Is VMware too close = to Linux?

The=20 Register =C2=BB Hardware = =C2=BB Servers = =C2=BB

Is VMware too close to Linux?

Superstar's legal status questioned

By Austin=20 Modine in Mountain View =E2=86=92 = More = by=20 this author

Published Thursday 16th August 2007=20 20:31 GMT

Free=20 whitepaper - The Impact of Virtualization Software on Operating=20 Environments=20

Maybe you've heard of VMware. You know, EMC's baby, huge IPO,=20 Bloomberg called it the hottest tech stock since Google = in 2004,=20 drove a member of our staff mad?

Virtualization has clearly become an industry darling, and = VMware=20 controls 55 per cent of that market. This kind of monster success = tends to=20 paint a big ol' target on a company =E2=80=94 and a volley of the = slings and=20 arrows that accompany outrageous fortune are already on the = way.

Writing on his blog VentureCake, Linux specialist Mike = MacCana thinks=20 he might have found a bit of rust on VMware's shining armor. He = claims=20 that VMware's ESX server is derived from Linux, and therefore is = not=20 legally re-distributable as proprietary software.

McCana's third degree covers the quasi operating system - or = rather=20 kernel - behind VMware's flagship ESX Server package.

A kernel is like the nervous system of an OS. It manages the = system's=20 resources (such as memory, the CPU, etc,) that an application = needs in=20 order to run. VMware uses two kernels that run directly on the = hardware;=20 the vmkernel and vmkmod - a Linux kernel.

Because a computer can only run one kernel at a time, the job = of=20 VMware's Linux kernel is pretty basic. It's only purpose is to = boot the=20 vmkernel. The only way to load vmkernel is through vmkmod, and = vmkernel=20 requires Linux =E2=80=94 which essentially means that when ESX = Server boots, Linux=20 is its kernel. Herein lies the problem.

From VentureCake:

Proprietary drivers for Linux kernel have an = interesting=20 licensing situation. Unlike the license for higher level = libraries,=20 which allow those libraries to be used by both Open Source and=20 proprietary software, the license for the Linux kernel specifies = that=20 software based on the Linux kernel must be licensed under the = same=20 license.

If a kernel relies on Linux, it must be open source. The only = way such=20 a kernel wouldn't be considered a derivative of Linux and could = remain=20 proprietary is if it didn't require Linux to load. MacCana claims = this=20 isn't the case with VMware.

VMware, thus far, has remained silent about the issue. Quite=20 surprising, considering the implications and how much money is now = involved.

One example of the issue being raised is a post to the Linux = kernel=20 mailing list from Linux SCSI storage maintainer, Christopher = Helwig. Here,=20 he responds to a post from VMware's Zachary Amsden in August = 2006:

Until you stop violating our copyrights with the = VMWare ESX=20 support nothing is going to be supported. So could you please = stop=20 abusing the Linux code illegally in your projects so I don't = have to sue=20 you, or at least piss off and don't expect us to support you in=20 violating our copyrights. I know this isn't your fault, but = please get=20 the VMware/EMC legal department to fix it up first.

The post received no reply from Amsden.

So could the issue presented by MacCana blow up in VMware's = face?=20 Analyst for Illuminata, Gordon Haff said he'd be "very surprised" = if there=20 was a real issue here.

"It's hardly been a secret that VMware has based the console = for ESX=20 server (but not the actual hypervisor/VMM) on Linux," wrote Haff = in an=20 email. "To be sure, VMware hasn't exactly gone out of its way to = play in=20 the Open Source world, and to thoroughly explain exactly how it = uses=20 Linux. But it's no secret and therefore, it's really hard to = believe that=20 a company of VMware's visibility could be blatantly violating the = GPL, and=20 it would never have occurred to anyone to raise the issue until = now."

Haff continues that legal issues aside, it would be at least = manifestly=20 unfair for such an issue to be realized at this late date when = it's been=20 sitting in more-or-less plain sight for years.

Analyst firm Endpoint Technologies president, Roger Kay says = that=20 regardless of its merits, the accusation is a result of VMware's = success =E2=80=94=20 and the company will doubtlessly continue to draw all sorts of = fire.

At the time of this writing, VMware representatives have not = responded=20 to our queries. =C2=AE

27 comments=20 posted =E2=80=94 Post=20 a new comment

is=20 this why ms avoided vmware?

Posted: 20:52 16th August 2007

uhoh!

Posted: 21:13 16th August 2007

The=20 rules are the rules

Posted: 21:40 16th August 2007

Gordon=20 Haff

Posted: 00:57 17th August 2007

Title

Posted: 01:14 17th August 2007

More=20 comments=E2=80=A6

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