Leostream launches physical-to-virtual server conversion tool for business continuity

Quoting from the Leostream official announcement:

Leostream Corp., the leading provider of heterogeneous server virtualization management software, today announced Leostream P>V Direct 2.0, a tool for the direct conversion of physical servers into virtual machines. P>V Direct 2.0 supports Windows NT4, Windows XP, Windows Server 2000/2003, and conversion targets include Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2.

The Leostream P>V tool can achieve conversion without the need to reboot servers, and without the need to use CD or floppy drivers.

So-called ‘virtual machine’ software carves up large multi-processor servers and divides it into individual and multiple computing units, or ‘virtual’ servers, hence allowing multiple copies of Windows or Linux operating systems to be run simultaneously, and independently, on the same Intel-powered server.

A key challenge when deploying server virtualization technology is quickly and easily converting existing physical machines running today’s operating systems into the equivalent virtual machines. Without making a series of complex changes to the operating system the transplanted system will not work.

With P>V Direct 2.0, Leostream has pioneered the concept of low cost, easy to use, conversion tools by enabling the conversion to be automatically repeated, enabling virtual machine conversions to be scheduled. Applications include creating running virtual machines for patch testing, backup, or disaster recovery.

Nashat Bolis, chief information officer of MacLean-Fogg, a leading provider since 1925 of mechanical and insulation devices for the world’s power and telecommunications companies, said, “Leostream’s P>V Direct tool enables us to provide a low cost disaster recovery solution for production servers spread across 20 sites. We can recover quickly from a hardware failure without the need to deploy a hardware-intensive clustered solution.” Based in Mundelein, IL, MacLean-Fogg runs about 20 factories in Asia, Europe, and North America. (www.maclean-fogg.com)

“Business Continuity is a key benefit of server virtualization and Leostream’s P>V Direct is a true example of this technology in action. Leostream’s work with Microsoft will enable Virtual Server 2005 R2 customers to increase operational efficiency and reduce IT costs through faster backup and recovery,” said Zane Adam, director of marketing, Windows Server Division, Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 R2 is the most cost-effective server virtualization technology engineered for the Windows Server System platform. As a key part of any server consolidation strategy, Virtual Server 2005 R2 increases hardware utilization and enables organizations to rapidly configure and deploy new servers. Virtual Server 2005 R2 provides customers improved performance, availability, and scalability in order to increase operational efficiency in server consolidation, application re-hosting, disaster recovery, and software test and development.

“The biggest advantage of using virtual machines for backup and disaster recovery is that you can recover in a matter of minutes, and it is very easy and quick to ensure that you have made a valid copy of the server,” said David Crosbie, Leostream CEO. “Traditional solutions take several hours to recover from tape, are very difficult to validate, and may not run if the image is not restored to identical hardware.”

Pricing & Availability

Leostream P > V Direct 2.0 is priced from $100 per conversion and will be available October 17th. Free trial copies can be obtained from www.leostream.com