Server virtualisation platforms and management
Get news and technical advice on virtualisation platforms, virtualisation management and strategy. Our resources weigh the pros and cons of virtualisation platforms (VMware, Hyper-V and XenServer) in light of your datacentre requirements and offer step-by-step guidance on virtualisation management tasks, such as installing Hyper-V or VMware, monitoring, troubleshooting and securing virtual machines, P2V, V2P, V2V migration, desktop virtualisation strategies, and more.
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News
26 May 2025
Gartner: VMware users face multi-hypervisor future
With two-thirds of organisations reportedly negative about Broadcom’s VMware licensing changes, Gartner analyst Michael Warrilow advises IT leaders of multi-year migrations and an inevitable shift towards multiple hypervisors Continue Reading
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News
22 May 2025
How to tackle your infrastructure technical debt
Gartner analysts explain how infrastructure and operations teams can address the accumulation of outdated systems and make a compelling business case for upgrades Continue Reading
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Tip
16 May 2025
Single-tenant vs. multi-tenant cloud architecture
Single-tenant and multi-tenant cloud architecture offer unique advantages and disadvantages. Understanding both is crucial for selecting the best fit for your organization. Continue Reading
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News
22 Apr 2025
Fujitsu targets private AI with Japanese LLM on Nutanix
Fujitsu’s Takane large language model, optimised for Japanese language and business use, is aimed at supporting private AI deployments Continue Reading
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Opinion
22 Apr 2025
VMware licensing changes and the road ahead
VMware's new subscription fees: will enterprises pay up, walk away or explore a smarter third option? Continue Reading
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Definition
18 Apr 2025
What is a virtual machine (VM) and how does it work?
A virtual machine (VM) is a virtual emulation of a physical computer. Continue Reading
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News
14 Apr 2025
SUSE CEO champions open source choice
Dirk-Peter van Leeuwen warns against suppliers diluting open source to lock in customers, and touts SUSE’s commitment to providing choice and support across multiple Linux and Kubernetes distributions Continue Reading
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Feature
01 Apr 2025
Dell VxRail vs. Nutanix NX: HCI heavyweights square off
Compare Dell VxRail and Nutanix NX, leading hyperconverged infrastructure platforms, to understand their strengths and ideal applications to best fit your organization's needs. Continue Reading
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Definition
26 Mar 2025
What is a virtual hard disk (VHD)?
A virtual hard disk (VHD) is a disk image file format for storing the entire contents of a computer's hard drive. Continue Reading
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News
15 Jan 2025
Biggest Patch Tuesday in years sees Microsoft address 159 vulnerabilities
The largest Patch Tuesday of the 2020s so far brings fixes for more than 150 CVEs ranging widely in their scope and severity – including eight zero-day flaws Continue Reading
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News
17 Dec 2024
VMware customers seek alternatives amid licensing changes
Research reveals that while most VMware customers are satisfied with their current software, they are exploring alternatives due to concerns over rising costs Continue Reading
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News
01 Dec 2024
How SkyLab is democratising hybrid cloud management
SkyLab is challenging the cloud status quo with its orchestration platform, which allows telcos and enterprises to seamlessly manage workloads across multiple cloud providers Continue Reading
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News
27 Nov 2024
Dutch politicians raise concerns over Big Tech reliance
Dutch political parties have warned about the Netherlands’ growing reliance on US tech giants Continue Reading
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News
08 Nov 2024
Inside Grab’s platform strategy
Grab’s group CTO talks up the super app’s platform strategy, architecture and organisational structure behind its growth across diverse Southeast Asian markets Continue Reading
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News
07 Nov 2024
Gartner Symposium: Time to get rid of the dead wood
IT architecture complexity is set to increase in a way that means IT departments are juggling multicloud and legacy environments Continue Reading
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News
16 Oct 2024
SUSE sees growth in multi-Linux support and containers
SUSE CEO talks up the company’s double-digit growth, fuelled by demand for its multi-Linux support offering, Rancher container platform and focus on artificial intelligence Continue Reading
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News
24 Sep 2024
How VMware is supporting AI workloads
VMware claims its Private AI Foundation with Nvidia platform that speeds up AI deployment in private cloud environments is gaining significant traction in the Asia-Pacific region Continue Reading
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News
17 Sep 2024
Barclays takes on more GreenLake
Barclays has ramped up its HPE-powered private cloud, as it continues to modernise IT and reduce its carbon footprint Continue Reading
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E-Zine
03 Sep 2024
The politics of techno-refusal
In this week’s Computer Weekly, we learn about the politics of techno-refusal and the lessons to be learned from a group of IT workers who spent the early 1980s sabotaging tech infrastructure. Following the controversy around Broadcom’s purchase of VMware, we examine some alternative virtualisation solutions. And our latest buyer’s guide looks at the state of software-defined wide-area networking. Read the issue now. Continue Reading
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News
31 Jul 2024
Norway’s datacentre builders focus on energy efficiency
Datacentre developers in Norway are shifting their focus to energy efficiency, with expected increases in taxation for those who fall short Continue Reading
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Definition
30 Jul 2024
What is VMware Aria Suite (formerly vRealize Suite)?
