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Ericom Adds VDI support for Parallels Virtuozzo Containers

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After announcing support for Oracle VM last May, Ericom has now added VDI support for with its Parallels Virtuozzo with its PowerTerm WebConnect software solution.

Parallels Virtuozzo Containers is an OS-level server virtualization technology that partitions the underlying operating system into multiple isolated containers, so that many workloads or virtual desktops can be run simultaneously on the same physical box.

Ericom’s PowerTerm WebConnect enables organizations to centrally manage and deploy virtual desktops based on Parallels Virtuozzo Containers from within the datacenter and hosting facilities – reducing the cost and complexity of traditional desktop PC management. As a comprehensive solution for virtualized desktop environments, Ericom’s PowerTerm WebConnect increases security and desktop manageability, enables business continuity implementations, and provides a superior, customizable desktop experience.

For PowerTerm WebConnect licensing, Ericom offers both perpetual licensing for Parallels Virtuozzo Containers on-premise implementations and subscription licensing for Parallels Virtuozzo Containers based hosting environments.

Ericom Software

Silex and Parallels Team Up, Bring Certified USB Connectivity to VDI Customers

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Parallels today announced it is partnering with Silex Technology America, a leader in the device connectivity industry. Silex USB Device Servers have been tested and certified for Parallels Virtuozzo Containers, the leading OS-level server virtualization solution. Parallels Containers provides the highest density of virtual desktops by partitioning the underlying operating system into many isolated containers that share the common OS and application components, rather than replicating them for each virtual desktop, as is necessary with other approaches. Far fewer resources are needed by each virtual desktop, so a greater number can run on the same hardware, without affecting isolation or security. Now with Silex USB Device Servers being certified compatible with Parallels Virtuozzo Containers, remote or thin client users can connect USB devices, such as multi-function printers, scanners, or nearly any other USB device.

The Silex SX-Virtual Link software is certified to work in a Parallels Virtuozzo Container environment. Parallels customers can now use their USB device as if it were plugged into a local computer’s USB port even though it is being used over the network running in a virtualized desktop container. The SX-Virtual Link software and USB Device Servers allows users to easily discover, connect and disconnect to USB devices across the network.

Silex offers wired and wireless USB device servers including the SX-2000U2 with 10/100 Ethernet and a USB 2.0 High Speed interface, the SX-2000WG with 802.11g wireless as well as 10/100 Ethernet and a USB 2.0 High Speed Interface.

TOLIS Group Teams Up With Parallels, Its Backup Solution Gets Certification

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TOLIS Group yesterday announced a partnership with Parallels, as its BRU Server network backup solution has been successfully tested for compatibility with Parallels Server for Mac virtualization software. BRU Server is now listed in the Parallels Certified Products Catalog.

“In virtualized system environments, BRU Server’s advanced architecture simply treats the host and guest systems as networked client systems,” said Tim Jones, president and CTO of TOLIS Group. “Both file by file and disaster recovery compatible image backup and restore of guest systems are supported using normal BRU Server operations – no special treatment is needed. BRU Server and Parallels work together seamlessly.”

BRU Server’s agents provide full backup support for all guest systems including: x86 Windows, Solaris, Open and FreeBSD, Linux, and Mac OS X. Additionally, TOLIS’ OFM module allows the proper management of open file environments such as Exchange, FileMaker and Active Directory running on Windows virtualized machines.

HP To Embed Parallels Virtuozzo In Integrity Server Line

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eWeek reports that HP will start selling and supporting Parallels‘ container virtualization technology, Virtuozzo, with its Integrity server line-up, starting today.

HP Integrity servers support the company’s Unix operating system, HP-UX, Microsoft Windows Server 2008 and several variations of Linux. The Parallels Virtuozzo containers are designed to work with both Windows and Linux. HP already embedded VMware ESX Server and Citrix XenServer at factory level, so this is a way for them to give customers even more options to virtualize.

