Microsoft on Monday, the 20th of July, submitted 22,000 lines of source code under a GPLv2 license which will allow four (4) drivers to be added to the Linux kernel. These drivers will enable any Linux distribution to run on Windows Server 2008 and its Hyper-V technology.
While this may seem like a decisive victory for the Open Source community, one may ask themselves: “Why would Microsoft do such a thing?”
This is a very valid question because historically, Microsoft and the Open Source community have been at odds, to say the least.
My reasoning for Microsoft to make such a bold move is as follows:
- Ensures Microsoft is still an important piece of the virtualization and infrastructure equation
- Shows that they, as a company, are willing to adapt and help companies utilizing hybrid solutions, dare I say altruism?
- A strategic move to help cut into VMWare’s market share
- Assist in maintaining server revenue streams
I personally feel that this a good move and one that should have happened a while ago. I guess ‘better late than never’ is an appropriate adage.
It should be interesting to see how it all pans out and I hope the 22,000 lines of code were meticulously tested and re-tested.
‘Til next time…