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VMware has announced broad ecosystem support of the Teradici PC-over-IP (PCoIP) protocol delivered in VMware View 4.

VMware View 4 is the industry’s only purpose-built desktop virtualization solution, setting a new quality, cost and scale standard while eliminating critical barriers that have traditionally restricted customer adoption. The VMware software implementation of the patented PCoIP protocol is a key feature of VMware View 4, raising the bar for delivering a rich, high-quality desktop experience to any user — from the basic task worker to the most demanding power user — regardless of location, addressing more use cases than ever before. With support for native VMware View software clients and PCoIP-enabled hardware from a variety of ecosystem partners, VMware View with PCoIP is specifically designed to provide customers the flexibility to deploy end-to-end solutions with a variety of end point options to meet the most diverse range of end user and business needs.

Unlike other legacy application delivery solutions, the robust PCoIP protocol in VMware View 4 is purpose-built for virtual desktop delivery over any network. The flexible access model enables users to work with a wide range of applications, view rich media content, choose any number of monitor configurations and seamlessly access locally attached peripheral devices such as printers, scanners and mass storage with a PC-like experience regardless of location or task. The protocol dynamically detects and adapts to the end user’s network connection, automatically analyzing and optimizing to compensate for changes in latency and bandwidth to help ensure the best user experience for the scenario.

VKernel Corporation is making perpetual licenses of its Capacity Modeler software for VMware (a free alternative to VMware’s vCenter CapacityIQ-  completely free until December 31, 2009.

Conerned that recently announced competitive offerings, such as VMware’s CapacityIQ, leave users with inadequate capabilities to tackle an important problem, VKernel is offering anyone that downloads VKernel Capacity Modeler between now and December 31, 2009 a free perpetual licenses for unlimited CPU sockets.

The free VKernel Capacity Modeler software provides VMware customers the ability to quickly plan, simulate, and validate hundreds of real-world “what if” VM deployment and resource allocation scenarios in an interactive sandbox before going live in the production environment.  With VKernel Capacity Modeler, user can perform:

• Capacity Planning
• Interactive “What If” Modeling Scenarios
• Proactive Problem Prevention
• Predictive Capacity Impact Analysis

VKernel currently supports VMware ESX and vSphere, with plans to support Microsoft Hyper-V and Citrix XEN. The company’s current virtualization management and optimization products include:

• Capacity Analyzer – proactively and predicatively monitor shared capacity resources to prevent current and future problems and optimize the environment
• Optimization Pack – collection of management and optimization applets to help users quickly reclaim unused server and storage resources – delivering an instant ROI
• Chargeback – provide instant cost visibility and implement a chargeback process
• Modeler – interactive capacity planning and change modeling

i36 (owned by Seagate ) today announced a collaboration with Microsoft on development of a heterogeneous solution that will allow IT managers to extend Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager (DPM) 2010 across non-Microsoft platforms and into the cloud, using i365’s EVault data protection software and cloud-connected storage solutions infrastructure.

The combined solution will be available in several configurations. The first configuration will include an appliance-based backup solution, powered by Seagate technology, which is scheduled for delivery in first half of 2010 with the release to manufacturing of DPM 2010. This collaboration includes both technology and joint go-to-market components.

A growing number of companies are adopting System Center Data Protection Manager as their standard for Windows backup and recovery. Yet many of these companies also run other operating systems and applications for part of their business and want a single solution that extends System Center Data Protection Manager to protect data from both Windows and non-Windows environments. This collaboration will give customers an integrated data protection environment for Windows file servers and applications, as well as other platforms and applications, such as UNIX, Linux, Novell Netware, VMware, IBM i, and Oracle. One integrated solution for all platforms enables IT teams to provide data protection and disaster recovery more efficiently and with less cost. The cloud option automatically brings the data offsite, ensuring business continuity even if a facility is damaged or destroyed.