The Parallels Virtuozzo containers will cost $4,500 per two processors and the Parallels Infrastructure Manager bundle costs $5,000. The Virtuozzo suite does not currently integrate with HP’s management software for Integrity.

Parallels + Quest = VDI Solution Bundle

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Quest Software and Parallels today announced a major deal by jointly launching a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) bundle that offers enterprises a centralized Windows desktop deployment and management platform.

Parallels

Quest - Provision Networks

The combination of Parallels Virtuozzo Containers server virtualization and Quest’s Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite (VAS) desktop brokering and management solution aims to simplify desktop and image management, improve security, address regulatory compliance and offer the most cost-efficient approach to terminal services.

Parallels Virtuozzo Containers enables users to run multiple workloads as isolated, simultaneously executing virtual environments. Since it is installed on top of the operating system (OS), the containers use the resources of the underlying host OS, rather than needing their own.

“By delivering up to three times the number of virtual desktops on each physical server, Parallels Virtuozzo Containers makes VDI a truly cost effective solution,” said Paul Ghostine, VP and General Manager of Quest Software’s Provision Networks division. “We see this partnership as an opportunity to further extend our leadership in the VDI space by giving customers a variety of platform choices for their desktop virtualization needs.”

The solution is priced $140 per concurrent desktop connection and it’s available now through sales channels of both companies.

Parallels Releases Server 1.0

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Parallels announced today that Parallels Server for Mac, the former SWSoft’s hypervisor solution for server virtualization, is now available. Parallels Server for Mac can run on any Intel-powered Apple hardware, including the Xserve and Mac Pro, running OS X Leopard Server and comes to market after a worldwide beta testing program involving Mac, Windows and Linux server professionals.

Parallels logo

“Parallels Server for Mac opens the door for virtualization on Apple servers and represents an important step in delivering on our ‘Optimized Computing’ vision by adding hypervisor-based server virtualization,” said Serguei Beloussov, CEO of Parallels. “Parallels Server for Mac will be a catalyst in driving Mac server adoption in the enterprise, as it is the first product ever to enable IT professionals and developers to capitalize on the power of OS X Server while keeping the flexibility to run Windows and Linux workloads.”

Parallels Server for Mac includes support for OS X Leopard Server as a guest OS in a virtual machine. Running OS X Leopard Server in a virtual machine enables Mac server administrators to run multiple, isolated workloads on a single OS X Leopard Server-powered Xserve, providing the ability to test and sandbox with more agility than ever before.

Parallels Server includes the following features:

  • Virtual Support for 4-way Symmetric Multi-processing (SMP), which lets users assign up to 4 virtual cores to a virtual machine for exceptional performance under heavy workloads. 2-way SMP is also supported, giving users an unsurpassed level of virtual machine customization.
  • The inclusion of key next-generation technologies such as an ACPI BIOS, and support for up to 32GB of physical RAM.
  • Support for Intel Virtualization Technology (Intel VT-x) technologies to take full advantage of hardware-assisted acceleration.
  • A fully Scriptable Multi-client Parallels Management Console that lets users manages virtual and physical servers locally and remotely. The Parallels Management Console’s APIs are completely open and scriptable with Python, enabling administrators to automate common server tasks straight from the command line.
  • An Integrated Toolset that enhances and simplifies the user experience.The toolset includes: Parallels Tools, a set of helpful utilities that make working with virtual servers easier and more productive; Parallels Transporter, a built-in, assistant driven physical to virtual (P2V) and virtual to virtual (V2V) migration tool; and the Parallels Image Tool, which lets users modify settings of their virtual hard disk.
  • The ability to run any combination of more than 50 different x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) guest operating systems, including the just released Windows Server 2008 in secure, high-performing virtual machines.
  • A Powerful SDK that enables third party vendors to integrate Parallels Server support into their products. The SDK is the same one used by Parallels engineers to build the Parallels Management Console.

A full list of features and specifications is available here. This version is priced $999 for an unlimited number of cores.