SWsoft announced on Wednesday the release of a beta version of its server virtualization software, Parallels Server. This version is said to be the first virtualization software that can run Apple’s Mac OS X Server v10.5 Leopard virtualized on Mac. According to some analysts, this move may shake a little bit VMware’s business, taking into account that the virtualization technology leader has little traction among Apple’s Mac users.

Parallels Server represents an enterprise product and it is created by SWsoft, which is the company that brought the Mac world also its first virtual machine software immediately after Apple’s transition to Intel processors.

According to SWsoft, which is currently in the process of changing its moniker to Parallels, Parallels Server targets departments of large enterprises and small and medium businesses and it allows x86-based hardware run Windows operating systems and applications. Parallels Server can also run on Linux-based servers.

SWsoft said that the new software tool can be installed in one of two ways: with the help of the Parallels hypervisor, when the virtual machines run in tandem with a primary OS, or with the virtual machines running without depending on a host operating system. At installation, users will have to choose between these two modes.

SWsoft claimed that its new Parallels Server Beta software is able to offer support for any combination of more than 50 different guest OSs, including Windows Server 2008, SuSE Enterprise Linux, Red Hat Linux, Sun Solaris, Mac OS X Server and others running simultaneously in isolated virtual machines.