IBM and VMware announced a partnership to work on improving
partitioning software for high end Intel-based servers.
Partitioning tools, once only common on mainframes, have made their
way to higher-end Unix servers, and now IBM and VMware are looking
to add the same software to servers with 16 or fewer Intel
processors, said Jay Bretzmann, director of xSeries server
marketing at IBM. The companies have developed a version of the
software for IBM's x360 server and plan an update to the software
for the third quarter that will be aimed at the high end of the
xSeries line.
With ESX Server, users can chop up a 16-processor server into 20
different partitions or virtual servers. Administrators can then
run different applications in each partition, and allocate
processing and memory resources for each application.
Putting more applications on one physical server can help lower the
total number of servers a company needs to manage. In addition, a
software bug or virus can be isolated in one partition without
affecting other software on the server.
One analyst said the partnership with VMware makes sense in the
long run for IBM, as the company rolls out servers with its Summit
chipset.
"VMware is important for a very stable xSeries product built around
Summit," said Gordon Haff, an analyst at Illuminata. "It's
certainly not surprising that IBM would want to ensure VMware is a
stable partner going forward, so they can leverage each others'
expertise."
IBM's Summit chipset contains a number of memory enhancements and
error-checking safeguards to bolster the performance of Intel-based
servers.
Adding partitioning tools on these types of servers would help
Intel-based hardware compete with Unix servers that currently offer
similar features, Haff said.