"Vanderpool" Allows Two OSs to Run Simultaneously Side-by-Side

From: someone (someone_at_msn.com)
Date: 01/21/05 

Date: Thu, 20 Jan 2005 21:47:19 -0700

Interesting! Very Interesting!

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1752953,00.asp

"Intel Corp. said Thursday that its "Vanderpool" virtualization technology
would appear in processors and chipsets this year, rather than in 2006.
Vanderpool, part of Intel's so-called "T's" (technologies), was originally
slated to appear in the Longhorn timeframe, the code-name for Microsoft's
next-generation OS due in 2006. Intel also released a preliminary external
Vanderpool specification to encourage work among developers.

Intel said the Vanderpool technolgy would be released in 2005, and then
achieve "broader growth" in 2006. Historically, that means that Vanderpool
technology will appear on a processor or two at the high end of the pricing
spectrum, moving into cheaper, more popular processors later.

The Vanderpool technology allows two operating systems to run simultaneously
on top of a single processor. In demonstrations, Intel has shown Windows and
Linux running side-by-side on the same system, with a user able to quickly
swap between the two. In the meantime, OEMs have begun providing Linux in a
pre-boot environment to quickly give users access to basic multimedia
functions without having to wait a minute or so to boot into the Windows
environment.

According to Intel spokeswoman Christine Dotts, a number of factors
influenced the change in Intel's timetable: customer preparedness for the
technology, Intel's own Vanderpool development schedule, and the release of
the technology specification.

"There is little doubt across the industry that the potential benefits and
applications of virtualization for businesses and consumers are
significant," said William A. Swope, Intel corporate vice president and
co-general manager of the Software and Solutions Group, in a statement. "Our
work with the software community around Vanderpool is an important step in
helping to drive improvements to the reliability and resilience of
enterprise servers, potentially reducing total cost of ownership and
enabling exciting future uses for the digital home."

Intel previously separated its virtualization technology into two segments:
"Silvervale" for Itanium and Xeon servers and "Vanderpool" for desktop PCs
and notebooks. Last year, Intel quietly brought the two technologies
together under the Vanderpool name.

The change in the Vanderpool technology deployment in PCs will not affect
its rollout inside Itanium machines, which is still expected to occur this
year, Dotts said."

Relevant Pages