virtualization.info Editors

Topspin provides the industry’s first programmable server switch, a new category of data center infrastructure designed to provide an intelligent backbone for grid, or on-demand, or utility computing. Topspin’s new VFrame server virtualization software suite allows provisioning intelligence to be programmed into the server switch hardware by industry-leading management and provisioning tools using VFrame APIs and a software developer kit (SDK).

“We are excited to have such a solid list of partners to kick-off this program,” said Ben Eiref, director business development at Topspin. “The greatest strength of VFrame is that it offers the first truly open solution for switch-based utility computing. We allow our customers to choose their preferred servers, storage, applications, and management tools and connect it all seamlessly through the server switch. With our VFrame development partners we can offer our customers a wide range of quality solutions.”

Opsware

“Customers want best of breed utility computing solutions that don’t lock them in to a single vendor,” said Tim Howes, CTO and EVP of development for Opsware Inc. “DCML, a developing open standard for utility computing, enables this multi-vendor vision. Opsware is looking forward to working with Topspin’s VFrame, using DCML to further automate the IT lifecycle and deliver utility computing.”

Oracle

“Topspin’s VFrame interface provides a useful way to implement server virtualization and provisioning policies through a single InfiniBand switch interface and we’re looking at how to take advantage of this with Oracle’s Grid Computing technology,” said Benny Souder, vice president of Distributed Database Development, Oracle Corporation. “I’m also pleased to see Topspin’s timely launch of this capability as it coincides with the creation of the Enterprise Grid Alliance, where the technology will link together best of breed grid building blocks.”

Platform Computing

“Customers are asking for a better way to flexibly share server, storage, and application resources,” said Robert Boettcher, vice president of Financial Services at Platform Computing. “Topspin helps provide the ability to virtualize the server infrastructure underneath the grid application services. Together, Topspin and Platform can provide a complete turnkey solution for data center managers who want to build their own grid infrastructure.”

Qlusters

“Working through Topspin’s VFrame server switch interface, Qlusters SSI single system image technology enables customers to achieve the scalability of traditional SMP systems running on much less expensive commodity clusters,” said Moshe Bar, CTO of Qlusters. “We’re pleased to see Topspin creating this developer program since we have common customers asking to have our two products running together.”

VMware

“VMware, the leader in virtual infrastructure software for x86-based systems, sees the potential of fabric-based technologies such as Topspin to bring additional I/O consolidation, performance and cost-containment benefits for customers as they deploy their VMware virtualization solutions,” said Brian Byun, senior director of Alliances, VMware. “We are pleased to be charter members of the VFrame developer program.”

Tucci: I think, basically, and everybody uses this word, utility computing. A lot of [utility computing is] around how you virtualize your storage, your network, and your server assets. Over time, it’s clear to me that, at least for storage and servers, that these decisions have to be very coordinated. This technology has to work together. And when you look around at who had the best virtualization software out there, it was clear to me for servers it was VMware. For storage, it was EMC.

This is tricky now, but I’m dedicated to it, and it’s important to your reader base, in the case of VMware I’m absolutely dedicated to let our server partners use that same technology, even if it competes against me.

So IBM is free to take VMware server virtualization technology and combine it with their storage virtualization technology and have a competing offering. That’s part of the rules of being open. But I will certainly look for offerings to do that myself, also.

CRN: If that’s the case, then why acquire VMware? If it’s something that’s going to be completely open, what’s the advantage to EMC?

This kind of technology has been available to IBM’s mainframe users for years. Virtualization Engine is the result of a three-year program to bring these capabilities to other IBM systems including storage devices, according to Tom Hawk, the general manager of IBM’s enterprise storage group.

It will increase the utilization levels of systems and make them easier to manage, he said. “What we’re really talking about is what I’ll call ‘mainframe-level manageability, discipline and tools,'” he said.

Virtualization Engine will be worked into IBM systems, starting with the iSeries line, which is expected to be refreshed within the next two months.

IBM plans to use technology it has developed internally to enable the partitioning of the Power5 processors, which are used in its iSeries and pSeries servers. The company will use an unnamed third party to deliver partitioning services to its Intel-based xSeries systems, it said.

IBM’s iSeries minicomputer line, formerly known as AS/400, already has a number of useful virtualization capabilities built in, according to Nigel Fortlage, the vice president of GH Young International, an international trade consulting firm based in Winnipeg, Manitoba.

In 2003, GH Young consolidated 16 Intel Corp. servers onto two iSeries machines running Linux, Windows 2000, and the OS/400 operating system that ships with iSeries servers. This saved the company $74,000 in hardware acquisition and maintenance costs, according to Fortlage.

“Prior to doing all of this virtualization, we were spending 95% of our time managing,” said Fortlage. “The iSeries manages so much of the low-level stuff that used to cause the glitches. I don’t have to do the three-finger salute every couple of days; they just run.” He said, referring to the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keyboard combination sometimes required to reboot Windows.

The Virtualization Engine components new to the iSeries will include an embedded version of Tivoli’s Provisioning Manager software, as well as a WebSphere-based grid computing tool kit that will allow customers to run distributed applications using the Open Grid Services Architecture standards.

The partitioning component of Virtualization Engine is similar to VMware Inc.’s GSX Server and ESX Server software and Hewlett-Packard Co.’s Virtual Partitions, Jonathan Eunice, an analyst at Illuminata Inc. in Nashua, N.H., said in an e-mail interview. “VMware does not allow individual applications to use more than two CPUs’ worth of performance. Power partitions scale far higher than VMware can,” Eunice wrote.

According to Microsoft SP1 includes a series of enhancements to tighten security, increase reliability and improve scalability of SMS.