XenServer 6.1 Features Storage XenMotion

XenServer keeps on truckin'. Citrix claims the free edition has been downloaded somewhere in the neighborhood of a million times, and that XenServer manages workloads in over 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies. In addition, Gartner included it in the leaders' quadrant of its 2012 Magic Quadrant for x86 Server Virtualization Infrastructure. Not bad for a product that was pretty much written off as dead a few years ago.

Overall, Citrix says XenServer 6.1 "strengthens its server virtualization feature set for datacenter consolidation and simplifies the path to cloud computing with advanced virtual machine migration, enhanced networking and security, increased vendor compatibility and automated virtual machine conversion tools."

Specifically, Citrix notes that direct integration with the open source Apache CloudStack and Citrix CloudPlatform -- which is powered by Apache CloudStack -- makes it possible to partition firewalls, balance workloads and prevent attacks on systems in both private and public cloud environments.

Via the all new Storage XenMotion technology, version 6.1 enables users to move running VMs without the need for shared storage. This technology also enables live migration to happen using a shared-nothing architecture in which the storage associated with virtual disks moves freely within and across pools for optimized storage utilization, simplified backup and serviceability.

The XenServer Conversion Manager automates batch conversions of VMware VMs into XenServer VMs, enabling users to make sure they are employing the best virtualization for their chosen apps both in the datacenter and cloud.

Available for download now, XenServer 6.1 is delivered in four product versions: free, Advanced, Enterprise and Platinum. All XenServer versions include XenCenter management and are available on a per-server licensing structure with premium editions starting at $1,000 per server.

Posted by Bruce Hoard on 10/10/2012 at 12:48 PM