VMware customers attending VMworld are taking a look at Microsoft’s Hyper-V virtualization software, but say the Microsoft technology falls a bit short and that it would be problematic to start over after investing heavily in VMware.

Continue reading " VMware customers cast a wary glance at Microsoft’s virtualization tools "

Virtualization has not stripped Windows of its relevance, a Microsoft official said in response to VMware CEO Paul Maritz’s argument that operating systems are no longer the center of innovation in the IT world.

Continue reading " Is Windows still relevant in the virtualization era? "

Salesforce.com rolled out a new service on Wednesday that integrates business-contact information with its own CRM (customer relationship management) application and Chatter collaboration software.

Continue reading " Salesforce.com integrates CRM, collaboration in contact-data service "

Verizon Business is tapping into the popularity of VMware technology with a cloud computing service designed to let customers easily move workloads between their own infrastructure and Verizon’s cloud.

With the new service, in trials now and due for general availability early next year, enterprises that use VMware will be able to shift workloads out to Verizon’s CaaS (Computing as a Service) infrastructure and back again, the companies said. This could help organizations ease their way into cloud computing or take advantage of greater computing resources when necessary.

Continue reading " Verizon teams with VMware on enterprise cloud service "

I/O virtualization vendor Xsigo Systems is tapping into the most ubiquitous network connections around, offering an appliance that lets enterprises carve many virtual links out of the Gigabit Ethernet or 10-Gigabit Ethernet port built into a server.

The company is announcing a new, Ethernet-enabled version of its Xsigo I/O Director at VMworld in San Francisco on Tuesday.

[ Get expert networking how-to advice from InfoWorld's Networking Deep Dive PDF special report. ]

Continue reading " Xsigo gives Ethernet a path into converged I/O "

After setting up a cloud infrastructure, an organization needs tools to monitor that it is running as smoothly as planned.

With this in mind, software provider Zenoss has customized its server and networking monitoring application, Zenoss Enterprise, for VMware’s newly released cloud management software, vCloud Director.

Continue reading " VMware vCloud Director gets Zenoss monitoring app "

VMware is claiming it doesn’t need to deliver on its promise of a bare-metal desktop hypervisor, but says that if it does choose to release a so-called Type 1 client hypervisor it would be better than Citrix’s.

“Let’s set the record straight there,” says Vittorio Viarengo, vice president of desktop marketing for VMware. “If there’s one company that can nail a client hypervisor, it’s VMware.”

Continue reading " VMware disses bare-metal desktop hypervisors "

Hewlett-Packard has unveiled CloudStart, a package that includes hardware, software, and consulting services and aims to speed up the construction of private clouds, it said on Monday.

Continue reading " HP’s Cloudstart said to speed private cloud deployment "

Citrix plans to announce Monday that it will buy VMLogix as part of a larger push to offer more self-service tools and address concerns like vendor lock-in facing enterprises using the cloud.

Continue reading " Citrix buys virtualization vendor VMLogix "

On Thursday Hewlett-Packard announced it acquired Stratavia, which specializes in tools for deploying, configuring, and managing databases and middleware in an automated fashion.

Stratavia’s products — including the Data Palette platform, which is used to discover and track application and database configuration changes — will be combined with HP’s Business Service Automation portfolio, HP said.

Continue reading " HP bolsters cloud management with Stratavia purchase "