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CohesiveFT Adds KVM Format To Its Automated Elastic Server Platform

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CohesiveFT today announced support to automate the deployment of Kernel-based Virtual Machine (KVM) servers via the Elastic Server web-based factory. Elastic Server is an automated “factory” that allows IT professionals to assemble, deploy, and manage virtual servers using a simple point-and-click interface. Beginning today, customers can assemble custom servers for deployment to the Kernel Virtual Machine format.

KVM is a Linux kernel virtualization infrastructure licensed under the GNU GPL.  It provides a mechanism for splitting a single physical computer into multiple virtual machines.  KVM’s approach differs from other virtualization formats in that it requires no patching of the kernel and takes advantage of performance improvements available on hardware containing virtualization extensions (Intel VT or AMD-V).

The Elastic Server platform is a complement to virtualization and cloud offerings. Users assemble custom servers by choosing from a library of popular components. Once assembled, these custom application stacks can be configured to a variety of virtualization and cloud-ready formats, downloaded and deployed in real-time. Completed server stacks can be distributed through the Elastic Server platform. There are more than two thousand community users contributing nearly five thousand Elastic Servers to the market. The addition of KVM follows CohesiveFT’s recent addition of Virtual Iron, support for Amazon EC2 in Europe, the Ubuntu operating system, and the industry’s first commercial cloud security solution, VPN-Cubed.

Guest Post: Infrastructure 2.0 – The San Jose Fairmont on January 15

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This is a cross-post of this blog written by Gregory Ness, former VP of Marketing for Blue Lane Technologies who is currently working for InfoBlox.

In September the discussion started about the concept of Infrastructure 2.0 (or Dynamic Infrastructure) as a response to the rising demands of larger and more complex networks colliding with new IT initiatives including virtualization and cloud computing.  I think it caught many by surprise.

A few weeks later a blog entitled The CIO Shell Game made the point that automating systems and endpoints and not the network was merely shifting manual labor demands while increasing network availability and security risks.  This theme continued in The Network Industry Needs a New Vision with a focus on the network industry’s overzealous industry focus on speeds and feeds that had ultimately risked making the network irrelevant to computing in the future.

Companies like Cisco, Juniper, F5 Networks, Foundry and Extreme need to invest in automating the rampant manual labor rendering networks static and brittle in the face of more dynamic systems and endpoints.  If they do, the cloud computing vision could have a silver lining for those who understand the potential of dynamic infrastructure.

Unleashing dynamic infrastructure will also unleash more powerful business cases for investments in virtualization and cloud computing, which would also impact the fortunes of VMware, Citrix, Microsoft, Google, Amazon and an emerging community of cloud computing startups.  I think the word is getting out rapidly.

January 15 is the Launch of the Dynamic Infrastructure Vision

Since then we’ve seen blogs at Cisco and F5’s DevCentral blog join the conversation and recognize how important the network is to these new initiatives.  I think, however, the ultimate sign of the arrival of the network as “the foundation for IT automation” meme is a live streaming event being held at the San Jose Fairmont Hotel on January 15.

Infoblox and Cisco are billing dynamic infrastructure as the biggest thing in networking since TCP/IP, because it transforms the brittle, static and manually managed network into an automated network that enables connectivity intelligence between applications, endpoints and networks.  That connectivity intelligence establishes feedback loops, the precursor to an explosion of intelligence in the network, applications and endpoints.

Connectivity intelligence could also take the VMotion genie out of the bottle and drive new levels of scale and security and drive the business case for virtualization skyward.  Whichever virtualization platform vendor delivers on the promise of enhanced security with VMotion will win.

Recently a second Cisco speaker has agreed to speak at the breakfast event, alongside Cisco Senior Director Douglas Gourlay and Infoblox CTO and Founder Stuart Bailey and moderator (Infoblox) VP Marketing Richard Kagan.

In May the Dynamic Infrastructure panel at the Future In Review (FIRE) conference in San Diego will also include a VP from F5 Networks among others.

I think these two events will set the stage for a much-needed, broader discussion about the collision between static networks and dynamic systems and endpoints; as well as the drive to automate greater portions of the network in response to increasing velocities of change enabled by increased system and endpoint automation.

You can follow my comments in real time at www.twitter.com/archimedius. You can also read more about dynamic infrastructure in the latest issue of bloxNews (which contains several third party perspectives) and the new Infrastructure 2.0 blog launched last week.

