Virtualization.com

News and insights from the vibrant world of virtualization and cloud computing

Robin Wauters

PrimaCloud Deploys Xsigo Virtual I/O To Deliver Enterprise-Class Cloud Computing

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Xsigo Systems announced today that PrimaCloud, a leading managed cloud computing services provider, has deployed the Xsigo I/O Director as the foundation of its new service offering.

The virtual I/O architecture allows customers to provision a complete virtual private data center in just five minutes, a task that would otherwise require days or weeks. With Xsigo, PrimaCloud maintains 99.99% uptime at 50% less cost and in 85% less physical data center space than would otherwise be possible. Capital and operational cost savings enabled by Xsigo virtual I/O are expected to exceed $1 million in the company’s first year of operation.

Xsigo virtual I/O allowed PrimaCloud to deploy a fault-tolerant architecture based on highly-dense, quad server systems that package 48 processing cores within a compact 2U high chassis, reducing data center space requirements by 85% compared with conventional 4U high servers. By providing 40 Gb of bandwidth to each server while consuming only two PCI slots, Xsigo virtual I/O allowed PrimaCloud to deliver superior performance from more than 200 virtual machines per 2U system, a compute density that is believed to be the industry’s highest.

Xsigo virtual I/O was deployed in conjunction with VMware ESX software and Enigmatec’s EMS cross-platform policy-based automation solution. The combination allows configuration changes to be completed entirely in software — either manually or automatically — eliminating the need to visit the data center. When adding physical server resources, installation only requires connecting two I/O cables, reducing configuration time by 90%.

Sourcefire Launches Virtual 3D Partner Program

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Sourcefire has announced its Virtual 3D Partner Program, providing cloud computing companies and OEMs the ability to leverage the new Sourcefire Virtual 3D Sensor and Sourcefire Virtual Defense Center to efficiently and effectively increase customer protection.

The Sourcefire Virtual 3D Partner Program is designed to provide hardware, software and services companies with virtual security solutions to address their customer’s critical requirements.

The Sourcefire Virtual 3D Partners can utilize the recently announced Virtual 3D Sensor and Virtual Defense Center, which provide users with the flexibility to deploy the company’s leading security solutions within their virtual environments for increased protection of both physical and virtual assets. These new virtual appliances can inspect traffic between virtual machines, while also making it easier to deploy and manage sensors at remote sites where resource may be limited. They also enable partners to easily implement Sourcefire’s leading security solutions on existing customer hardware or within a cloud infrastructure for increased protection.

Quantum Debuts esXpress Software Module

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Quantum has unveiled Quantum esXpress software module, which optimizes Quantum’s DXi-Series disk backup and replication systems to back up and restore VMware ESX virtual servers.

Extending the power of Quantum’s patented data deduplication technology, esXpress and the DXi-Series together eliminate the need for physical servers to initiate a backup job and move data, and make WAN-based replication more affordable, providing an automated approach to replicating files to remote disaster recovery sites. This valuable combination lowers the cost of VMware data protection and optimizes the virtual infrastructure.

Quantum’s esXpress software module is available for the entire DXi-Series of deduplication and replication solutions, which dramatically reduces bandwidth and disk requirements for transmitting and storing data. The DXi-Series provides powerful advantages for virtual environments, eliminating duplicate data that virtual machines create, reducing storage needs for end users and streamlining backup. While the DXi-Series supports all of the leading backup software applications, the new esXpress software module is specifically designed to offer optimized backup for VMware servers.

With esXpress and the DXi-Series, Quantum combines innovative backup software with deduplication and replication technology to shorten backup windows, without adding servers to support data backup and restoration. Quantum’s esXpress also features a policy-based approach to installations and configurations which can significantly reduce deployment times when adding ESX servers. With its powerful deduplication technology and intelligent replication capabilities, Quantum’s DXi-Series is a compelling solution for organizations with both traditional and virtual backup needs, addressing cost, bandwidth and scalability concerns.

