Virtual Computer has announced NxTop 3.0; a suite of products for large enterprises, businesses, and consumers.
Distributed management features, stand-alone bare-metal (Type 1) hypervisor with quick-booting virtual appliance for server- and cloud-based computing, and broad PC hardware coverage, extend NxTop support to any size organization and type of user.
NxTop 3.0 suite includes:
- NxTop Enterprise: Desktop virtualization and management solution for large organizations; includes NxTop Business with added distributed remote-office management and help-desk support.
- NxTop Business: Desktop virtualization and management solution suitable for organizations from 5 to 500 users operating in a LAN environment.
- NxTop Express: Free desktop virtualization and management solution for five users.
- NxTop Workstation: Free stand-alone Type 1 hypervisor with local virtual machine installer and a quick-booting virtual appliance for access to server- and cloud-based applications.
NxTop Express and NxTop Workstation can be downloaded from the Virtual Computer website. NxTop Enterprise and NxTop Business will be generally available September 2010.
New Distributed Management Features
NxTop was the first product to combine centralized virtual desktop management with distributed execution on a bare-metal client hypervisor. By distributing the deployment model to take advantage of remote servers, NxTop customers can reduce their operational costs in half without sacrificing mobility or user computing experience, even in bandwidth-constrained environments. NxTop 3.0 broadens these capabilities with new management features that include:
- Hierarchical Management enables deployment of NxTop Center servers at remote offices that use intelligent caching for more efficient bandwidth utilization.
- Remote Help Desk Capability allows IT administrators remote control of end-user PCs, providing assistance across all areas of the platform.
- Policy-based Bandwidth Throttling between NxTop Center and client hypervisor ensures business critical network traffic can be prioritized over system updates and backups.
New Client Features
With NxTop 3.0, IT organizations can create a single managed infrastructure of PCs that will support any combination of local desktops, remote VDI sessions, and server- and cloud-based applications. Enhancements include:
- NxTop Connect: Quick-booting (in seconds) embedded virtual appliance that provides seamless access to server- and cloud-based applications and server-hosted desktops from all major VDI vendors. Pre-loaded applications include Google Chrome, Skype, and RDP client. NxTop Connect can run standalone on the desktop as thin client or alongside locally executing virtual machines.
- Local Creation of Virtual Machines: IT departments can enable end-users to create their own personal virtual machines that run alongside corporate virtual machines with full isolation (e.g. viruses cannot spread across virtual machines).
Broad PC Hardware Compatibility
NxTop 3.0 supports the broadest set of new and old PCs and peripheral devices in the industry, specifically:
- Intel: Any multi-core CPU with VT-x
- AMD: Any multi-core CPU with AMD-V
- Enhanced Graphics: Recent graphics chipsets from Intel, NVIDIA, and ATI
- 3G/4G Modems: Integrated and USB-based 3G/4G broadband modems
- USB: All categories of USB devices including web-cams and other multi-function devices along with policy based filtering/enabling
- Serial Ports: Access to older printer devices used in banking and health-care environments
- 64-bit Guest OS: 32-bit and 64-bit Windows configurations