VMware announces the availability of ThinApp 4.5:

VMware today announced the availability of VMware ThinApp 4.5, enabling rapid adoption of Microsoft Windows 7 in the enterprise by ensuring compatibility for legacy and custom applications across any Windows desktop operating system environment. ThinApp 4.5 enables enterprises to quickly migrate existing applications to new operating systems such as Microsoft Windows 7, eliminating conflicts between operating environments, and extending the life of application investments.

I was under the assumption ThinApp  4.5 was going to be released at the same time as the next release of VMware View, but  I guess I was wrong. Companies can now enjoy al the new features ThinApp 4.5 offers, such as:

Full Support for Windows 7 Read the rest of this entry »

Today I joined the VMware communities podcast. The topic of this podcast was VMware View and John Dodge of VMware was on the phone. I’ve heard some interesting things today, which I think are worth sharing.

• Win7 support? In the next release. Read the rest of this entry »

NetApp just announced the release of the Rapid Cloning utility (RCU):

NetApp is proud to announce the release of the Rapid Cloning Utility 3.0.  This release brings many new features to assist virtual data center administrators with managing their server and desktop environments to further reduce management overhead associated with traditional storage deployments.

Here is a list of some of the new or expanded features and support for RCU 3.0:

• VMware vSphere 4.0 support  
• VMware vApp support
• Data ONTAP 7.3.2, 7.3.3, and 8.0 7-mode support
• MultiStore support (requires Data ONTAP 7.3.3)
• 64-bit platform support
• Automatic import wizard into VMware View 4
• Create export file for Citrix XenDesktop 4.0
• Re-deploy VMs from a baseline image
• Create clones in qTree-based datastores
• Create clones in designated VM folders
• vCenter alert for misaligned source VM
• ‘Add storage system’ wizard with option to change attributes
• API enhanced to create, destroy and resize datastores, as well as re-deploy VMs
• Select virtual hard drive type (thin or thick) for clones
• Match guest host name to VM name when using a Customer Sysprep Answer File
• Clone nvram with VM
• Improved security for NFS datastore export

Read the rest of the announcement of the release of NetApp Rapid Cloning Utility.

The “Project Virtual Reality Check” team just released a new whitepaper: “Hyper-V 2008R2, vSphere 4, XenServer 5.5 on Intel ‘Nehalem’ Xeon 5500“. 

 “If you are looking for an independent advise and a ‘Reality Check’ in relation to Virtualizing Terminal Server and Desktop workloads, if you are curious about the impact of different hypervisors and the performance differences with various hardware and if you are searching for best practices for your virtual Desktops … Project VRC whitepapers are a must read!”

• Highlights, performance differences and best practice conclusions for Terminal Services workloads on:
  • Bare metal Terminal Services; 2003/2008/x86/x64
  • Hypervisors: Citrix  XenServer 5.5, Microsoft Windows Server 2008R2 ‘Hyper-V’ and VMware vSphere 4.0
  • Performance impact using different HP Proliant state-of-the-art hardware using Intel Xeon ‘Nehalem’ x5500  Read the rest of this entry »

Yesterday during VMware vForum I was asked how ThinApp was licensed. I did know that ThinApp was licensed per device. But what does that mean, per device? What if I use the ThinApped applications on Citrix XenApp servers, do I have to pay a license per Citrix XenApp server? What if I put the ThinApp license on a USB-device? This knowledgebase article is clear about ThinApp licensing:

• VMware licenses ThinApp on a per-device basis. Read the rest of this entry »