Heeding the call from customers, Trigence Corp. has created software that
virtualizes applications running on the Solaris operating system created by
Sun Microsystems.
Trigence’s current software portfolio helps clients virtually shuttle
several Linux and Unix applications across their servers and data centers,
adding flexibility at a time when customers want to be able to move
computing resources by pushing a few buttons or dragging and dropping from a
single console.
Trigence CEO Chuck Colford said Trigence AE 2.2 will work well with Solaris
because both Trigence and Sun design software using a “container” approach
in which applications are boxed, or packaged in a container for easy
transport across systems.
By placing an applications file stack into a container, AE turns the
application into a movable object. Because it is separate from the server,
it is possible for applications to be moved among servers and co-located on
a single operating with a few keystrokes and a drag and drop function.
Solaris customers who are embracing Sun’s N1 container approach can add
Trigence AE 2.2 above N1, transporting applications using Solaris 10
containers. Also, customers who wish to continue using Solaris 8 and 9 will
be able to use Trigence AE as they prepare to migrate to Solaris 10.
“We launched our Linux product in June and we had an awful lot of folks
interested in whether we could bring the capabilities to Solaris as well,”
Colford told internetnews.com, noting that 75 percent or more of
Trigence customers have installed bases of Solaris.
“The port to Solaris involved installing the infrastructure, adding
additional capacity to the team and adding pilot customers to go through the
activity with.”
The Solaris-flavored version of Trigence’s AE 2.2 software will be ready in
2005, with both Sun and Trigence throwing their marketing weight into the
pact, according to Colford.
However, prospective customers will get to see demonstrations of the new
software all week at the 2004 Gartner Data Center Conference in Las Vegas,
he said.
Often used in server consolidation or in shuffling resources, virtualization
software has become more attractive as clients are moving to more
streamlined, less labor-intensive infrastructure options.
By adding such functionality for Solaris customers, Trigence should open up
its market capabilities. Trigence competes with Veritas Software, which acquired
application virtualization outfit Ejasent last year and now resells it
UpScale virtualization product for Solaris systems.
Trigence also believes it competes with market giant and EMC division VMware, although that business’ chief focus is
virtualizing Intel-based servers, with virtualization support for Linux
coming later.