Quoting from CNET News:
VMware will begin broadly testing a new version of its premium ESX Server product next week, a move that comes shortly after the EMC subsidiary began offering its basic server software package for free. Product delivery, however, could occur several months later than planned.
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The new ESX Server 3.0 beta continues this higher-end trend. It includes features for balancing computing loads within a group of virtual machines, as well as data backup and cluster management, VMware President Diane Greene said Thursday in a meeting with reporters. The company also said earlier that the version will support virtual machines that span four processors, double that of the current Virtual SMP feature.However, the final version of the product could arrive later than expected. In 2005, VMware said ESX Server 3.0 would arrive in the first quarter of 2006, but the company now is giving itself until the end of the second quarter, a company representative said.
VMware began a limited beta last year, but starting next week, 2,700 will begin the ESX Server 3.0 trial version, the company said…
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