VMware Aria Suite, formerly called vRealize Suite, is a software platform designed to help IT administrators build and manage heterogeneous, hybrid cloud environments. Continue Reading
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Definition
30 Jul 2024
What is VMware Certified Professional (VCP)?
VMware Certified Professional (VCP) is a certification level designed to demonstrate technical competency with VMware vSphere and related technologies. Continue Reading
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Definition
30 Jul 2024
What is VMware vSphere?
VMware vSphere is a virtualization platform that includes a suite of products for deploying and managing virtual environments. Continue Reading
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Definition
29 Jul 2024
What is VMware Cloud Director (VCD)?
VMware Cloud Director (VCD), formerly vCloud Director (vCD), is a cloud services delivery platform that helps cloud service providers offer secure cloud resources to their enterprise customers. Continue Reading
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Definition
29 Jul 2024
What is VMware vCenter Server?
VMware vCenter Server is a centralized management platform for configuring, controlling and monitoring VMware vSphere virtual environments. Continue Reading
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Definition
12 Jul 2024
Linux Secure Boot
Linux Secure Boot is a Hyper-V feature that Microsoft introduced in Windows 10 and Windows Server 2016. The feature allows specific Linux distributions to boot properly when running in Hyper-V generation 2 virtual machines. Continue Reading
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Opinion
01 Jul 2024
How Broadcom cemented its European cloud sovereignty credentials
The owner of VMware targets flexible deployment options for European public cloud sovereignty Continue Reading
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Definition
25 Jun 2024
second-level address translation (SLAT)
Second-level address translation (SLAT) is a hardware virtualization technology that reduces hypervisor overhead. SLAT is now available in many kinds of processors, including those from Intel and AMD. Continue Reading
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Definition
24 Jun 2024
Type 2 hypervisor (hosted hypervisor)
A Type 2 hypervisor is a virtual machine (VM) manager that is installed as a software application on an existing operating system (OS). Continue Reading
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Definition
24 Jun 2024
Virtual Machine Management Service
The Virtual Machine Management service, also known as VMMS or vmms.exe, is the main module in the Microsoft Windows operating system for controlling the virtual machines (VMs) on a Hyper-V server. Continue Reading
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Definition
28 May 2024
bare-metal hypervisor (Type 1 hypervisor)
A bare-metal hypervisor, also known as a Type 1 hypervisor, is virtualization software that has been installed directly onto the computing hardware. Continue Reading
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News
20 May 2024
Red Hat CEO on OpenShift evolution and AI moves
Red Hat CEO Matt Hicks talks up how OpenShift AI and RHEL AI can work together to lower the cost of training and inferencing to drive AI adoption and the company’s traction with customers looking to move away from VMware Continue Reading
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Definition
10 May 2024
virtual machine escape
A virtual machine escape is an exploit in which an attacker runs code on a VM that lets the operating system (OS) running within it break out and interact directly with the hypervisor. Continue Reading
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Definition
22 Apr 2024
host virtual machine (host VM)
A host virtual machine is the server component of a virtual machine the underlying hardware that provides computing resources to support a particular guest VM. Continue Reading
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15 Apr 2024
Education sector facing huge VMware cost increases after Broadcom ends discounts
UK non-profit London Grid for Learning and Belgian university KU Leuven are just two of the academic organisations facing huge licensing increases after Broadcom scraps VMware academic discount scheme Continue Reading
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News
10 Apr 2024
Breakthrough may herald secure home quantum computing
An emerging approach to quantum security dubbed blind quantum computing may one day help spur mass adoption of quantum computing safely and securely, using technology that is already available today Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2024
Education sector facing huge VMware cost increases after Broadcom ends discounts
UK non-profit London Grid for Learning and Belgian university KU Leuven are just two of the academic organisations facing huge licensing increases after Broadcom scraps VMware academic discount scheme Continue Reading
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Blog Post
20 Mar 2024
Maybe Einstein Was Wrong with E and MC - Apparently SoftIron = VM Squared...
