At VMworld 2009 HP introduced new management and service solutions to extend the benefits of virtualization beyond servers to infrastructure.
HP also announced a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI) solution for less than $1,000 per user seat. VDI is a server-based computing model that gives users the same experience as a desktop PC, while all applications, management and processing is driven from the data center. The real value of the VDI solution "is that it is lowering support costs from traditional PCs for many of our enterprise customers," Sharon Chang, director of product marketing for the Business Service Automation Suite of products, HP, explains to 5 Minute Briefing. The HP Virtual Desktop Reference Architecture for VMware was demonstrated at VMworld and is currently being deployed into select HP solution centers worldwide for customers to experience.
HP says it is also making introductions in the storage area to lower costs by up to 50% and improve capacity utilization by up to 33% by virtualizing capacity with HP LeftHand P4000 and other StorageWorks virtualization solutions.
HP is also partnering with VMware to address issues created by virtual sprawl. HP, in partnership with VMware, is delivering new common tools and capabilities that bridge the physical and virtual data center silos through unified management and automation. As part of these new capabilities, there is now direct VMware vCenter administrator access to the physical infrastructure to manage server health, power use, and remote control with the new HP Insight Control for VMware vCenter. HP Operations Manager seeks to increase administrator effectiveness by enabling the monitoring of availability and performance of all virtual and physical assets through a common dashboard.
Organizations can also reduce the risk of downtime with HP Network Automation support for VMware vSwitch to provide more visibility, control, and compliance of vSwitch and physical network environments. HP's Virtual Client Essentials software portfolio will also include new setup, configuration and management tools for thin clients, as well as support for both the new VMware View PC-over-IP protocol and repurposed PC deployments to simplify and reduce the risk of migration to client virtualization.
New HP services and offerings with partners are also aimed at helping to simplify complex virtualization projects. For example, a recently signed alliance agreement between EDS, an HP company, and VMware is intended to help customers improve management of virtualized environments in the data center. And, the new HP SAN Readiness Assessment for Server Virtualization and the newly packaged HP Migration Services for VMware vSphere are intended to enable reduced TCO and risk while deploying best practices.
HP's goal with all the new offerings is to increase business agility, administrator productivity, and resource utilization, Chang explains. More details about HP's offerings can be found here.