I can’t wait to start playing around with REAL virtualization. I’ve talked before about using my Mac Mini and Parallels to run Windows XP. It runs great, but that’s on a 1.83GHz machine with 2GB memory. The MacBook Pro that I just ordered has a 2.4GHz Core 2 Duo and I’m going to have 4GB memory. With the roomy hard drive (90GB more than my current Vista laptop), I’m planning on running Windows XP AND Vista. I’ll probably throw Ubuntu on just to keep busy!
With all of the horsepower in today’s PCs, is it any wonder that virtualization is finally becoming mainstream? Many of us have an old PC with Windows XP lying around with a product key on the side of the case. Why not use that product key to run some finicky software? Even better, set up a virtual machine to use as a sandbox to ensure that beta software doesn’t destroy your machine.
Most of us don’t use even a fraction of the power that’s available in our PCs. And servers tend to be even worse! A recent study shows that CPU utilization is around 6% on the typical small business server. Six percent! That means that you have 94% of your hardware sitting around waiting to be used. (Not really, as CPU utilization is only one component in your machine’s performance, but you get the point.)
Servers can easily be virtualized to increase hardware utilization, decrease energy costs, decrease server closet temperatures, and decrease hardware costs. WAIT A SECOND!!! I SELL HARDWARE!!! Nevermind. Virtualization is a waste!
Seriously, depending upon the network environment and usage of the servers, you can put many software-based virtual servers on one physical box. Having three or four servers running at a time is certainly not out of the question. Pop in some new hardware and you could double that.
And that brings me to another great reason for my recent Mac obsession…. I can easily run Windows and Linux on my Apple machine but I can’t do the reverse. Oh, sure, there are ways to get OS X to run on traditional PC hardware. Unfortunately, it’s not easy or time efficient to do so. If you want to spend a lot of time and energy, you could build a fast computer for cheap that will work fine. But when you get a Mac, you get the ability to dual boot Windows and OS X out of the box. Throw 80 bucks at a software company and you’ll add the flexibility of running virtual machines. That’s a great deal in my book. Or should I say “in my MacBook”?  =)
I predict that the uptick in the sales of Mac hardware will continue for the foreseeable future. The machines are generally well-built with high quality components. The lines aren’t refreshed as often as I’d like, so when the computers reach end-of-life, they aren’t necessarily a great deal. But the perception that Mac is so high-priced is largely incorrect. And with the advent of good, cheap, useable virtualization, the lines are blurred and the barriers are destroyed.
It will be a very long time before Windows isn’t the leading OS. That has to do with tradition more than anything. OS X is better in almost every measurable way and, since it’s based on a Unix core, is very scaleable. But it may not hurt to take a look at the Mac and learn a little AppleScript….  =)
