Flexibility is dramatically improved due to the scalability of Virtuozzo’s dynamic partitioning technology that allows the OS container, or “virtual environment” (VE), in which both an OS and application run to smoothly grow from a fraction of an Intel processor up to 8 processors – with zero system downtime. This is ideal for large Intel-based servers that currently support 8-way Intel processors partitioned for multiple workgroups.
SWsoft also released Virtuozzo version 2.0.2 today, the power behind the Magnum-SC, with the “vzmc” GUI (below) to allow administrators to manage hundreds of Linux Virtual Environments (VEs) across multiple servers. Administrators can now use the unique “vzmigrate” feature to automatically move an entire OS container to another server for scheduled hardware maintenance or system upgrades – with only a few seconds of planned downtime.
While SWsoft is the leading pioneer of products for server consolidation on Intel processors, companies like IBM have established Linux server consolidation on S/390 and zSeries mainframes as a standard practice in enterprise IT departments, with the majority of Fortune 1000 companies consolidating Linux servers on IBM mainframes. “Magnum-SC was inspired by the widespread success of Linux on the mainframe,” said Dr. Alexander Tomasov, SWsoft’s Chief Scientist and an expert on server consolidation technologies. “Virtuozzo is virtualization software that powers Intel-based processors and is the only technology flexible and scalable enough to meet the needs of both enterprise server consolidation and hosting providers.”
Magnum-SC is the first drop-in server consolidation appliance to require no changes to existing software or IT processes, which does not require staff to learn new expertise. Magnum-SC appliances can be deployed by a single administrator in less than half a day, which is due to the advanced dynamic software partitioning capabilities of Virtuozzo. Software partitioning allows for faster and easier server consolidation and is clearly superior to older centralization strategies based on geographic sites and administrative tasks or complex strategies that require extensive changes to existing software.
“Our customers are looking to buy larger servers that give them greater power that let them do more in the data center,” added Sean Lee, CEO of Linux infrastructure specialists, eRexi. “Using Virtuozzo’s mainframe-like dynamic partitioning in the four-way Magnum-SC (based on the xSeries 250), we are recommending that more customers initially deploy four-way Magnum appliances and run an application like IBM DB2 in a partition. The customer can then easily increase the size of the partition as their need for DB2 transactions arises. This flexibility, scalability and price point make Virtuozzo the only viable choice for consolidation on the xSeries.”
(To see a white paper surrounding server consolidation, please see http://www.sw-soft.com/r/upload/vz-vmware.pdf)
The Virtuozzo 2.0.2-powered Linux-based Magnum-SC server consolidation appliance (www.magnum-sc.com) models include:
- M30 – $10,000 — Consolidates up to 50 servers (10 suggested) and includes an IBM xSeries 330 or a Dell PowerEdge(TM) 1650
- M130 — $25,000 Consolidates up to 200 servers (25 suggested) and includes a Dell PowerEdge(TM) 6650 or an IBM xSeries 360
- M230 — Consolidates up to 500 servers (50 suggested) and includes a Dell PowerEdge(TM) 8450 or an IBM xSeries 370
Cliff Hairston, a Linux systems integrator, touts the increased service levels his customers enjoy with the M230 appliance, based on Dell’s 8-way PowerEdge(TM) 8450 machine. “My customers can use Virtuozzo to increase security by running one major application, such as sendmail or Apache, per instance of Linux. If a hacker breaks into or launches a DoS attack on a firm’s sendmail server, the performance of Apache or DB2 is not compromised and gives me peace of mind.”
Magnum-SC is the first phase of a formal effort by SWsoft to become the leader in server consolidation solutions. “Future versions of Virtuozzo and Magnum-SC will feature support for 64GB of memory, 16 CPUs, and IA64,” said Craig Oda, SWsoft’s VP of business development. “We’ve enhanced our HSPcomplete (www.hspcomplete.com) solution with server consolidation features and will release both the ‘SCcomplete’ solution later this year and a Windows solution in the 2nd half of 2003.” For more information about the Magnum-SC server consolidation appliance or to see a demo of Virtuozzo or HSPcomplete, please see www.sw-soft.com, contact info@sw-soft.com or call 650.875.7552.
About Virtuozzo
Virtuozzo was created by the SWsoft development team, which includes Alexey Kusnetsov, who maintains the networking code of the Linux kernel and is available at prices starting at $250. Virtuozzo 2.0.2 supports Red Hat 7.2, RedHat 6.2, ASPLinux 7.2. Virtuozzo comes with the vzfs filesystem that enables automatic application provisioning on the fly and the organization of server (VE) templates for specific purposes. For more information on the Virtuozzo(TM) technology, please see www.virtuozzo.com or contact sales@sw-soft.com.
About Server Consolidation
Enterprises are constantly faced with the dilemma of ever-changing IT requirements: increased TCO due to a failure to design-in IT growth, greater fragmentation of data and applications resulting higher complexity and costs and rising operational costs due to service outages and slowdowns that result in decreased customer satisfaction. IT managers seeking to improve the efficiency, flexibility and service levels of their organization are turning to “server consolidation”, a term that covers four techniques:
1)location – moving servers dispersed across different divisions and offices to the same location or physical room (requires extensive planning and retraining)
2) logical – centralization of the system and application management functions (requires new systems and retraining)
3) reengineering – developing new and larger applications and systems
4)transparent – consolidation that does not affect IT processes or existing processes.
IBM pioneered transparent server consolidation with Linux on the mainframe using VM. The rapid adoption by thousands of IBM’s S/390 and zSeries customers proved the superiority of transparent server consolidation based on software partitioning. SWsoft’s Virtuozzo uses dynamic software partitioning on Intel processors and is the leading transparent server consolidation solution for users of Intel-based servers. See www.virtuozzo.com for more information.
About SWsoft, Inc. (www.sw-soft.com)
SWsoft is an advanced server and networking software technology company focused on the development of its patent-pending Virtuozzo(TM) technology with end-to-end solutions and services for hosting service providers such as Internet data centers, application service providers, managed hosting providers and Web hosters. SWsoft’s products deliver powerful, comprehensive solutions that can help data centers automate management, accelerate operations and provide excellent return on investments.
