In the early days of virtualization (and by early, I mean a few years ago), installing either VMware ESX Server or Xen virtualization was considered a difficult chore by many and thus a barrier to entry for many organizations.

VMware and XenSource have both come out with OEM deals with hardware vendors to supply their hypervisor platforms as embedded solutions.

Now, as of October 16th, Virtual Iron will join the "ease of installation" program by bundling the latest version of its virtualization software with rack mount and blade servers from HP and IBM. The bundles are being made available through Tech Data's Advanced Infrastructure Solutions Division and its network of value-added resellers in North America.

The company is going to bundle a pre-configured Virtual Iron v4 Extended Enterprise Edition version of its software with HP ProLiant DL380 G5, DL385 G5 and server blades for the new HP BladeSystem c3000 enclosure, as well as with IBM System x, 3500, 3550 and 3655 servers.

The company said that the pre-configured solutions support enterprise-class server consolidation and complete management of multiple Windows and Linux operating systems on a single server or across multiple servers. The combinations are designed for easy deployment and management and enable VARs to provide cost-effective and efficiently managed data center solutions that provide higher performance and more reliable service levels.

Virtual Iron has always positioned itself as the SMB friendly server virtualization platform when it comes to pricing. Recently, VMware tried to step into these shoes when it announced a lower price point acceleration kit of its VI3 solution. Virtual Iron's response is to join with two of the largest suppliers of servers to the enterprise, HP and IBM, and to offer through pre-configuration ease of installation and setup along with their already low prices. Virtual Iron said that the bundles would fit within the budgets of small and medium sized businesses that want to try out x86 virtualization for the first time.

"Server consolidation and virtual infrastructure management are of increasing interest to our customers and we are constantly being asked about which solutions deliver the best price/value performance and are easiest to deploy," said Dave Spear, vice president and general manager of Virtual Technologies, LLC, a Tech Data value-added reseller of both HP and Virtual Iron. "The HP-Virtual Iron bundle offers us the ability to deliver on this need quickly by offering a trusted partner's hardware with the latest enterprise-class virtualization and management capabilities."

Posted by David Marshall on October 17, 2007 05:03 AM