ESX Server - GPL violation - found proof !?!

ESX Server - GPL violation - found proof !?!

[Gerhard Wiesinger]

Hello,

After looking for Buslogic VMWare docs I found the following:
There were often rumors that ESX server is based on Linux GPL code. I 
think I've found a prove for it from an official VMWare/EMC document (just 
save the PDF document for reference):
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/esx_15_manual.pdf
p.269:
ESX Server's Mylex (Buslogic) driver is based on the Linux BusLogic 
version 2.1.15 driver.

p.270:
The ESX Server uses two different drivers to support the device family, 
one based on the Linux ncr53c8xx version 3.4.3b driver and the other on 
the sym53c8xx version 1.7.3 driver.

More clearly stated that ESX SERVER is based on Linux driver GPL code and 
therefore ESX Server is derived work of Linux GPL v2 code and therefore 
the WHOLE ESX SERVER has to be put under GPL v2 (even when run as userland 
program of a Linux kernel, because the ESX source/driver depends on the 
Linux kernel and Linux GPL code is linked).

This is at least valid for VMWare ESX server 1.5.

Any comments? Any plans?

Ciao,
Gerhard Wiesinger

--
http://www.wiesinger.com

Some references:
http://blog.scottlowe.org/2007/08/19/the-linux-kernel-binary-modules-and-esx-server/
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/08/16/vmware_derived_from_linux/
http://linux.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=07/08/14/1618241
http://communities.vmware.com/thread/98813?start=15&tstart=0
http://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/datacenter_downloads/vmware_infrastructure_3/3_5#open_source
http://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/datacenter_downloads/vmware_vsphere_4/4#open_source

Re: ESX Server - GPL violation - found proof !?!

[Florian Weimer]

* Gerhard Wiesinger:

> More clearly stated that ESX SERVER is based on Linux driver GPL code

Historically, the drivers you mentioned have had close ties to the
corresponding FreeBSD drivers and were dual-licensed.  So it is
possible that Vmware obtained a non-GPL version of those drivers.

-- 
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Re: ESX Server - GPL violation - found proof !?!

[Gerhard Wiesinger]

On Wed, 30 Dec 2009, Florian Weimer wrote:

> * Gerhard Wiesinger:
>
>> More clearly stated that ESX SERVER is based on Linux driver GPL code
>
> Historically, the drivers you mentioned have had close ties to the
> corresponding FreeBSD drivers and were dual-licensed.  So it is
> possible that Vmware obtained a non-GPL version of those drivers.
>

The mentioned version ncr53c8xx-3.4.3b is from Sat May 12 12:00 2001. From 
sources one can see that e.g. Alan Cox, Ronald van Cuijlenborg (and some 
others) made already GPL v2 changes in V1.10 and V1.9 from 1998 and 1997.

Therefore derived work is from GPL v2 code.

See for details:
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-2.4.37.y.git;a=blob;f=drivers/scsi/ChangeLog.ncr53c8xx;h=c91e792cab278e33811d377018b4251fa9887f29;hb=a07d8a1940dce21de61a9c3e38b887047d8e3629
http://git.kernel.org/?p=linux/kernel/git/stable/linux-2.4.37.y.git;a=blob;f=drivers/scsi/NCR5380.c;h=cde30dc38ba6f3f1b90b9bc60414ff0406b1e558;hb=a07d8a1940dce21de61a9c3e38b887047d8e3629

Ciao,
Gerhard Wiesinger

--
http://www.wiesinger.com/