XenServer teases free VMware migration package

XenServer, the Citrix spin-out that will offer a hypervisor and associated management tools for x86 systems, has teased a plan to lure VMware customers as well as a little more detail about its plans to operate as an independent entity.

The outfit's offerings are based on the Citrix products of the same name – XenServer – and offer plenty of what's needed to run a private cloud. XenServer, the product, is currently marketed as "Citrix Hypervisor" – a change made before Citrix was swallowed by private equiteers, bundled into the "Cloud Software Group" and chopped up into several discrete businesses.

XenServer has previously signalled ambitions to invest in and advance its eponymous products – a sensible ambition now that multicloud is the hot thing and on-prem private clouds are mundane – and made much of its licensing terms.

In recent social media posts, the outfit has teased a Q3 release of a "trial version" of XenServer that "enables all the functionality of Premium Edition, including for the first time ever our closed-source components."

The current Premium Edition of XenServer/Citrix Hypervisor includes features like GPU virtualization not present in the cheaper Standard edition.

The Premium product also includes the "Citrix Hypervisor Conversion Manager" which allows for batch migration of VMs from VMware to Citrix.

"Everyone, whether an existing customer or not, will be able to test the capabilities of XenServer 8 using a brand new Trial Edition," declared a recent tweet. A follow-up stated "0 to xen in 10 is our aim, that's why XenServer 8 Trial Edition will be the default licensing state straight out of the box."

We think that means XenServer is promising fast implementation and/or migration.

As you would when trying to find new customers for a product that's not been offered as a serious general purpose virtualization stack for almost a decade. Citrix gave up on that ambition after VMware trounced it, then retreated to making XenServer an ideal environment to host other Citrix apps. Easier migration may also appeal to the many VMware users that are prepared to consider alternatives – thanks, in part, to concerns about Broadcom's imminent acquisition.

• At Citrix, 'perpetual licenses' means 'we'd rather move you to a subscription'
• Meet the new Citrix, same as the old Citrix – but hybrid
• Broadcom asserts VMware's strategy isn't working and it basically needs rescuing
• VMware teases multi-cloud generative AI offerings for August debut

Another recent XenServer post revealed a new logo that – like the one Elon Musk plastered over the smouldering remains of Twitter – is based on the letter X.

Here it is, in all its exxy glory.

XenServer's new logo – Click to enlarge

In past months – and again this week – The Register has asked Citrix and parent company Cloud Software Group for an update on its strategy, and how spinouts like XenServer will serve readers. We're yet to receive a substantive reply or an offer a chat, but hold out hope the biz will soon explain itself.

Until that happens, users of XenServer/Citrix Hypervisor may want to ensure their browsers aren't hostile to URL redirects – XenServer has promised that hypervisor-related content on citrix.com will soon appear on XenServer.com.

While we're in a state of Xen, it's also worth noting that the open source Xen Project has appointed a community manager, who has promised to undertake actions including a web site refresh it's hoped will "make information accessible and bring higher visibility to the community. In return, we should see more interest and potentially new people wanting to contribute." ®