News and insights from the vibrant world of virtualization and cloud computing
Richard Sarwal has left his position as executive VP of research and development at VMware to return to database software giant Oracle. VMware hired Sarwal from Oracle less than a year ago, and declined to give details of why Sarwal decided to go back to Oracle.
Stephen Herrod, CTO at VMware, will assume Sarwal’s day-to-day duties temporarily. Sarwal is currently still listed in the management structure as outlined on the company website.
[Source: San Francisco Business Times]
Novell today announced the availability of Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization, an easy-to-use tool that eliminates application compatibility problems on Windows desktops. This addition to the ZENworks product line creates virtual applications in a single, isolated file and allows them to be deployed and run securely, reducing the problems associated with deploying new operating system (OS) platforms like Vista, decreasing expensive service desk calls and increasing user productivity.
With ZENworks Application Virtualization, the only application virtualization solution on the market that includes pre-configured templates for popular business software, customers can now virtualize and deploy applications in as little as 20 minutes.
Compatible with Windows Vista and Windows XP, ZENworks Application Virtualization reduces the cost and time required for software testing, packaging, deployment, configuration and contingency planning to ensure successful application and operating system upgrades. For example, with ZENworks Application Virtualization customers can continue to run Internet Explorer 6-based applications on Windows Vista, a configuration that previously required the application to be re-tooled to support Internet Explorer 7.
Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization is available for a list price of $39 per user or instance license. For more information about application virtualization from Novell, click here.
[Source: EarthTimes]
Embotics (previous coverage), a virtualization management tools provider that recently released its flagship product V-Commander 2.0, today will announce a free, starter version of that program with the exact same interface dubbed V-Scout. If you’re trying to figure out the best way to track and automate virtual machines before they sprawl much further throughout your organization, this chance to peek at the Embotics approach for free should be appealing.
“V-Scout should help you answer some key questions about virtual machines in your shop; for instance, the tool can help you analyze how the VMs are produced and tracked and what IT management policies are being applied to the VMs,” says Embotics VP of marketing David Lynch. “Then you can automate policies for better management and security, and for help at auditing time.”
The free tool includes canned and ad hoc reporting capabilities, so you can slice and dice VM data by say, line of business owner or project number. Embotics tools currently work only with VMware infrastructure; Lynch says Microsoft Hyper-V support will arrive in late 2008 or early 2009 after Embotics gets the necessary management tools from Microsoft. Citrix support is planned for 2009.
[Source: Scott Lowe]
After BMC, HP today announced new products, services and solutions designed to simplify the implementation and management of virtualization so that the technology delivers greater business value.
HP’s approach to virtualization is focused on removing the technology inhibitors that reduce virtualization’s impact on the business. It highlights how applications and business services can perform well regardless of where and how they are hosted, networked or managed. It dramatically simplifies management across a combined virtual and physical world, and it addresses the issue of pooling infrastructure resources across an organization.
HP’s new offerings support business needs that span the desktop to the data center. They are focused on lowering operational cost, mitigating the risk of a heterogeneous environment and freeing resources to deliver new business services. These offerings are designed around three specific areas: applications and operations management, overcoming infrastructure barriers, and maximizing client architectures.
New HP offerings are designed to lower costs, mitigate the risk of downtime and free up resources that can drive additional business services to support growth.
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[Source: ZDnet Blogs]
Shavlik Technologies, provider of solutions that accelerate and improve security and compliance readiness, today announced (PDF) the availability of Shavlik NetChk Protect 6.5. Shavlik NetChk Protect 6.5 is a virtual machine management solution that provides continuous patch assessment and remediation of your complete virtual world, including Offline Virtual Images.
“Shavlik’s market leading agentless technology makes it uniquely capable of reaching and securing offline virtual images, thereby allowing customers to simplify the entire security management process. This technology edge is why VMware selected Shavlik to license and integrate into its own solutions offering. Now we are bringing our full solution into our main product line, a key to the continued simplification of complex network security solutions we provide to our customers.”
BMC Software today announced nine new, integrated solutions specifically designed to help customers eliminate the rising risk and operational expenses associated with inadequate management of virtualized IT environments.
The new solutions are grounded in a BMC-invented, highly automated set of Closed-Loop Change and Configuration Management (CLCCM) process workflows that reduce the latency, cost and risk associated with change management by as much as 75 percent.