Virtualization.com
News and insights from the vibrant world of virtualization and cloud computing
VMworld Europe is coming up soon (February 24-26, 2009) and is once again being held in Cannes, France. The team has just issued a call for papers, deadline January 16th, so if you’re interested in participating don’t hesitate too long to submit.
VMworld Europe is looking for content on the following subjects:
At the verge of the old year .. Matthias Rechenburg released the 4.3 edition of openQRM
The new 4.3 release comes with improved usability for the storage management , implemented storage security features , a new debian build system, different fixed bugs, an improved Cloud Plugin (with auto-create-virtualmachines) , new support for VMWare server 2.X , an Enhanced Xen plugin that now allows booting via pypxeboot, and different other features.
Together with the 4.3 release Matt also published a Cloud Computing Howto
Get openQRM 4.3 here
Insight Enterprises announced today that it has been named the first U.S.-based reseller partner to offer subscription licenses to serve the expanded VMware Service Provider Program (VSPP). With the addition of Insight, VSPP partners can now expect the licensing flexibility they need in hosting environments leveraging the VMware technology, marketing and training they need.
VSPP partners are part of the VMware vCloud Initiative, which delivers an enterprise-class cloud computing platform. The VMware vCloud initiative offers broad support for existing and new applications, and it enables federation between on- and off-premise clouds. The core technology underpinning of the VMware vCloud Initiative is a set of VMware vServices that provide the APIs and technologies to enable this federation and facilitate business needs such as flex capacity, disaster recovery, or test and development for enterprises. VMware vServices also enable cloud providers to simplify how SMBs acquire compute capacity.
With the growth of cloud computing and VMware’s vCloud initiative, Insight can enable service providers to rent VMware licenses to capitalize on the market opportunity in delivering new on-demand cloud-like services for enterprises and SMBs, while preserving their capital.
DataCore Software has announced an expanded line of new SAN software starter packages priced for small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs).
The high cost and complexity of traditional SAN storage required to support virtual servers and desktops puts it out of the reach for many small and mid-size businesses. DataCore’s new packages firmly reset the industry’s starting price point for business continuity solutions that provide true auto failover/failback high-availability and fault tolerance. These new packages provide a new level of automated storage protection to ensure business uptime, while also significantly lowering the cost and complexity barriers of SAN storage for Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix, Virtual Iron, Parallels, VMware and other server and desktop virtualization environments.
The new software packages, with entry prices starting at under $2,000 per server, include thin provisioning, data migration technology, storage performance caching software, snapshots for fast disk backups, remote site disaster recovery replication and DataCore’s High Availability (HA) data protection. In virtual server and desktop environments, DataCore’s HA is unmatched in automation (true failover/failback recovery), manufacturer independence (storage and server brands), network connectivity (iSCSI or FC, or both) and proven fault tolerance (deployed in thousands of systems worldwide).
DataCore’s new packages fill the gap between low-end, Windows system replication solutions that provide limited single system data protection (e.g. Double-Take Software) for VMs at a cost of thousands and higher-end, enterprise-class storage arrays and SAN that provide necessary protection but are complex and often cost $100,000 or more. With these packages, DataCore has created a new class of SAN solutions that deliver the highest-end data protection capabilities at a SMB price point.
Quest Software announced the release of version 2.0 of its PowerGUI PowerPack for VMware, expanding the company’s leadership in Windows and Virtualization Management along with the technology provided by Vizioncore.
The new updates for Quest’s PowerGUI PowerPack for VMware includes a full featured PowerShell script library for VMware, to provide enhanced virtualization management capabilities for VMware admins. It enables virtualization domain experts to take advantage of managing their virtual infrastructure using Quest PowerGUI and the VMware Infrastructure Toolkit for Windows.
PowerGUI is a free download which simplifies management via Microsoft Windows PowerShell with an intuitive user console, powerful script editor and platform specific PowerPacks. PowerGUI with the VMware PowerPack version 2.0 enables administrators to quickly and easily automate management tasks common to virtual infrastructures. Together, Windows PowerShell, PowerGUI, and the PowerGUI PowerPack for VMware provide the ability to manage not only the applications organizations depend on but also the virtual infrastructure that power them, all from a single console.
From VMware Virtualization Evangelist Jason Boche’s blog:
Today at the Minneapolis VMware User Group (VMUG) meeting, VMware employees disclosed to a group of 150+ attendees the new name for the next generation of Virtual Infrastructure many have been referring to as VI4 or VI.next. The new name is VMware vSphere.