Dell CTO sees Linux virtualisation sweet spot

Linux is the key that will make virtual machines easier to build, according to Kevin Kettler, Dell's chief technical officer.

He spoke to an audience gathered for the LinuxWorld conference in San Francisco at Moscone Center, addressing the growth of the open source Linux operating system - which he said he hoped would hit $1bn in licensing revenue by 2011 - and what it means for both enterprise data centres, business computing and consumer applications.

Despite its recent growth, Linux is lagging in terms of the worldwide combined paid server operating system environments by Microsoft and others.

Combining the use of Linux with virtualisation is not such an odd pairing, rather, Kettler said, the two "play to one another very strongly", particularly when it comes to the re-emerging trend of virtualisation.

He said: "To encourage use of Linux for virtual environments is to make an easier way to do virtual machines."

Virtualisation is when one computer runs several operating systems, or virtual machines. Dell said it would be embracing the virtualisation trend again earlier this year.

Pairing Linux and virtualisation to manage and consolidate enterprise data centres is something Dell is using back at home base.

Three thousand of Dell's own servers run Linux, including mission-critical applications such as the company's internal employee, supply chain and financial-management systems, Kettler said.

Erica Ogg writes for CNET News.com