News and insights from the vibrant world of virtualization and cloud computing
The bidding war between HP and Dell for data storage company 3PAR is over.
The winner? Hewlett-Packard, with a $2.4 billion offer. That was 83 percent above Dell’s first offer and more than three times what 3Par stock was trading at then.
The only silver lining for Dell?
It is entitled to receive a $72 million break-up fee from 3PAR upon the termination of its merger agreement.
Make sure to read this good article from the AP following Dell’s withdrawal from the bidding war.
Wyse Technology has announced the upcoming availability of Wyse PocketCloud 2.0 for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad. Wyse PocketCloud 2.0 can be purchased from the iTunes App Store.
Wyse PocketCloud is a remote desktop application that has been extremely successful in the iTunes app marketplace, and is ranked among the top 10 business applications since it was introduced at VMworld 2009.
It allows end users to access their files, desktop and applications on any physical or virtualized infrastructure via a choice of popular, well supported protocols. Wyse PocketCloud is VMware Ready Certified for VMware View™ for the entire family of Apple iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch and iPad), with seamless integration into a pre-existing VMware View environment with no special setup or software required.
Wyse PocketCloud provides secure mobile display and control of physical or virtual instances of Microsoft Windows 7, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Remote Desktop Services, and Terminal Services features in Windows Server products.
Wyse PocketCloud for iPhone and iPad also includes the new Wyse PocketCloud Premium. Wyse PocketCloud Premium enables a richer and more intuitive interaction with the multimedia, files and applications in your Windows desktops.
New in Wyse PocketCloud for iOS devices (iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad):
Wyse PocketCloud Premium
Promotional pricing will continue at $14.99.
All customers using Wyse PocketCloud 2.0 will have access to the new Wyse PocketCloud Premium that enables new capabilities during your remote desktop experience. Wyse PocketCloud Premium will be available in 3 month and 12 month increments at $2.99 and $9.99 respectively. All versions will be available at the iTunes App Store.
Quest Software today announced that vFoglight, its solution for virtualization monitoring and capacity planning, will support Microsoft Hyper-V and provide increased automation of virtual infrastructures with vFoglight 6.5, currently planned for release in Q4 2010.
vFoglight now also supports Microsoft Active Directory and Microsoft Exchange.
Quest is working to set a new standard for analyzing and monitoring performance and capacity across physical, virtual and cloud infrastructures while easing administration through automation.
Features and enhancements included in vFoglight 6.5 include:
AppDynamics has announced the results of its Application Virtualization Outlook survey.
Focused on understanding enterprise efforts to virtualize business applications, the survey revealed a significant divide in the pace of adoption of virtualization for non-critical systems versus mission-critical systems.
In particular, the results show that the majority of companies have yet to move Tier 1, mission-critical applications to virtual environments. Despite widely acknowledging the benefits of virtualization, most companies noted that they need more evidence that mission-critical applications will succeed in virtual environments.
According to the survey:
Application Virtualization Experiences ‘VM Stall’
While 83 percent report they have virtualized their non-critical applications and systems, in stark contrast, only 14 percent of respondents reported that they have fully virtualized “Tier 1” applications. With regard to those mission-critical applications, respondents said they were 50 percent more likely to virtualize applications used by employees than to virtualize the applications that directly interact with customers.
People, Performance & Design Are Top Concerns
When asked about the primary obstacles preventing the virtualization of mission-critical applications, respondents cited ‘people issues’, performance and design concerns as most the common. In fact, 52 percent of companies noted that application owners have blocked the project to virtualize a Tier 1 application. At the same time, 49 percent worry that the applications aren’t designed to support virtualization and 45 percent cited concerns about performance degradation once virtualized.
Benefits Are Clear, Confidence Is Lacking
While these concerns persist, there is wide recognition that compelling benefits exist when companies virtualize mission-critical applications. 59 percent strongly agree that virtualization would result in server consolidation and related power and cooling savings, while 49 percent strongly agree that failover/disaster recovery capabilities would improve in a virtual environment. 41 percent agree that their IT agility and responsiveness to the business would improve. Yet, the majority of companies still expressed a lack of confidence that their applications could succeed in virtual environments.
For more information about the Application Virtualization Outlook survey visit their blog.
Pano Logic, provider of zero client desktop virtualization solutions, has announced a partner certification program to provide new users with additional resources that will help them quickly implement and test desktop virtualization with the Pano Logic zero client desktop virtualization solution.
The inaugural class, comprised of representatives from Pano Logic’s global network of 300 authorized channel partners, will take place during VMworld and emphasize conducting and evaluating successful pilots.
The partner program expands the resources Pano Logic has invested in its channel, which handles nearly 100 percent of the company’s sales. The program will provide basic technical training on installing and managing Pano System deployments across a range of network architectures with an emphasis on successful pilots and evaluation services.
The program also extends Pano Logic’s efforts to assist end users in their rollout of new virtual desktop deployments. The most recent move was the May release of the Pano Express, a pre-loaded, pre-configured 50-user suite combining VMware vSphere Essentials, Microsoft Windows 7 licenses, and server and storage hardware with Pano Logic’s award-winning zero client platform.
Pano Express drastically reduces the capital costs (CAPEX) and complexity of implementing VDI deployments and eliminates the need for specialized skills or training.
Pano Logic Zero Client Computing:
Xsigo Systems yesterday announced a significant advancement in virtual I/O technology, simplifying and accelerating data center convergence – a key enabler of private cloud computing.
The company today released an Ethernet-based version of its award-winning Xsigo I/O Director, the industry’s first virtual I/O technology to leverage the standard Ethernet ports found on every x86 server.
The new technology helps customers drive enterprise efficiency – both OPEX and CAPEX – by connecting servers to every data center resource via a single conventional Ethernet server port. Unlike alternative approaches such as FCoE that require costly add-on cards, Xsigo’s new approach can deliver a complete end-to-end converged connectivity solution for less than $500 per server, or about 1/3 the cost of a converged network adapter (CNA) card alone.
Previously, infrastructure convergence meant purchasing add-on cards like FCoE adapters and PCIe link extenders that are disruptive to install, increase power consumption, and strain IT teams with laborious support tasks. Compared with these alternatives, Xsigo virtual I/O can save up to 80% on capital cost and avoid days or weeks of server downtime.
By connecting to servers via standard Ethernet ports, the new Xsigo I/O Director allows customers to:
The new product installs in just minutes by connecting a server’s Ethernet port to the Xsigo I/O Director. Customers then install drivers to their server. Server I/O consolidation and management can begin immediately.
The Ethernet-based Xsigo I/O Director employs the same hardware and software platform as Xsigo’s proven InfiniBand-based I/O Director, which is deployed in more than 100 enterprise data centers worldwide and is demonstrated compatible with software and hardware from VMware, Microsoft, Citrix, Dell, HP, IBM, Hitachi, Oracle, EMC, NetApp, Cisco, Brocade and many others.
Available in September, the Ethernet-based Xsigo VP780 and VP560 I/O Directors are priced starting at $35,000.