Virsto: Software Defined Data Center: Tip of the Iceberg

VMware buying Virsto is a big move and after considerable discussion a logical step for VMware in many technical areas as well. We previously mentioned that Virsto would add to VMware’s existing in Software Defined Data Center (SDDC), but there is more to this than just SDDC, which I believe is the end goal. Getting there absolutely requires a storage abstraction layer. So what does VMware gain other than SDDC with Virsto.

Ravello Revives Binary Translation for Cloud Hypervisor

The team that brought you KVM are back with a new product and new direction. Qumranet founders —Benny Schnaider and Rami Tamir, have lifted the covers off Ravello Systems announcing it nested hypervisor platform HXV and a bold goal to create a cloud spanning hypervisor that will allow workloads to be moved from platform to platform regardless of the underlying infrastructure.

Norskale VUEM v2 – a Power Up for a New Player in User Environment Management?

Norskale believes that performance, simplicity of use, and a low cost of ownership are key factors when choosing a workspace management product. While Norskale is a new venture, the VEUM product has been available since 2011 and does have a range of case studies and testimonies.

Cross-Platform Cloud Management Features

Hotlink and their Cross-Platform Cloud Management technology have been in the news recently with the announcement of the latest release and the release of the free version of their flagship product, Hotlink SuperVISOR for VMware vCenter. This technology extends the VMware vCenter management capabilities to Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer and Red Hat Enterprise Linux (KVM).

Browsium Catalyst Available Now – Time to Quell Corporate Browser Choice Feuds?

Browsium released Catalyst a browser management utility designed to make deploying multiple browsers in the enterprise a manageable reality. We see what substance there is in Catalyst’s ability to increase the rate of support and change in your browser deployment and how it could impact user experience and environment security .

Hard Disk Drives (HDD) for virtual environments (Part I)

Unless you are one of the few who have gone all solid-state devices (SSDs) for your virtual environment, hard disk drives (HHDs) still have a role. That role might be for primary storage of your VMs and/or their data, or as a destination target for backups, snapshots, archiving or as a work and scratch area. Or perhaps you have some HDDs as part of a virtual storage appliance (VSA), storage virtualization, virtual storage or storage hypervisor configuration. Even if you have gone all SSD for your primary storage, you might be using disk as a target for backups complimenting or replacing tape and clouds. On the other hand, maybe you have a mix of HDD and SSD for production, what are you doing with your test, development or lab systems, both at work and at home.