Virtualization.com
News and insights from the vibrant world of virtualization and cloud computing
Closely following the recent release of a number of RC versions for a number of products, VMware has put out several versions with minor updates: VMware Server 1.0.7, Workstation 6.0.5, Player 2.0.5 and ACE 2.0.5.
The updates are expected to solve a number of security vulnerabilities. More information on this can be found here.
Nortel has unveiled a business solution that gives road warriors an ‘office-on-a-stick’ using a specially-formatted USB key for Windows PCs that automates business network access when inserted and protects information and applications by completely removing them when the USB key is removed. The solution – called Nortel Secure Portable Office – combines hardware, software and services to provide simple, secure network access for remote workers.
When the Secure Portable Office USB key is inserted into a Windows PC, user identity is first authenticated. Then a secure network connection is established through Nortel VPN Gateway . Finally, a ‘Virtual Desktop’ is launched, presenting the user with a menu of authorized network applications. An automatic scan for viruses and out-of-date or malicious software can also be configured.
All data and applications are encrypted, both in transit and on the PC. When the USB key is removed, the complete Secure Portable Office environment – including all confidential data and applications – is automatically removed. This helps ensure regulatory compliance by protecting sensitive information that could otherwise be exposed on a lost or stolen laptop.
What separates Secure Portable Office from competitive offerings are the upfront services Nortel provides to help organizations tailor solutions to their own unique requirements. This can include everything from application, security and business continuity needs assessment to network architecture and security policy consulting and solution training.
The Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF) today announced the acceptance of a draft specification submitted by leading virtualization companies (VMware, Oracle and CA recently joined the task force) targeting an industry standard format for portable virtual machines. Virtual machines packaged in this format can be installed on any virtualization platform that supports the standard simplifying interoperability, security and virtual machine lifecycle management for virtual infrastructures.
The companies behind the collaboration on this specification include Dell, HP, IBM, Microsoft, VMware, and XenSource. This group of virtualization industry leaders has submitted the specification to the DMTF for development into an industry standard. DMTF is the industry organization leading the development, adoption and promotion of interoperable management initiatives and standards. DMTF will continue to develop this technology into a successful, open industry standard and promote it worldwide.
The proposed format, called the Open Virtual Machine Format (OVF), uses existing packaging tools to combine one or more virtual machines together with a standards-based XML wrapper, giving the virtualization platform a portable package containing all required installation and configuration parameters for the virtual machines. This allows any virtualization platform that implements the standard to correctly install and run the virtual machines.
(IBM recently announced its open-ovf project.)
Most importantly, OVF specifies procedures and technologies to permit integrity checking of the virtual machines (VM) to ensure that they have not been modified since the package was produced. This enhances the security of the format and will alleviate security concerns of users who adopt virtual appliances produced by third parties. OVF also provides mechanisms that support license checking for the enclosed VMs, addressing a key concern of both independent software vendors (ISVs) and customers. Finally, OVF allows an installed VM to acquire information about its host virtualization platform and run-time environment, which allows the VM to localize the applications it contains and optimize its performance for the particular virtualization environment.
In addition to providing portability, integrity, and configurability of existing virtual hard disk formats. OVF is also extensible to support future developments of virtual hard disk formats whose specifications are openly available.
A recent post on the Xen blog featured a proposed data sheet (PDF) for the (back then upcoming) Xen 3.3 release, which we said was in final testing stage in the beginning of this month. Now Xen 3.3.0 is here and ready for download, as reported by Heise Online.
The new version is also available as part of a package with a 2.6.18 kernel version of Linux as the host system, also known as Domain 0 (Dom0). According to Xen developers, the number of supported guest operating systems has grown and there are improvements in performance, the ACPI power management modes, and security functions such as using PVGrub instead of PYGrub. Xen 3.3.0 also has fewer limitations on moving running virtual machines from one physical system to another. This function, necessary for redundant fail over configurations and practical for server maintenance, has previously only been usable when the processors (and chipsets) running on the physical machines involved supported very similar hardware virtualization functions.
Abaca Technology Corporation recently announced that the Abaca Virtual Email Protection Gateway VPG 1500 is now a validated VMware virtual appliance and available for download here.
The Abaca Virtual Email Protection Gateway VPG 1500 has been rigorously tested for compatibility with both the VMware ESX and ESXi hypervisors. Validation through the VMware Virtual Appliance Program is designed to ensure that products are reliable, supported, enterprise-ready, and fully compatible with VMware’s industry-leading virtualization solutions. VMware validation requires testing to verify that appliances work with VMware Infrastructure and have all of the necessary documentation to assist new users in either evaluating the virtual appliance or setting it up for production use.
The Abaca Virtual Email Protection Gateway VPG 1500 is available now directly from Abaca, through Abaca’s valued channel partners, as well as on the VMware Virtual Appliance Marketplace. The MSRP is US$495 for this product.
[Source: ITWorld]
XTS, a Citrix Ready Partner and a VMware Technology Alliance Partner, has just released their Configuration Report Generator utility that works with XenApp 4.x (meaning any edition). The company is making this solution a free download via a fully functional virtual machine.
The company is bringing their flexible interface to the Citrix data store in order to make it really easy to use. Leveraging the XTS advanced filters, Citrix customers can generate the configuration reports they need when they need them. In addition to the free configuration reporting utility, the VM also includes a demo of the company’s full Introspect product (released last April) which provides usage reporting and much needed analysis.
Specific benefits of the free configuration reports include: