XenSource has launched a beta of its XenEnterprise 3.1 application, offering what it claims is a cheaper alternative to VMware's virtualisation software. 

XenEnterprise 3.1 is the first version of XenSource's application that allows enterprises to run Windows in virtual compartments. The company released a version last August which supported only Linux operating systems.

"We now have all the features of VMware, but at only 20 per cent of the cost, " John Bara, vice president of marketing at XenSource, told vnunet.com.

Bara claimed that the software offers superior performance over VMware and other Xen implementations because of the support for acceleration technologies built into Intel and AMD chips as well as a set of proprietary acceleration technologies.

"[Xensource] is positioning ifself between the full flagged VMware Infrastructure product and the freebie hosted versions of VMware Server and Microsoft Virtual Server," Gordon Haff, a principal IT advisor with analyst firm Illuminata, told vnunet.com.

XenSource offers a commercial implementation of the open source Xen technology developed at the University of Cambridge. 

Several operating system vendors are building in support for the technology, including Sun Microsystems and Red Hat. 

Microsoft has promised to add support for the technology in its forthcoming version of Windows Server codenamed 'Longhorn'.

Novell launched its Xen-enabled SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 last summer.