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VMware Announces New Release of Enterprise-class Virtual Infrastructure Software

VMware Announces New Release of Enterprise-class Virtual Infrastructure Software

GSX Server 3 Enables Server Consolidation, Provides Enterprise-class Performance and Reliability and Dramatically Improves Software Development and Test Productivity

PALO ALTO, Calif., February 23, 2004— VMware, Inc., the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems, today announced GSX Server 3, the latest release of its award-winning enterprise-class virtual infrastructure software. Designed foenterprise IT administrators who want to consolidate servers and streamline development and testing operations, GSX Server's full support for Microsoft Windows and Linux platforms combined with enhanced performance, management and portability features make it the most flexible and easily deployed server virtualization product on the market.

"Without GSX Server, we would probably have at least 85 more servers than we do now since it's so hard to run more than one application on a system. Now, we can set up a new virtual machine in a couple of minutes instead of the several hours it takes for a physical server, and our end users never notice because performance is not compromised," said Ryan Goessling, systems software specialist at CalPERS, the nation's largest public pension fund and the third largest in the world with assets totaling more than $167 billion.

VMware GSX Server simplifies computing infrastructure by partitioning and isolating servers in secure and transportable virtual machines, each of which can run standard Windows, Linux or NetWare operating systems and applications. GSX Server allows these virtual machines to be remotely managed, automatically provisioned and standardized on a secure, uniform platform.

"GSX Server 3 is a real advance over GSX Server 2," said Cody Becker, network manager for Mag Instruments, maker of Maglite flashlights. "We were already happy with the solid quality of GSX Server, so much so that we're planning to expand our use of VMware software beyond server consolidation and into other use cases, like Terminal Services clusters. This latest release has some great new features, including a much more intuitive user interface and better performance, which increases our confidence about making VMware an integral part of our infrastructure."

A wide variety of benefits set GSX Server apart from other virtualization technologies:

  • Server consolidation with enterprise-class performance and reliability: GSX Server provides an ideal departmental server consolidation solution for customers that choose to run on standard Windows or Linux platforms. Using VMware P2V Assistant, customers can seamlessly transform physical servers into virtual machines that can run on GSX Server.
  • Dramatically improved software development and test productivity: GSX Server dramatically reduces software development and testing cycles by shortening the time needed to provision, install, build, test and restore a new machine from days to minutes. Development teams can leverage the portability of GSX Server virtual machines to easily share development environments and pre-packaged operating system and application testing configurations.
  • Freedom of choice: GSX Server installs on the widest selection of Windows and Linux operating systems of any virtualization technology, enabling users to preserve their freedom to choose the best platform for their needs.
  • Direct path to VMware data center-class virtualization solutions: GSX Server is compatible with VMware's revolutionary VirtualCenter management and provisioning solution, making it the only server virtualization product that delivers the cross-host management and provisioning features of the VMware virtual infrastructure. GSX Server offers a direct upgrade path to ESX Server, VMware's most powerful and scalable server virtualization product with support for Virtual SMP, fine-grained resource controls and VMotion instant migration of running virtual machines.

"Thousands of customers can attest to the value and reliability of GSX Server since its introduction more than three years ago," said Michael Mullany, vice president of marketing at VMware. "The latest release supports larger server applications and improves networking and disk performance. As a result, our customers enjoy dramatically improved development and test productivity cycles while retaining freedom of choice in operating systems."

New and Enhanced Features of VMware GSX Server 3 Include:

 

Enterprise-class Server Virtual Machines

  • 3.6GB memory per virtual machine to support larger server applications
  • Teamed network adapter support, SCSI backup devices
  • 10-20% better disk and networking performance
  • Ability to take snapshots that save a point-in-time copy of the running virtual machine state

Enhanced Management and Portability

  • VirtualCenter-based customization and provisioning of server images/configurations
  • Windows integration for performance monitoring and event logging of virtual machines
  • Automatic virtual machine start-up and shutdown
  • PXE provisioning for booting and installing operating systems into new virtual machines over the network
  • Ability to migrate virtual machines from GSX Server to data center-class ESX Server

Flexibility to Choose Best Platform

  • Supports the latest Windows, Linux and NetWare operating systems
  • Runs on a wider variety of Windows operating systems than any server virtualization product on the market

 

Availability and Pricing

VMware GSX Server 3 will be available for both Windows and Linux host operating systems in February, 2004 on the VMware Store at http://www.vmware.com/vmwarestore/. GSX Server 3 will also be available through VMware hardware partners, including Dell, Egenera, HP, NEC Systems Technologies and Unisys, as well as through VMware VIP Reseller Network and Distribution partners. Pricing starts at $2,500 for 2-CPU servers. GSX Server 3 is a free update to current GSX Server customers with support contracts. A full-featured trial version can be downloaded directly from the VMware Web site at http://www.vmware.com.

About VMware, Inc.

VMware, an EMC company (NYSE: EMC), is the global leader in virtual infrastructure software for industry-standard systems. The world's largest companies use VMware solutions to simplify their IT, fully leverage their existing computing investments and respond faster to changing business demands. VMware is based in Palo Alto, California. For more information, visit www.vmware.com or call 650-475-5000.

(C) 2004 VMware, Inc. all rights reserved. VMware, ESX Server and GSX Server are trademarks of VMware, Inc. All other trademarks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.