Virtualisation

VMware is releasing two bundles of management and automation products designed to streamline disaster recovery and curb virtual server sprawl.

As Microsoft readies Hyper-V, the new hypervisor software that forms the foundation for virtualization in Windows Server 2008, VMware is finally facing some real competition in the Windows server virtualization market. Unfortunately, Microsoft has followed in VMware's footsteps by creating its own, proprietary way of doing things, and VMware doesn't want to play along. The result: IT faces a choice between two virtualization options that are incompatible.

VMware Inc. Tuesday released a public beta for Fusion 2.0, virtualization software that lets Intel-based Macs run Windows, Linux and other operating systems. Fusion 2.0 also adds support for multiple monitors and makes it easier to switch from rivals' virtual machine programs, said the company.

VMware says it's received a bad rap when it comes to security.

As more companies deploy virtualization technologies, more network managers expect the technology to introduce management challenges to their environments, according to an Interop show poll.

When it comes to backing up virtual servers, IT administrators have a lot of choices. But increasingly, they're finding one method of backup isn't enough to satisfy all the demands of a virtual environment.

IBM's new focus and push around the enterprise data center with come with a new Business Partner program that's still being developed and will be launched later in the year, but Big Blue says partners shouldn't wait to develop the required skill sets within their organizations.

Technologies that can improve corporate bottom lines dominated the buzz at Interop Las Vegas, promising efficiencies and returns on investment that may help stave off cuts to IT spending in a tough economy.

Everyone knows that server virtualization shaves hardware clutter in the datacenter, boosts workloads, brings disaster recovery flexibility, slashes costs and basically saves the planet from nasty carbon emissions. But here's the dirty little secret: Many pitfalls await server virtualization adopters, and a stumble can ruin all your virtual dreams.

The energy savings that Verizon Wireless reaped from deploying thin clients and power-management software at its call centers were both dramatic and immediate -- so much so that during initial testing at the company's Arizona call center, the local power utility called to find out if it had moved. All told, the effort has yielded a 50 per cent drop in energy consumption.

Virtualisation is not just for servers or applications - it's also gaining ground in the storage space. HP vice-president of enterprise servers and storage, Jim Wagstaff, was recently in town for the vendor's Partner Sales Academy in Sydney. He discussed HP's mid-market push, virtualisation and the services opportunities opening up for partners.

With Google's recent launch of its App Engine, and with the likes of IBM and Amazon having staked claims, cloud computing is clearly a major development in the IT landscape. The benefits are obvious, enabling enterprises to scale rapidly with a level of performance previously available to only the largest companies -- all without adding equipment, software or staff.

As with nearly every IT trend, including service-oriented architectures and Web services, just because we're all talking about cloud computing doesn't mean we're talking about the same thing.

There's been a lot of chatter lately about how Microsoft needs to start over with Windows. Many point to the (NT) code base's 16-year history and how the need to maintain backward compatibility is hampering efforts to move the platform forward. According to these critics, a clean break is necessary in order to stop the kind of bloatware madness that so crippled Windows Vista. Dump the creaking legacy that is the Win32 API/ATL/MFC, they say, and solve the compatibility riddle through VM technology.

To say that strategy and technology are finally becoming interlinked in business is pure BS.

A multiple choice question that companies have to answer on almost daily basis as they consolidate and virtualize their evolving data center infrastructure is: