During the last few years we published several Enterprise Hypervisor comparisons and we got very positive comments and feedback on it. With the release of vSphere 5, XenServer 6 and a service pack for Hyper-V it was time for an update.

It very interesting to see how some of the products have improved over the years and how the three major manufacturers look at each other and copy features. But you can’t trust all manufacturers by just a simple green checkbox. Some claimed features need third party add-ons, aren’t suitable for production workloads or are only supported on a limited set of operating systems. You have to investigate further and I hope I’ve done most of that work for you with this new enterprise hypervisor comparison.

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If you use Microsoft System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) to deploy software and updates for Microsoft products, VMware vCenter Protect Update Catalog expands your solution to deploy updates for 3rd party applications. Get started pushing updates for applications such as Adobe, Apple, and JAVA in just seconds.

SCCM does a great job of distributing software and deploying updates for the latest Microsoft operating systems and Microsoft applications like Office 2010. What about Adobe Reader and hundreds of other vulnerable applications?

vCenter Protect Update Catalog address a major business pain (keeping up with third party updates) and puts time back into IT admin’s schedule.

How? Read on..

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Just 15 minutes ago I heard the ‘news’ that, last Wednesday, VKernel was acquired by Quest Software.

VKernel will continue to operate as an independent subsidiary of Quest, building, selling and marketing the same performance and capacity management solutions. So, it will be business as usual for VKernel, except the new VKernel will be turbo-charged with the backing of Quest.

For the current customers, nothing changes. The same team that has built, sold, and supported your products is still here. The main difference is that VKernel now has the financial backing and support of Quest Software.

Last Wednesday, November 16th, VMware announced the availability of ThinApp 4.7 and Horizon App Manager 1.2. The combination of the two products enables cloud-based deployment of ThinApp packages with VMware Horizon Application Manager.

ThinApp 4.7 includes the following features:

• The ThinApp Setup Capture wizard includes an option to manage with Horizon Application Manager. When the checkbox is selected, ThinApp checks if the Horizon agent is installed natively on the client and is running. If the Horizon agent is found, the ThinApp package reports to the Horizon agent so that it can be controlled by Horizon Application Manager.
• Horizon Application Manager entitlement allows the delivery of ThinApp packaged applications to specified users and groups. The Horizon agent authorizes a ThinApp package to open, based on entitlements.
• ThinApp packages are registered by Horizon Application Manager and delivered to end points.
• The administrator can track usage of ThinApp packages by using Horizon Application Manager monitoring and reporting.
• The administrator can configure an Organizational URL for end points missing the Horizon agent.

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While browsing the Shavlik.com website I stumbled on a small but powerful hidden away gem in the pages named VMware Security Advisor.

Are you aware of all your security risks? Security Advisor provides you with the ability to perform a no-cost security scan on your machine, domain, or IP range. It instantly reports the following critical information, all ranked by severity:

• A snapshot of your environment including the number of missing patches, missing security patches and the average number of missing patches per machine as compared to the community
• Systems Center ranks machines by severity and identifies the machines requiring patches
• Software Center shows the software by vendor as well as the software titles requiring patches
• Patch Center indicates the percent of products missing patches not covered by WSUS as well the number of missing patches and number of vulnerable machines
• Community Center identifies how the security of your IT environment compares to the community

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Have you ever wondered how I rolled into the IT business, when I got involved with VMware, why I started VMGuru.nl and was rewarded vExpert 2009-2011?

Today I’m in the vExpert Spotlight on the VMware Communities VMTN Blog.

Check out: http://blogs.vmware.com/vmtn/2011/11/vexpert-spotlight-erik-scholten.html

Recently VMware released the latest version of vCenter Protect Essentials. This product is a combination of several technologies but the major part is from Shavlik Technologies, which VMware acquired earlier this year.

VMware vCenter Protect Essentials provides centralized patch management and asset inventory for SMBs/SMEs and departmental needs. vCenter Protect Essentials Plus adds anti virus, power management, ITScripts, and configuration management for both virtual and legacy physical systems in an integrated solution.

This includes centralized management for Windows operating systems and the most widely used Windows-hosted applications running on both virtual and physical servers and workstations.

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Over the years there have been a lot of outcries in the VMware Community to re-instate the VMware Technology Network (VMTN).

The VMTN started in 2005 and is much like Microsoft MSDN or TechNet, for a reduced yearly fee you could use the VMware software and run it for 1 year. Unfortunately VMware canceled the VMTN  program in 2007, reportedly because they didn’t want developers to use it for competitive products.

Right now many developers and techies with home labs use evaluation versions which expire after 60-days.

So, according to VMware CTO, Steve Herrod, VMware is now considering the return of the VMware Technology Network and I think it’s a good initiative. Why?

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