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

Stealthy Nicira Raises Funding From Former VMware CEO Diane Greene, Others

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Stealthy start-up Nicira got some backing from VMware founder Diane Greene and is developing a network operating system designed to virtualize networks and create networks ideal for cloud deployments. Nicira’s founding team comes out of Stanford University, where Greene’s husband and VMware co-founder, Mendel Rosenblum, is a professor in computer science.

he start-up’s CEO is Steve Mullaney, who has held executive positions at Palo Alto Networks, Blue Coat, Cisco and other companies. Nicira’s co-founders also include Scott Shenker and Nick McKeown, who are computer science professors at Stanford University.

Nicira investors also include the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz formed by two ex-Netscape execs, and Andy Rachleff, a partner at Benchmark Capital.

Nicira raised one equity round of $9 million and another of $4 million, according to a VentureBeat article.

Founded in 2007, the company is based in Palo Alto, Calif.

Lanamark, Oracle Partner to Accelerate Delivery of Virtualization Solutions Based on Oracle VM

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Lanamark Inc., a global provider of virtualization and capacity management services platform to the IT channel delivering desktop, server and storage optimization solutions, today announced that they are working with Oracle to enable partners to use Lanamark Suite to perform capacity planning and deliver enterprise-class desktop and server virtualization solutions based on Oracle VM across x86/x64 and SPARC architectures. As part of this effort, Lanamark has joined the Oracle PartnerNetwork as a Gold level partner. To learn more, please visit www.lanamark.com/oracle.
“Partners play a key role in delivering integrated IT solutions that enable customers to reduce IT costs and focus on their core business,” said Jeff Doolan, Director of Virtualization and Linux Channels at Oracle. “Lanamark’s solution accelerates our partners’ ability to plan and design complete virtualization solutions with Oracle VM across x86/x64 and SPARC systems.”
“Lanamark has a strategically important toolset which will enable Avnet’s Oracle channel partners to engage in early conversations with enterprises around desktop and server virtualization initiatives,” said Mickey Bharat, Director Oracle and Sun, Avnet Technology Solutions EMEA. “By working with Avnet and Lanamark, our partners can design end-to-end virtual infrastructure solutions that leverage the strength of complementary software and hardware products. These complete virtualization solutions create significant opportunities and business differentiators for Avnet’s Oracle partners.”
Lanamark Suite enables Oracle partners to accelerate design and delivery of Oracle VM virtualization solutions. Solution providers can gather vital information about x86/x64 and SPARC environments, identify most suitable candidates for virtualization, and then design complete, high-performance virtualization solutions with Oracle VM. Lanamark Suite supports application, middleware, database, operating system, server, storage and thin client components from Oracle and Oracle alliance partners. To learn more, including Lanamark’s participation in upcoming Oracle VM boot camps, please visit www.lanamark.com/oracle/bootcamps.
“Oracle enables its partners to deliver a complete stack with enterprise-class software and hardware components that can be deployed, managed and supported together,” said Mark Angelo, CEO of Lanamark. “Using Lanamark Suite, Oracle partners can analyze existing x86/x64 and SPARC environments, perform capacity planning and design end-to-end IT systems with highly available, scalable and cost-effective virtualization delivered by Oracle VM.”

Lanamark today announced that they are working with Oracle to enable partners to use Lanamark Suite to perform capacity planning and deliver enterprise-class desktop and server virtualization solutions based on Oracle VM across x86/x64 and SPARC architectures.

As part of this effort, Lanamark has joined the Oracle PartnerNetwork as a Gold level partner.

Lanamark Suite enables Oracle partners to accelerate design and delivery of Oracle VM virtualization solutions. Solution providers can gather vital information about x86/x64 and SPARC environments, identify most suitable candidates for virtualization, and then design complete, high-performance virtualization solutions with Oracle VM. Lanamark Suite supports application, middleware, database, operating system, server, storage and thin client components from Oracle and Oracle alliance partners.

