Aren’t there software-only virtualization products today that run on Intel platforms?
Yes. Virtualization software is available today from VMware, Microsoft and other vendors, providing Intel architecture-based servers with capabilities that were previously available only on mainframes. Many businesses are achieving 20-to-1 or even 30-to-1 consolidation ratios by moving legacy applications onto 4-way to 16-way Intel processor-based platforms, Intel reports. To create virtual partitions in a server, these virtualization products generate a thin software layer called the Virtual Machine Monitor (VMM) that runs directly on the server hardware. One or more guest OSs and application stacks can then be loaded on top of the VMM.
