Virtualization.com
News and insights from the vibrant world of virtualization and cloud computing
Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM), released in beta end of April, has been updated to enable it to function with Release Candidate 1 (RC1) to the Hyper-V role. Note that the VMM server and all of the hosts in your environment must be running Hyper-V RC1. After you install the update, you will not be able to add hosts running Hyper-V RC0 to your VMM environment.
[Source: Windows Virtualization Team blog]
Open Kernel Labs (OK Labs), a provider of embedded systems software and virtualization technology, announced today that it has won a $2.5M research grant under AusIndustry’s “Commercial Ready” program, which awards funds to enterprises that demonstrate the highest potential for innovation and its commercialization. The funds will be used to initiate a research, development and commercialization project centered on a technology transfer agreement with Australian research lab NICTA.
This investment will support research, prototyping and early stage commercialization, which will add unprecedented capabilities to OK Labs’ Secure HyperCell technology. Work under the grant will include the complete formal verification of the OKL4 microkernel and support enhancements to OKL4 that enable “better-designed and more secure software for mobile devices and consumer electronics”. The outcome aims to be a platform uniquely able to support resource-constrained, security- and safety-critical embedded devices.
Secure HyperCell technology provides a secure environment for operating systems, applications and drivers on mobile devices. More details regarding the development and commercialization from the project and its integration with OKL4 are expected to be announced at a later date. We’ll keep you updated!
[Source: VMBlog]
CloudShield Technologies, a provider of services management and infrastructure security solutions, has announced (PDF) a new release of CPOS, a packet processing operating system which aims to reudce the cost and environmental impact of implementing high-traffic converged IP networks.
The new version of CPOS enables service providers and federal organizations to run multiple stand-alone applications simultaneously on a CloudShield platform or blade, with the ability to share applications across different departments or with other organizations. The latest version of CPOS also features a graphical ‘Virtual Patch Panel’ configuration environment, enabling the installation or reconfiguration of virtual appliances without service interruptions.
To guarantee reliable service, service providers deploy these appliances in pairs each sized with surplus processing capacity. Each would likely have a different management interface. With CloudShield, all of these functions can be delivered as discrete applications running on top of CPOS on a single CloudShield platform
or blade. Also, the total amount of processing capacity can be reduced because surplus capacity can be shared across these four applications, thereby reducing the carbon footprint.
The new Virtual Patch Panel enables service providers to graphically add, reconfigure or re-sequence applications in real-time without requiring any network downtime. Previously, it wasn’t possible to completely repurpose a network device without taking it off-line or without dropping any packets.
CPOS is available immediately for service providers and national governments.
[Source: VMBlog]
Last week, an interesting conference call took place with several industry leaders in the virtualization security (virtsec) area, initiated by Virtualization.com. The panel included:
We’ll publish the highlights from our conversations shortly, but as a teaser, here are some of the most interesting quotes:
“I don’t see much point in really thinking too much about five steps ahead, worrying about VM Escape, worrying about hypervisor security, etc. when we’re running Windows on top of these systems and they’re sitting there naked.”
“We’re dealing with virtualized storage, while nobody will ever raise their hand saying they’re a security expert when it comes to that.”
“More than 75 percent of the people we asked, how are you securing virtualized environments? Their answer was VLANs. That’s where we stand today.”
“This was a network guy and his email went: WTF, you need 30 VLANS on one server? That’s the first time he became aware of virtualization. That team wasn’t even working with him. And the first inkling he had when he got a request that was just so out of the norm he just didn’t know what was going on.”
“To me, security is like bell bottoms, every 10-15 years or so, it comes back into style.”
Watch Virtualization.com for more!
As part of the company’s “Project Big Green” offerings, IBM today announced new storage virtualization software that helps clients manage and consolidate volumes of business data, providing clients with a storage solution designed to help improve utilization rates, energy efficiency, availability, and scalability of critical applications.
According to the press release, the capabilities of the new IBM System Storage SAN Volume Controller (SVC) 4.3 software can help significantly improve the
flexibility and responsiveness of IT infrastructures by creating consolidated, virtual pools of information across the enterprise. Storage virtualization technology can reduce requirements for additional physical storage hardware systems, which can ultimately reduce overall energy usage in the data center.
Virtualization is confirmed as one of the five pillars of IBM’s Project Big Green offerings, and a key component of IBM’s new enterprise data center model, which is based on best practices for virtualization, green IT, service management and cloud computing.
Since its introduction to the market in 2003, IBM has shipped over 12,000 SVC engines running in more than 4,000 SVC systems.
The new IBM SAN Volume Controller 4.3 functions will be available for download on June 27, at no additional charge, and existing SVC customers will be able to take advantage of these improvements when they upgrade to SVC 4.3.
[Source: CNN Money]
[Read more…] about IBM Releases New Storage Virtualization Software
Microsoft‘s Server Virtualization Validation Program, which was first announced in November 2007, has become operational yesterday, with the patricipation of Citrix, Sun, Novell and Virtual Iron.
The Server Virtualization Validation Program (SVVP) is open to any vendor who delivers a virtualization machine solution that hosts Windows Server 2008, Windows 2000 Server Service Pack 4 and Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2 and subsequent service packs. The virtualization solution can either be hypervisor-based or a hosted solution.
The costs associated with joining the program include membership in TSAnet at Mission Critical level, so that the vendor and Microsoft can share support information, incremental costs, if any, to perform the validation tests, and a nominal expense (currently $250) to qualify each ‘configuration’ that is submitted for validation.