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Connectix this week presented Virtual Server to the public when it officially launched the product’s beta program.
Connectix this week presented Virtual Server to the public when it officially launched the product’s beta program.
Connectix is best known for its Windows-based Virtual PC that allows users to run multiple PC-based operating systems and applications on a single workstation.
Virtual Server represents the vendor’s foray into the server space. The enterprise-class virtualization solution for Windows-based servers is built on the same virtualization technology Connectix uses on its Virtual PC offering.
Like Virtual PC, Virtual Server is a native Windows-based server application that enables users to run a broad range of server operating environments, such as Windows, Linux, Unix, OS/2, and DOS, concurrently on a single physical server, within isolated virtual machines.
The beta program, announced in mid-October currently has more than 100 organizations participating, including several Fortune 100 automotive, financial services and food industry customers. These companies are using Virtual Server to consolidate infrastructure, to collaborate, for n-tier and legacy servers, as well as to leverage Connectix’s programming and scripting interfaces for integration with a new generation of server management solutions.
Benefits of Virtual Server touted by Connectix are the consolidation of servers, and thus a reduction in hardware capital expenditures and minimized operating costs, and an improvement in system availability and maximization of resource use.
Virtual Server stores a guest server operating environment as a single file, enabling portability and flexibility for rapid deployment and unprecedented manageability in the data center environment.
Virtual Server is designed to run on industry-standard Intel servers (IA-32) and supports nearly all x86-based server operating environments, including Windows.NET Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server families, Linux, Unix, NetWare, OS/2, and DOS. It supports the complete line of Windows 2000 Server, with planned support for Windows.NET Server 2003 families when they are released. Virtual Server can support up to 64 concurrent virtual machines on systems containing up to 32 processors and host systems with up to 64 GB of physical RAM. It allows up to 3.6 GB of total system memory to be allocated per virtual machine.
Virtual Server supports multiple programming and scripting languages for automation and customization through COM APIs. These programmatic interfaces enable administrators and application developers to configure, monitor, and manage VMs, which it believes will lead to a wide range of server integration and management solutions.
“Server consolidation is becoming a major driver of high-end Intel-based servers,” said John Humphreys, senior analyst at IDC. “Virtual Server effectively enables customers to carve up these large systems into smaller, isolated virtual servers which can be readily resized and moved as needs and resources change.”
Connectix noted several freshly inked deals with BladeLogic and ProTier (which will layer Virtual Server in with their offerings) and Entirenet.
Connectix plans to release Virtual Server to the public by the end of the year and will make it commercially available by February 2003. Introductory pricing will start at $1,995. Systems administrators and IT managers interested in participating in the beta program can find additional information at www.connectix.com/virtualserver/ or from Connectix inside sales at +1 800 950 5880.
