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On April 26 VMware announced the general availability of VMware vCenter Infrastructure Navigator (VIN) 1.1, previously introduced as a part of vCenter Operations Management Suite.
VIN automatically detects, discovers and maps all the applications virtualized on vSphere reporting all the characteristics and dependencies through vSphere Web Client, visual maps and searchable tables.
There is no need to install additional agents because VIN leverages VMware tools.
On May 3 VMware released a security update, that the company itself define as “accelerated“, with the purpose to patch five “critical” security issues across VMware ESX and ESXi hypervisor version 3.5, 4.0, 4.1 and 5.0 and also two of the client products, VMware Workstation and Player.
As reported in the Security Note, this update is connected to the source code leak announced on April 24.
Albeit VMware didn’t release any detail about the leak so far, ThreatPost, run by Kaspersky Lab, indicates “Hardcore Charlie” as the hacker claiming to have stolen 300 Megabytes of VMware source code from the military contractor China National Import & Export Corp (CEIEC).
Despite VMware quotes the event in the note, doesn’t evidence any link between the discovered vulnerabilities and the stolen code, merely suggesting the update as a normal security procedure.
On May 3 VMware announced it has joined the Facebook Open Compute Project, an initiative launched in 2011, with the objective of increase technology efficiencies and reduce the environmental impact of data centers.
VMware vSphere 5 is now certified to run on open AMD and Intel-based hardware following the project’s specifications enabling Open Compute users to virtualize production workloads and business-critical applications.
VMware is committed to delivering innovative technology that transforms and redefines how businesses function and operate in the cloud era. VMware vSphere® 5 is now certified to run on Open Compute AMD-and Intel-based v2.0 server platforms. With VMware vSphere 5 now expanding to cover a wide range of embedded processors, I/O devices and servers, customers are offered a greater choice in IT solutions.
said Richard A. Brunner, chief platform architect, VMware.
On April 24 VMware published a technical paper titled: The VMware Reference Architecture for Stateless Virtual Desktops on Local Solid-State Storage with VMware View 5 which introduce the use of local solid-state drives (SSDs) within a physical host to offload the majority of desktop virtualization IOPS needed.
The objective of this model is to significantly reduce the hardware infrastructure costs of desktop virtualization environments while providing an highly scalable architecture.
On May 2 Liquidware Lab, the company founded in 2008 by David Bieneman, announced a new product called FlexApp and version 5.0 of its Stratusphere FIT, Stratusphere UX and ProfileUnity which will integrate VMware’s end-user computing (EUC) strategy following the release of VMware View 5.1.
Stratusphere FIT, that rates the physical desktop candidates for VMware View environments, and Stratusphere UX, able to identify poor user experience in an existing VDI environment allowing optimization, both deriving from vmSight acquisition, will be integrated into VMware vCenter Operations Manager for View using a plugin to provide various end-user indicators and an overall “Health Index Score“.
Teradici, the developer of the PC-over-IP (PCoIP) remote desktop protocol, which is leveraged in software (by VMware view) and provided with Teradici hardware solutions which are OEM’ed by several vendors, announced the compatibility of APEX 2800 server offload card with the latest release of VMware View 5.1, maintaining full compatibility with all current VMware View and VMware vSphere releases.
The Teradici PCoIP server offload card is an hardware add-on available as a standard PCIe expansion card that monitors the graphical demands and dynamically offloads the most active 64 displays on the server.
Catbird, the company providing security and compliance solutions with a focus on the virtualization market, yesterday announced that Catbird vSecurity, its product that proactively secures the virtual network and guest operating systems by analyzing and responding to network events and attack, and enforcing correct VM configuration, now integrates the support for static and dynamically provisioned virtual desktops.
On May 2 Desktone, Inc., a US company founded in 2006 and based in MA, announced Desktone 5.0 Platform, the new release of its DaaS platform for service providers and telecommunication companies.
Desktone 5.0 Platform can deliver three sperate types of hosted virtual desktop to end users:
- Hosted Full-Featured VDI: Delivering end users a full-featured desktop that replicates the exact experience of a physical Windows desktop.
- Hosted Shared Leveraging Remote Desktop Session Host (RDSH): An ideal option for users such as task workers that don’t require a full-featured desktop.
- Hosted Personal Windows Server: A comparable Windows experience at a more affordable price, often utilized by small to mid-sized companies.
providing multi-tenancy and granting the compliance with Microsoft licensing terms.
Release 5.0 includes DaaS Automation Engine, an OEM oriented feature that automate provisioning and sizing of full tenant environments enabling service providers to offer free “try and buy” deployments.
Another new feature is the multi-data center management capability, that allows dynamic provisioning of hosted desktop, ensuring the shortest path but maintaining centralized administration.
Today VMware announced the beta release of Project Octopus, its Enterprise cloud file sharing application that appeared in the Apple App Store in the first week of April.
Octopus uses synchronization technology from Zimbra and Mozy in order to enable enterprise data sharing, with centralized policy management for administrators, on- and off-premise and offers clients for iOS, Android, web browsers, etc.
Project Octopus will offer, in the final release, integration with VMware Horizon, VMware View and Project AppBlast.
Today VMware disclosed the new features of VMware View 5.1, its Virtual Desktop Infrastructure platform. This version is the follow up of version 5 which was released in August 2011.
The most important features can be summarized as follows: