Articles by Virtualization News Desk

Check Point Positioned in Magic Quadrant

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 19:45:00 EST

Since their inception of stateful-inspection technology, Check Point has continued development with Application Intelligence, Malicious Code Protection, and modular security management plug-in architecture. Check Point's firewall security products are complemented by unified threat management, providing a variety of security applications including IPSec and SSL VPN remote access, anti-virus, anti-spam and web filtering. Today, Check Point's security gateways offer security features such as integrated intrusion prevention, virtualization, and high performance acceleration and high availability for the largest enterprises and data centers.

Vizioncore Offers Full Support for VMware's ESXi

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 17:45:00 EST

Vizioncore announced that vRanger Pro 3.2.8, the latest version of its backup and restore solution, will provide full support for VMware ESXi 3.5. VMware ESXi 3.5 provides a thin hypervisor compared to the full ESX version, and has been designed to provide a smaller footprint to both simplify adoption of virtualization as well as increase security of the platform. Both free and licensed versions of VMware ESXi exist, and vRanger Pro 3.2.8 will provide backup and restore currently for only licensed versions typically found in large organizations.

Certeon's Co-Founder to Present at SYS-CON's 5th International Virtualization Conference in NYC

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:30:00 EST

Shawn Cooney, Co-Founder and Director of Research at Certeon, will be presenting at SYS-CON's 5th International Virtualization Conference & Expo in New York City this coming March 30-April 1, 2009. Cooney, who has over 25 years experience in information and network security, will be speaking about how the benefits of virtualization can now be applied to transform branch and remote office efficiency and productivity. He will also be pinpointing for delegates where new opportunities lie for realizing a truly dynamic enterprise.

Sybase's Peter Thawley to Present at SYS-CON's 5th International Virtualization Conference & Expo

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:30:00 EST

Peter Thawley, Senior Director & Architect at Sybase, will be presenting at SYS-CON's 5th International Virtualization Conference & Expo in New York City this coming March 30-April 1. Thawley, a member of Sybase’s CTO Group where he brings over 22 years of experience in software architecture & engineering, will be covering technical details behind the virtualization techniques utilized in large Enterprise database systems which go beyond what is available through today's virtual machine technologies.

Stratus Telecommunications Acquires Stratus Technologies’ ENTICE Telecommunications Business

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:30:00 EST

Stratus Telecommunications announced that it has acquired the ENTICE telecommunications business from Stratus Technologies of Maynard, Massachusetts. The transaction closed on January 2, 2009. Financial terms were not disclosed. The acquisition encompasses the entire Stratus Technologies team associated with the acquired products and business, including the ENTICE solutions portfolio that was acquired by Stratus Technologies with the purchase of Emergent Network Solutions in August 2006.

Embotics CEO to Present at SYS-CON's 5th International Virtualization Conference in NYC

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 15:25:00 EST

Jay Litkey, CEO of Embotics Corporation, will be presenting at SYS-CON's 5th International Virtualization Conference & Expo in New York City this coming March 30-April 1, 2009. Litkey, who before starting Embotics founded Symbium, a venture capital funded company focused on Autonomic Computing and the automated management of IT infrastructure, will be looking at compliance issues in what he calls The New Age of Virtualization.

Tech Data U.S. Offers VARs Storage Virtualization Software from DataCore

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 11:30:00 EST

The Advanced Infrastructure Solutions (AIS) Division of Tech Data Corporation announced a partnership with DataCore Software to help value-added resellers (VARs) deploy the latest storage virtualization solutions. Through AIS, VARs have access to a broad array of DataCore software solutions that enable users to manage, provision and allocate disk space on all storage devices attached to their storage area network (SAN).

IBM to Provide Virtualization Technology to Grundfos

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:00:00 EST

IBM and Grundfos, a pump manufacturer, have announced an agreement for IBM to provide servers and storage infrastructure for Grundfos's two data centers in Denmark, and to deliver a new infrastructure for Grundfos’ SAP environment. With this new agreement, Grundfos has selected IBM’s Power Systems servers and IBM System Storage DS8300 and TS3500 disk and tape systems to operate their SAP environment. The solution covers capacity for operating SAP for more than 8,000 users worldwide and more than 70 SAP systems. The existing non-IBM storage and tape systems are being phased out.