Quantum and its network of value-added resellers offer two versions of the esXpress software module: the Professional and Enterprise editions, to provide a range of capabilities for managing concurrent backup jobs per ESX server. Every DXi2500-D, DXi3500, DXi7500 Express and DXi7500 includes the right to a license for a free copy of esXpress Professional software, intended for use on one VMware ESX server regardless of the amount of storage or the number of virtual machines protected, which can support up to four Virtual Backup Appliances (VBAs). This esXpress Professional license is included at no additional cost, and phone-based installation is provided free of charge. Subsequent esXpress Professional licenses (MSRP $950) also support up to four VBAs each and for $950 can be upgraded to esXpress Enterprise (MSRP $1,850) which supports up to 16 VBAs per ESX server.

Devon IT Thin Client Models Now VMware View 3.1 Certified

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Devon IT has announced that its TC2, TC5, and SafeBook LVO thin client models are VMware View 3.1 Desktop Virtualization (VDI) certified.

This designation indicates the models have completed the VMware Hardware Certification Program testing criteria for use with VMware View 3.1 and are now listed on the VMware Hardware Compatibility Guide. The VMware Hardware Certification Program enables VMware Technology Alliance Partner (TAP) program members to provide mutual customers with jointly supported hardware solutions.

Passing the extensive certification testing helps ensure that Devon IT is compatible with VMware technology and ready for deployment in customer environments.

The VMware Ready program is a VMware co-branding program for qualified partner products and is a benefit of the VMware TAP program. With more than 1,000 members worldwide, the VMware TAP program works with best-of-breed technology partners to provide them a comprehensive set of VMware technical and marketing services, support, tools and expertise to deliver enhanced value to joint customers.

CohesiveFT Adds Ubuntu 9.04 SE and Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 to its Elastic Server Platform

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CohesiveFT today announced the addition of both Ubuntu 9.04 Server Edition (Jaunty Jackalope) and Debian GNU/Linux 5.0 (Lenny) operating systems to its Elastic Server platform, the company’s web-based factory for real-time virtual and cloud server assembly. The Elastic Server platform lets users assemble custom virtual and cloud servers using a point-and-click, self-service interface. The addition of the most recent stable versions of Ubuntu and Debian as operating system options gives users the ability to assemble and deploy their custom Ubuntu or Debian Elastic Servers to numerous virtual and cloud environments including Amazon’s Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2).

Ubuntu is a widely popular operating system distributed freely by Canonical based on GNU/Linux. Ubuntu is available under the GNU/GPL but is commercially supported by Canonical. Debian is also an extremely popular operating system based on GNU/Linux. Debian is not supported by a commercial enterprise but by an independent decentralized organization of developers.

The Elastic Server platform is a complement to virtualization and cloud offerings. Users assemble custom servers by choosing from a library of popular components. Once assembled, these custom application stacks can be configured to a variety of virtualization and cloud-ready formats, downloaded and deployed in real-time. There are over three thousand users of the service who have assembled more than seven thousand Elastic Server images for public and private use. The addition of Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope and Debian Lenny operating systems highlights CohesiveFT’s platform momentum following recently introduced support for Eucalyptus, Fedora Core 10, ElasticHosts, and KVM.

Vizioncore Announces Changes To Product Team

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Vizioncore today announced key changes to its product team: Jason Mattox, a founder of the company, will assume the role of vice president, Support and CTO, and Tyler Jewell becomes vice president, Products.

As vice president, CTO, and one of the original founders of Vizioncore, Jason Mattox remains the driving force behind Vizioncore’s product strategy to create a comprehensive set of solutions that propels management of virtual environments to new levels of precision and flexibility, while addressing the realities and challenges that today’s companies face. Mattox is one of the industry’s top minds in virtualization, with 12 years experience in IT architecture,An focused on consolidation and virtualization from the desktop to the enterprise.

As vice president, Products for Vizioncore, Tyler Jewell is responsible for Product Management and Product Marketing Management. Having been with Quest Software, Vizioncore’s parent company, for more than four years, Jewell has been responsible for a wide range of businesses spanning database, application, and infrastructure management. He led the team that brought vFoglight and vControl to market, and drove a portfolio to include investments in a number of high growth markets. He brings a wealth of experience from previous positions at BEA, Veritas and MySQL.