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

Pivot3 Series D Funding Climbs To $29 Million Thanks To New Investor

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Pivot3, a company that delivers virtual servers and scalable storage in a single platform, today announced that the Series D funding round previously announced at $25 million now totals $29 million, following a recent $4 million investment from Northleaf Capital Partners.

Northleaf Capital Partners is Canada’s largest independent global private markets manager and advisor. Northleaf joins existing Pivot3 investors Focus Ventures, InterWest Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Mesirow Financial Capital Partners IX, and Silver Creek Ventures.

Pivot3 Serverless Computing is the first scale-out storage solution offering integrated server virtualization to enterprise customers. Integrated server virtualization consolidates physical servers into Pivot3 storage appliances for high availability while realizing significant savings in power, cooling and rackspace. The compelling value proposition led the company’s quick rise to number one market share in the IP SAN market for video surveillance, as recently reported by IMS Research.

Release: Centrix Software – WorkSpace iQ

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Centrix Software, a provider of solutions that optimize the way IT infrastructures deliver applications, services and content, today announced the release of Centrix WorkSpace iQ, providing companies with a complete overview of their IT resources and how they are being used across the data center.

This critical data supports both ongoing reduction and consolidation of servers through virtualization, but also offers CIOs the ability to evaluate how different strategic IT decisions can affect the cost of delivering applications services to users.

Centrix WorkSpace iQ provides monitoring and metering of application delivery to users along with analysis of how services are being consumed. Based on this information, organizations can evaluate their strategies for IT and the opportunities for cost savings through software license rationalization, reductions in server numbers and further virtualization activities. This information can also be used to support larger IT transformation projects, where significant alterations to how IT delivers results to the organization can be considered.

“The ability to measure how applications are delivered to users and monitor how many users access applications over time is an important consideration for organizations as they virtualize their data centers. Without this complete overview across their different IT and technology silos, companies run the risk of apportioning more resources to applications than is required, or having more software licenses than needed,” said Lisa Hammond, CEO, Centrix Software. “WorkSpace iQ provides a comprehensive view of the entire IT environment, covering multiple application delivery technologies and data centers if a company has them in place. Based on WorkSpace iQ’s breakdown of how resources are used, IT can seek to reduce costs and improve service delivery. At the same time, CIOs can use this analysis to make the best strategic investment decisions for their organization.”

Clive Longbottom, Service Director at Quocirca commented, “The number of ways that organizations can deliver IT services to users has gone up considerably – from traditional approaches such as mainframes and server-based computing through to more modern systems such as web services or virtualized servers, the ability to see across all these different silos of technology is becoming more important. Without information on application delivery or data on how users actually consume IT services, organizations cannot compare their desktop IT strategies with other approaches and therefore miss out on potential cost-savings or opportunities to increase IT efficiency. Best practice for the future is to look across the entire IT infrastructure, measuring how hard resources are working, and to use this data to define how best to source and deliver application services through to the end-user.”

WorkSpace iQ is part of the overall Centrix WorkSpace Solution, which provides a suite of products to discover, measure and optimize the delivery of applications to users, whatever platforms are in place. Centrix Software also provides WorkSpace Discovery, a free tool for discovering desktop assets that can be upgraded to WorkSpace iQ.

Oracle Introduces Java Virtualization Solution for Oracle WebLogic Suite

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Oracle today announced Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder and Oracle WebLogic Suite Virtualization Option to help make running Java applications in a virtualized environment easy and practical.

  • Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder is a new product designed to help organizations quickly and easily deploy multi-tier enterprise applications in virtualized environments. It also enables administrators to quickly configure and provision these applications.
  • Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder provides a framework for automatically capturing the configuration of existing software components and packaging them as self-contained building blocks known as appliances.
  • In addition, Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder enables administrators to easily connect appliances as pluggable building blocks, known as assemblies, which can be used to create multi-tier applications.
  • Oracle WebLogic Suite Virtualization Option brings together Oracle WebLogic Server with JRockit Virtual Edition in a new release of the world’s #1 application server. This release is optimized for virtualized environments and able to deliver higher application performance and increased hardware utilization.
  • Oracle WebLogic Server can now run directly on Oracle VM without an operating system, a unique capability enabled by Oracle JRockit Virtual Edition.
  • Oracle VM server virtualization helps make enterprise software easier to deploy and manage, and is highly optimized to run business-critical database and application workloads efficiently and cost-effectively. The only x86 server virtualization certified for all Oracle software, Oracle VM is available as a free download.
  • In a virtualized environment, Oracle JRockit Virtual Edition handles essential operating system functions including TCP/IP, hardware device interaction, file I/O, and process scheduling, while freeing up hardware and management resources by removing operating system capabilities that are not essential for enterprise Java applications.
  • Together with Oracle JRockit Virtual Edition, Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder can drive deployment and runtime efficiencies. This combination can deliver significant value through both operational and capital cost savings.

Operational Efficiency and Agility

  • Oracle Virtual Assembly Builder enables the creation and configuration of multi-tier applications and provisions them onto virtualized resources.
    • Application-Aware Physical to Virtual: Captures the configuration of each software component in an existing application environment and packages them into a collection of customized software appliances.
    • Standardized Building Blocks: Creates multi-tier application assemblies using virtualized appliances.
    • Simplified and Rapid Provisioning: Single-step, template-based deployment of multi-tier applications to virtualized environments.

Higher Density and Performance for Virtualized Environments

  • Oracle JRockit Virtual Edition enhances the performance and functionality of Oracle WebLogic Server 11g in virtualized environments. This enables organizations to maximize server virtualization investments through:
    • Improved Server Density: By eliminating the operating system, Oracle WebLogic Server on JRockit Virtual Edition frees up system resources to run more application server instances on the same hardware.
    • Higher Performance: Oracle WebLogic Server on JRockit Virtual Edition can increase the performance of virtualized Java applications by up to 30 percent compared to deployments that include an operating system.

