Oracle VM FAQ

General Overview
What is Oracle VM?
Oracle VM is server virtualization software which fully supports both Oracle and non-Oracle
applications. Oracle VM offers scalable, low-cost server virtualization that is three times more efficient
than existing server virtualization products from other vendors. Oracle has also announced
certification of key Oracle products including Oracle Database, Oracle Fusion Middleware, Oracle
Applications, and Oracle Real Application Clusters with Oracle VM.

Backed by Oracle’s world-class support organization, customers now have a single point of support
for their entire virtualization environments including the Linux operating system, Oracle Database,
Oracle Fusion Middleware and Oracle Application software. Oracle VM is free, and is available for
free download from edelivery.oracle.com/oraclevm. Both Linux and Windows guests are supported.

Oracle VM is a product that offers scalable, low-cost server virtualization that supports both Oracle
and non-Oracle applications. Consisting of open source server software and an integrated Web
browser-based management console, Oracle VM provides an easy-to-use graphical interface for
creating and managing virtual server pools, running on x86 and x86-64-based systems, across an
enterprise.
Users can create and manage Virtual Machines (VMs) that exist on the same physical server but
behave like independent physical servers. Each virtual machine created with Oracle VM has its own
virtual CPUs, network interfaces, storage and operating system. With Oracle VM, users have an
easy-to-use browser-based tool for creating, cloning, sharing, configuring, booting and migrating
VMs.

Why is Oracle offering Oracle VM?

Oracle has a long-standing history of enabling our customers to exploit low-cost hardware through
Grid Computing. Oracle has developed several essential Grid Computing technologies, including

 Oracle Database and Oracle Fusion Middleware Clustering

 Oracle Automatic Storage Management
 Oracle Enterprise Manager Grid Control

Oracle VM is another key grid technology. Oracle VM enables customers to easily and economically
deploy applications in a grid without physical server configuration or per server software installation.
Oracle VM enables customers to increase server utilization through virtual machine consolidation with
very little overhead, saving power, floor space, and hardware cost. And Oracle VM allows customers
to grow or shrink the physical server resources dedicated to an application without downtime through
Oracle VM live migration.

With Oracle VM, Oracle now provides customers integrated clustering, virtualization, storage, and
management for Grid Computing, as well as unified, full stack support for virtualization, Linux,
database, middleware, and application products. Recognizing enterprise customers’ demand for fully
supported server virtualization, Oracle now offers Oracle VM backed by a world-class support
organization, as well as a full suite of Oracle product certifications. Oracle is the only software vendor
that combines the benefits of server clustering and server virtualization technologies to deliver a
complete Grid Computing infrastructure.

Which industry vendors support Oracle VM?

A significant number of infrastructure vendors including AMD, Dell, Emulex, HP, Intel, Liquid
Computing, NetApp, Pillar Data Systems, and Qlogic support their products running with Oracle VM
today. Also, Oracle is working closely with numerous other strategic vendors and will continue to
highlight these partnerships. Read more Oracle VM Partner Endorsements.

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What does Oracle deliver with Oracle VM Support?
Oracle delivers:

 Free installable binaries for Oracle VM;

 Access to patches, fixes, and updates, delivered via a subscriber network, the Unbreakable
Linux Network (ULN);
 24x7 global support from the world’s largest enterprise software support organization.

Who can use Oracle VM?

Any user can get Oracle VM and associated support from Oracle whether they use Oracle products
or third party applications.

Pricing and Licensing T

How much do customers pay for Oracle VM support from Oracle?