Let’s face it, the scenario facing VMware for resellers and customer alike, post-Broadcom acquisition is common knowledge – the future landscape is not as it was. On top of that, it has to be ... Continue Reading
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Definition
18 Mar 2024
paravirtualization
Paravirtualization is a type of hardware virtualization that enables the guest operating system (OS) in a virtual machine (VM) to access the hypervisor directly, rather than indirectly through a complex abstraction layer, as is the case with conventional full virtualization. Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Mar 2024
A better way to manage hybrid or multicloud deployments
Cloud-native strategies notwithstanding, workloads running on-premise or in private clouds will continue to present management challenges Continue Reading
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News
05 Mar 2024
Dutch organisations start building a federated European cloud
The ‘European cloud services in an open federated ecosystem’ (ECOFED) project is co-funded by the Dutch government and will run from 2024 to 2027 Continue Reading
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Definition
04 Mar 2024
application containerization (app containerization)
Application containerization is a virtualization technology that works at the operating system (OS) level. It is used for deploying and running distributed applications in their own isolated environments, without the use of virtual machines (VMs). Continue Reading
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Feature
26 Feb 2024
Tracking the change in enterprise attitudes to hybrid cloud
Hybrid cloud deployments are poised to become even more prevalent in the enterprise as public cloud fails to live up to the hype on cost savings Continue Reading
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Definition
20 Feb 2024
hypervisor
A hypervisor is software that facilitates running multiple virtual machines (VMs) with their own operating systems on a single computer host's hardware. Continue Reading
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Definition
12 Feb 2024
guest operating system (guest OS)
A guest operating system is the operating system installed on either a virtual machine (VM) or partitioned disk. It is usually different from the host operating system. Continue Reading
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Opinion
28 Nov 2023
Uncertainty lingers with Broadcom’s VMware acquisition
Large enterprises with complex VMware environments are looking to de-risk their businesses from potential changes resulting from the Broadcom-VMware deal Continue Reading
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News
07 Nov 2023
VMware consolidates AI push at Explore in Barcelona
VMware’s vision is of ‘cloud smart’ enterprises that run on-premise, in multiclouds and in the ‘edge cloud’, with secure and compliant generative AI fuelling efficient business processes Continue Reading
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Definition
08 Sep 2023
virtual CPU (vCPU)
A virtual CPU (vCPU) is the processor of a virtual machine (VM). Continue Reading
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News
07 Sep 2023
Node4 helps performing arts charity revamp staff home working setup with IT infrastructure overhaul
Managed cloud services provider Node4 opens up about the work it has done to help make it easier for one of its long-standing clients to embrace remote working Continue Reading
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Definition
09 Aug 2023
VMware snapshot
A VMware snapshot is a copy of a virtual machine (VM) in a VMware environment taken at a specific point in time. Continue Reading
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News
04 Aug 2023
VMware Cloud on AWS expands to Melbourne cloud region
MLC Life Insurance is tapping the VMware Cloud on AWS service in the AWS Melbourne cloud region to exit its datacentre and reduce technology costs Continue Reading
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News
25 Jul 2023
Forestry and Land Scotland uses Nutanix to gain breathing space in cloud modernisation
With its datacentre contract coming to an end, the Forestry and Land Scotland agency, which has a cloud-first strategy, needed a way to manage cloud migration Continue Reading
