open and run. They just have to have Parallel’s Workstation on their machine.
It’s a significant file, because you’re compressing all the profiles and operating systems and everything else. But if you put it on a DVD or use a high-compression ZIP, portability is very easy.
VSM: How does this product differ from VMware Workstation or Microsoft Virtual PC?
BR: We offer a few key differentiators from other players in the virtualization space:
- Strong OS Support: Workstation has a sophisticated virtual machine engine that supports nearly every x86-based operating systems, including the entire Windows family from 3.1through XP and 2003; Linux distributions like Red Hat, SuSE, Mandriva, Debian and Fedora Core; FreeBSD; and legacy operating systems like OS/2, eComStation and MS-DOS.
- Easy to Install, Easy to Use: A powerful wizard enables users to create virtual machines in seconds. A clean, user-friendly management console ensures hassle-free control of all virtual machines.
- Lowest TCO: Workstation’s ease of use, high efficiency, quick startup time, low license price and 24/7 technical support program maximize value and significantly reduce TCO.
VSM: For test and development, a product like VMware GSX or ESX is becoming quite prevalent. Why would you want to do the virtualization on your workstations instead of on your servers?
BR: It’s a question of efficiency. Virtualization enables a developer to work in multiple operating systems simultaneously, which can drastically reduce overall development time.
For IT managers, it’s a question of hardware costs. Servers and workstations are expensive to buy, house and operate, and virtualization dramatically reduces the need for physical machines, since each machine can now serve multiple roles.
For sale professionals and traveling workers, it’s a mobility issue. Because you can zip up the operating system profiles, you can take them anywhere. If you have a Windows XP profile in a virtual machine you can zip it up, bring it with you, load it and be running on Parallels enabled workstations anywhere in the world. You don’t spend any time customizing the desktop or getting the programs you need.
From the IT manager’s perspective it’s a question of support cost. If your help desk can emulate any user’s configuration from a single PC, they can solve the users’ problems much faster.
For office managers and operating managers, it’s a question of space. Less space also means lower electricity and cooling costs; it keeps overhead down.
If I’m learning a software platform in an academic setting, I can build it and play with it in a virtual machine. No matter how bad my mistakes are, I can hit Stop and Restart in the virtual machine and the host computer keeps running. But I can start with a clean slate in the virtual machine and continue my training without interruption.
The opportunities to use virtualization are endless. When we say “One Machine. Multiple Operating Systems. Unlimited Possibilities.”, we mean it!
VSM: It seems the host requirements are pretty low.
BR: That’s true. While Version 2.0 is the beta, our launch product, subsequent versions it will become even more streamlined and faster. We wanted the product to have a small footprint.
We did this to improve efficiency. Let’s say you’re working with a design environment and application that are a size 6 out of 10, and you try to use a virtualization product that’s also a 6 out of 10 - you get a very slow computer. But if the design environment and application are both size 6 and the virtualization solution is only a size 1, it doesn’t slow your machine down very much.
Because each virtual machine emulates a real physical machine, the physical host machine’s computing power is piped straight through to the guest operating systems, resulting in maximum efficiency and low program overhead.
VSM: It can be useful to have a small footprint when you’re thinking about global sales.
BR: A lot of the people working on the software development don’t have the easy access to technology that we do in the US. We wanted to make sure that our product could be used by anyone, regardless of their hardware.
VSM: I’m assuming you perceive VMware Workstation as a competitor?
BR: VMware is in our space, yes
VSM: So you’re around their price?
BR: Parallels Workstation is going to be the easiest to use, most cost effective virtualization solution available. We’re planning to make a formal price announcement shortly, but we’ll definitely be priced more reasonably than the other players in the space.
VSM: Who is your overall target market?
BR: The short answer is: anyone. If you are looking to improve your efficiency, curb IT costs, maximize your hardware and get the most out of your computing experience, Parallels Workstation is for you.
VSM: Who is your initial target customer?
BR: We’re looking toward developers, from enterprise to SMB. The smaller the business, the more constrained the resources, and the more important this technology becomes.
Developers want to get the code done, make it great and get it out the door. They want to find a cost effective solution to work in multiple environments and test different things while they’re debugging.
To that end, it’s a lot easier for a developer to request a software platform that’s less than $500 than to ask for a second workstation and monitor for $2,000. I think there’s a lot of impetus to get developers on board so they can have the technology they need to succeed, but not “break the bank” in the process.
The real power of Parallels Workstation lies in its ability to let users work with multiple operating systems from a single workstation. By not having to switch from machine to machine, and by always having the right operating system and hardware configuration for the job at hand, they accomplish so much more in the same amount of time.
*****
For more information about Parallels and Parallels Workstation, visit www.parallels.com.
|
