Intel/AMD deal could help solve virtualization compatibility problems
The $1.25 billion Intel/AMD settlement announced Thursday could improve competition in the server hardware market and solve some lingering problems related to server virtualization, analysts say. Today, a virtualization technology known as live migration lets customers move workloads from one physical server to another, but only if both servers contain processors from the same chip maker, according to Forrester analyst James Staten.
Gartner analyst Martin Reynolds agrees the Intel/AMD settlement could be good news for virtualization customers. “If they were to integrate virtualization more deeply into the processors as a single standard that companies use, it’s possible virtualization could become less expensive,” Reynolds says. The virtualization incompatibility has mainly harmed AMD, because the issue forces customers to standardize on one type of server and Intel has a dominant market share, according to Staten. In the wake of the settlement, there are several other potential areas for new levels of compatibility between Intel and AMD processors, Staten says, including memory and power management, and security.
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