Meru Networks Unveils New Security Gateway for Government Wireless LANs

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 07:15:00 EST

Meru Networks has introduced a security gateway appliance designed to meet the exacting demands of FIPS (Federal Information Processing Standard) 140-2 Level 3 security for U.S. and Canadian government agencies and other security-conscious organizations as they broadly adopt wireless LANs. The Meru SG1000 Security Gateway has been formally recommended for validation at FIPS 140-2 Level 3, the highest security level thus far sought by any WLAN vendor, providing physical tamper-proof security mechanisms, including a hard epoxy enclosure, as well as strong identity-based authentication.

VMware Helps TradeBeam Balance Applications

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 05:30:00 EST

VMware announced that TradeBeam has selected the VMware platform, including VMware Infrastructure 3 and VMware Lab Manager, as the foundation for its development and production IT environments. TradeBeam’s software-as-a-service (SaaS) model provides over 6,000 organizations with import and export compliance, inventory management, shipment tracking, supply-chain event management, and global trade finance solutions from four international datacenters housing more than 1,000 physical servers.

Micro Focus Completes Acquisition of Relativity Technologies

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:30:00 EST

Micro Focus International announced that it has completed the acquisition of Relativity Technologies. Completion of the transaction follows a meeting of Relativity Technologies shareholders held on 30 December 2008 at which its shareholders accepted the offer. As previously announced by Micro Focus, it is intended that the Relativity Technologies business will now be fully integrated into the Micro Focus Group. On December 8, 2008, Micro Focus announced their agreed offer to acquire Relativity Technologies for approximately US $9.7 million in cash.

EMC Expands Virtualization Portfolio with New VMware Services

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 04:00:00 EST

EMC announced it is a gold-level VMware Authorized Consultant (VAC), expanding its global alliance with VMware to help enterprise customers around the world accelerate their business by virtualizing their information infrastructures and data centers. EMC’s Global Services helps customers by extending virtual infrastructure into a consistent enterprise-wide strategy.

New Crucial Memory Modules Available for Latest Intel Server Platforms

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 03:30:00 EST

Lexar Media announced the immediate availability of Crucial DDR3-1066 (PC3-8500) and DDR3-1333 (PC3-10600) three channel DDR3 RDIMM memory kits for next-generation server technology from Intel, based on the CoreTM i7 processors. Claiming faster memory speeds and higher memory densities for memory-intensive server applications such as virtualization, database servers, and file and applications servers, Lexar Media’s Crucial DDR3-1333 RDIMM modules are available in 3GB, 6GB, and 12GB three channel kits, while Crucial DDR3-1066 RDIMM modules are available in up to 24GB three channel kits.

Samsung Introducing 'Green' SSD for Enterprise Market

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 02:15:00 EST

Samsung Electronics announced that it has developed a 100 gigabyte (GB) solid state drive for use in servers for applications such as video on demand, streaming media content delivery, internet data centers, virtualization and on-line transaction processing. Samsung claims the new performance-optimized 100GB Enterprise SSD can process IOPS (input/output per second) more than 10 times faster than the fastest 15K rpm SAS HDD available for transactional data workloads, with a random read speed of 25K and a random write speed of 6K.

Tod Nielsen Appointed COO of VMware

Tue, 06 Jan 2009 16:45:00 EST

“In this newly created role," said VMware’s President and CEO, Paul Maritz, "Tod brings unique skills and capabilities that will help us improve our operational focus and enhance our execution across all areas of the business." He made the comment as VMware announced that Tod Nielsen had joined the company and been appointed to the newly created role of Chief Operating Officer. Nielsen will report directly to President and Chief Executive Officer Paul Maritz.

