Sun to Resell VMware Goods

Sun Microsystems has announced an alliance that will enable it to offer VMware’s server virtualization software.

Sun will now resell VMware ESX Server, VMware GSX Server and VMware Workstation to customers who purchase Sun Fire x64 servers or workstations from Sun, with the option of adding the virtualization software to their systems.

“Virtualization opens the network and liberates the customer to implement server consolidation, respond faster with virtual infrastructure and dramatically improve and lower the cost of disaster recovery,” said Stephen Borcich, vice president of partner marketing for Sun, in a statement. “Furthermore, with the addition of Solaris support, customers will be able to run Solaris 10 in a VMware virtual machine.”

VMware, which is a subsidiary of EMC , is considered a leader in virtual infrastructure software and claims some 10,000 enterprise customers.

Enterprises that run one application service on one server typically utilize only a small fraction of their Linux or Windows server hardware capability.

Enter VMware, which provides a virtual infrastructure so IT organizations can provision new services and consolidate disparate systems onto fewer highly scalable, enterprise-class servers.

Sun said that, with VMware ESX Server on Sun Fire x64 servers, as well as support for the Solaris OS, organizations can extend their options to provision new services running on Solaris 10. For example, Windows and standard Linux distribution operating systems could run on the same piece of hardware and increase utilization of the servers.

VMware GSX Server 3.2, which shipped last month, is the first VMware server product to support dual-core servers, followed by the Palo Alto, Calif., company’s ESX Server and VirtualCenter software. VMware began supporting dual-core chips on its Workstation desktop software when it was introduced earlier this year.

Separately, VMware announced this week that it is working with a large group of companies, including AMD, Cisco, Computer Associates, Dell, IBM, Intel, Novell and Red Hat, to advance open virtualization standards. VMware said it will provide its partners access to VMware ESX Server source code and interfaces under a new program called VMware Community Source.

“Virtualization is gaining widespread adoption due to its indisputable customer benefits. It is an area rich in opportunities, and the ecosystem will develop most fully with open standards,” said Diane Greene, president of Vmware, in a statement.

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