Hyper-V Running Solaris? Say it Ain't So!
Oddly enough, I learned much of my UNIX/Linux on the Solaris platform. With SPARCstations being the hardware of choice at my university (go Illini!) and Solaris being a platform of choice for my former employer Raytheon, it was a while before I took those skills and translated them into some of the more common Linux flavors you're used to seeing.
That being said, when I hear earlier this week that Hyper-V can now run Solaris with the help of a tool called Transitive QuickTransit, this pleases the ear.
Reading from the press release:
To run native Solaris/SPARC software on Windows Server 2008 requires deployment of a guest operating system such as Novell SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 in a Hyper-V virtual machine, with Transitive's QuickTransit 1.5 for Solaris/SPARC-to-Linux/x86-64. A broad range of Solaris/SPARC executable files can then be run within that virtual machine, and these applications can interoperate with native Windows applications running on the same server.
Without taking the time to test it myself, the phrase "a broad range of Solaris/SPARC executable files can then be run" tends to concern. Does this mean that we have only limited support? If you've played with the product (or are an individual within Transitive), drop a comment and let us know.
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Greg - thanks for your comments on Transitive's QuickTransit cross-platform virtualization solution, and for providing the opportunity for Transitive to respond. Yes, you are correct in pointing out that Transitive does not claim that QuickTransit will run 100% of all Solaris/SPARC executables, although it does come very close.
While QuickTransit can dynamically translate the entire SPARC instruction set and Solaris operating system calls (back to Solaris 2.5.1), it is possible for some executables to deviate from that standard, and as a result they cannot run under cross-platform virtualization. Some examples include the following:
1. Programs that make calls to proprietary hardware on the original system that is not present on the new system;
2. Programs that modify the Solaris operating system kernel; or
3. Programs that deviate significantly from Sun's Application Binary Compatibility standard.
In other words, there are some areas where, for whatever reason, programmers have 'broken rules' when developing the original application, and these can understandably create a challenge for cross-platform virtualization solutions. Of course, these same examples would also pose problems for the migration of applications from a legacy SPARC-based server to a modern SPARC platform.
In summary, while Transitive's goal is to run the broadest possible range of applications via cross-platform virtualization, there will probably always be a small number of executables that prove impossible to support. If prospective customers are not sure about their own suite of applications, they are welcome to download a copy of QuickTransit from the company Web site and try it our free of charge for 30 days:
www.transitive.com/evaluate
Good luck!
Ian Robinson, Transitive Corporation.
Posted by: Ian Robinson | August 1, 2008 7:07 PM