DataCore SMB SAN Software Solutions for Server Virtualization Environments

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 02:00:00 EST

DataCore Software has announced an expanded line of SAN software starter packages priced for small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs). The high cost and complexity of traditional SAN storage required to support virtual servers and desktops typically puts it out of reach for many SMBs. DataCore’s new business continuity solutions provide true auto failover/failback high-availability and fault tolerance. These new packages provide automated storage protection to ensure business uptime, while also significantly lowering the cost and complexity barriers of SAN storage for Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix, Virtual Iron, Parallels, VMware and other server and desktop virtualization environments. The new software packages, with entry prices starting at under $2,000 per server, include thin provisioning, data migration technology, storage performance caching software

SYS-CON White Paper: Virtualization Everywhere

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 16:45:00 EST

The business case for virtualization is compelling: it delivers rapid, significant, sustainable operational and financial benefits. Yet many IT organizations confine server virtualization to test and development environments and low-priority applications because of a variety of concerns about using virtualized servers in a production environment. In the real world of 24-hour production, there are compelling differences among virtualization alternatives. In this paper we discuss how Citrix XenServer delivers powerful, yet simple and economical server virtualization in production environments, supporting the application availability and business continuity requirements of any size organization. Click here to view the White Paper now!

SYS-CON White Paper and Webcast: Security and Compliance for Web Applications

Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:15:00 EST

If IT security is your top priority, then you can no longer ignore your Web applications. Leaving them unprotected makes them vulnerable to hackers and other threats. While your network security solutions can help defend your internal systems, vulnerabilities in your Web applications can make those internal systems easily accessible to the public. In fact, they may be the first place a hacker will strike. Make sure you know where your weaknesses are. Assess all of your Web applications. Click here to learn more by downloading the White Paper and joining the webcast now.

SYS-CON White Paper: An Overview of PAN Manager by Egenera

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:30:00 EST

You need a data center optimization strategy that goes beyond hardware consolidation to simplify operational complexity, adapt to your existing environment, and deliver a secure, responsive computing infrastructure—while lowering TCO. To learn more read this White paper on PAN Manager by Egenera, a world-class infrastructure virtualization solution that will bring your data center to unprecedented levels of manageability. Click here to read more about Pan Manager.

SYS-CON White Paper: Maximizing Business Agility with the Dynamic Data Center

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:30:00 EST

The first phase of virtualization — server consolidation— delivers lower costs, less crowded floor space, and a smaller carbon footprint. Leveraging virtualization more strategically creates an agile IT infrastructure that will provide higher service levels and greater reliability along with further reductions in TCO — what Egenera calls the dynamic data center. Download this White Paper to learn more about how Egenera is maximizing business agility with server consolidation. Click here to download the White Paper now.

SYS-CON White Paper: Building a Reliable and Dynamic Data Center with PAN Manager by Egenera

Wed, 31 Dec 2008 07:00:00 EST

Leading IT managers are taking steps toward a more dynamic data center by implementing strategies such as industry-standard computing platforms, storage area networks, and server virtualization. This paper looks at the requirements for the dynamic data center and demonstrates how Egenera meets these requirements with its PAN Manager by Egenera software. Click here to learn download the White Paper now!

Data Centers Plan to Increase Virtualization as They Cut Budgets

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 13:15:00 EST

According to a new survey by the AFCOM Data Center Institute, about half of data centers are responding to the economic crisis by cutting their budgets an average of 15% for 2009. While the overall cuts were "surprisingly low" in the view of Jill Eckhaus, the CEO of the Association for Computer Operations Management (AFCOM), she said she doesn't want to minimize the impact those cuts will have on the 49% of affected data centers. Eckhaus said the low number of data centers making cuts indicated their importance to the businesses. And while half are cutting, the budgets for the remainder are staying the same or increasing. That's important, because it wasn't long ago when data centers "used to be known as the money pit," she said.

Composite Discovery Virtualization Tool Reviewed by Bloor Research

Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:30:00 EST

Composite Software announced that Philip Howard of UK-based Bloor Research evaluated Composite Discovery, which provides search capabilities against structured data that may be stored in multiple locations. Discovery may also be used to search for data and data relationships to support data integration, data governance and other initiatives. Howard’s findings are published as an In-Detail Report and excerpted in Pervasive BI (business intelligence) and Information Discovery, an on-demand webinar that looks at the industry trends associated with discovery of data and data relationships.

