The OpenVZ Project's operating system-level server virtualization software is now available for users of Sun Microsystems' UltraSPARC T1 processors.

The Herndon, Va. organization announced Jan. 2 that it would start offering its virtualization software for servers, such as the Sun Fire T2000, that use this processor, formally code-named Niagara.

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On Feb. 14, 2006, Sun announced that it would release the UltraSPARC Architecture 2005 and the specifications for the hypervisor APIs as part of the company's open-source push.

OpenVZ is SWsoft's open-source virtualization engine from its container-based Virtuozzo virtualization program for Windows and Linux, which works on the x86, x86_64, IA64, and more recently, the Power 64-bit processors.

Click here to read more about the OpenVZ project.

OpenVZ, which has been in competition with virtualization software markers Xen and VMware, builds its operating system on top of Linux. This allows the operating environment, rather than the actual hardware, to be virtualized.

This technology then allows multiple programs to run in isolation of each other within the single operating system. This ensures that applications do not conflict with one another and can be rebooted independently.

The software for the UltraSPARC T1 processors is immediately available on the OpenVZ's Web site.

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