Re: [Fed-Talk] Whats New in VMware vSphere 5 - Mac OS X Server
Re: [Fed-Talk] Whats New in VMware vSphere 5 - Mac OS X Server
- Subject: Re: [Fed-Talk] Whats New in VMware vSphere 5 - Mac OS X Server
- From: Dave Schroeder <email@hidden>
- Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:15:26 -0500
You will never find any information to the effect of Apple saying they support this. That said, they are well aware of it. This doesn't violate the intent of Apple's Snow Leopard EULA, and it's precisely why VMware took this route.
That said, I'll share something I sent to another list earlier today:
I hope it's obvious to people by now that when http://AppleOpenLetter.org was written, and most everyone considered an enterprise virtualization solution only a hypothetical possibility, VMware was already well down the road to bringing their flagship product to the Apple ecosystem. When the Xserve was killed, Apple was already well aware that the ONLY thing that needed to be done was to change the license agreement to allow Mac OS X Server to be run on non-Apple hardware to support nearly every Apple enterprise admin's dream scenario, and something we have been in discussions about with Apple and VMware since 2006:
The ability to FINALLY virtualize Mac OS X Server alongside all of our other OSes in our existing enterprise virtualization environment. Even if Apple hadn't allowed that, we still could have simply added Xserves (if they were still alive) to our VMware cluster: the Xserves could run Apple workloads *and any other workloads*, and would simply be another integral piece of our VMware environment.
Yes, it would be that simple.
There was no strategic alignment or "secret plans" laid between Apple and VMware -- VMware was blindsided by the discontinuation of the Xserve as much as anyone else was. VMware actually did more work to restrict Mac OS X Server guests to Apple hardware; the technical work to allow Mac OS X Server to run anywhere was complete.
All the predictable talk about how "Apple is a hardware company blah blah blah" is garbage in the context of Mac OS X *Server* virtualization. If Apple didn't want to invest in Xserve hardware development any longer, they didn't have to. This discussion about license changes went to the executive level of Apple to the point where license pricing questions were being floated -- e.g., "What would you pay for a license to virtualize Mac OS X Server in a non-Apple virtualization environment?"
Yes, that's how close we came.
When I wrote the open letter, biting my tongue about VMware's plans was the most frustrating thing to do. Most people never imagined ESXi would come to Apple hardware or support Apple guests -- had they known the work was essentially complete, I can imagine a lot more pressure from large Apple partners that may have resulted in a different outcome. Instead, ESXi is basically DOA for Apple.
In the end, the fact that this development with the premier enterprise virtualization solution was well known and Apple still chose to not pursue that path -- indeed, the Lion EULA with respect to server virtualization is a step backward -- is telling. Mac OS X Server is dead in enterprise datacenters. I'm sure Lion Server will have a vibrant life elsewhere.
In the meantime, we can all remind ourselves what Steve Jobs -- and Tim Cook, by the way, for those holding out hope -- both fervently believe: Apple Is Not An Enterprise Company. Another lesson here: VMware listened to what its enterprise customers wanted, and Apple didn't. Again, I don't doubt Apple's overall strategy for success. Use of Apple products across our environment is only on an upward trajectory.
I'll close by relating a conversation with an Apple engineer at WWDC where I reflected on the fact that Apple having an enterprise datacenter presence really got a lot of "mindshare" among IT decision makers. Right or wrong, many CIOs finally "respected" Apple and were thus willing to consider Apple as a "real" player -- and did they ever. Apple being in enterprise datacenters meant that Apple sysadmins and experts were finally working alongside sysadmins of other platforms as peers, in terms of the way many large IT organizations are structured. In our case, this was the first time anything Apple-related was included in our Systems Engineering group. This meant better understanding, integration, and support for all platforms, particularly Apple.
After hearing this story, the engineer replied: "Apple doesn't need to be in the server room anymore; we're in the board room." (This is a nod to the CEO or CIO coming in with an iPad, and telling his IT shop, "Make this work.") This sentiment wasn't unique, and was shared with a couple of the Apple execs I spoke with. Apple feels that whatever "wedge" the Xserve might have served as is now replaced by iOS. While it may be true as far as it goes, if that doesn't represent a truly diametric shift, I don't know what does.
- Dave
On Aug 31, 2011, at 5:34 PM, Link, Peter R. wrote:
> few more things. VMWare doesn't know how to properly document Apple equipment model numbers. The correct model is Xserve3,1 (see http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/?search_keywords=Xserve3,1). These were introduced April 2009. If you look at the VMWare hardware compatibility guide, http://www.vmware.com/resources/compatibility/search.php, there is no Apple hardware listed. OS X Server is listed under the software compatibility guide.
>
> http://communities.vmware.com/message/1808022 people trying to install ESXi5 on Xserve
>
> this page says the following: Support for Apple products—vSphere 5 supports Apple Xserve servers running OS X Server 10.6 (Snow Leopard) as a guest operating system.
>
> http://vpivot.com/2011/08/11/running-apple-osx-lion-on-vsphere-5/ examination of Apple Eula dated August 11, 2011
>
> I'm still trying to find information that specifically states that Apple is supporting this usage and won't sue VMWare for selling a product that breaks their EULA.
>
>
> On Aug 31, 2011, at 11:44 AM, Rowe, Walter wrote:
>
>> Perhaps this answers the question.
>>
>> http://blogs.vmware.com/guestosguide/2011/08/apple-mac-os-x-server.html
>>
>> Guest OS Install Guide
>>
>> August 24, 2011
>>
>> Apple Mac OS X Server
>>
>> The release of vSphere 5 introduces support for Apple's Mac OS X Server operating system on ESXi 5.0, with the following support considerations:
>>
>> • To run Mac OS X in a virtual machine, ESXi must be running on Apple branded hardware.
>> • ESXi 5.0 introduces hardware support for Apple's Xserver 3,1 server.
>> • Supported versions include Snow Leopard 10.6 through update 10.6.8 with supplemental update v1.1.
>> • Installation instruction for Mac OS X 10.6 can be found herehttp://partnerweb.vmware.com/GOSIG/MacOSX_10_6.html
>> For more information about software and hardware support, please check the VMware Compatibility Guide
>>
>> --
>> Walter Rowe, System Hosting
>> Enterprise Systems / OISM
>> email@hidden
>> 301-975-2885
>>
>> On Aug 31, 2011, at 1:41 PM, Rowe, Walter wrote:
>>
>>> See page 3 "Virtual Machine Scalability and Added Device Support", last bullet.
>>>
>>> • Support for new guest operating systems including Mac OS X Server v10.6 (“Snow Leopard”)
>>>
>>> http://www.vmware.com/files/pdf/techpaper/Whats-New-VMware-vSphere-50-Platform-Technical-Whitepaper.pdf
>>>
>>> What is Apple's official statement on this relative to the Apple EULA? Does hosting OS X Server on VMware 5 violate this?
>>>
>>> Walter
>>> --
>>> Walter Rowe, System Hosting
>>> Enterprise Systems / OISM
>>> email@hidden
>>> 301-975-2885
>>>
>>
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>
> Peter Link
> Cyber Security Analyst
> Cyber Security Program
> Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
> PO Box 808, L-315
> Livermore, CA 94550
> email@hidden
>
>
>
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