News
VMware, HP Expand Virtualization Pact
- By Rutrell Yasin
- December 11, 2008
VMware will expand its strategic relationship with Hewlett-Packard to
include the joint development of software that manages datacenter resources.
The companies plan to offer integrated physical and virtual datacenter
management and automation software solutions that rely on technologies in HP's
Business Technology Optimization (BTO) software, VMware officials said.
The new tools will bring even greater management capabilities to the
emerging concept of a virtual datacenter operating system (VDC-OS), they said.
The agreement expands on the integrated software offerings the companies
announced earlier this year, which let datacenter operators automate the
management of heterogeneous environments.
As a first step, VMware will work with HP to integrate HP's BTO software
with VMware vCenter Lab Manager, which provides self-service access to a
library of preconfigured, virtualized applications. Users access applications
on demand while the information technology staff maintains administrative
control.
With vCenter Lab Manager, organizations can reduce hardware costs, automate
manual provisioning tasks, and accelerate application development and test
cycles, VMware officials said.
VMware and HP will also develop and market enhanced virtualization
management offerings for VMware vCenter Lab Manager and HP BTO users based on
HP Discovery and Dependency Mapping software. The approach will help users
better manage their VDC-OS environments.
A VDC-OS is designed to help organizations pool all types of hardware
resources -- including servers, storage tools and networks -- into an internal
enterprise cloud that acts like a single, giant computer. A VDC-OS can also
safely and automatically move workloads to external clouds when additional
capacity is needed.
Such a system should be highly elastic, self-managing and self-healing, and
it should help businesses and government agencies benefit from the flexibility
and efficiency of remotely monitored data centers, VMware officials said.
About the Author
Rutrell Yasin is the senior technology editor of Government Computer News (GCN.com).