November 18, 2002 -- (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) -- Hosting automation and enterprise software provider SWsoft Inc. (SW-soft.com) announced on Monday that it is working with IBM to integrate its Virtuozzo server virtualization technology with the IBM eServer xSeries 300 Product line.
The deal, says SWsoft, saw extensive testing of the Virtuozzo technology on the IBM server line, and the establishing of IBM?s ServerProven certification, demonstrating the effectiveness of the combination.
Virtuozzo operates by virtualizing the Linux operating system on Intel processor-based servers. The technology allows servers to be divided into Virtual Environments, each operating as though it were a stand-alone server. Virtuozzo 2.5, says SWsoft has been validated under the ServerProven program to run across the xSeries line, with testing showing the ability to run up to 2,500 virtual environments on a single machine.
Each virtual environment can scale to 64GB of memory across a 16CPU server. And a single xSeries server can support more than 20 instances of IBM?s DB2 database software.
"We're really helping hosting providers to maximize the use of their hardware,? says SWsoft director of marketing Alex Plant, ?and get more out of the hardware they have right now."
Following the testing, says Plant, SWsoft intends to begin marketing the xSeries machines, pre-installed with the Virtozzo platform, to the Web hosting provider market.
"We're actively going to be trying to sell IBM hardware with Virtuozzo,? says Plant. ?And we have a sales agreement where they're going to give us some of the money to help try to push it into the hosting market. They're also going to be recommending Virtuozzo as part of their server Virtualization offering.?
Plant says the benefits of the relationship to IBM include an increase in the exposure of the company?s server hardware to the hosting market, where the company?s sales have traditionally lagged.
"From a hosting provider's perspective, IBM hardware tends to come at a higher price point,? he says. ?But having our software on there really helps them to justify it in the end. Rather than buy 10 pieces of hardware, you can do the same thing with one."
