The OpenVZ project, which maintains open source kernel patches aimed at enabling a single Linux system to host multiple “virtual server” environments, has added a virtual Ethernet device feature, along with a feature said to let admins migrate virtual servers between physical hosts without disrupting users or eating storage, among other touted advantages.

OpenVZ 2.6.9's new checkpointing and live migration feature are said to let administrators freeze and store a running virtual environment, then restore it on another server anywhere on the network. Additionally, the new virtual Ethernet device function lets admins create network devices inside virtual environments using designated names and MAC addresses that are different from the actual physical devices.

Previously, both features were available only in the development branch. Now, however, they have been “fully-tested and performance-tuned,” the project says. Kir Kolyshkin, project manager, stated, “This represents months of work on performance tuning and quality testing to ensure delivery of stable software code.”

Availability

The new stable OpenVZ 2.6.9 kernel is available now for x86, IA64 (Itanium), x86_64, or as a source RPM or kernel patches. Details can be found here.

OpenVZ is also available for PowerPC, but apparently not yet with the new features.

 
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