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Jul. 26, 2009

In a bold and unexpected move, the world's largest software maker says it has released a set of Linux drivers for its Hyper-V server software under the GPL (General Public License) version 2, not because of perceived obligations to that license but simply because it is the preferred license of the Linux community and would benefit both Microsoft customers and users of Linux, according to a Microsoft executive.

Microsoft's director of platform strategy Sam Ramji said "Microsoft selected the GPLv2 license for the mutual benefit of our customers, partners, the community and of Microsoft itself."

Ramji posted to the company's Port 25 blog "Microsoft stood by its original reasoning to release technology called the Linux Device Driver for Virtualization on Monday under the GPLv2. Microsoft had not previously released the code under this open-source license and had, in fact, criticized it."

The blog post came after Stephen Hemminger, principal engineer with open-source network vendor Vyatta, said in a blog post earlier in the week that the code Microsoft released was in violation of the license before the company made it available.

Hemminger said that a network driver in Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization software used open-source components licensed under the GPL, which violates the license because it does not allow for mixing of closed-source or proprietary code with open-source code, he said in the post.

Hemminger added that once the violation was discovered, he alerted Novell which then informed Microsoft of the matter.

Microsoft's earlier announcement that it was releasing 20,000 lines of code under the GPL came as a surprise to the industry and the open-source software community in particular. Microsoft touted the release as yet another example of its "interest in working with the open-source community" despite a past of thorny dealings.

Ramji did acknowledge he was working closely with Novell's Greg Kroah-Hartman, a Linux kernel contributor, "who helped us understand the community specs and licensing options surrounding the drivers." But Ramji stopped short of addressing Hemminger's claims, and refused to comment any further.

"The primary reason we made this determination to release the code in this case is because GPLv2 is the preferred license required by the Linux community for their broad acceptance and engagement," he wrote. "For us to participate in the Linux Driver Project, GPLv2 was the best option that allowed us to enjoy the tremendous offer of community support. The community's response even within a few hours of posting the code was welcoming and we appreciate it greatly."

Once added to the Linux kernel, the drivers Microsoft has released will provide the hooks for any distribution of Linux to run on Windows Server 2008 and its Hyper-V hypervisor technology. Microsoft will provide ongoing maintenance of the code under the GPL, the company said Monday.

The most recent patent deal came July 14, with the Japanese company Melco Holdings -- the parent company of Buffalo Inc. and The Buffalo Group.

Microsoft and Melco agreed to provide Melco customers patent coverage for their use of Buffalo-branded network-attached storage devices and routers running Linux. In exchange, Melco will pay royalties to Microsoft.

Many developers in the Linux community see open-source software as the biggest threat to Microsoft's software global monopoly, and while the Redmond company has indeed taken steps to work more closely with the open source and Linux community, the relationship is still sketchy at best.

In recent months, Microsoft has made broad claims that Linux violates many of its patents, and it continues to seek royalties from open-source companies that use Linux-based software.

Now, there are some FOSS (free and open source software) observers that feel Microsoft is trying to backpedal and 'trying to make new friends' in the developer community that has always avoided to work with Microsoft software.

It will be interesting in deed to see these events unfold. Microsoft's numbers came out this week and the company's sales and net earnings were down considerably from the previous quarter, and some on Wall Street are concerned that the next 2 quarters won't be any better.

Source: OS Today.

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