VMware enters the Linux kernel

The next revision of the Linux kernel is to include a virtualization feature developed by VMware, called VMI.

The stable update, version 2.6.21, will then allow para-virtualized operating systems -- Linux itself -- to run inside virtual machines on top of, and to some extent sharing, the Linux kernel. Para-virtualization is a technique that offers virtual machine performance in exchange for OS flexibility; the guest OS has to be modified to understand that it's running inside a virtual machine, and must be the same as the host.

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