Embotics Releases V-Commander 4.0

Managing private cloud deployments is no small task. Virtualization is supposed to help enterprises consolidate server sprawl as well as realize operational efficiencies. However, it requires the right amount of management infrastructure in order to do so. Software vendor Embotics is looking to deliver on the promise of private cloud virtualization management with its new V-Commander 4.0 release. This new release is targeted specifically at the mid-market for enterprises that have between 250 to 2,000 servers. It also delivers provisioning and service automation features.

According to Founder, CEO and President of Embotics Jay Litkey, "It's infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) and we also integrate virtualization management capabilities. Traditionally, people look at IaaS vendors that are just focused on the provisioning of virtual machines, we have all of that and have included the same product real-time monitoring and virtualization management."

The V-Commander 4.0 release includes a new service catalog as well as approval workflow and rapid provisioning capabilities. The approval workflow component allows an enterprise to have a system which lets administrators approve which users gain access to virtual machine assets. In addition to that, the system also tracks the workflow of a service requests allowing both users and administrators to monitor status.

The service catalog is built by the organization using a drag and drop form builder. Litkey also explained that a lot of companies make a template of approved services available. The service catalog portal can also be used in order to request changes to an existing service. The rapid provisioning component comes into play once the service catalog item workflow request has been approved. The V-Commander software is able to run on either a physical or virtual appliance, and currently Embotics doesn't offer the product in a hosted Software-as-a-Service cloud model.

"We don't do that today, it's a conceptual type of deployment, and we haven't seen strong demands for it," Litkey stated. "Clearly, as the world evolves and the world moves to more cloud driven approaches, you can expect that we'll see an uptick in more people asking for it."Litkey explained that a lot of enterprises are more comfortable having automated management software deployed on-site. "People want to first be comfortable with automation within the walls of their own private cloud first."

V-Commander is also currently limited to the management of on-site private clouds as opposed to some form of hybrid deployment which includes public cloud components. Litkey did, however, hint that this could change in the future. "Since we have monitoring of capacity and the automation for creation and destruction of virtual machines, we'll have more investment to tie that information together to make intelligent decisions."

Litkey also noted that in V-Commander 4.0, there is an intelligent placement feature that determines where a new VM should be provisioned. With an improved tie-in to monitoring, the placement feature can be enhanced with historical and compliance data as well. "In 4.0, we started the process and we have more planned in terms of tying this knowledge together to do provisioning in an intelligent, automated fashion."

Source: A Serve Watch - Embotics Takes Command of Private Cloud Servers

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HP Not Letting Oracle Drop Itanium Support Without A Fight

So, if you haven't already heard, HP has no plans of letting Oracle off the hook for supporting Itanium. Oracle publicly announced back in March that it was officially discontinuing support of Oracle applications running on HP's Intel Itanium powered servers.

Jump forward three months and HP is starting to fight back by claiming that Oracle has a legal obligation to continue supporting Itanium. According to a statement made by HP, "HP believes that Oracle's March 22 statement to discontinue all future software development on the Itanium platform violates legally binding commitments Oracle has made to HP and the more than 140,000 shared HP-Oracle customers. Further, we believe that this is an unlawful attempt to force customers from HP Itanium platforms over to Oracle's own platforms."

HP has sent Oracle a formal legal demand letter telling the company that it needs to reverse its decision on abandoning Itanium. "HP believes that Oracle is legally obligated to continue to offer its software product suite on the Itanium platform and we will take whatever legal actions are available to us necessary to protect our customers' best interests and the significant investments they have made," HP stated.

Oracle, back in March, made numerous claims that HP apparently disagreed with. Not only did Oracle announce publicly that the company was discontinuing support for HP's Itanium but they also claimed that Intel was hopping on board and doing the same thing. According to Oracle, "Intel management made it clear that their strategic focus is on their x86 microprocessor and that Itanium was nearing the end of its life."

The unfortunate thing, for Oracle at least, is that both HP and Intel are refuting Oracle's claims. According to HP, "HP remains committed to a long-term mission-critical server roadmap, including Intel's Itanium processor. Similarly, Intel has repeatedly reinforced its ongoing commitment to the Itanium roadmap."

While HP is going after Oracle for Itanium support, other vendors have already begun abandoning the platform. Microsoft announced back in April of 2010 that it was ending support for Itanium. Will HP win out over Oracle or will Oracle's claims that Intel is dropping Itanium as well come true?

Source: Server Watch - HP Demands Oracle Support Itanium

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