Project Notebook: Win32 on Linux Athena

Last Modified: $Date: 2003/01/29 18:21:48 $

29 January 2003: Published results of mini-project in this notebook.

Original motivation:

Beginning with a chat with some folks in EECS, we learned of a customer segment that wants to run Win32 apps without shutting down and rebooting from their preferred Linux environment. There are already people working on doing this with their departmental Linux Athena systems. So it may be that Windows/VMWare under Linux Athena will happen regardless of whether or not we choose to participate.

A Vision:

Windows Athena could have a VMWare window that enables people to run Linux Athena apps without booting a new OS, and Linux Athena could have a Windows Athena window to allow people to run Win32 apps without booting a new OS.

Charter of Mini-project:

Learn what the issues and tradeoffs are in building VMWare into Athena. Learn a little about what is easy and what is difficult. Explore both Windows Athena, and various Stand-alone windows configurations to learn what works, and with what other effects on the functionality, robustness, and supportability.

Provide a baseline understanding that presents the tradeoffs to investigate in follow on work. Help focus future needs analysis, and help clarify which choices represent greater or lesser costs.

Overarching Questions:

Is the centrally-administered Linux Athena platform able to support Win32 applications at a high enough performance, and low enough cost and degree of special training for customers to derive significant value from such an offering?

Which is easier: Booting multiple operating systems, encapsulating Win32 support in Linux, or offering WinAthena?

If the UNIX Athena team says it can't be done, it is a credible answer. Usability testing determines if the Athena offering has value

• VMware-install.txt is the lore of doing various installs onto Athena.
• Flowchart.ps is a PostScript file that lays out in graphical form a decision tree that results if you make different tradeoffs.
• Flowchart-overview.txt is a narrative that helps understand the flowchart.

Mini-project is completed, and results are published. A follow-on Discovery project is under consideration by the IS Discovery Council.

No issues yet.