My disclaimer is at: http://gregness.wordpress.com/about/.  I am a Senior Director at Infoblox.

Third Brigade Debuts VM Protection

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Third Brigade recently announced the availability of Third Brigade VM Protection, a free-of-charge software package that complements the security-hardened VMware platform and helps organizations achieve protection and compliance for VMware virtual machines (VMs) that are deployed in private or public cloud computing environments.

This free software provides additional protection for the server on which VMs are running and the applications running in VMs when multiple VMs from different organizations are deployed together on the same server, enhancing VM segregation in service provider environments. Third Brigade VM Protection can be deployed quickly and managed centrally, and is integrated with the VMware platform. Multiple layers of protection are combined in a single software agent to increase security and gain visibility into malicious activity targeting VMs.

Third Brigade VM Protection provides the following benefits to help organizations fully utilize their virtualization environments:

  • Firewall, Intrusion Detection (IDS), Integrity Monitoring and Log Inspection
  • Typical out-of-the box configurations (security profiles) for Microsoft® Windows® and Linux servers
  • Integration with VMware vCenter Server to achieve effective enterprise deployment

Third Brigade VM Protection is available for free for up to 100 virtual machines.

Industry Moves: VMware And Virtual Iron Lose Key Executives

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VMware has lost a key executive today with the departure of Nand Mulchandani, former Senior Director of Security Products, who has decided to take on a job as CEO for OpenDNS instead of staying on at the troubled virtualization leader.

Virtual Iron has lost its Director of Corporate Marketing Tim Walsh, who started his own consulting business.

VirtualLogix Now Supports All ARM Multicore Platforms

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VirtualLogix today announced support for all multicore platforms based on the ARM11 MPCore and ARM Cortex-A9 multicore processors in addition to the ARM Cortex-A8 processor. In aligning itself with the latest hardware advances in multicore, VirtualLogix is simplifying the adoption of industry-standard processors while paving the way for virtualization in mobile devices.

Virtualization enables developers to combine different execution environments into single core or multicore platforms, separating hardware management from the application support functions of operating systems. When combined with the security, software design flexibility and cost savings of virtualization, ARM multicore processors can assist developers in shrinking their development costs and time, leveraging unlimited processing power and responding faster to new market requirements.

During today’s ARM European Technical Conference, VLX will demonstrate multiple operating systems including a standard T-Kernel real-time operating system (RTOS) and several instances of Linux. VirtualLogix VLX enables the ARM11 MPCore to securely support multiple, concurrent operating system environments by virtualizing the system so that each OS believes it has control of the full platform. As a result, no immediate changes to OS applications are required. VirtualLogix VLX’s support of the ARM Cortex-A8 and ARM Cortex-A9 processors enables VirtualLogix customers to better support design flexibility, power management and high-performance while maintaining low costs.

VirtualLogix VLX with ARM support is available now.

Lenovo Introduces Secure Managed Client

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Lenovo today announced Secure Managed Client (SMC), a storage-based desktop computing solution that can dramatically help businesses reduce IT costs and security risks by turning off hard drives and storing all data in a non-server remote location – all while offering users the flexibility and performance of a traditional desktop PC.

The SMC solution consists of a client, a hard drive-less ThinkCentre desktop PC Intel vPro technology, a Lenovo co-developed software stack and a centralized Lenovo Storage Array, powered by Intel.

SMC offers several significant benefits over current server-based computing options such as blade PCs, thin clients or desktop virtualization, most notably:

  • Preserves PC fidelity – SMC gives the end user a full Windows experience
  • Avoids IT complexity – SMC works with and enhances current IT process and tools
  • Safe and flexible investment – An SMC ThinkCentre can easily be converted back to a traditional desktop PC by re-enabling the hard drives
  • Energy efficient – An SMC ThinkCentre uses less energy than a traditional desktop PC
  • Security – Information from all desktops in an SMC fleet is stored in a safe, single location, significantly reducing the threat of on-site theft of data

Lenovo estimates that large enterprise customers in North America typically spend about $120 a month to fully manage a PC. This expense takes into account such things as deskside IT visits, call center support, and management costs. Lenovo further estimates that using the SMC solution can potentially reduce this expense to as low as $70 per PC.

The SMC solution is currently being offered on the ThinkCentre M57p1 desktop PC, and can also be offered on the ThinkCentre M58p2 in early 2009. The recently launched M58p is the greenest, most secure and most manageable ThinkCentre desktop yet.