Just a couple of weeks ago Microsoft opened the public beta program for the Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 Service Pack 1. The update is especially interesting as it introduces two key technologies for virtualization: Dynamic Memory for Hyper-V and RemoteFX for Remote Desktop Services (RDS) . Earlier this year, widespread rumors suggested that the SP1 would arrive within the end of this year, but Microsoft recently published in its FAQ page , a different roadmap which places the update somewhere in H1 2011. Mary Jo Foley at ZDNet is reporting the rumored date of April 2011. Microsoft is trying to change the market perception about its capability to execute, fighting its fame of over-promising and under-delivering vendor, while surprising competitors at the same time. So it won’t be too surprising to see the SP1 indeed arriving before the end of this year. Labels: Microsoft , Platform

Read this article:
virtualization.info

Egenera announced today its new channel partner program in EMEA, and the addition of UK-based Metropolitan Networks to Egenera’s certified channel VAR and integration partners. [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Originally posted here:
Virtualization.com

Could the week end without a new marketing skirmish between Microsoft and VMware? Of course not, or at least not when a long time Microsoft partner is involved. Just last week VMware announced a new, rather surprising OEM deal with Novell , which allows the virtualization vendor to distribute SUSE Linux Enterprise Server (SLES) as part of the upcoming vSphere 4.1 . Additionally, VMware announced a plan to adopt SLES as the guest operating system of choice for all its virtual appliances. Microsoft didn’t react too well (you can say it by the way they misspelled the name of the competitor, something that didn’t happen in a long time), and published its own interpretation of the deal, suggesting that customers may be locked into an inflexible offering: …looks like VMWare finally determined that virtualization is a server OS feature. I’m sure we’ve said that once or twice over the years . The vFolks now plan to ship a full version of a server OS with vSphere, and support it, to fulfill their application development and application deployment plans. Fourth, this is a bad deal for customers as they’re getting locked into an inflexible offer. Check out the terms and conditions . VMware replies back today . Nothing unexpected in the replay, with VMware arguing that Azure is an even bigger attempt to lock customers in Windows: Ultimately Microsoft’s strategy with Azure it to have customers run applications on Microsoft operating systems using Microsoft databases in Microsoft datacenters…. looks like the mother of all lock-ins. But the reply contains a couple of interesting statements. The first is: …The OEM agreement with Novell doesn’t change our commitment to guest operating system neutrality… Hopefully it will stay this way, while the maintainer of the other major Linux guest operating system, Red Hat, continues to build a competing virtual infrastructure based on KVM and a cloud infrastructure that support multiple hypervisors . The second is: Microsoft clearly “forgets” about VMware’s 1,000+ vCloud partners and public infrastructure as-a-service solutions based on VMware technology like vCloud Express . VMware just has four hosting partners that offer vCloud Express. And all of them, as far as we know, still offer the product in beta. A fifth one, Logica, has been removed (or has retired) from the program without any explanation , leaving the entire EMEA without a single vCloud provider. The other over 1000 partners that are working on this program still have to deliver a single piece of cloud infrastructure, simply because the foundation software of the vCloud architecture, called vCloud Service Director (vCSD), is not here yet .

Continue reading here:
virtualization.info

Less than three months ago the Spanish startup Abiquo was preparing to release version 1.5 of its management console for Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud platforms. The company is back with a new beta program for version 1.6 which is fully focused on programmable interfaces. Abiquo 1.6 beta in fact comes with a Cloud Service API, to automate the migration of existing virtual machines into the cloud platform of choice through the VMware vCloud API standard, and a Cloud Operator API, to automate the workload balancing inside the cloud platform through capacity rules. Plus, Abiquo 1.6 introduces support for Citrix XenServer as backend hypervisor, support for Linux Logical Volume Manager (LVM) and support for a number of networking technologies, including: 802.1Q VLAN trunking multiple vNICs per virtual machine multiple Virtual LANs (VLANs) per virtual datacenter named networks Allocation Policy management based on VLAN availability physical NIC customization DHCP Relays

Read more from the original source:
virtualization.info

Intel just released a blueprint on how to build an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) cloud computing architecture. Titled Intel Cloud Builder Guide to Cloud Design and Deployment on Intel Xeon Processor-based Platforms , the 18-pages paper promotes the use of Enomaly Elastic Computing Platform (ECP) Service Provider Edition as the management console of choice for IaaS clouds based on Xen, KVM or VMware ESX/ESXi. The document includes both design principles and step-by-step implementation: The paper is the result of Enomaly joining the Intel Cloud Builder program : …Developed with leading cloud independent technology vendors (ISVs), the program provides a starting point to setup, deploy and manage a cloud infrastructure.

Veeam technology, provider of data protection, disaster recovery and systems management solutions for VMware virtual datacenter environments, has launched a customized partner program for service providers and cloud computing providers that specifically aligns to the way they do business. Veeam’s ProPartner Service Provider (PSP) program will help these providers create new revenue opportunities… This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]

Read more here:
virtualisation.com

Layered Technologies yesterday launched its new partner program during the Channel Partners Conference & Expo 2010 in Las Vegas. The new program is designed to engage partners who want to include the best dedicated hosting, virtualisation and cloud computing technologies as part of the overall services and value delivered to their end-use customers. This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]

See the original post here:
virtualisation.com

At the end of January Microsoft silently updated its Linux Integrated Components package to version 2.0, introducing the long awaited support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) guest operating systems in Hyper-V. Microsoft announced future support for Red Hat operating systems in July 2009, since the open source vendor joined the Server virtualisation Validation Program (SVVP). Customers had to wait no less than seven months to finally have a version of Hyper-V Linux Integrated Components that supports RHEL 5 (including 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4 versions, both 32 and 64bit). Like for Novell SUSE Linux, Microsoft doesn’t include in the package the optimized drivers for mouse.

See the rest here:
virtualisation.info

RingCube Technologies, a provider of managed virtual workspaces, today announced that it has joined the McAfee Security Innovation Alliance partner program. Under the McAfee program, RingCube has integrated its vDesk workspace virtualisation solution with McAfee Encrypted USB drives, enabling enterprise customers to increase the mobility of their workforce while lowering the cost of desktop… This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]

Read more:
virtualisation.com