Thanks for your question. The biggest difference between a virtual appliance created with rPath technology and a virtual appliance that is created by installing software in a virtual machine file is the scalability and robustness of the lifecycle management enabled by rPath. The file created by installing and configuring software in a virtual machine is difficult to reproduce and manage as the various components that make up the working system evolve. Managing virtual appliances using this approach is akin to managing application source code by declaring "the definition of the application is whatever the developer has on his/her workstation hard drive." No one manages the valuable asset of application source code in this manner, so why would we assume that the system definition that represents a working instance of that application should be managed using such an ad hoc and error prone approach?

We recommend that application providers use a systematic approach for defining and evolving the components that represent the value of their application as a virtual appliance. This means that each component comes under version management and control with a corresponding release management process for delivering the ongoing innovations to the customer in a robust and repeatable fashion.

Beyond this difference, there are a couple of other things worth noting. The rPath approach provides for the smallest possible footprint of system software to support a given application. We accomplish this through our unique dependency management capabilities. Fewer components delivered means fewer things to break, fewer things to break into, and fewer things to maintain. rPath virtual appliances also include a simple management console for delivering various services via a web interface. Maintenance, support, backup, and system configuration are all enabled via this web console capability. The application provider does not have to develop and maintain a unique console for their application. It is provided as part of the rPath platform.

I hope this helps. Thanks again for the question.

Billy