Sun Microsystems has launched a new version of its XVM Virtual Box open source hypervisor.

Virtual Box allows users to access various applications via a variety of operating systems, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris. Version 2.1 features improved graphic and network performance, intuitive configuration and hardware support for the latest processors.

"The amazing growth in downloads for XVM Virtual Box shows its great popularity among developers - the software is quick to install, works with any host operating system, and major updates are available every three to four months," Dan Roberts, director product management, Sun datacenter software, told IT Examiner. "We think the new version of xVM Virtual Box will be well-received because it offers faster performance, improved ease of use and additional interoperability."

Roberts also noted that Sun had observed a spike in enterprise adoption as companies realised the benefits of open source virtual desktop software. "For $30 per user per year, enterprises can buy a support subscription that includes access to Sun's technical team. Also, we've been very happy with the XVM Virtual Box revenue stream since the Innotek acquisition in February 2008," added Roberts. 

Jim McHugh, VP of marketing for Sun's datacentre, explained that the XVM Virtual Box had quickly evolved into a required tool for software developers.

"With XVM Virtual Box software, developers all around the globe are turning their desktops and laptop computers into testing labs, creating multiple virtual machines, networking them together and deploying them using any OS. The excitement in the developer community has also taken XVM VirtualBox software into IT departments, where we've seen desktop virtualisation software being used to solve issues of PC management, software distribution and desktop security," said McHugh. X