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Definition
12 Jul 2023
Windows containers
Windows containers provide abstracted, isolated, lightweight and portable operating environments for application development on a single system. Continue Reading
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Opinion
10 Jul 2023
How Broadcom’s acquisition of VMware will accelerate multi-cloud adoption
How will the $60bn acquisition accelerate the private cloud and how important are regulator concerns about interoperability? Continue Reading
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News
06 Jul 2023
VMware ramps up on sovereign cloud in APAC
VMware is working with local partners to deliver sovereign cloud services in the region, amid growing sovereignty interests among governments and the need maintain business continuity Continue Reading
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News
28 Mar 2023
BNP Paribas moves to Swedish datacentre in high-performance computing strategy
BNP Paribas is moving data-intensive workloads to a Swedish datacentre to increase capacity while reducing its carbon footprint Continue Reading
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Definition
16 Mar 2023
bare-metal provisioning
Bare-metal provisioning is the process of installing an operating system (OS) or Type 1 hypervisor directly on a computer's hard disk. Continue Reading
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Feature
27 Feb 2023
Green tech and the private sector: How the UK government will hit its 2050 net-zero emissions goal
The UK government is targeting net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but it will need the private sector’s help and its appetite for investing in green technologies to meet its goal Continue Reading
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Definition
14 Feb 2023
heartbeat (computing)
In computing, a heartbeat is a program that runs specialized scripts automatically whenever a system is initialized or rebooted. Continue Reading
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News
06 Feb 2023
Ransomware operator turns their fire on two-year-old VMware bug
A vulnerability in VMware ESXi servers that users should have patched in 2021 is now being exploited to spread ransomware Continue Reading
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News
01 Feb 2023
Cisco fixes two bugs that could have led to supply chain attacks on users
Two vulnerabilities uncovered in Cisco hardware could have opened the door to serious supply chain cyber attacks, according to the Trellix researchers who found them Continue Reading
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News
20 Jan 2023
Veeam survey finds ransomware blocks digital transformation
Annual report shows secular trend to the cloud and increased use of containers, but prevalence of ransomware attacks means digital transformation is hindered Continue Reading
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News
27 Dec 2022
Top 10 ASEAN IT stories of 2022
Despite the challenges over the past year, ASEAN businesses have taken things in stride as they press on with digital transformation, whether it is empowering citizen developers or building cloud-native applications Continue Reading
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News
16 Dec 2022
CIO interview: Steve Capper, CIO, SNC-Lavalin
Engineering and construction giant SNC-Lavalin has consolidated its global datacentre estate and implemented private cloud to support the unique demands of its business Continue Reading
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Definition
08 Dec 2022
virtualization architecture
A virtualization architecture is a conceptual model of a virtual infrastructure that is most frequently applied in cloud computing. Continue Reading
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News
05 Dec 2022
How HashiCorp is driving cloud provisioning and management
HashiCorp CEO Dave McJannet talks up how the company is supporting cloud provisioning in a hybrid environment and its investments in Asia-Pacific to capitalise on the region’s growth potential Continue Reading
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Blog Post
22 Nov 2022
VMware's breadth and depth impresses, but is it still a safe bet?