Oracle VM software is available for free download. Pricing for Oracle VM support is simple, and is
calculated on a per system basis as follows:

Annual price Annual price Details

per system with per system with
up to 2 physical unlimited
CPUs (sockets) T physical CPUs
(sockets)
T

Installable Binaries FreeT Free. Free installable binaries and

(both server and source available online at
manager) and edelivery.oracle.com/oraclevm
Source (for server) T

Oracle VM Premier $599 T $1,199 T Access to software and

Support updates through the
T (1 Year) T
Unbreakable Linux Network
and 24x7 support with global
coverage T

Oracle VM Premier T $1,797 $3,597 T Network access plus 24x7

Support support with global coverage.
T (3 Years) T

Support for Oracle VM can be purchased online via the Oracle VM Store.
NOTE: A monolithic integrated circuit with multiple cores or hyperthreading is counted as a single
physical CPU when determining the total number of physical CPUs in a system. See the Oracle VM
Pricing Guide for further details.
T

How are Oracle products priced and licensed for use with Oracle VM?
There is no change in pricing and licensing of Oracle's products for use with Oracle VM. Oracle
counts and licenses physical processors on which the licensed programs are installed and/or running.
How does partitioning relate to software licensing?
For more information, read this document, which discusses the attributes of server partitioning and
how customers can leverage partitioning to optimize software licenses.
Does Oracle indemnify users against intellectual property infringement claims?
Yes. With Oracle’s offer of comprehensive indemnification against infringement, users can deploy
Oracle VM with confidence.

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Features and Benefits

What are some of the features and benefits of Oracle VM?

Oracle VM can provision a working environment or application within a short time, enabling faster
time to market. Oracle VM can easily manage the complete lifecycle of VMs including creation,
customization, sharing, management, and deployment, in a hosted infrastructure. Oracle VM also
offers numerous features and benefits:

 Greater efficiencies—three times more efficient than other server virtualization products.
Read the Tolly Group’s Oracle VM Benchmark Report for more information;
 Simplified installation—Server install is a single CD; installs and configures in a minute;
 Server consolidation, load balancing, increased utilization of hardware resources;
 Live Migration—the capability of moving live virtual machines from one physical host to
another without re-configuration;
 High performance server virtualization, built with a server-centric focus, capable of handling
mission-critical production environments in data centers;
 Centrally managed resources, easy-to-use interface to configure parameters, with no special
software required, just a web browser;
 Faster deployment through pre-configured Oracle VM Templates of Oracle Database and
Oracle Enterprise Linux; easy template creation—anyone can create VMs easily from
templates or from scratch;
 Full and integrated support provided by the world’s largest software support organization;
 Certification of Oracle Database, Middleware, Applications, and Real Application Clusters;
 Combined benefits of Grid Computing and server virtualization;
 Improved Return On Investment (ROI) and lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) through
lower price, consolidated support and savings in terms of space, cooling, power and more.

How is Oracle VM three times more efficient than existing x86 server virtualization products?
Oracle ran many performance benchmarks comparing Oracle products running with Oracle VM
against the existing leading server virtualization product and also with Oracle products on non-
virtualized operating systems on x86 and x86-64. Oracle consistently saw much better resource
utilization with an average of three times less overhead using Oracle VM, and also saw significant
scalability with virtual SMP. In many cases, the comparison with real hardware was approximately
equal in performance. Read the Tolly Group’s Oracle VM Benchmark Report for more information.

What are Oracle VM Templates?

Oracle VM Templates provide an innovative approach to deploying a fully configured software stack
by offering pre-installed and pre-configured software images. Use of Oracle VM Templates eliminates
the installation and configuration costs, and reduces the ongoing maintenance costs helping
organizations achieve faster time to market and lower cost of operations. Oracle VM Templates of
many key Oracle products are available for download, including Oracle Database, Enterprise Linux,
Fusion Middleware, and many more. Learn more about Oracle VM Templates.

How is Oracle On Demand benefiting from Oracle VM?

Oracle On Demand provides a portfolio of industry-leading applications—available on a subscription
or managed basis—that deliver a superior ownership experience and help customers achieve better
business results. With Oracle VM, Oracle is now introducing server virtualization within the Oracle On
Demand Managed Services Grid. The introduction of virtualization in On Demand will afford Oracle
the opportunity to optimize each customer’s configuration, more fully harness the capabilities of these
servers, maintain the operational enhancements deployed over the last several years, and introduce
new benefits. In addition, Oracle On Demand expects to benefit from significant savings in terms of
space, power and cooling. For more details, read the Oracle On Demand white paper.

