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HP & Virtualization: New Thin Client Hardware, Extended Software Offerings, Deeper Partnerships With Citrix and VMware

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HP today introduced the new HP 2533t Mobile Thin Client, which it claims combines “the best of HP’s industry-leading thin client and business notebook technologies to enhance data security and improve both ease of use and reliability”.

The company also plans to expand its Remote Graphics Software technology. HP RGS supports a remote, yet collaborative work model that helps overcome the distance barriers that can impede global organizations and delivers to remote client environments rich, local desktop-like user experiences. With HP RGS, professionals can work together, from any physical location with Internet access, and make decisions in real-time with more secure access to multimedia content including flash animations, video, hardware accelerated 2D and 3D applications.

The HP 2533t provides enhanced access to virtual computing solutions, such as blade PCs or a virtual desktop infrastructure, and increased protection of corporate data and software applications by storing files on a secure, centralized server. No data resides on the actual mobile thin client, so companies should be assured that data is not compromised in the event the client is lost or stolen.

In addition, HP announced its full portfolio of Citrix-Ready thin clients and blade client products is now available with Citrix XenDesktop, as well as being certified by VMware for compatibility with its VMware Virtual Desktop Infrastructure.

“Today’s news is the latest example of HP’s building momentum in the client virtualization market,” said Roberto Moctezuma, vice president and general manager, Desktop Solutions Organization, HP. “We’re offering businesses a one-stop shop to meet their virtualization needs with the most comprehensive portfolio of virtual client solutions, ease of management and the highest levels of IT security.”

HP thin clients are now certified for the Citrix XenDesktop appliance program across the line, with the HP Compaq t5730 Thin Client delivering the “Desktop Appliance Plus” experience and verified Citrix-Ready for Citrix Password Manager, Citrix XenApp (Citrix Presentation Server 4.0 & 4.5), Citrix XenDesktop and an embedded Desktop Receiver.

“With the availability of XenDesktop, Citrix uniquely delivers virtual desktops that dramatically reduce the cost of ownership for IT, while providing a superior user experience for knowledge workers,” said Raj Dhingra, vice president and general manager, Desktop Delivery Group, Citrix Systems. “We are excited to be demonstrating the results of our collaboration at Synergy 2008. The Citrix and HP relationship enables enterprises to quickly implement and manage a best-of-breed client virtualization solution from the data center to the desktop.”

Today’s expansion of the HP virtualization portfolio also extends the recently introduced ProLiant iVirtualization joint venture with Citrix, VMware and Microsoft, which uses customers’ existing server management tools to integrate virtualization technology directly into a broad range of HP ProLiant and BladeSystem platforms.

Last Week’s Virtualization Headlines

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We apologize for the limited reporting of last week, and we just wanted to let you know we’re going to pick up our usual pace as of today. For now, these are the most apparent stories we came across with regards to what happened in virtualization land:

  • Virtual Iron and Surgient both lost key marketing executives. Mike Grandinetti, who had been working for Virtual Iron since 2003 (see our video interview with Mike at VMWorld Europe 2008), has moved on to become Managing Director of Southboro Capital, presumably his own venture. Similar story at Surgient, who saw the leave of VP of Marketing Erik Josowitz who had been with the start-up since 2004. No word on what Josowitz is up to next.
  • Quest Software reported (PDF) its 2008 Q1 results. Total revenues increased to $172.8 million compared to the prior year’s first quarter revenue of $149.8 million.
  • Parallels has updated Parallels Desktop to build 5600. With the update, the company has added full support for Windows Vista SP1, Windows XP SP3, and improved compatibility with the MacBook Air, along with some minor bugfixes and performance enhancements.
  • Stealth startup DynamicOps, a venture-funded spinout of management technology developed by Credit Suisse’s research and development organization, launched its virtual machine management application Virtual Resource Manager.
  • HP joined Desktone‘s Service Provider Partner Program.
  • VMware announced that VMware Site Recovery Manager, a product for disaster recovery management and automation, will be available for order this week with general availability expected to follow within 30 days. Both 3PAR and NetApp have already announced integration / support for VMware SRM.
  • Check Point Software Technologies announced the general availability of ZoneAlarm ForceField, which it claims to be a comprehensive, virtualized browser security solution.
  • AMD announced enterprise customers now have more choices for rack-mount and blade systems based upon Quad-Core AMD Opteron processors with the launch of six new servers from Sun Microsystems.
  • EMC could very well be planning to sell off all or part of its majority stake in VMware, a rumor spread by Bloomberg. EMC will be able to do a tax-free distribution of shares in January 2009, and some are already citing Intel as a potential acquirer of the assets.

