Virtualization software is high in demand. With softwares such as VMware, Xen and Microsoft Virtual Server, it lets a computer run multiple operating systems. Now, a newer variety of virtualization is emerging that employs a lighter-weight approach so that a single operating system can be sliced into independent sections.
While details of the concept are just beginning to emerge, it's likely only a matter of time before it shows up in Windows and Linux. The overall goals of the two approaches are the same: Make a single computer more efficient, divide work among separate non-interfering partitions, and eventually move to a fluid world where software tasks move among computers in response to shifting computing priorities.
The new approach, virtualizing above the operating system, requires less computer memory, permitting dozens of partitions on the same machine in some Linux cases, but sacrifices some flexibility and partition independence.
While servers are likely to be the first place the technology is used, it holds promises for PCs, too, where users could easily create partitions for trying new software, dividing work and home tasks, or isolating potentially risky applications such as Web browsers.
The idea is used in Solaris 10, which Sun Microsystems released in early 2005 with a feature called Solaris Containers. Now it's spreading to other operating systems.
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