On the fence about virtualization? Rather than sitting by and waiting for enterprise customers to come to it, virtualization software developer VMware this week is rolling out something it calls VMware Express.
The tricked-out 18-wheeler features a fully functioning datacenter, demo stations and large, flat-panel LCD screens to evangelize the benefits of virtualization and, particularly, the upside of desktop virtualization in the enterprise.
The datacenter inside is a combination of EMC (NYSE: EMC) storage, Cisco’s (NASDAQ: CSCO) Unified Computing System (UCS) blades, MDS, NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP) and Xsigo hardware. There are 32 Cisco blades alone with 96GB of memory, enough to run 3,000 or more virtual machines if there was enough storage available, according to VMware officials.
Server Watch hits the road with VMware as it takes off on a 150-city tour of the U.S. and Canada.
“People want to see how it’s used. There are a number of ways it can be used, so what better way to show it than to take it on the road,” Julie Eads, senior director of Americas marketing for VMware, told InternetNews.com. “The desktop is important. People want to see desktop over IP.”
One of the demo stations is for VMware View, a purpose-built solution for delivering desktops as a managed service. Most thin-client desktops are little more than terminals that connect to a server, but VMware View lets the client use a PC or Mac laptop and see all of the files and applications regardless of whether they connect to the company network in the office or outside of work.