$500 Million For XenSource, Where Did All The Money Go?

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Over at Cambridge Cluster , Philip Baddeley wonders where the $500 million that Citrix paid for Xensource has gone.

In August of last year, Citrix and XenSource agreed on an acquisition price of $500 million in a mixture of cash and Citrix stock. The deal came trough in late October of 2007. Now 7 months later, Philip wonders where all the money went.

“You don’t hear as much about Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sevin Rosen as you used to. Kleiner Perkins is busy investing in anything but consumer Internet companies while Sevin Rosen decided against raising another fund last year. But, they are still cashing checks. The pair invested $6 million in a first round investment in January 2005 into. That’s a big hit for the duo. Other beneficiaries include Accel Partners, Ignition Partners and New Enterprise Associates.”

Philip mainly wonders how much of that money stayed in Cambridge:

“Was Cambridge Enterprise involved? It would have ranked as one of their top investments. If not, why not? Why was such a good deal funded outside of the Cambridge Cluster? Did any of the Cambridge Angels or the other groups invest? There is no trace of XenSource on the Cambridge Evening News website. It would make a great Equity Fingerprint and case study but I guess it was registered in Delaware and so all the details are not available. Hopefully the Cambridge Cluster has a couple or ten of new angels to keep turning the wheels. Just think what the Cambridge Cluster could have done with $500 million …”

Obviously the University of Cambridge played a big role in the conception of Xen. But did it get a return on its investment?

Interesting question.

Xen Summit Boston, Partial Schedule Announced

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Stephen Spector has just announced the current agenda for the upcoming Boston Xen Summit.

Ian Pratt and Keir Fraser will kick off the event with an overview of the Xen roadmap.

After that there will be talks about XenLoop, A Transparent Inter-VM Network Loopback Channel and trusted VMs. Tamura Yoshiaki from NTT will be talking about Virtual Machine Synchronization for Fault Tolerance using DomT and other topics are still under review by the Program Committee.

More news when the final schedule is announced .

Forrester Analyst: Storage Virtualization Is Overhyped

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An interesting article at ITPro cites Forrester Research analyst Andrew Reichman claiming storage virtualization to be still a marginalized business despite being a hot topic for a few years now. Reichman told attendees of Compellent’s C-Drive customer conference in Minneapolis that just 17 percent of companies have virtualized their storage systems in some way, with another nine percent in the process of rolling out the technology, while 28 percent are interested in the idea.

“Virtualisation of storage is tepid,” Reichman said. “I would characterise it as tepid.”

Reichman said that virtualization is still seen as a little bit leading edge for some companies, and that they’re waiting for others to adopt the technology first.

“Any change is tough – storage is probably the most conservative part of data centres. People don’t want to take the chance on disrupting their data,” he said, adding companies are “kicking the tires but not really buying it.”

Read the rest of the article here.

VMware Formally Releases Project Northstar (Previously Thinstall) Beta 2

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VMware has today formally announced the release of Project Northstar Beta 2, the immediate result of its acquisition of desktop & application virtualization startup Thinstall earlier this year.

VMware Project Northstar

New features include:

  • Application Link: allows administrators to dynamically link Thinstall packages to one another, making it possible to create separate packages for interdependent components (such as Java or .NET) and use them across multiple Thinstall packages.
  • Application Sync: allows customers to execute updates to virtual applications through a secure Internet connection, increasing application portability while reducing security and patch risks to offline and out-of-network machines

Edwin Friesen has a great preview write-up with a helpful step-by-step guide.