VMware introduced VMware ESX Server 3i, the industry’s next generation thin hypervisor to be integrated in server hardware from Dell, Fujitsu, Fujitsu Siemens Computers, HP, IBM, NEC and others.
Building virtualization into the server hardware simplifies the deployment and management of virtual infrastructure. With VMware ESX Server 3i, customers will be able to go from booting up a server to reaping the benefits of virtualization in a matter of minutes. VMware ESX Server 3i represents a major advance in a radically small footprint for unparalleled reliability and security. VMware ESX Server 3i will be showcased this week at VMworld 2007 in San Francisco.
“In the six years and three product generations since its release, VMware ESX Server has become an industry-defining product, acclaimed for its quality and functionality,” said Raghu Raghuram, vice president of products and solutions at VMware. “Today, VMware is ushering in a new era where virtualization software is not separate from server hardware, it is simply how industry-standard servers operate. We have worked with our partners to integrate VMware ESX Server directly into their server hardware. Now customers will be able to turn on their virtualization-enabled servers and boot directly into a fully-functioning hypervisor. We expect this advance to simplify virtualization and make it more easily accessible to customers as they refresh their computing infrastructure. As multi-core systems become more common, virtualization will no longer be viewed as an optional capability by customers.”
VMware ESX Server 3i is the new architectural foundation for VMware Infrastructure 3, the most widely deployed virtualization software suite for optimizing and managing industry-standard IT environments. VMware customers will be able to easily implement the entire suite of VMware Infrastructure 3 products on top of this foundation, including VirtualCenter, VMotion, Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS), High Availability (HA) and VMware Consolidated Backup (VCB).
Based on VMware ESX Server which has set the standard for a production proven, stable and mature hypervisor, VMware ESX Server 3i is a “bare metal” hypervisor that partitions a physical server into multiple secure and portable virtual machines. Designed for optimal scalability and performance, VMware ESX Server 3i’s innovative new architecture also provides unmatched security, reliability and manageability in a compact, 32 MB package. VMware ESX Server 3i would be the only hypervisor on the market today that does not incorporate a general-purpose operating system, which frees it from the many challenges involved in maintaining a general purpose operating system.
Partners Discuss VMware ESX Server 3i
"As our customers face complex IT environments, compute density, power consumption and simplified management comes at a premium, making embedded virtualization technology and optimized solutions an increasingly viable option," said Rick Becker, vice president of solutions, Dell Product Group. "Dell is focused on answering this 'call to action' with a holistic server solution that leverages industry leading technologies like VMware ESX Server 3i to simplify virtualization and enable customers to get the most in performance and energy efficiency in their data center operations."
“The embedded virtualization capabilities in VMware ESX Server 3i are complementary to the design of our HP ProLiant and BladeSystem technology,” said James Mouton, senior vice president and general manager of Industry Standard Servers at HP. “This next-generation solution will help customers optimize infrastructure for manageability, simplicity and better business outcomes.”
“IBM and VMware have a long history of collaboration in the x86 virtualization marketplace and IBM’s recently announced fourth generation X4 chipset brings that collaboration to new levels. The combination of the System x3950 M2 server and VMware’s new ESX Server 3i will allow our mutual clients to reduce cost and power consumption, while improving availability and security,” said James Northington, vice president and business line executive of IBM System x. “The System x3950 M2 is optimized for virtualization to deliver the reliability and robustness required for dense consolidation while delivering lower costs per virtual machine.”
"The Fujitsu Group heartily welcomes VMware ESX Server 3i,” said Masami Yamamoto, corporate senior vice president at Fujitsu Limited. “VMware has been providing a solid virtualization infrastructure for enhanced use of our industry-standard PRIMERGY servers by many customers. VMware ESX Server 3i embraces and enhances the virtualization hardware in PRIMERGY, enabling simple and effective implementation and use. This will enable our customers to maximize their resource use and fully obtain the benefits of today’s most powerful and open virtualization infrastructure."
"Our Dynamic Data Center offering is based on IT infrastructures, solutions and services which provide customers maximum efficiency,” said Barbara Schadler, chief marketing officer for Fujitsu Siemens Computers. “VMware ESX Server 3i, coupled with our PRIMERGY server line, makes our offering even stronger. This virtualization enabler will allow customers to quickly realize both power and financial savings, which is good for their business as well as for the environment."
“Under our strong partnership, VMware and NEC have developed unique virtualization solutions, which allow customers to benefit from the combined technologies of both companies,” said Yoshikazu Maruyama, senior vice president at NEC Corporation. “These include the Virtual PC Center and the recently-announced Fault Tolerant server line of products. The ability to integrate the VMware ESX Server 3i inside the NEC Express Server line will allow both companies to continue to deliver tremendous value to customers.”
Customers Discuss VMware ESX Server 3i
"The most striking feature of VMware ESX Server 3i is the ease of use,” said Rob Jones, technology director of Northern Europe at ALSTOM. “Just plug it in and it's ready to run virtual machines. This will greatly simplify the deployment of servers at our many remote sites and offices where we may not have dedicated IT personnel.”
“Virtualization as part of the hardware is the wave of the future, and my expectation is that in a few years everything will be virtualized,” said Kevin Hickman, solutions architect of Server Design at Chevron. “The small size and highly reliable design of VMware ESX Server 3i make it a natural fit for hardware integration.”
“VMware ESX Server 3i will have a significant impact on the IT industry,” said Peter Amstutz, chief of Network Design at Defense Contract Management Agency. “IT professionals will stop thinking about virtualization as an operating system or software, but really as a component of the hardware itself.”
Availability
Hardware vendors are expected to begin shipping VMware ESX Server 3i within their products by the end of 2007 and over the course of 2008. In the future, VMware ESX Server 3i will also be available for download at www.vmware.com.