At the recent VMware Explore conference in Barcelona, there was an elephant in the hall: Broadcom. VMware execs spoke about the $61bn acquisition positively, confidently even. It would be business ... Continue Reading
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News
31 Oct 2022
Prepare today for potentially high-impact OpenSSL bug
OpenSSL trailed a critical vulnerability patch last week, which will be only the second such flaw ever found in the open source encryption project. Unfortunately, the first was Heartbleed Continue Reading
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News
14 Sep 2022
VMware Cloud on AWS debuts in Hong Kong
VMware has expanded its VMware Cloud on AWS to Hong Kong, following the launch of the Alibaba Cloud VMware service in Greater China Continue Reading
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News
05 Sep 2022
VMware doubles down on cloud in ASEAN
Paul Simos, VMware’s managing director and vice-president for Southeast Asia and Korea, dives deeper into the company’s cloud strategy for the region Continue Reading
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Feature
08 Aug 2022
Icelandic datacentres may lead the way to green IT
Iceland may soon become even more attractive to companies wanting to minimise their carbon footprint while using high-performance computing services Continue Reading
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News
08 Aug 2022
Internet giants in favour as Ireland tightens rules on datacentres
Irish premier Michael Martin has insisted its temporary squeeze on datacentre construction is not a moratorium on the industry Continue Reading
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News
02 Aug 2022
VMware CEO defends Broadcom deal
Raghu Raghuram is confident that Broadcom will invest in growing VMware through a broad portfolio of assets that will serve its entire customer base, not just its biggest customers Continue Reading
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News
21 Jul 2022
Four key need-to-knows about CXL
Compute Express Link will pool multiple types of memory and so allow much higher memory capacities and the possibility of rapidly composable infrastructure to meet the needs of varied workloads Continue Reading
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News
08 Jul 2022
How Bank BPD Bali modernised its datacentre infrastructure
The Indonesian bank has deployed the Nutanix Cloud Platform in a move to modernise its datacentre infrastructure and pave the way towards hybrid and multi-cloud Continue Reading
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Definition
28 Jun 2022
distributed applications (distributed apps)
Distributed applications (distributed apps) are applications or software that run on multiple computers within a network at the same time and can be stored on servers or cloud computing platforms. Continue Reading
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News
24 Jun 2022
US cyber agency in fresh warning over Log4Shell risk to VMware
Many VMware Horizon and UAG servers remain defenceless against Log4Shell, and organisations continue to fall victim to the vulnerability Continue Reading
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News
30 May 2022
Analysts weigh in on Broadcom-VMware deal
VMware customers in APAC will need to assess their exposure amid uncertainty over the impact of the mega deal on the market Continue Reading
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Feature
25 Apr 2022
Growing prospects for edge datacentres
Although the value that edge datacentres provide is not in question, for many companies, the journey to adoption is far from fixed Continue Reading
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News
21 Apr 2022
Alibaba Cloud eyes VMware workloads with new cloud service
The Alibaba Cloud VMware Service is aimed at Chinese enterprises that are looking to move their VMware workloads to public cloud, perform disaster recovery and reduce their on-premise datacentre footprint Continue Reading
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Feature
11 Apr 2022
The role of infrastructure as code in edge datacentre computing
As datacentre computing is pushed to the edge of the organisation’s network, IT has to address the overheads associated with remote server management Continue Reading
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News
04 Apr 2022
Environmental campaigners halt Meta datacentre construction in the Netherlands
Datacentre being built to serve ‘metaverse’ worlds would consume nearly half as much energy as all other datacentres in the country Continue Reading
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News
29 Mar 2022
Rising energy costs blamed as UK arm of colocation firm Sungard AS enters administration
Financial difficulties caused by downturn in demand for its services during the pandemic, coupled with ‘unprecedented’ energy price rises, force Sungard AS into administration in the UK Continue Reading
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News
22 Mar 2022
NetApp Cloud Insights gets AI monitoring and ransomware detection
Cloud Insights adds artificial intelligence-based continuous audit and monitoring of entire IT estate and generates impact assessments from performance events, plus anomaly alerting for ransomware Continue Reading
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Opinion
17 Mar 2022
Monitoring performance in a hybrid cloud world
