InfoVista Tackles Virtualization Challenges

Systems management vendor InfoVista on Tuesday unveiled technology designed to make server virtualization less complex.

InfoVista's new VistaInsight software for Servers 3.0 helps companies determine which of their servers would benefit the most from virtualization, provides reports on which hardware is associated with which individual virtual servers, and allows IT managers to gain a single view of the combined assets that comprise a virtual server farm.

Virtualization refers to the process of using software to subdivide a server into multiple individual servers or to tie together multiple hardware units into a single virtual machine. The technique is widely used in business computing environments that want to achieve maximum return on their computer hardware investments.

VistaInsight for Servers 3.0 features embedded support for the Windows Messaging Interface, Solaris DTrace, and VMware APIs to allow users to manage servers in multiple environments, including Microsoft, Sun, and EMC.

The software is in beta testing and is available for preview this week at Interop in Las Vegas. InfoVista said the final product is slated to ship in the third quarter.

The market for virtualization technology is heating up as more and more companies look to reduce the number of physical servers in their data centers in an effort to cut costs and save energy.

Microsoft next year plans to release Viridian, virtualization software that is a key part of the company's campaign to develop products that can compete with those offered by VMware and other specialists. Industry giant IBM also offers a number of advanced virtualization tools.

Last month, EMC's VMware unit announced that it's planning an initial public offering of up to $100 million in stock.