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SCO Virtualization Frequently Asked
Questions
SCO is pleased to announce that new optimized
versions of its UNIX operating systems will
soon be available. These versions will run
and perform within a VMware environment.
The first version to be released will be
a pre-built OpenServer 5.0.7 appliance with
the latest maintenance packs and drivers,
along with the VMware tools preinstalled
and optimized for performance.
Customers will have the choice of downloading
a version of the OpenServer 5.0.7 appliance
or purchasing the appliance on CD. Once
obtained, the appliance will import into
a VMware environment and then license the
product to activate it. The appliance is
currently undergoing testing on VMware Workstation
and ESX server.
Similar releases for UnixWare 7.1.4 and
OpenServer 6.0 will follow shortly after
the release of OpenServer 5.0.7V.
Overview
Q: What exactly is SCO offering with the new virtualization series of products?
Q: We have been running SCO servers for decades now, why do I need this?
Q: Virtualization is completely new to me. What is it?
Q: What are the major advantages of server virtualization?
Q: What virtualization platforms are supported by SCO V products?
SCO V Technology
Q: What is the planned schedule for releasing the SCO V products?
Q: How can SCO's virtualization strategy enhance and extend my investment in SCO products and applications?
Q: Can I install SCO UNIX on a virtualized platform such as VMware, Open Source Xen or Microsoft's Hyper-V today?
Q: How do I install SCO UNIX on VMware?
Q: Will SCO’s V products provide the complete VMware tools functionality that is available with other platforms?
Q: What ways are there to improve the performance of the networking, CPU and IO under VMware compared to my original server platform?
Licensing
Q: What are the licensing requirements to run SCO UNIX in a virtualized environment?
Q: Do I require a license for each Virtual Machine or for each instance of a SCO operating system running on a virtual machine?
Q: Can I use my existing SCO UNIX user and processor licenses on the V product?
Q: Can I use my existing SCO UNIX development license on the SCO V products?
Migration Considerations
Q: Can I migrate my existing server to VMware automatically?
Q: I am already running SCO UNIX on VMware. Is there any update I can install to convert my SCO UNIX to a SCO V product?
Q: I am already running SCO UNIX on VMware. What are the benefits of running SCO V over running SCO UNIX?
SCO V Add-On’s
Q: What virtualization Support offerings does SCO provide?
A: SCO is offering special updated versions of its UNIX products OpenServer 5.0.7, OpenServer 6 and UnixWare 7.1.4. These special versions are optimized to run in a virtualized VMware environment. The optimization includes updated drivers and tools as well as other modifications to greatly enhance the support of SCO UNIX on such a platform. This new technology enables customers to keep pace with emerging technologies and to maximize hardware and software efficiencies.
A: If your company or IT partner is among the many partners who are implementing a virtual environment, then you will be faced very soon with the question of whether your business critical SCO server can be run in such an environment. With the upcoming “V” products from SCO, you can be assured that your SCO server can run efficiently and effectively in a virtual environment.
A: A comprehensive answer to this question would require a much longer answer than the space available here. However, the concept of virtualization is actually old and has been used in the mainframe arena for decades. It has been brought over to “commodity” server environments by companies such as VMware and is a hot topic in the IT industry now. It is well established in the data center and has made its way into the SMB market in the last few years. Note, that there are many kinds of virtualization, including storage or application virtualization. We are strictly talking about server virtualization here.
In essence, virtualization allows running an operating system in a virtual machine rather than on a native server. In fact, the virtual machine is running on top of native hardware of course, but encapsulated from it.
A: A few of the key motivators for server virtualization are:
- Server consolidation – modern servers are much more powerful and can carry the load of many virtual machines instead of running a single OS on a single server that is mostly idle.
- Flexibility – Your OS running in a virtual machine is independent from the underlying server hardware. Drivers etc. are dealt with from the underlying software that provides the virtual environment. (E.g. VMware ESX)
- Investment protection – your business critical application can be moved over to a virtual environment
- Hardware cost savings
- High availability, Green IT and better management capabilities are other key motivators.
A: The SCO V products offerings will initially be supported on VMware ESX 3.5 and VMware Workstation 6.5 for Windows. SCO is also evaluating other virtualization platforms such as Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix XenServer with a view to supporting these platforms in future SCO V releases.