The growing use of cloud demands a new breed of monitoring and observability tools to keep track of how cloud-native applications and services perform Continue Reading
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News
16 Mar 2022
Facebook owner Meta plots Spanish datacentre build to power ‘metaverse’ strategy
Social media giant Meta wants to put Spain at the ‘heart’ of its vision for how the next-generation of the internet will work, with plans to build a datacentre and a remote working hub Continue Reading
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Feature
16 Mar 2022
A waste of energy: Dealing with idle servers in the datacentre
Servers can be the slackers of the datacentre, consuming power without doing much work. Why not whip them into shape? Continue Reading
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News
09 Mar 2022
Public sector warned about ‘environmentally unsustainable’ SSD disposal processes
Research from data sanitisation firm Blancco shines a light on the costly and contradictory stance that government IT managers have when it comes to disposing of old solid state drives Continue Reading
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Opinion
25 Feb 2022
Server virtualisation is far from dead
Server virtualisation must be looked upon with an expanded and fresh perspective amid the growing adoption of containers and Kubernetes. Here are seven server virtualisation trends to watch Continue Reading
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Definition
19 Jan 2022
virtual to virtual (V2V)
Virtual to virtual (V2V) refers to the migration of an operating system (OS), application program and data from a virtual machine (VM) or disk partition to another virtual machine or disk partition. Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Jan 2022
Evolving datacentre chipsets put cooling, power and software management techniques under microscope
New processor designs that could revolutionise approaches to supporting higher power densities at the rack still look years away, it appears Continue Reading
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Opinion
01 Dec 2021
Security Think Tank: In the cloud, anti-human approaches set us up to fail
Security learning is a career-long process, so as 2021 draws to a close, participants in the Computer Weekly Security Think Tank sum up the most important cyber lessons they’ve taken away from the past 12 months Continue Reading
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News
19 Oct 2021
VMware refines cross-cloud strategy
VMware’s CTO Kit Colbert talks up the evolution of the company’s cross-cloud strategy and how it stands out from other suppliers eyeing the multicloud pie Continue Reading
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News
07 Oct 2021
How VMware is tackling the Indian market
VMware is eyeing growing opportunities in India around cloud-native application development, remote work as well as 5G and edge computing, says VMware president Sumit Dhawan Continue Reading
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News
06 Oct 2021
VMworld 2021: VMware CEO fleshes out and refines company’s enterprise multi-cloud strategy
VMware’s new CEO, Raghu Raghuram, uses the VMworld 2021 keynote to set out the company’s expanded take on the meaning of multi-cloud Continue Reading
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Feature
29 Sep 2021
Could Iceland be the best place in the world for high-performance computing?
Most of Iceland’s cheap, sustainable energy is currently used by aluminium smelters, but recognising the need to diversify, the Landsvirkjun power company now promotes other uses Continue Reading
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News
27 Sep 2021
Private equity cash fuels Nordic datacentre growth
Private equity companies are betting on the Nordic datacentre sector as demand for services in the region accelerates Continue Reading
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News
23 Sep 2021
Threat actors target VMware vCenter Server users
Users of VMware vCenter Server are advised to patch a series of vulnerabilities post haste Continue Reading
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News
02 Sep 2021
HPE signs 10-year GreenLake HPC deal worth $2bn with US National Security Agency
The US National Security Agency has enlisted the help of HPE and its GreenLake platform to aid the delivery of its data management strategy Continue Reading
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News
31 Aug 2021
The Raxio Group sets out Pan-African colocation datacentre expansion plans
Pan-African datacentre developer The Raxio Group has embarked on a collaboration that will pave the way for it to increase its colocation footprint within the continent Continue Reading
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Feature
06 Aug 2021
Hybrid IT: Making datacentre and cloud work better together in the enterprise
Enterprises are increasingly trying to balance and manage IT assets in a variety of environments, but there are plenty of tools and technologies out there to make the job a lot easier Continue Reading
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News
13 May 2021
VMware names Raghu Raghuram as CEO to guide company through Dell Technologies spin-off
Several months on from the departure of ex-VMware chief Pat Gelsinger, the virtualisation giant names Raghu Raghuram as his permanent successor Continue Reading