New Paradigm in Desktop Virtualization Drives ROI for Business

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 17:30:00 EST

Mitel and Sun Microsystems announced their global OEM agreement, a move aimed at creating a virtualized voice and data desktop. With the combination of Mitel call control on Sun servers and the Mitel Unified IP Client for Sun Ray, Mitel and Sun have delivered a desktop solution that provides an authentication source for voice and data hot desking and mobility. Combined with Mitel core applications, including Mitel Mobile Extension and the Mitel Teleworker Solution, the Mitel Unified IP Client for Sun Ray provides businesses with a voice and data solution for virtualized environments. With the use of a single Java card, the Mitel Unified IP Client allows employees to access all telephony and desktop applications from any Sun Ray location, whether at their desk, elsewhere in the building, at home, or in a remote office anywhere in the world.

Sun Extends Virtualization with Open Source xVM VirtualBox

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 15:45:00 EST

Sun Microsystems announced a new version of Sun xVM VirtualBox, its free and open source desktop virtualization software for developers and enterprise users. xVM VirtualBox software lets users create "virtual machines" into which they can install their operating system (OS) of choice. As a result, users can access their favorite software using any OS and developers can build, test and run cross-platform, multi-tier applications on a single laptop or desktop computer. xVM VirtualBox software supports popular host OSs, including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, Solaris and OpenSolaris.

Emulex Virtualization Technology Leverages IBM SAN Connections

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:00:00 EST

IBM has selected Emulex Corporation’s LightPulse 8Gb/s Fibre Channel Host Bus Adapters (HBAs) for the new IBM Power Systems servers. By leveraging Emulex HBAs, IBM may provide customers with the increased I/O bandwidth, manageability and CPU efficiency required to support the increased deployment of virtualized servers and high transaction databases. Offering industry-standard N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV) support, Emulex’s LPe12000 family of 8Gb/s HBAs "virtualize" SAN connections so that each virtual machine has independent access to its own protected storage. Emulex Virtual HBA technology, when combined with the IBM Power platform, PowerVMTM virtualization technology and the IBM AIX operating system, enables customers to leverage SAN management tools and best practices, such as fabric zoning and LUN mapping/masking.

First M-Wallet Solution Deployment in China Using K-Java

Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:45:00 EST

Motorola announced the launch of a comprehensive mobile commerce solution for financial and retail merchandising needs. The solution, consisting of an M-Wallet and back-end management platform, has been deployed by Union Mobile Pay (UMPay), a mobile payment company established by China Mobile Communications Corporation (CMCC) and China UnionPay. Motorola's M-Wallet solution provides enhanced user interface with secured and reliable service as compared to existing technologies based on Short Message Service (SMS), Interactive Voice Response (IVR), Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) and Wireless Application Protocol (WAP).

Virtualization Security Pioneer Catbird Launches Free Compliance Enforcer

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:13:00 EST

Catbird announced the launch of the Catbird Compliance Enforcer, a free service that instantly validates and enforces the security and compliance of virtual data centers. The Catbird Compliance Enforcer’s automated VM quarantine technology brings a level of protection to VMware commensurate with industry regulations and critical to passing traditional audits. The Compliance Enforcer conducts analyses of all virtual machines, virtual networks and the hypervisor management network itself, immediately quarantining questionable machines and traffic and generating reports on anomalous conditions in violation of established regulations.

Pillar Data Systems Supports Microsoft Virtualization Customers

Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:00:00 EST

Pillar Data Systems has announced its Window Server certification and application compatibility with Microsoft's Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, Microsoft's newest server operating system with built-in, hypervisor-based virtualization. The Pillar Axiom Storage System and Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V work together so customers can run multiple operating systems in parallel on a single server and more fully leverage the power of x64 computing.

DynamicOps Extends Virtualization Management Software

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 15:11:00 EST

DynamicOps has announced new features for its Virtual Resource Manager (VRM), extending the virtualization management software from servers to desktops. The new features make it easier to organize, create, and control a virtual desktop environment. In addition, VRM 3.1 fully supports Microsoft’s Hyper-V hypervisor.

VMware to Collaborate with HP to Manage Mixed Physical and Virtual Datacenters

Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:44:00 EST

VMware has announced its intention to expand its strategic relationship with HP to include the joint development of management software solutions that manage both physical and virtual datacenter resources. VMware intends to deliver with HP integrated physical and virtual datacenter management and automation software solutions that would standardize on various technologies within HP’s Business Technology Optimization (BTO) software.

