* Several server virtualization partnerships announced
Several vendors recently unveiled server virtualization partnerships to let users consolidate and increase the utilization of their computing resources.
IBM and VMware, an EMC company, announced that IBM would bundle copies of VMware’s server virtualization software with its BladeCenter servers. Egenera partnered with virtualization vendor SWsoft, which has joined Egenera’s blade server program and will provide its virtual server services and software on Egenera’s BladeFrame computers. And AMD teamed with VMware and Microsoft to provide hardware-based virtualization for servers containing Opteron processors.
In the IBM/VMware agreement, companies that purchase IBM BladeCenter servers or chassis will get a six-month evaluation copy of VMware’s ESX Server, its two-processor Virtual SMP and its VirtualCenter management software with VMotion.
VMware’s products allow companies to carve up single physical processors in a physical machine into multiple virtual servers in the same machine for consolidation or application and capacity utilization purposes. The company’s VMotion technology allows virtual machines to be migrated from one physical processor or server to another.
SWsoft has joined Egenera’s Accelerate alliance program, which means the two companies may participate in interoperability demonstrations and possible joint marketing and sales.
SWsoft’s Virtuozzo creates multiple virtual servers on a single Linux or Windows physical server that are protected from each other in secure partitions. The company just recently introduced Virtuozzo for Windows, which has been validated on Egenera’s BladeFrame.
Finally, AMD revealed key information about its Pacifica virtualization technology. Pacifica will enhance the 64-bit virtualization capabilities of x86-based servers, much like Intel’s Vanderpool technology will.
Pacifica will work with AMD’s Direct Connect Architecture to introduce new features into the processor and memory controller. This means that vendors like VMware and Microsoft, which run virtual machines on Opteron processors, will be able to supply considerably less complex and more secure software.
Pacifica will be available in the first half of 2006. Future versions of Pacifica should include the ability to work with dual-core technology. AMD expects the Pacifica specification will be unveiled in April.