A: We are targeting a release of our appliance products during the first half of 2009. The first virtualized product to be released will be OpenServer 5.0.7v. SCO also currently has Hyper-V and Xen products under evaluation for later release.
Q: How can SCO's virtualization strategy enhance and extend my investment in SCO products and applications?
A: The SCO Virtualization strategy can benefit customers in a number of ways. It provides a supported upgrade path for customers running applications on legacy SCO operating system releases. It also allows customers to harness the power and flexibility of hardware that may not be certified or supported by the native SCO operating system. It provides versions of SCO operating systems that have been optimized specifically to run on VMware ESX and Workstation platforms.
A: There are reports that customers and partners have installed SCO UNIX on VMware platforms. However, SCO is currently working on specific tools and services to ensure optimization and support on VMware. SCO’s new Virtualization UNIX products will initially only support the VMware platform.
A: SCO virtualization products are quick and easy to install. In addition, SCO offers Support and Professional Services to assist customers in getting started using SCO systems in a virtual environment. A SCO V product is provided as a virtual appliance. You use the “Import” functionality of the supported VMware products to import the appliance into your virtual environment. For more information about Support or Professional Services offerings, you can contact SCO sales.
A: SCO V products provide the most important components of the VMware tools. SCO V products not only provide the essential VMware tools but also other modifications that allow optimized by SCO's engineers for best performance under VMware. The appliance also provides a very comfortable way of getting started with SCO V on VMware. Also, as part of the annual maintenance, SCO will provide further updates to the V product in the future. Please watch the Webinar and White Paper for more details.
Q: What ways are there to improve the performance of the networking, CPU and IO under VMware compared to my original server platform?
A: SCO's engineers are benchmarking, tuning, and adding improvements to optimize performance under VMware and will make those improvements available through the V products.
A : SCO’s V products will all be licensed under an annual subscription model. In order to use any of the V products you first need to upgrade your OS license to the latest release and then purchase a SCO V license for a 12 month period.
For example, if you already have purchased an OpenServer 5.0.7 license and you want to replace that installation with an OpenServer 5.0.7V installation on VMware, you simply need to purchase a 5.0.7V license for 12 months.
If you are using OpenServer 5.0.6 and want to use OpenServer 5.0.7V you need to first upgrade to OpenServer 5.0.7, then you need to purchase a 5.0.7V license. If you use OpenServer 5.0.5 or older, you need to first purchase a Trade-In license to OpenServer 507 and then to use 507V you need to purchase a 507V license.
Your annual SCO V version license includes 12 months of maintenance and updates for the V release. After 12 months you will need to purchase another subscription license for the V product, which will be available as a license for 12 months or 36 months. Running any of the V products requires an active subscription license per virtual machine.
Further details will be available shortly before the release of the product.
A: Each SCO Operating system running as a virtual machine requires a license.
A: The same rules apply like on a non V version of SCO UNIX for user and processor licenses. Here are some examples for OpenServer 5.0.7V:
- If you have valid 5.0.7 user licenses and replace 5.0.7 with 5.0.7V, you can use those additional user licenses on 5.0.7V. You install them via scoadmin license.
- If you updating from OpenServer 5.0.6 and have valid 5.0.6 user licenses and replace 5.0.6 with 5.0.7V, you can use those additional user licenses on 5.0.7V. You install them via scoadmin license.
- If you are on OpenServer 5.0.5 today and trade-in to 5.0.7V, you need to purchase Trade-In user licenses for your additional user licenses.
A: Yes you can, if you replace your existing development system and no longer use the license for another system. However, the development system is not part of the appliance of the SCO V product, so you would need to install the development system first under SCO V.
A: SCO’s Professional Services offers help for migration of a SCO UNIX server over to a VMware server.
A: SCO Professional Service offers help for migration of a SCO UNIX server over to a VMware server. The SCO Add-ons for running in a virtual environment are currently only available via the V releases of SCO UNIX.
A: Customers who choose to run an SCO V product on VMware will benefit from: - Ease of installation and configuration of SCO V - Bundling of SCO ported Vtools to allow closed integration between SCO V and VMware - Optimization of the SCO V product to improve performance - Ongoing feature enhancements to SCO V products - Ongoing maintenance to SCO V products - Support and escalations services for the SCO V product
A: SCO Support Services offers a wide range of service offerings tailored to the needs of SCO V customers. For more information, contact your local SCO sales representative, or: call +49 (0)6172 4867 0.
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