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Microsoft Exchange Managed Services Provider Azaleos Adds Hyper-V Support

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MS Exchange managed services provider Azaleos has announced its OneServer Virtual Edition now supports Microsoft Hyper-V Server, adding virtualization capability to Exchange email servers.

According to Azaleos’ announcement, Exchange virtualization can consolidate server and storage resources, simplify administration, and streamline high availability and disaster recovery. Already offering support for VMware ESX, Azaleos’ Exchange support gives customers the choice of either virtualization platform, or even a physical server.

According to another statement from Azaleos, “Microsoft Exchange Server typically does not require the full processing capabilities of an entire server, [making it] ideally suited for virtualization where its needs can be combined with other workloads.” This is also an early example of how email hosts can adopt Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualization capabilities.

Managed services available on OneServer Virtual Edition include real-time monitoring and reporting system ViewXchange; remote command and control service ManageXchange; turnkey mobile device management and monitoring solution MobileXchange; anti-virus and anti-spam service ProtectXchange; disaster recovery service RestoreXchange; and archival and storage service ArchiveXchange.

Top VMware Executive Richard Sarwal Returns To Oracle

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Richard Sarwal has left his position as executive VP of research and development at VMware to return to database software giant Oracle. VMware hired Sarwal from Oracle less than a year ago, and declined to give details of why Sarwal decided to go back to Oracle.

Stephen Herrod, CTO at VMware, will assume Sarwal’s day-to-day duties temporarily. Sarwal is currently still listed in the management structure as outlined on the company website.

[Source: San Francisco Business Times]

Novell Introduces ZENworks Application Virtualization

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Novell today announced the availability of Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization, an easy-to-use tool that eliminates application compatibility problems on Windows desktops. This addition to the ZENworks product line creates virtual applications in a single, isolated file and allows them to be deployed and run securely, reducing the problems associated with deploying new operating system (OS) platforms like Vista, decreasing expensive service desk calls and increasing user productivity.

With ZENworks Application Virtualization, the only application virtualization solution on the market that includes pre-configured templates for popular business software, customers can now virtualize and deploy applications in as little as 20 minutes.
Compatible with Windows Vista and Windows XP, ZENworks Application Virtualization reduces the cost and time required for software testing, packaging, deployment, configuration and contingency planning to ensure successful application and operating system upgrades. For example, with ZENworks Application Virtualization customers can continue to run Internet Explorer 6-based applications on Windows Vista, a configuration that previously required the application to be re-tooled to support Internet Explorer 7.

Novell ZENworks Application Virtualization is available for a list price of $39 per user or instance license. For more information about application virtualization from Novell, click here.

[Source: EarthTimes]

Embotics Unveils V-Scout, Free Utility with V-Commander Capabilities

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Embotics (previous coverage), a virtualization management tools provider that recently released its flagship product V-Commander 2.0, today will announce a free, starter version of that program with the exact same interface dubbed V-Scout. If you’re trying to figure out the best way to track and automate virtual machines before they sprawl much further throughout your organization, this chance to peek at the Embotics approach for free should be appealing.

“V-Scout should help you answer some key questions about virtual machines in your shop; for instance, the tool can help you analyze how the VMs are produced and tracked and what IT management policies are being applied to the VMs,” says Embotics VP of marketing David Lynch. “Then you can automate policies for better management and security, and for help at auditing time.”

The free tool includes canned and ad hoc reporting capabilities, so you can slice and dice VM data by say, line of business owner or project number. Embotics tools currently work only with VMware infrastructure; Lynch says Microsoft Hyper-V support will arrive in late 2008 or early 2009 after Embotics gets the necessary management tools from Microsoft. Citrix support is planned for 2009.

[Source: Scott Lowe]

HP Releases New Wave of Virtualization Products, Services and Solutions

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After BMC, HP today announced new products, services and solutions designed to simplify the implementation and management of virtualization so that the technology delivers greater business value.

HP’s approach to virtualization is focused on removing the technology inhibitors that reduce virtualization’s impact on the business. It highlights how applications and business services can perform well regardless of where and how they are hosted, networked or managed. It dramatically simplifies management across a combined virtual and physical world, and it addresses the issue of pooling infrastructure resources across an organization.