TippingPoint Introduces New Products to Secure Virtualized Data Centers

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TippingPoint, a leading provider of network security and a division of 3Com, and Reflex Systems, a pioneer in virtualization systems management solutions, today announced a partnership that will enable organizations to secure virtual networks with the same technology used for physical networks. The partnership integrates Reflex’s Virtualization Management Center (VMC) solution with TippingPoint’s industry-leading Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) to provide customers with comprehensive security, visibility and performance across both physical and virtual network infrastructures.
Companies are adopting virtualization at a rapid pace for cost, energy, and speed of deployment benefits. As they move mission critical data to virtual environments, they find themselves requiring the same enterprise-class security in their virtual networks as they do across their physical networks. Securing and managing the virtual environment requires a different approach and a new set of technologies that are purpose-built for the virtual environment.
As part of its recently launched TippingPoint Virtual Controller (vController), TippingPoint will use Reflex Systems’ vTrust™ technology to enable more sophisticated segmentation (virtual trust zones), policy enforcement, as well as monitoring, filtering and control of VM-to-VM traffic. vTrust also takes advantage of VMware’s VMsafe API to deliver a more granular level of visibility and control into communication within the VMware virtual environment.
“Virtualization delivers on the promise of an agile, more cost-effective IT infrastructure. However, it also makes it easier than ever to introduce risk into the enterprise,” said Pete Privateer, president and CEO, Reflex Systems. “Fortunately, by leveraging advancements in security and management technologies, organizations can minimize their risk and realize the benefits of virtualization. We are pleased to partner with TippingPoint, the industry’s leading IPS vendor, to provide a high level of visibility and control across the entire network.”
Security and Management of Virtual Environments
Reflex’s award-winning Virtualization Management Center (VMC) manages and protects virtual servers, desktops, and networks providing a management for security and compliance that correlates infrastructure configuration changes with network services and security events. This integrated approach enables enterprise organizations to improve performance while increasing business efficiency and business continuity in the virtual data center.
Reflex VMC is designed to provide customers with the essential capabilities needed to effectively manage and secure complex, dynamic virtual environments, capitalize on their existing virtualization investment, reduce cost through efficient management, minimize downtime, and maintain a reliable virtualized infrastructure running critical applications. VMC integrates security, compliance, audit and management of the virtual environment by providing visibility, correlation, control and automation through a single pane of glass.
By integrating Reflex’s VMC with the TippingPoint IPS, customers will be able to gain control and protect physical and virtual environments saving time and money while providing a more comprehensive view of the environment for security and compliance purposes.
“As organizations move toward virtualization they are looking to extend enterprise-class network security into the virtual environment,” said Alan Kessler, president of TippingPoint. “By tapping into Reflex’s virtualization expertise, we can provide our customers an effective solution for improving security, achieving regulatory compliance, and reducing total cost of ownership across their entire infrastructure, whether it’s physical or virtual.”
For more information or to purchase, please visit http://www.tippingpoint.com/products_virtualization.html

TippingPoint, a provider of network security and a division of 3Com, and Reflex Systems, recently announced a partnership that will enable organizations to secure virtual networks with the same technology used for physical networks.

The partnership integrates Reflex’s Virtualization Management Center (VMC) solution with TippingPoint’s industry-leading Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) to provide customers with comprehensive security, visibility and performance across both physical and virtual network infrastructures.

As part of its recently launched TippingPoint Virtual Controller (vController), TippingPoint will use Reflex Systems’ vTrust™ technology to enable more sophisticated segmentation (virtual trust zones), policy enforcement, as well as monitoring, filtering and control of VM-to-VM traffic. vTrust also takes advantage of VMware’s VMsafe API to deliver a more granular level of visibility and control into communication within the VMware virtual environment.

Reflex VMC is designed to provide customers with the essential capabilities needed to effectively manage and secure complex, dynamic virtual environments, capitalize on their existing virtualization investment, reduce cost through efficient management, minimize downtime, and maintain a reliable virtualized infrastructure running critical applications. VMC integrates security, compliance, audit and management of the virtual environment by providing visibility, correlation, control and automation through a single pane of glass.

