SWsoft Tool Aims to Ease Virtual Server Management

SWsoft Inc. has introduced the latest version of its server virtualization tool aimed at increasing the scalability of virtual machines while making them easier to deploy and manage.

The Herndon, Va., company on Tuesday rolled out Virtuozzo 2.6, which officials say comes with more than 50 new features, including panels that enable users to handle much of the management tasks for the virtual servers, a node that simplifies the management of network settings and a tool to create templates of common virtual server files.

While SWsoft has gained the most traction in the hosting space, Jack Zubarev, director of sales engineering, said the company expects to continue to expand into the enterprise. That will be further helped when the company in the fall releases versions for environments running Windows from Microsoft Corp. and Solaris from Sun Microsystems Inc.

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Currently, the software can be used in Unix and Linux environments, said CEO Serguei Beloussov. Several years ago, the company—which at the time was focused on service providers—looked at the enterprise space, and found that it needed a Windows offering. Now, with Linux growing in the enterprise, support for Linux and Windows is important, Beloussov said.

"We will have Windows support in the fall, and then we will be much more aggressive in the enterprise," he said. Larger enterprises also run Unix. "You have to have a complete offering now."

Beloussov said that for end users, there are few differences in results between what SWsoft and VMware Inc. offer—both create virtual machines within physical servers.

However, whereas vendors like VMware—now owned by storage giant EMC Corp. —virtualize the hardware, SWsoft's software virtualizes the operating systems. This virtualization capability helps SWsoft reduce performance overhead and increase scalability, he said.

Click here to read eWEEK Labs' review of Microsoft's first virtual machine solution, Virtual Server 2005.

Virtuozzo can dynamically partition a single physical server into multiple virtual machines, called VPS (Virtual Private Servers), which can perform all the tasks of a physical server and can be managed in the same way, with the ability to reboot, install applications and change files.

Among the new features is the Virtuozzo Power Panel, a Web-based tool that enables VPS users to manage—from rebooting and reinstallation to backing up and restoring—without intervention from the hosting provider. The Power Panel also integrates with SWsoft's Plesk Control Panel server management software, giving users a single interface for management.

In addition, the VPS can now be rebooted automatically, rather than through periodic checks.

The Vzcache tool enables users to create templates of common VPS files, which can then be shared among other VPSes, Zubarev said.

Other features include the Vzlist, which enables users to quickly access information about the VPSes on a particular server, and improved memory management and CPU utilization, which results in greater density. In the past, users could get 20 VPSes on a single CPU; now they can double that without diminishing server resources, said Kurt Daniel, director of marketing.

Virtuozzo 2.6, which offers both 32-bit and 64-bit support, is available immediately, starting at $299 per server.

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