Virtualization.com

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

News

Endeavors Formally Releases Application Jukebox, Includes Free Version

by 1 Comment

Endeavors Technologies partially released its application virtualization and delivery product Application Jukebox in early April of this year, and has now split the offer into 3 editions: Enterprise, SaaS and Lite.

Endeavors

The most notable is the Lite edition, a freely available version of Endeavors’ patented application streaming technology, designed to run all services on one server and allows administrators to publish and stream their own Windows-based applications or choose from a selection of already published applications to stream.

The Application Jukebox family of products contain three key components. Application Jukebox Player sits on the client to create the virtual application environment and provides user authentication and application license enforcement. Application Jukebox Server controls and delivers applications, provides usage monitoring and logging, plus group, user and application level administration. Application Jukebox Studio allows ISVs and IT administrators to create a streamable, virtualized “appset” from standard, Windows-based applications that is then published to the server.

Stratus Technologies Releases Avance, Integrates With Citrix XenServer for Software-Based High-Availability Solution

by 1 Comment

Stratus Technologies has announced (PDF) its Stratus Avance software, the company’s first software-based high availability (HA) product. Using embedded virtualization and running on ordinary x86 servers, Avance claims to provide levels of availability superior to, and without the complexity of, high-availability cluster solutions for Linux and Windows applications.

Stratus Technologies

Stratus’ new software-based solution targets the SMB market as well as “edge” applications in large distributed networks where IT-staff support is minimal or non-existent. Prospective customers include medical practices, retail chains, small companies, branch banks, remote office or departmental computing, or distributed warehouses, distribution hubs or manufacturing facilities, for example.

Unlike other high-availability solutions, Avance HA positions itself as instant and automatic. Processing takes place on one server and data is simultaneously written to the mate, which can seamlessly assume
processing duties at any time should the primary server go out of service. If that happens, the affected server is removed from the network, alerts go out to user-defined recipients, a repair is made, and the server is brought back online to resynchronize with the active node with no downtime or data loss.

Avance is integrated with Citrix XenServer, and the U.S. list price for Avance software is $2,500 per server (including the license for Citrix XenServer). Avance software is available from Stratus channel partners and distributors, and in volume purchases directly from Stratus.

VMware Set To Release ThinApp 4.0 In 30 Days

by 1 Comment

VMware yesterday announced the upcoming availability of VMware ThinApp 4, an application virtualization solution based on technology the company acquired to its takeover of Thinstall and with it their Application Virtualization Suite.

VMware

ThinApp requires no pre-installed software on physical or virtual PCs and no new deployment infrastructure or management tools. ThinApp packages applications in familiar formats (.MSI or .EXE) that can plug into existing infrastructure for software license management, deployment, audit and compliance.

According to the press release, VMware ThinApp 4.0 highlights include:

  • Application Link (NEW) – Application Link allows interdependent applications to communicate with one another (such as Java, .Net, IE, Office) to eliminate conflicts, reduce application size, and maintain continuity and tracking of software licenses.
  • Application Sync (NEW) – Application Sync streams byte-level updates to users’ critical applications inside and outside the enterprise using HTTP/HTTPS, and on managed and non-managed PCs running virtualized applications.
  • “Package once, deploy anywhere” ThinApp uses Thinstall technology, which pioneered agentless application virtualization allowing applications to be deployed on virtually any Windows OS across virtually any device (kiosks, PCs, laptops, thin clients, virtual desktops).
  • Works with existing management tools to streamline costs and maintain compliance. ThinApp plugs into existing processes and desktop management tools to reduce the costs and complexity around managing the physical and virtual desktop.  According to Gartner**, “Virtualized applications can reduce the cost of testing, packaging and supporting an application by 60%.”
  • Conflict-free applications eliminate risks to business continuity. Applications are isolated from the underlying OS, eliminating costs of conflicting resources and allowing different versions of an application to run side by side (such as different versions of Internet Explorer).
  • Regain control of the desktop. ThinApp, along with VMware’s desktop virtualization family of products (ACE, Fusion, Workstation, and Virtual Desktop Infrastructure) enables IT to segment their applications, operating systems and migration deployments to speed time to value while decreasing complexity of managing the desktop.

The VMware ThinApp offering, which includes a copy of VMware Workstation and 50 client licenses, is priced at $5,000.  The client licenses are priced at $39 per endpoint. ThinApp will be available for purchase within 30 days through VMware’s network of distributors, resellers and OEMs.

VMware Stock Drops As Employee Grants Expire

by Leave a Comment

On a generally down day for tech stocks, VMware slipped on news that a large number of employee share grants may begin trading this week. The stock was down $4.19, or 6.2 %, to $63.70 in recent trading, or 61 times 2008 earnings and 43 times 2009 earnings. The Nasdaq was off 0.8 %.

Some 51.2 million shares of VMware are currently traded. According to UBS analyst Heather Bellini, about 11 million shares, or 22 % of the float, will become eligible to trade this week, as one-year grants to employees begin to vest. Another 3.5 million shares will vest in each of the next two quarters.

VMware has clawed its way back from a March low of $41.41 since posting first-quarter earnings in April that reported a still healthy revenue growth of 69 %. But the stock is well below its October high of $125, when year-over-year revenue growth was nearly 90 %.

VMware issued 33 million shares at $29 a share in an IPO.

Also check our earlier post on VMware financials.

[Source: TheStreet]

Citrix Integrates Access Gateway 1.8 With XenDesktop

by Leave a Comment

Citrix has integrated its Access Gateway appliance, version 1.8 with its recently released XenDesktop virtual desktop solution. Citrix’ security solution will allow companies to deliver virtual desktops to users based on identity, location and security status.

Citrix said its SmartAccess technology, when applied to its VDI solution, will allow customers to deploy virtual desktops more quickly and more securely to users worldwide. Additionally, the gateway’s wizards have been extended to support XenDesktop. The configuration wizards now enable IS managers to automate common XenDesktop configuration tasks.

The 8.1 release of Citrix Access Gateway costs about $3500 and includes end user licenses for XenDesktop use.

[Source: ZDnet Blogs]

VMware’s x86 Virtualization Benchmark Tool VMmark Upgraded To Version 1.1

by Leave a Comment

VMmark, VMware‘s free tool that hardware vendors, virtualization software vendors and other organizations can use to measure the performance and scalability of applications running in virtualized environments, has just reached version 1.1.

You can download it here and/or check the release notes over here.

[Source: VMware Blogs]