Sun launches VirtualBox 2.2

Sun Microsystems has tried to put the IBM buyout rumours to one side today with the launch of its new Sun VirtualBox 2.2.

This latest release of its open source virtualisation software introduces support for the new Open Virtualisation Format (OVF) standard.

OVF is a Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) standard that enables virtual machines or appliances to be imported and exported. Virtual appliances are one or more virtual machines that are pre-installed and configured so they can be shared, published and distributed.

Jim McHugh, vice president for datacentre software marketing at Sun, said: "VirtualBox has always been a fantastic tool for developers to create multiple virtual machines, network them together and deploy them using nearly any operating system."

"Now, with the new import and export features of the VirtualBox 2.2 release, users can quickly and easily put their development environments into production on the desktop, the server or even in the cloud."

VirtualBox software has surpassed 11 million downloads worldwide, with 3.5 million registrations since October 2007.

The software is free of charge for personal use. For larger deployments within a business, subscriptions are available from $30 (20) per user per year, which includes support from Sun's technical team.

Jennifer Scott is a former freelance journalist and currently political reporter for Sky News. She has a varied writing history, having started her career at Dennis Publishing, working in various roles across its business technology titles, including ITPro. Jennifer has specialised in a number of areas over the years and has produced a wealth of content for ITPro, focusing largely on data storage, networking, cloud computing, and telecommunications.

Most recently Jennifer has turned her skills to the political sphere and broadcast journalism, where she has worked for the BBC as a political reporter, before moving to Sky News.