The OpenVZ  project announced availability of its operating system-level server virtualization software in the form of a kernel based on Linux 2.6.9, including for the first-time in a stable branch, fully-tested and performance-tuned live migration and Virtual Ethernet device features. Previously, those features were only available in the development branch of OpenVZ software.

Delivery of the checkpointing and live migration functionality as part of OpenVZ brings a capability that no other open source operating system-level virtualization software offers. It allows system administrators to move virtual servers between physical servers without end-user disruption or the need for costly storage capacity.

With checkpointing and live migration, the state of a running virtual environment is frozen and the image stored on disk then restored on another server. The function executes between any two servers on a network, so the capability works for any server and any application. OpenVZ delivers this capability without additional requirements, such as a storage area network (SAN).

Also, the Virtual Ethernet device function allows for network devices to be created inside virtual environments using designated names and hardware (MAC) addresses that are different from the actual physical device.

"Now, the user community can enjoy rock-solid OpenVZ software with advanced features," said Kir Kolyshkin, manager of the OpenVZ project. "This represents months of work on performance tuning and quality testing to ensure delivery of stable software code."

OpenVZ is operating system-level server virtualization software technology, built on Linux, which creates multiple isolated, secure virtual environments on a single physical server – enabling greater server utilization and superior availability with fewer performance penalties. The virtual servers ensure that applications do not conflict and can be re-booted independently.