...Now Lets talk Licensing

When was the last time you bought a harddiskdrive(HDD)? or even a memory module,usb disk , even a whole computer.you just payed cash and left the store.Its that simple when buying a piece of hardware. Whether you'r paying cash or sing a debit card, the point is that the entire value of that hardware is represented in that liquid value.Thats hardware for you.
Software on the other hand is intellectual property.you may purchase the disk/cd which contains a representation of that intellectual value but you can never really "PAY" for the intellectual value of the software, hence the purchase of LICENCES to install and use that software.A license bestows limited rights to use the software, but it also imposes restrictions and threatens serious penalties when license violations occur.you get a software,you purchase licenses according to the mode provided by the owner/proprietor.
But here's the thing, with the pace at which hardware has evolved and still keeps evolving,with the advent of virtualized application distribution,dual,quad cores processor, licensing seems to be a very dicey issue these days with the IT department, potentially leading to a myriad of legal issues in case of license violations(consequently leading to millions of Naira/Dollars to settle law suits) and Overspending in cases where licences purchased are not fully utilized.
Initiallly, software vendors sell license their software on a per CPU basis assuming that every PC has a single CPU.Then came the dual cores,and quad cores, then there was the argument as to if a computer having 4 processors could still be considered as a single PC, this extended to if the IC holding the processors would be considered as the CPU or the individual Processors( An argument whose conclusion is not far fetched, especially when A+ gurus are around)
Then came virtualization, then a CPU or group of CPU's could be shared by users spread out across a building, and in latter times spread across cities.Thus leading to situations where a company purchases 100 per CPU licenses, virtualizes the environment and ends up sharing 100 CPU's among 1000 users, technically breaching the license agreement.
But albeit, software vendors have included per user licensing which reduces the problem on their part but increases the need for better planning on the part of the purchasing IT department.
But software users are also seeing a spate of new license options or editions that accept varying levels of use—especially in virtual environments. For example, the Windows Server 2008 Enterprise license allows four virtualWindows Server instances
for free, but the four instances must run on the same host. By comparison,Windows Server 2008 Datacenter Edition is licensed per CPU and per host server but is
independent of the number of VMs running on the host. It may be considerably more cost-effective to deploy the Datacenter Edition rather than the Enterprise or Standard Editions.

These Licensing concerns and confusions can only be solved if the data center admins and the software proprietors work together to ensure a that the Software developer gets full reward for use of His intellectual property and also that the Company utilizing His solution optimizes its usage such as to maximize efficiency whilst minimizing cost.

Virtualization;the Ace Technology

I know u guys were expecting the sequel to my june 24 post about cloud computing. So as not to be guilty of putting the cart before the horse,i would lets first look at a veritable tool for driving efficient cloud computing, 'SERVER VIRTUALIZATION'.

Today’s datacenter is a complex ecosystem with different kinds of servers,operating systems, and applications interacting with a wide variety of desktop computers and mobile client computers. For IT departments, managing and supporting this assortment of mission-critical technologies is a challenge.

Deploying server virtualization technology—moving disparate servers to virtual machines (Virtual
machines) in a centrally managed environment—is an increasingly popular option for facing this challenge.

Virtualization reduces IT costs, increases hardware utilization, optimizes business and network infrastructure, and improves server availability.
Windows Server® 2008 includes Hyper-V (formerly codenamed viridian), a powerful virtualization technology that enables businesses to take advantage of the benefits of virtualization without having to buy third-party software.

The most widely leveraged benefit of virtualization technology is server consolidation, enabling one server to take on the workloads of multiple servers. For example, by consolidating a branch office’s print server, FAX server, Exchange server, and Web server on a single Windows Server, businesses reduce the costs of hardware, maintenance, and staffing.

Microsoft’s virtualization strategy includes five key components:


• Server virtualization, enabling multiple servers to run on the same physical server

• Presentation virtualization, enabling remote users to access their office desktops or serverbased applications

• Desktop virtualization, enabling desktop operating systems to be consolidated into the datacenter

• Application virtualization, helping to prevent conflicts between applications on the same PC

• Comprehensive management, tying virtual components into the same management tools used to monitor and control physical components


Server Virtualization


Microsoft has two server virtualization offerings: Hyper-V in Windows Server 2008, and Virtual Server 2005 R2. Hyper-V extends virtualization capability to manage 32-bit Virtual machines alongside 64-bit Virtual machines, enable Virtual machines to access larger amounts of memory, and enable Virtual machines to leverage multiple processors. Virtualization is a key feature of the operating system and helps customers get complete isolation of the different virtual machines and still benefit from server consolidation.

Desktop Virtualization


When server virtualization is used host client OSes for remote access, this approach is often called desktop virtualization. While the principles of desktop virtualization are similar to server virtualization, this approach can be useful in a variety of situations. One of the most common is to deal with incompatibility between applications and desktop operating systems. For example, suppose a user
running Windows Vista needs to use an application that runs only on Windows XP with Service Pack 2.
By creating a VM that runs this older operating system, then installing the application in that VM, this problem can be solved. Microsoft VirtualPC is an example of a solution in this space to help address th scenario for hosting VMs in a desktop environment for application compatibility.

Application Virtualization

Application virtualization helps isolate the application running environment from the operating system install requirements by creating application-specific copies of all shared resources and helps reduce application to application incompatibility and testing needs. With Microsoft SoftGrid, desktop and network users can also reduce application installation time and eliminate potential conflicts between
applications by giving each application a virtual environment that’s not quite as extensive as an entire virtual machine. By providing an abstracted view of key parts of the system, application virtualization reduces the time and expense required to deploy and update applications.

Presentation Virtualization


Presentation virtualization is a technology that enables applications to execute on a remote server, yet display its user interface locally. Microsoft’s presentation virtualization technology, Microsoft Terminal Services, enables remote users to connect to their office desktops from anywhere in the world, taking full advantage of applications, resources, and familiar interfaces even from computers with different operating systems or system capabilities. Administrators can access system management tools from remote locations, for example, or applications can be run on a server and accessed by remote users.
Presentation virtualization enables customers to centralize and secure data, reduce cost of managing applications, reduce test costs for compatibility between the OS and applications, and potentially improve the performance of systems overall.

Comprehensive Management in a Familiar Environment


Virtualization technologies provide a range of benefits. Yet as an organization’s computing environment gets more virtualized, it also gets more abstract. Increasing abstraction can increase complexity, making it harder for IT staff to control their world. The corollary is clear: If a virtualized world isn’t managed well, its benefits can be elusive.To a large degree, the specifics of managing a virtualized world are the same as those of managing a

physical world, and so the same tools can be used. To this end, Windows Server virtualization and the Microsoft System Center family of products includes many management features designed to make managing virtual machines simple and familiar while enabling easy access to powerful VM-specific management functions.
culled from: hyper-v product overview.
                   by microsoft corporation,October 2008