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HP gets virtualisation bug

Hewlett-Packard has caught the virtualisation bug and launched a slew of products to make it easier to blend physical and virtual IT assets. First, there is a new server blade, the BL495c, which HP claims is the industry’s first optimised for virtualised environments.

HP has also updated its range of business service management and IT service management software to support virtualisation, and struck a deal with Red Hat to develop solutions for Red Hat Enterprise Linux environments. Finally, there’s a new version of HP’s Unix operating system, HP-UX 11i v3, to support virtualisation.

Chrome for workaholics

Google’s new Chrome browser has so far attracted more yawns than praise. But it could prove a boon for workaholics who keep multiple tabs open in their browser. While tabs are nothing new, with rival browsers the more you open the greater the chance the browser will crash. Not with Chrome, Google claims, for if one tab hangs, the others remain open and responsive. Microsoft plans also to build this ”process isolation” feature into the forthcoming Internet Explorer 8, currently in beta.

Cloud collaboration

HP, Intel and Yahoo have teamed up with research facilities in the US, Singapore and Germany to collaborate on cloud computing research and education. Six test-bed facilities are being fitted with cloud computing infrastructure, largely based on HP hardware and Intel processors, and will have 1,000 to 4,000 processor cores capable of supporting the data-intensive research associated with cloud computing.

Online back-up

Lenovo has paired with EMC, the US storage giant, to offer an unlimited online back-up service for small businesses around the globe. The new service, to be offered in seven languages, is available on new Lenovo ThinkPad SL series notebooks and is powered by Mozy, the online data back-up service that EMC acquired last year. Up to 5GB of online storage can be used free of charge for the first 90 days; pricing after the trial period ends has not been finalised.

Simple storage for SMEs

Still on the SME storage theme, EMC has launched a unified storage system aimed at smaller businesses. The Celera NX4 supports up to 60 terabytes of capacity and can be configured to work with the three main types of network storage – network-attached storage, iScsi, or storage area networks. Many SMEs are wary about the arcane and complex world of network storage, but EMC claims the NX4 can be easily set up in just 15 minutes.

Bull’s blade

The NovaScale B240 is the latest addition to Bull’s range of blade servers. In keeping with today’s era of frugal IT, the server consumes 50 per cent less energy than a traditional server of similar capacity yet offers comparable levels of reliability, availability and serviceability. It can be fitted with a dual-core or quad-core Intel Xeon 3000 processor. Prices start at €1,495.

SQL Server for the web

Microsoft’s SQL Server database gets a refresh and for the first time there’s a version specifically for the growing web services industry. The Web edition of SQL Server 2008 is designed to support low-cost, large-scale web applications or hosting solutions. The other six editions of SQL Server 2008, include versions for enterprises, workgroups, developers and the tight-fisted – the Express edition of SQL Server 2008 is free of charge.

Source: ft.com