Section 14.4. ESX Server 3.0Better the Beta

14.4. ESX Server 3.0…Better the Beta

ESX Server 3.0 is just around the corner. At the time of this writing, VMware slated its release for the second half of 2005. Since the VMWorld Conference is near the end of the year, this may prove to be the venue for the big release. We've heard rumors that the new version will be based on the 3.0 Linux kernel. We've also heard (amongst other things) that it will come with metadata enhancements, new operating system support, 64-bit support, four-way virtual-SMP, improvements in SAN storage, and iSCSI support.

Unfortunately, this is still all rumor. VMware has restricted the beta release to so few people that even the authors of this book, who do large scale virtualization consulting and are VMware VIP partners haven't been allowed to participate in the beta program. So although we've heard the aforementioned gossip from VMware system engineers in Palo Alto, we can't tell you exactly what the future holds for this product.