p>VMware, Inc. has announced a new bundle designed to provide SMBs using the free VMware Server with a way to manage their virtual infrastructure.
The bundle includes VirtualCenter for VMware Server with enterprise-class support from VMware for US$1,500.
SMBs are adopting virtualization because of the clear business benefits it provides around lowering the total cost of their IT infrastructure while enabling entirely new levels of business agility. Yankee Group report SMB Infrastructure Goes Virtual states that as hardware becomes more powerful, virtualization will become a necessity – even for businesses running a handful of servers.
Ben Matheson, director of product management for SMBs at VMware, said VMware has always believed that virtualization is useful for companies of all sizes from the largest enterprise down to SMBs.
VMware Server a hosted virtualization product for Linux and Windows servers that enables users to partition a physical server into multiple virtual machines. VMware Server has been downloaded 1.2 million times since it became generally available in July 2006, with 70 per cent of the downloads by SMBs. VMware Server is available at no charge for immediate download at www.vmware.com/products/server/.
To migrate to the virtual world, SMBs can use the free VMware Converter Starter, a migration tool optimized to easily and quickly migrate physical systems to a virtual infrastructure. VMware Converter Starter is available at no charge for download at www.vmware.com/converter .
The new virtualization management bundle, which includes one VirtualCenter management server for VMware Server with three agents and enterprise-class support including unlimited 30-day support from VMware, has a VMware list price of US$1,500 and is expected to be available this week from VMware and VMware resellers. Additional agents can be purchased for a VMware list price of US$400 per physical server managed.