Surgient Previews New Private Cloud Management Dashboard

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Today at the International Cloud Conference & Expo, Surgient, the leader in private cloud automation software for the enterprise, announced a preview of its new Enterprise Cloud Dashboard, which for the first time gives cloud administrators immediate, comprehensive insight into the infrastructure, services, and users active in the private cloud.

No longer is capacity management a static, backward-looking activity that relies on estimations to predict future resource needs. With Surgient, private cloud administrators graphically and dynamically manage cloud capacity in real time to ensure that resources, such as virtual machines (VMs) and hardware capacity, are in line with usage demands. Additionally, the platform’s unique capacity management technology allows administrators to see future resource reservations, giving them an exact, reliable picture of how and when the infrastructure will be used over time. Key capabilities of the platform and new dashboard include:

  • Real-Time Cloud Insight – graphical view of cloud infrastructure enables administrators to easily manage live services and capacity.
  • Precise Future Capacity Planning – accurate, reservation-based capacity planning technology enables administrators to use live and future service data to precisely plan for capacity adjustments.
  • Self-Service-Enabled VM Migration – new graphical VM migration interface enables administrators to safely evaluate and act on migration recommendations from industry performance management tools while maintaining the integrity of a true self-service cloud.

Quest Announces New vWorkspace Release

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Quest Software has announced a new release of vWorkspace, a single virtualization solution for application delivery and desktop deployments.

The new release includes major functionality enhancements including EOP Xtream to speed WAN performance, and integration with Microsoft Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services to automate deployment and administration, and simplify use.

With the new, patent-pending EOP Xtream, Quest vWorkspace dramatically reduces the effects of network latency to deliver a smooth and enhanced user experience close to that of a physical PC across WAN and Internet/VPN connections. Developed in conjunction with a number of major enterprise customers, EOP Xtream delivers faster screen updates and smoother interaction on high latency connections. These improvements drive user acceptance and will accelerate adoption of desktop virtualization in enterprises, as well as DaaS from the cloud.

Quest vWorkspace provides a consolidated management experience in a single console for the many components in the Windows Server 2008 R2 Remote Desktop Services stack. The automation and advanced management functions in the latest release of vWorkspace make deployment of desktop virtualization on Windows Server easier and faster, and deliver greater reductions in the total cost of ownership (TCO). In particular, vWorkspace eases setup and use of the services provided in the Windows Server 2008 R2 operating system, including the Remote Desktop Connection Broker. Quest vWorkspace integrates with the Remote Desktop Connection Broker to publish applications and desktops from different host platforms, including the Hyper-V-based Remote Desktop Virtualization Host and the Remote Desktop Session Host, through interfaces including RemoteApp and Remote Desktop Web Access.

Quest vWorkspace automates and accelerates virtual desktop creation by rapidly cloning virtual hard disks using Hyper-V differencing disks in conjunction with System Center Virtual Machine Manager. Advanced load balancing of user connections between Hyper-V hosts delivers an improved user experience and optimizes server utilization.

Available now, the new Quest vWorkspace version 7.1 supports multiple centralized desktop platforms, including Microsoft Hyper-V-based virtual desktops, Remote Desktop Session hosts (formerly known as Terminal Servers) and physical/blade PCs.

vWorkspace securely and efficiently delivers advanced management capabilities including connection brokering, desktop provisioning and user experience optimizations, and provides support for Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V.

i365 Debuts Cross-Platform, Cloud-Connected Data Protection Appliance Solution With Microsoft

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i365, a Seagate Company, has announced EVault for Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager, a collaboration with Microsoft that has resulted in the first and only heterogeneous disk-based data protection solution that allows 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.

EVault for DPM on Dell hardware is scheduled to be available in June and can be ordered today through i365 and Microsoft channel partners.

In mixed IT environments with Microsoft operating systems and applications as well as data on other platforms, customers have been struggling to find the best way to protect all of their company-critical data with a single solution. Until now, no backup product offered DPM, with its protection for Microsoft servers, applications and desktops, combined with heterogeneous support for non-Microsoft platforms and the option to protect data in the Cloud. EVault for Data Protection Manager is the only product that can meet all of these needs.

EVault for DPM is an all-in-one backup and recovery appliance that combines DPM’s unified data protection for Microsoft Windows servers and applications with EVault’s robust protection for non-Microsoft platforms and cloud connectivity. With EVault for DPM, customers can send both their DPM and EVault-protected backup data to the i365 Cloud and get offsite disaster recovery protection quickly and economically. The optional Cloud-Connected storage service includes efficient and secure replication of the backup data over the Internet to the Cloud, and maintains backup copies of data in the i365 Cloud. The i365 Cloud is supported by geographically dispersed, SAS70 Type II-certified data centers, staffed by a team of experts and employing state-of-the-art encryption protocols, storage technologies, and redundancy practices to ensure ironclad protection of data.

Customers have several configurations to choose from — each with all the hardware, software and support they need. The hardware will be powered by Dell technology and will ship factory-installed with both DPM and EVault Software with a common user interface to help customers monitor their entire heterogeneous environment and initiate complex tasks with ease. It also includes helpful wizards that will guide customers through the setup process. EVault for DPM configurations will start at $9,995.

Extending Seagate’s long standing relationship with Dell, i365/Seagate is pleased to include in today’s news that EVault for DPM will be based on a solid foundation of Dell server and storage platforms. The appliance-based model makes it easy to purchase, deploy and manage i365 solutions with special bundling, streamlined licensing, and Dell support backing up i365’s customer support worldwide.

Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager is a member of the Microsoft System Center suite 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.