SYS-CON Webcast: Strategies to Reduce Costs

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:00:00 EST

Strategies for Mid-sized Companies to Streamline Operations, Reduce Costs and Increase Revenue with Portals Webcast will take place on Wednesday, December 10, 1 PM EST. Registration for this live event is open at the SYS-CON WebSphere Journal website. Please click here to sign up.

VMware Announces VMware View 3 for Virtual Desktop Computing

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:12:00 EST

VMware has announced the general availability of VMware View 3. With VMware View 3, IT organizations can "decouple" a desktop from specific physical devices or locations to create a personalized view of a user’s desktop, applications, and data – called "myView" – that is securely accessible from almost any device, at any time. By hosting these virtual desktop images in the datacenter using the virtualization and management platform, VMware Infrastructure 3, VMware View 3 enables IT personnel to provision and manage thousands of virtual desktops simply, securely, and with lower operating costs.

SAP Presented at SYS-CON's 4th International Virtualization Conference & Expo

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 19:15:00 EST

In his virtualization session on Nov. 21 at the 4th International Virtualization Conference & Expo in San Jose, CA, Roland Wartenberg, SAP's director of virtualization strategy, discussed the supported virtualization solutions provided by partners of SAP's virtualization ecosystem. Simply running an SAP solution in a virtualized environment is not enough.

Red Hat's Brian Stevens Explores the Evolution of the Cloud at 1st International Cloud Computing Conference & Expo

Fri, 28 Nov 2008 07:00:00 EST

"The days of Cloud 1.0 are here," stated Red Hat CTO Brian Stevens in his session this morning at SYS-CON’s Virtualization Conference & Expo, in San Jose. He discussed the evolution of the cloud, and how to build a cloud. Over the last five years, the open source community has turned its attention to virtualization, and Stevens discussed what has been achieved so far, and what is under development.

Pillar Data Systems' Application-Aware Profiles Compatible with Citrix Virtualization Platform

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 12:15:00 EST

As a member of the Citrix Ready Program, Pillar Data Systems has announced compatibility of its Application-Aware profiles with the Citrix Application Delivery Infrastructure. Today's news builds on a series of certifications Pillar has made with the delivery of its Axiom Storage systems, which are now listed in the Citrix Ready catalog for XenServer products.

Fedora 10 Lays Out Roadmap for Future of Open Source Computing with Virtualization Enhancements

Wed, 26 Nov 2008 09:00:00 EST

The Fedora Project, a Red Hat sponsored and community-supported open source collaboration project, has announced the availability of Fedora 10, the latest version of its free open source operating system distribution. Fedora 10 features numerous leading-edge technologies and continues to lay the groundwork for derivative open source distributions throughout the enterprise.

Citrix Survey Finds College Labs Looking Ahead to Desktop Virtualization

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 08:15:00 EST

A recent survey conducted by Citrix Systems revealed that virtual desktop delivery interests higher education information technology (IT) professionals looking for ways to optimize the computer lab. Seventy-six percent of 200 higher education IT professionals indicated an interest in adding virtual desktop delivery to their institution’s virtualization profile.

HP's Director of Virtualization at SYS-CON's 4th International Virtualization Conference & Expo in Silicon Valley

Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:15:00 EST

Nick van der Sweep, HP's Director of Virtualization and Insight Software ESS Infrastructure Software, gave an information-packed breakout session at SYS-CON's 4th International Virtualization Conference & Expo last week in San Jose, California. He explained to delegates how to develop a virtualization strategy that will enable the transformation of a datacenter into a cost-effective, energy efficient and responsive IT environment that can dynamically adapt to the changing business requirements.

Microsoft’s Mike Neil Keynotes at SYS-CON's 4th International Virtualization Conference & Expo

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 14:15:00 EST

"Virtualization will help our customers be more agile and efficient," noted Mike Neil at SYS-CON’s Virtualization Conference & Expo, in San Jose, CA, "and there are three areas these companies are focused on." These areas are to drive costs down, increase efficiency, and using virtualization to provide new capabilities.