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Meanwhile, Virtual Server support will be announced in HP OpenView and IBM Director as well as in monitoring and storage products from CA and Veritas.

The virtualization software, which was acquired from Connectix in early 2003 and enhanced for the Microsoft environment, is designed to enable server consolidation and simplified management. To that end, Microsoft will also detail key partnerships with hardware vendors Dell, Fujitu-Siemens, HP, IBM, NEC and Unisys on Monday. Top systems integrators Accenture, Avanade, EDS and HP will also unveil services for Microsoft Virtual Server 2005.

Virtual Server 2005 is a key part of Microsoft’s Dynamic Systems Initiative and will plug into leading management products across the board, one Microsoft executive said. The software will ship in two editions and will be widely available by Oct. 1.

“Virtual Server helps customers take steps today to get better utilization out of their hardware environment and allocate those server resources,” said Eric Berg, a group product manager for Windows server at Microsoft, Redmond, Wash.

Virtual Server 2005 offers a Web-based management interface for monitoring virtual machines, and the company has integrated links into its fleet of management products–as well as third-party links–to enable comprehensive management of virtual machines. A third-quarter update to SMS will support Virtual Server. The Service Pack will provide Virtual Server information in hardware inventory checks, track virtual host and guest relationships, and feature a new node called Virtual Machine in the SMS administration console.

The software will also enable companies to do parallel testing and rollout of Active Directory infrastructure. Microsoft designed the software to run infrastructure workloads such as domain controllers, DNS, WINS and DHCP in virtual machines.

In the fourth quarter, Microsoft will roll out MOM 2005 Management Pack for Virtual Server. The MOM Service Pack will allow one-to-many management of host and guest virtual machines, health monitoring and configuration changes and closed loop automation, Microsoft said. Microsoft will also make available a Virtual Server Migration Toolkit to help automate the migration process from physical servers to virtual servers as well as virtual-to-virtual conversions.

Microsoft will end support for NT at the end of the year and promises Virtual Server will help NT and Novell customers migrate their infrastructure. The company also says Virtual Server will help customers facing physical data constraints. Virtual Server 2005 supports NT, Windows 2000, NetWare and Linux workloads in virtual machines, but the software runs on Windows Server 2003 only. The Standard Edition, which supports up to four processors, is priced at $499, while the Enterprise Edition, priced at $999, supports as many as 32 processors.

Virtual Server 2005 is not designed to run hard-core server applications such as SQL Server, Exchange, file and print servers or enterprise applications in virtual machines. Executives also acknowledged that Virtual Server 2005 is aimed at midsize companies and enterprises rather than SMB customers.

At the Intel Developer Forum in San Francisco, Intel executives have begun talking about several of their core processor technologies, including Silvervale, the hardware-assisted virtualization technology due to roll out next year. Intel also has an almost identical technology, called “Vanderpool,” which is designed for client platforms.

Both technologies are seen as vital to future development. “We are on record as saying that Vanderpool is the most significant change to PC architecture this decade,” said Martin Reynolds, a PC technology analyst at Gartner Inc., in San Jose, Calif.

Abhi Talwalkar, vice president of Intel’s Enterprise Platforms Group, described the Silvervale technology as a “key system strategy for IT managers” in a keynote address Tuesday. The dual-core “Montecito,” the next-generation Itanium processor, has already successfully booted this technology, he said. “Yonah,” Intel’s dual-core mobile chip due next year, uses the Vanderpool technology.

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For now, the company is working with existing virtualization companies such as VMware and Microsoft to enable software-based virtualization, Williams said.
“We’re continuing down the path of how do I do server consolidation?virtualization is one way to do that,” he said.

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Five years ago, the advent of Vanderpool and Silvervale might have commoditized VMware and run it out of business. Now, the technology may serve to emphasize the company’s other offerings, Reynolds said.

Nathan Brookwood, an analyst with Insight64 in Saratoga, Calif., agreed. “It’s not really competitive with VMware,” he said.

Microsoft will formally launch its long-awaited Virtual Server 2005 early next week, sources said.

The virtualization software, which Microsoft acquired from the former Connectix in February 2003, runs on Windows Server 2003 only but supports Windows NT and Windows 2000 workloads. It will compete with EMC’s VMware and SW-Soft’s Virtuozzo, which allow for server consolidation and simplified management of applications.

Microsoft released the beta version last February and Release Candidate 1 in June. Originally, the Redmond, Wash.-based company hoped to ship an enhanced server by the end of 2003 but delayed it to work out technical issues. The last targeted date for release was mid-2004.

“They’re doing a low-level launch, district by district,” said one source familiar with the company’s plans. “This is largely being driven [by] customers who want this software now. Microsoft would prefer to hang and do a bigger launch, but they’ve been so late they want to do it now. ”

Many customers, including Allstate Insurance and Winn-Dixie, have the final bits in house and have been using the release candidate in production for several months, solution providers said.

Microsoft plans to ship two versions of the virtualization software. The Virtual Server 2005 Standard Edition will support up to four processors, while the Virtual Server 2005 Enterprise Edition will support up to 32 physical processors, Microsoft said.

Intel Active Management Technology, announced at the Intel Developer Forum (IDF) in San Francisco, enables IT managers to remotely access every networked computing system, even systems that are powered down, the operating system has locked up or the hard drive has crashed. For IT managers, this greatly improved asset management technology could reduce system downtime, technical assistance visits and operational costs.

“Intel talked with many IT managers and heard a need to enhance the manageability of client and server platforms,” said Bill Siu, Intel vice president and general manager, Desktop Platforms Group. “Intel’s solution provides an innovative and cost-effective solution to one of IT’s major concerns.”

Intel Active Management Technology is integrated into tamper-resistant hardware and firmware to prevent intentional or inadvertent removal of inventory, remote control or virus- protection agents from the systems. The technology features an out-of-band link that is independent of the operating system, allowing IT managers to access a system even if the operating system is inoperative.

“Lacking an effective solution today, IT invests vast sums on managing computing assets, rather than developing and implementing innovative solutions that improve worker productivity and efficiency,” said Siu. “Intel Active Management Technology enables more efficient asset management, reduced downtime and fewer technician visits so that IT budgets can be put to better use.”

Intel Active Management Technology will provide the foundation for new software that will give IT managers more efficient management of their computing systems. At IDF, Altiris Inc, BMC Software, Check Point Software Technologies, Computer Associates and LANDesk Software are showcasing early solutions based on the technology for remote management, security, diagnostic and inventory.

Intel Active Management Technology is the latest in a set of product enhancements designed to address the needs of business end-users, including future security (codenamed LaGrande Technology or LT) and virtualization (codenamed Vanderpool Technology or VT) applications.

Siu said these products are part of Intel’s broader initiative called Digital Office, aimed at addressing the needs of business customers. “Business customers, from the large enterprise to the startup, have complex needs that cannot be remedied with a single new feature,” Siu said. “That’s why Intel is taking a broader approach involving standards, products and technologies. Intel Active Management Technology is a significant first step in Intel’s vision for the Digital Office. Intel has exciting plans for solutions that will make platforms more aware, more connected, more intuitive and more responsive. This is just the beginning.”

Vanderpool will be a way for Intel to encourage companies to buy new PCs, Otellini, Intel President, said: “By putting virtualization and reliability and security into the platform, it can accelerate corporate replacement cycles because it is (offering) a better, cheaper environment” .

Otellini demonstrated one PC using Vanderpool to run office applications, games and voice over Internet Protocol, a computer-aided design application running on Linux and also a virus scanner.

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