Citrix, VirtualIron, and.. Oracle?

Citrix, VirtualIron, and Oracle. What do these things have in common? Xen, xen, xen... So here is the announcement - As of today, Oracle is offering up a Xen-based VM platform for download.

We're not just talking an Oracle-only hosting environment. (Which, I had to admit, was the first thing that popped in my head when I picked up the press release & read Charlie's piece in iWeek.)

This is not your father's Oracle. Nor your linux-wonk's Xen, for that matter. A nice confluence of market competition and open source collaboration has brought this once-obscure linux vmm into the limelight.

With Citrix dropping 500 large for XenEnterprise, VirtualIron available as a pre-load from HP & IBM, and Oracle putting their money on Xen, I'd say the platform's viability is looking even better for the long haul.

Oracle VM does everything you'd expect it to: full support for v-optimized 64-bit AMD and Intel chipsets, all flavors of client OS along with custom optimization for ready-tuned Oracle virt appliances and traditional DB, Fusion Middleware, and other auxiliary applications.Did I mention it's free?

Installable binaries, web management tools, and server source code. Gratis.

Yay, open-source and Yay, Oracle.

Real-world costs for enterprise customers who go with Premier support start at $499 per year per host w/ 2 CPU sockets vs. Citrix XenServer Enterprise at $1599 for the same deal. I haven't gone feature for feature on the spec sheets, but they're looking pretty close.

Citrix has a solid pre-existing customer base thanks to their Presentation and App Server clients. Oracle has, what, close to 50% of the enterprise DB market? Cross-selling to existing customers sounds like a great strategy for both shops.Don't get me wrong; I love VMware. I also love competition in the marketplace. I love having more than one choice when I shop. I love having more platforms to test in the lab.

Do you think the VMware folks are starting to look over their collective shoulder more frequently? VMware took an 8% hit before rebounding after the Oracle VM announcement on Monday.

Coincidence? You decide.

Actually, you will decide ;)