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Parallels (company)

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Parallels, Inc.
Company typePrivately held company
IndustryComputer software
GenreVirtualization
Founded1999
FounderIlya Zubarev Edit this on Wikidata
HeadquartersSwitzerland Neuhausen am Rheinfall, Switzerland[1]
Key people
Sergeui Belousov, Chairman and CEO
ProductsParallels Desktop for Mac
Parallels Workstation
Parallels Server
Parallels Server for Mac
Parallels Virtuozzo Containers
Plesk
HSPcomplete
Compressor Server
Compressor Workstation
PEM
Parallels Infrastructure Manager
Parallels Automation
Number of employees
900+ (as of May 2008)
Websiteparallels.com

Parallels, Inc. is a privately-held virtualization technology company with offices all around the world (USA, Germany, UK, France, Japan, China, Russia and Ukraine). Parallels US offices are in Seattle, WA and Washington, D.C.. The company currently has over 900 employees.

Parallels, Inc. was an SWsoft company until January, 2008 [2], each company operated as a separate entity and maintained its own distinct branding. In December, 2007, Parallels' parent company SWsoft announced its plans to change its name to Parallels and ship both companies' products under the Parallels name.[3] The merger was formalized in January 2008. [4]

Company history

  • 2004 – SWsoft acquires Parallels, Inc.[5]
  • 2005 – Parallels, Inc. officially launches
    • September 7 – Parallels launches beta version of Workstation for Windows and Linux 2.0[6]
    • December 8 - Parallels launches the completed version of Parallels Workstation for Windows and Linux 2.0[7]
  • 2006 - Parallels announces itself as an official company
    • April 5 – Apple Inc. launches Boot Camp[8]
    • April 6 – Parallels launches its first beta build of Parallels Desktop for Mac[9]
    • June 15 – Parallels officially launches Parallels Desktop for Mac[10]
    • July 18 – Parallels Desktop for Mac debuts in retail stores[11]
    • September - Parallels moves its corporate headquarters from Herndon, Virginia to Renton, Washington
  • 2007
    • Netsys lawsuit (see Parallels Desktop for Mac for details).
    • June - Announces Parallels Server for Mac at WWDC
    • April 26 - Announces Parallels Technology Network [12]
  • 2008
    • January - SWsoft merges into Parallels to become one company under the Parallels branding.[2]
    • January 11 - Parallels acquires ModernGigabyte, LLC.[13][14]
    • June 17 - Parallels officially launches the first version of Parallels Server for Mac[15]
    • November 11 - Parallels releases Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac [16]

Products

Parallels uses Intel Core's virtualization technology to allow the virtual machine direct access to the host computer's processor. Much of Parallels' software is based on a lightweight hypervisor architecture, which provides the guest operating system direct access to the computer's hardware. Each Parallels virtual machine functions like a real computer with its own processor, RAM, floppy and CD drives, and tools.

Desktop software

Parallels is best known for its MacIntel-based product Parallels Desktop for Mac. First released June 25, 2006, Parallels Desktop for Mac is a hardware emulation virtualization software that uses a lightweight hypervisor to enable users to run Windows simultaneously with Mac OS X on their IntelMacs.

First released December 8, 2005, Parallels Workstation enables users to create multiple, independent virtual machines on one PC. Workstation consists of a virtual machine suite for Intel x86-compatible computers (running Microsoft Windows or Linux), which allows the simultaneous creation and execution of multiple x86 virtual machines. Workstation supports hardware x86 virtualization technologies such as Intel VT.

Server software

First release June 17, 2008, Parallels Server for Mac is a hypervisor-based server virtualization software that enables IT managers to run multiple Windows, Linux and Mac OS X Server operating systems on a single Mac Xserve[17]. As of its release, it is currently the only server virtualization solution for the Mac OS X server platform and that allows users to virtualize Mac OS X Leopard Server.

Parallels Virtuozzo Containers was first released under Parallels' former parent company SWsoft. The Linux version was released in 2001 while the Windows version was released in 2005. Parallels Virtuozzo Containers is an operating system-level virtualization product designed for large-scale homegenous server environments and data centers. Parallels Virtuozzo Containers is compatible with x86, x86-64 and IA-64 platforms.

Automation software

Parallels Plesk Control Panel allows a server administrator to set up new websites, e-mail accounts, and DNS entries through a web-based interface. Parallels Plesk Control Panel for Linux/UNIX supports multiple POSIX platforms, including Red Hat Linux/Fedora, SUSE, Debian/Ubuntu and FreeBSD. Parallels Plesk Control Panel for Windows supports Windows Server 2003 and Windows Server 2008 operating systems.

See also

References

External links