How do you divide one computer into 10? Or change one computer into another? Or take a bunch of computers, slice and dice them all kinds of ways and then put them back together?

The problem is not one troubling the Magic Circle, but it is being solved in data centres and enterprises by IT managers wanting to use resources more efficiently. They are using a technique known as server virtualisation. This hardware emulation has become a hot topic in the Intel dominated world of computers based on x86 processors, mainly because of two companies, VMware and XenSource, and advances in processor technology recently announced by Intel and its rival Advanced Micro Devices.