The combined solution will also give customers the ability to protect DPM and other data in the cloud – an attractive complement to onsite backup and recovery. With immediate access to the i365 data protection cloud, DPM customers will benefit from a network of SAS 70 Type II certified, Tier 3 & 4 hosting facilities, WAN optimized backup and recovery, disaster recovery experts and processes, and a 12-year track record protecting data for over 22,000 customers across the globe.

Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager is a member of the Microsoft System Center family of management products, designed to help IT Professionals manage their Windows environment. DPM 2010 delivers unified data protection for Windows servers and clients as a best-of-breed backup and recovery solution from Microsoft, for Windows environments. DPM 2010 provides the best protection and most supportable restore scenarios for Windows environments to disk, tape and cloud — in a scalable, reliable, manageable and cost-effective way.

Siemens IT Solutions and Services has concluded a new partnership agreement with VMware to deliver innovative virtualization solutions to the marketplace. The agreement between Siemens IT Solutions and Services and VMware includes developing new offers and implementing a common marketing and sales strategy, and will allow joint customer acquisition.

VMware was a key partner with Siemens in its largest virtualization transformation and project yet completed. Siemens utilized VMware virtualization technology to help transform the Siemens global IT presence into a fully dynamic environment. Through that effort, the two companies have forged very close ties and continue to engage in ongoing product development and testing for their customers.

Also through that effort, Siemens has been able to:

• Consolidate 11 compute locations into 2
• Virtualize 10,948 servers and 9,600 applications
• Standardize on storage utility, application assessment, integrated lifecycle services and standard services catalog

In doing so, they were able to achieve cost-savings and process efficiencies such as:

• 17:1 Server Compute reduction
• 30% Power and cooling reduction across sample environments
• 45% Floor space reduction through consolidation and virtualization
• Management and administrative cost reductions of 25% – 35%
• Accommodation of application lifecycle and disaster recovery services

Siemens and VMware are maximizing their strengths in the management of IT infrastructures and the provisioning of virtualization solutions to deliver more robust product and service offerings to current and future customers. In addition to the Siemens AG transformation, the two companies have already successfully implemented virtualization solutions for several high-profile companies. With those successes, the two companies are looking to drive expansion of their customer base through this partnership.

Project Golden Ratio (inspiration) is a new project – PDF – within the Xen.org community to determine a set of metrics that allow the community to measure and evaluate itself.

These set of metrics will allow the community to find areas of strength and weakness in an overall effort to improve community participation, growth, and success. As with all things open source, Project Golden Ratio will be developed in the public space and is open to contribution from all interested parties.

The following community activities will be measured:

• Xen.org Products – software, testing, support, documentation, mailing lists
• Xen.org Website – traffic measurements
• Community Activity – promotion, events, user groups, evangelists
• Social Networks – 3^rd party networking sites (e.g. Facebook, LinkedIn)

Syncsort, maker of  high-performance data processing, data integration and data protection and recovery software, has announced a new professional services offering for organizations who are planning to deploy server virtualization.

Syncsort’s MVP (Migration, Verification and Protection) service is performed by technical specialists who help plan, manage, verify and rapidly deploy minimally-disruptive physical to virtual migration of data, applications and servers. This critical offering is expected to become a routine requirement to provide customers with the flexibility to rapidly and securely migrate their server environments.

The MVP service delivers:

• Safe and rapid P2V and V2V migration of critical applications and servers
• Data protection and availability throughout the migration process with minimal impact to the environment
• Multiple migration checkpoints for live testing with safe fallback to a physical server
• Monitoring of both physical and virtual environment
• Full protection in the post-migration period

The MVP service will be distributed and delivered by reseller partners of Syncsort, Inc. These IT professionals will utilize Syncsort’s best practices P2V migration solutions with Syncsort BEX data protection software, and they will be formally trained and fully authorized by experienced Syncsort engineers. Resellers of the MVP service will be able to create greater value to their customers and more opportunities for their businesses.

This program is part of Syncsort’s broader commitment to improving data centers through the combination of technology, service innovations and distribution channels. The MVP service supports users migrating to VMware and Microsoft Hyper-V environments.