At the start of 2008, I concluded that virtualization will be a long term trend. I am thus tracking it and writing various postings on it. In dealing with this topic and other topics in the Focus Series, the postings are not spur-of-the-moment thoughts. They are a piece-by-piece attempt to cover the whole technical area and provide useful information on it. The following are postings on this topic:

What is Virtualization? This is a first principles technical explanation of what virtualization is.

Virtualization and the Grid Grid computing and virtualization are two sides of the same coin.

Why Virtualization? And Why Now? How did we get to the point where virtualization was the best next step for the IT industry?

To Virtualize The OS or To Virtualize The App? OS virtualization is the dominant idea, but App virtualization may be just as valid and more efficient.

Let the Virtualization Race Begin This gives a broad perspective as to which technology vendors are currently active in the field of virtualization and what their approach is. In writing this I missed Cisco, which does network virtualization, but I cover it in the posting: The Server Vendors v Cisco: Is This A New Technology War? I will provide updates on the picture as time passes.

VMware and its Innovative Customers This is the first of the postings that deal specifically with client virtualization, simply pointing out its origin.

Does Client Virtualization Make Sense? This posting covers the primary approaches to client virtualization.

Which Client Virtualization To Choose; VDI or PC Blades? This posting provides information on two of the client virtualization offerings.

More on PC Blades and PC Virtualization This adds information to the above posting on VDI and PC Blades.

Brocade: The Heart and Lungs of the Network This complements the posting about Cisco on Network virtualization mentioned above.

Desktone: Client Virtualization in the Cloud This provides information on yet another client virtualization idea, from Desktone. It’s about moving the server hardware into the cloud.

Desktop Virtualization: Prospective Winners and Losers This assesses which vendors are likely to win or lose in the movement to a virtualized desktop. Some vendrs have more to lose and less to gain than others.

Citrix: Getting Desktop Virtualization Right This is a short review of Citrix’s Xen Desktop.