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VMware To Ship Infrastructure 3 Update

Virtualization vendor VMware will ship this week the latest iteration of its infrastructure bundle as well as the beta of a third-generation virtual machine conversion utility.

The latest release of Infrastructure 3 features ESX Server 3.0.1 as well as Virtual Center 2.0.1, which both now support 64-bit editions of Linux from Red Hat and SUSE as well as 64-bit Sun Solaris, besides Windows, according to company officials.

Additionally, the beta of VMware's virtual machine (VM) conversion utility -- renamed Converter 3 -- features the ability to perform "zero-downtime" conversions that convert a physical machine to a virtual machine while the source machine continues to operate without disruption to end-user services. It will also covert other vendors' VMs to VMware VMs.

Palo Alto, Calif.-based VMware shipped the first release of Infrastructure 3 in early June.

Infrastructure 3 is comprised of ESX Server, plus two other existing products -- Virtual SMP and VirtualCenter, which includes the company's VMotion technology. (VMotion is a technology VMware introduced three years ago that enables a VM to be moved around a set of physical servers automatically without any downtime.)

The update to Infrastructure 3 also features localized versions in both German and Japanese for the first time -- which will be available at the end of the month. The list of localized versions will expand over time, officials said.

Besides improved performance, Converter 3 features a new user interface that enables customers to covert physical machines in the fewest possible steps.

A free version of Converter 3 will enable customers to perform small-scale conversions. However, the enterprise version will provide more full-featured capabilities. This includes remote cloning, which allows machines to be cloned from a remote console without requiring the use of a manual boot CD or the need to physically visit the source machine.

About the Author

Stuart J. Johnston has covered technology, especially Microsoft, since February 1988 for InfoWorld, Computerworld, Information Week, and PC World, as well as for Enterprise Developer, XML & Web Services, and .NET magazines.

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