This post was written by Denise Ross
Hewlett-Packard is getting into the network-based storage virtualization game with the news that it is set to ship the HP StorageWorks SAN Virtualization Services Platform (SVSP). This platform is a new system that can migrate and manage data between midrange arrays in heterogeneous SAN environments. The SVSP is a network-based platform that pools capacity across heterogeneous storage hardware from HP and other vendors. It provides users storage services such as online data migration, thin provisioning, and replication. This also includes clones, snapshots, synchronous local mirroring and asynchronous remote mirroring for disaster recovery.
Red Hat Inc. is developing a Linux-based hypervisor for a fully open-source virtualization solution. The Embedded Linux Hypervisor will supposedly host both Red Hat Enterprise Linux and Microsoft Windows operating systems but be compact enough to fit on a flash drive. The new hypervisor is based on the Linux KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine) project. Paul Cormier, president of products and technology at Red Hat said
Dell has introduced its new range of full-height blade servers, the PowerEdge M905 and PowerEdge M805 which have built on the ground-breaking virtualization design of the PowerEdge R805 and R905. Based on a four-socket blade, the PowerEdge M905 delivers ultimate virtualization performance. It is also the first blade server that supports as may as 11 tiles along with 66 Virtual Machines in VM mark testing. The PowerEdge M805 offers equal number of DIMM slots in a two-socket blade that needs a four-socket blade from HP or IBM. The servers are available in markets worldwide at a starting price of USD 1,699 and USD 4,999 respectively.
Stoneridge is saving money and data center space worldwide by simplifying its IT operations with Dell PowerEdge servers supported by Dell EqualLogic Internet SCSI (iSCSI) storage area networks (SANs). Using Dell PowerEdge R900 and Dell PowerEdge 2900 servers, with VMware Infrastructure 3 virtualization software, Stoneridge retired 89 percent of its active servers in the company’s main data center. Stoneridge is using Dell EqualLogic iSCSI SANs to support the virtualized server infrastructure, providing high transactional performance and scalability while simplifying management and administration.
Making use of its existing networking investments, Dell has unveiled Dell FlexAddress, a patent pending tool for blade chassis virtualization and persistent identity. With this, the company is following up on the successful introduction of its PowerEdge M-Series blade server solution. Any M-Series blade enclosure can now abstract the Fibre Channel World Wide Name (WWN) and Ethernet/iSCSI Media Access Control (MAC) from the blade hardware and, instead, tie it persistently to a slot in the M1000e chassis with the help of Dell FlexAddress.
Citrix Systems has announced Project Kensho, a set of tools that will allow virtual environments to be more independent of hypervisors. The tools allow portable application workloads to be created and run across Citrix XenServer, Microsoft Hyper-V and VMware ESX based virtual environments. This will solve a multitude of issues with interoperability between different platforms, while allowing automated provisioning of applications, rather than just virtual machines, according to Citrix.
VMware Inc., the global leader in virtualization solutions from the desktop to the datacenter, has announced that its industry-leading virtualization and management suite VMware Infrastructure 3 was named the winner of the Best of Tech Ed 2008 IT Professional Award in the virtualization category by Penton Media’s Windows IT Pro and SQL Server Magazine. VMware Infrastructure 3 provides the capability for automatic load balancing, business continuity and power management and the ability to move a virtual machine across physical machines to minimize service interruption.
Qumranet, the commercial sponsor of KVM (Kernel-based Virtual Machine), will display its Solid ICE desktop virtualization solution at the upcoming IBM System X & BladeCenter Technical Conference in San Diego. Solid ICE provides enterprises with the benefits of centralized desktops while delivering a superior end-user experience including the ability to run multiple monitors, high-quality video streaming, VoIP and video-conferencing. The virtualization software can reduce desktop cost of ownership by more than 50%.
Denali Software Inc., a world- leading provider of electronic design automation (EDA) software and intellectual property (IP), has announced that its PureSpec(TM) PCI Express verification intellectual property (VIP) product, would now support the complete PCI-SIG I/O Virtualization (IOV) specifications, including Multi-Root IOV(MR-IOV). The PCI-SIG IOV suite of specifications minimizes system hardware and software requirements, allowing the simultaneous sharing of peripherals across multiple microprocessors and operating systems, increasing the performance of virtualized systems and enabling significant power savings.