By integrating Reflex’s VMC with the TippingPoint IPS, customers will be able to gain control and protect physical and virtual environments saving time and money while providing a more comprehensive view of the environment for security and compliance purposes.

For more information or to purchase, please visit http://www.tippingpoint.com/products_virtualization.html

Citrix, Novell Team Up for Enterprise-Class Virtualization and Cloud Computing Solution

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Citrix and Novell today announced a collaboration that expands choice for customers through increased virtualization interoperability and new assessment tools to help pinpoint the economically most advantageous approach to virtualization. Through this new partnership, Novell has certified SUSE Linux Enterprise Server as a “Perfect Guest” running on Citrix XenServer and both companies will provide joint technical support to customers.

As a result of this agreement, the more than 4,500 enterprise applications certified as Novell Ready for SUSE Linux Enterprise Server are now Citrix Ready community-verified when running in a SUSE Linux Enterprise Server guest virtual machine on XenServer.

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server is the only Linux operating system that has been optimized to be the perfect guest on all major hypervisors, with outstanding performance when running on XenServer. Now customers and cloud providers gain the added value of the free XenServer as an enterprise-class virtualization platform for Linux and Windows environments, providing them with an expanded set of technologies and processes to run and manage heterogeneous data centers.

The interoperability between SUSE Linux Enterprise and XenServer, which is YES Certified through the Virtualization Compatibility Program from Novell, is effective immediately.-

Mitel, VMware Announce First Clients to Leverage Voice Virtualization

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Mitel and VMware last week announced Virtual Mitel Communications Director (Virtual MCD), part of the new Mitel Virtual Solutions software portfolio as well as the first customers to deploy Virtual MCD.

Virtual MCD is the first real-time voice application designed for the VMware vSphere 4 platform.

As a virtual appliance, Virtual MCD is a software package download that runs on VMware vSphere 4, enabling customers to seamlessly access and install Mitel’s call control software.

The solution leverages VMware vSphere 4 to enable customers to consolidate Mitel’s leading voice applications alongside non-voice business applications in the datacenter. This results in the potential for: capital savings due to the significant reduction in server hardware and real estate; operational savings with the reduction in power and server provisioning costs; as well as productivity improvements and resource efficiencies in datacenter management and risk mitigation for business continuity and disaster recovery plans.

Mitel and VMware already have a number of joint customers that have deployed Virtual MCD including Gallagher, Flynn & Company LLP, an accounting firm based in the US; Ideal Integrations, a technology integrator based in the US; Spalding University, a university in Louisville, KY; and Ashford Borough Council in the UK. These customer sites consist of users ranging from 30 to more than 2,000.

Virtual MCD is the latest application Mitel has introduced in the Mitel Virtual Solutions software portfolio. The next phase will include Mitel Applications Suite (MAS) and Mitel Border Gateway (MBG) as virtual appliances built using VMware Studio to be released 60 days after Virtual MCD.

Parallels Small Business Panel Attracts Go Daddy, The Planet Softlayer, Others

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Parallels announced last week that its Small Business Panel has attracted some of the biggest names in the industry within months of release.

Go Daddy, the world’s largest domain name registrar and leading Web hosting provider, began offering Parallels Small Business Panel to its more than 7.5 million customers, many of whom are small businesses.

Other successful adopters of Parallels Small Business Panel include The Planet, Softlayer, Softcom, Codero, Layershift, ServeInt, Arsys, Network Group Europe and Host Europe.

Parallels Small Business Panel features a control panel designed for small businesses, offering simple wizards and productivity tools for collaboration, file sharing and business management. This makes self-service possible for all employees using the solution.

Parallels Small Business Panel 10.1 gives users an intuitive interface designed to connect employees to the right applications, which can be installed with a single click with no need for special training or technical knowledge. In addition, Parallels Small Business Panel incorporates the functionality of additional Parallels solutions for free, including Parallels Sitebuilder and Parallels Power Pack.

Users also have access to over 200 applications that increase productivity, efficiency and creativity but require no prior knowledge of the product to utilize the benefits. Some of the top applications available for free include WordPress, SugarCRM, Droopal and Mumbo.