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Technical Details
Which Oracle products are currently certified with Oracle VM?
Oracle customers can get the latest details from Support Note 464754.1 on My Oracle Support.
How do customers manage their Oracle VM environment?
A browser-based management utility is included with Oracle VM at no additional charge. Additionally,
Oracle Enterprise Manager introduces the Oracle VM Management Pack, which provides a
comprehensive management solution for managing both the virtual machines and the operating
systems and software running inside the virtual machines from a single product.

The Oracle VM Management Pack provides integrated in-depth health and performance monitoring,
configuration management, and lifecycle automation for both virtual- and physical infrastructure for
maximum operational efficiency.
Is Oracle VM available for download?
Yes. Oracle VM software is free, and is available for free download from Oracle E-Delivery.
What is the difference between Oracle VM and the virtualization that comes bundled with
Oracle Enterprise Linux?
As part of the Unbreakable Linux Support program, Oracle supports virtualization that is included with
Oracle Enterprise Linux 5. Please note that Oracle products are not certified to run in that
environment. Any customer who wants to deploy Oracle products in a virtual environment should use
Oracle VM, and subscribe to Oracle VM support. Oracle customers should refer to Support Note
466538.1 on My Oracle Support.
Does Oracle VM require a host operating system?
No. Oracle VM installs directly on server hardware and does not require a host operating system.
What guest operating systems are supported with Oracle VM?
Oracle VM supports the following guest operating systems:
 Oracle Solaris 10;
 Oracle Enterprise Linux 4 and 5;
 RHEL3, RHEL4 and RHEL5;
 Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003,
Windows XP, and Windows 2000 are supported on hardware virtualization (Intel VT or AMD-
V) capable hardware;
 Oracle VM offers paravirtualized drivers for Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008,
Windows Server 2003, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Please refer to Oracle VM Documentation for complete information on supported Guest OS

configurations.

Which hardware is supported for Oracle VM?

Oracle VM requires a 32 or 64 bit host, with at least an i686-class processor. This includes all Intel
Pentium Pro or newer models, and all AMD Athlon/Duron processors or newer models; Pentium 4 or
Athlon CPU is recommended at a minimum.
For unmodified guest operating systems, a CPU with hardware virtualization support is required. This
includes some Intel Pentium D, Core, Core2 and Xeon models, and some AMD Athlon and Opteron
models. Please refer to your processor documentation and Oracle VM documentation or further
information.
Does Oracle support Solaris 10 on Sun x86/x86_64 platforms?
Yes. The Oracle Solaris 10 support on Oracle VM 2.2 begins with Solaris 10 10/09. The Solaris 10
OS runs as a hardware virtual machine (HVM) which requires HVM support (Intel VT or AMD-V) on
the underlying hardware platform. By default, Solaris 10 OS already has the required paravirtualized
(PV) drivers installed as part of the OS.
Does Oracle offer Windows paravirtualized (PV) drivers to improve the performance of
Windows guests on Oracle VM?
Yes, Oracle VM offers paravirtualized (PV) Windows drivers that substantially improve the
performance of Windows on Oracle VM. Learn more.

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Support Details
Will Oracle support customers who are using Oracle products on other x86 server
virtualization environments?
Oracle VM is the only x86-based server virtualization environment on which Oracle products are
supported. Oracle customers should refer to Support Note 249212.1 on My Oracle Support.
How do I get access to patches and updates?
Patches and updates for Oracle VM are available through Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN). ULN is
a comprehensive resource for Oracle Unbreakable Linux support subscribers and Oracle VM support
subscribers. ULN offers access to software patches, updates and fixes. To access ULN, a valid
Customer Support Identifier (CSI) is required which can be obtained by purchasing Oracle VM
Support. Support for Oracle VM can be purchased online via Oracle VM Store.

What is Microsoft's support policy regarding Windows and Oracle VM?

Please refer to the Microsoft Help and Support document titled, “Support Policy for Microsoft Software
Running in Non-Microsoft Hardware Virtualization Software.”

More Information
For more information about Oracle VM, visit oracle.com/virtualization.

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