About us Contact us RSS Newsletters Blogs Video Follow us on Twitter

Register | Login

Advertisement
  • Networking
  • Storage
  • Security
  • Mobility and Wireless
  • Applications
  • OS and Servers
  • Mid-sized Business
  • Green IT
  • Virtualisation

Home | News | Insight | How-tos | Case studies | Interviews | Briefings | Reviews | Blog

Software Applications News



06 June 2008

Win4Lin overhauls Linux desktop virtualisation

By Matthew Broersma, Techworld

Virtual Bridges this week launched version 5 of its Win4Lin Desktop desktop virtualisation system, with performance increases that it claims beat the likes of VMware Workstation and other competitors in the growing desktop virtualisation market.

Advertisement

Win4Lin Desktop 5 is based on code that has been re-engineered since 2005, when the assets of the former company NeTraverse were acquired to form Win4Lin, now renamed Virtual Bridges.

The current product is based on Qemu, a processor emulator that is also used by other virtualisation projects such as Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) and VirtualBox.

Win4Lin Desktop also uses a Linux kernel module called KQemu that accelerates x86 acceleration on x86 hardware platforms by running some code directly on the processor, while using processor emulation only for kernel code and real mode code.

The new verison includes support for 64-bit Linux and its architecture capable of interfacing with KVM, according to Virtual Bridges.

Win4Lin has broader application support than its competitors, Virtual Bridges claims, with the ability to run applications developed in-house.

Virtual Bridges is targeting smaller businesses with simplified interfaces, and has formed a partnership with Canonical, whose Ubuntu Linux is similarly designed for ease of use.

Virtual Bridges is offering a lower-priced edition of Win4Lin for Ubuntu, priced at $29.99 (£15). Professional Edition is priced at $49.99.

For enterprises, Win4Lin offers the ability to run customised and vertical Windows applications on Linux as well as centralised management and corruption recovery features.

Advertisement

Windows can be run as a complete desktop displayed in a window on Linux, in full-screen mode or as floating application windows mingled with those of Linux applications, Virtual Bridges said.

The new version supports Fedora, OpenSuse, Mandriva and other Linux distributions.

The company also released Win4Solaris 5, based on the same code.

Win4Lin 4.5 users qualify for a free upgrade to the new product, with the update downloadable from Virtual Bridges' website.

Follow highlights from Techworld on Twitter
Stay Informed > Subscribe to our Newsletters
The UK IT News widget Get it for your site!

<<newer article | back to index | older article>>

close

Email this article to a friend or colleague:




PLEASE NOTE: Your name is used only to let the recipient know who sent the story, and in case of transmission error. Both your name and the recipient's name and address will not be used for any other purpose.

close
  • This article is now being printed.
close

What are your views on this subject? Use the form below to post a comment on this article up to 1000 characters.


Characters remaining:

close

Click below to add 'Win4Lin overhauls Linux desktop virtualisation' to your blog.



If you do not have a ComputerworldUK Account and would like to use this feature, please Register.

If you are a registered, logged-in user, this will post the title and first paragraph of this story to your blog to share with your readers.

What is this?

Comments received


Richard said on Friday, 06 June 2008

Just downloaded it. Two things:

1. Not even close to as fast as virtualbox!

2. Really like how they integrated the linux filesystem into the guest.

Advertisement
Advertisement

WHITE PAPERS

  • Seven Ways ITIL Can Help You in an Economic Downturn
    Learn more about how ITIL can help your business weather the economic storm, and how it can leave you better positioned for growth when the economy begins to rebound.
  • Modernizing IT: Strategies for Improving Service Quality and Reducing IT Costs
    Working harder simply won’t get you there. No matter how many people you allocate, sinking more labour into old IT practices cannot concurrently meet rising demands on IT and cut costs. Read about cost-effective, automated ways to meet this challenge head-on in this whitepaper.
  • Ten tips on security for your business
    Security of your customer data and business information is vital, this guide covers the essential issues in an easy to understand straight-forward way.
  • Business Continuity - Are you always open for business?
    Business continuity is not an end in itself, but the key to improving performance. Oracle solutions for midsize organisations contribute by providing a secure, easily accessible, and always available information infrastructure thats's also simple and cost-effective to manage. This Oracle Business Brief explains how.
  • A guide to understanding hosted and managed messaging
    Messaging has become absolutely critical to the operation of most enterprises and has become something of a utility, much like electricity or water provision in certain key respects. Learn more with this Osterman research whitepaper.

Techworld topic pages