HP’s new offerings support business needs that span the desktop to the data center. They are focused on lowering operational cost, mitigating the risk of a heterogeneous environment and freeing resources to deliver new business services. These offerings are designed around three specific areas: applications and operations management, overcoming infrastructure barriers, and maximizing client architectures.

  • HP Operations Agent, HP Performance Agent and HP SiteScope have been enhanced with hypervisor management capabilities, including the ability to collect management data to automate event and availability monitoring and management processes across heterogeneous infrastructures.
  • HP Network Node Manager i-series has been updated to monitor the performance and availability of networks supporting dynamic, virtualized environments. This allows customers to proactively plan and monitor network capacity.
  • New HP Asset Manager identifies and manages virtual machine asset inventory and licenses, allowing customers to pay for only the licenses they need.
  • A new strategic development agreement with Red Hat simplifies the monitoring and management of virtualized environments.
  • New and enhanced HP Virtualization Support Services achieve a smooth transition to, and ongoing management of, new virtualization technology while reducing the risk of unplanned downtime.

New HP offerings are designed to lower costs, mitigate the risk of downtime and free up resources that can drive additional business services to support growth.

  • The HP ProLiant BL495c virtualization blade is the world’s first server blade designed specifically to host virtual machines. The BL495c eliminates key virtualization performance bottlenecks of memory, data storage and network connections.
  • HP StorageWorks 4400 Scalable NAS File Services integrates the HP StorageWorks 4400 Enterprise Virtual Array, file servers, management software, and Microsoft Windows® or Linux support to virtualize the connection between servers and storage. The solution lowers maintenance costs and mitigates the risk of data loss with advanced replication software.
  • HP-UX 11i V3 and the HP Virtual Server Environment have been enhanced for mission-critical virtualization with significant performance improvement, automated optimization, improved protection and simplified management capabilities.
  • HP Virtualization Accelerator Services are new, predefined consulting services for planning, designing and implementing virtualization initiatives. This yields a faster return on investment.

And:

  • The new HP t5630, t5545, t5540 and t5145 Thin Clients feature scratch-resistant HP DuraFinish and provide expanded multimedia features, enhanced brokering capabilities, greater performance and improved management support.
  • The HP ProLiant xw460c Blade Workstation with Graphics Expansion Blade supports a full range of graphics capability with the latest NVIDIA Quadro FX graphics. This provides more secure, easily managed data center workstation computing for the financial trading, public sector, mechanical computer-aided design (MCAD), and oil and gas segments.
  • Enhancements to the HP Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution include new planning, quick-start and implementation services. These services determine specific VDI needs and associated business value, so customers can implement the right solutions. HP also unveiled the new HP VDI with Citrix XenDesktop, which is designed to enable everything from smaller, entry-level implementations to enterprise-wide desktop delivery.
  • “Citrix Ready” blade PCs and thin clients are now certified for use within Citrix XenDesktop environments. They deliver a dedicated one-to-one remote computing experience at radically improved economics for knowledge workers requiring a broad range of application support and a rich graphics experience.
HP

[Source: ZDnet Blogs]

Shavlik Technologies Releases NetChk Protect 6.5

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Shavlik Technologies, provider of solutions that accelerate and improve security and compliance readiness, today announced (PDF) the availability of Shavlik NetChk Protect 6.5. Shavlik NetChk Protect 6.5 is a virtual machine management solution that provides continuous patch assessment and remediation of your complete virtual world, including Offline Virtual Images.

Mark Shavlik, CEO, Shavlik Technologies:
“Shavlik’s market leading agentless technology makes it uniquely capable of reaching and securing offline virtual images, thereby allowing customers to simplify the entire security management process. This technology edge is why VMware selected Shavlik to license and integrate into its own solutions offering. Now we are bringing our full solution into our main product line, a key to the continued simplification of complex network security solutions we provide to our customers.”
NetChk Protect 6.5 extends Shavlik’s Any Patch/Any Where assessment technology to offline virtual images and fully automates continuous patch assessment and deployment which cuts costs and eases time constraints on overburdened IT staff. NetChk Protect 6.5 provides more powerful security through continuous identification and remediation of security gaps and redundant overlaps.