Virtualization Strategies for the CIO
LAS VEGAS -- IT pros attending VMworld 2011 this week saw a barrage of technologies from hundreds of hardware and software companies at VMware’s annual conference.
The judges of the fifth annual Best of VMworld Awards sifted through the selection and came up with the top virtualization products showcased at the big show.
The awards, hosted by TechTarget, Inc., cover eight product categories including business continuity and data protection; security and compliance for virtualization; virtualization management; hardware for virtualization; desktop virtualization; private cloud computing technologies; public/hybrid cloud computing technologies; new technology; and -- drum roll please -- best of show.
TechTarget’s SearchServerVirtualization.com site editors appointed a team of independent industry experts to select winning products from more than 250 entrants. The team named winners based on innovation, value, performance, reliability and ease of use.
Only products currently available for purchase were considered for categories other than the New Technology category. Products that were demonstrated at the show, but not available for purchase, were considered only for New Technology.
The Best of Show award was presented to Zerto for Zerto Virtual Replication. Zerto protects virtual
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machines (VMs) at the virtual machine disk
format file level, which means protection decisions can be made without storage constraints. The
judges said this startup’s hypervisor-level host-based replication is “replication done right.”
“This is the most innovative virtual machine replication product on the market today,” the judges said.
The other winners and categories are listed below:
Category: Business Continuity and Data Protection
Winner: Zerto, Zerto Virtual Replication
Runner-up: StorSimple, StorSimple 5000 and 7000 appliance series
Runner-up: Vision Solutions, Double-Take Availability
Category: Security and Compliance for Virtualization
Winner: AFORE Solutions, CloudLink V1.0
This company’s virtual appliance lets IT pros connect public and private cloud securely.
Runner-up: Juniper Networks, vGW Virtual Gateway Series
Category: Virtualization Management
Winner: SolarWinds, SolarWinds Virtualization Manager
This virtualization management tool helps IT departments move from the early stages of
virtualization deployment to implementation of private cloud and IT as a Service. One stand-out
feature is its “Google-like search for VMs,” the judges said.
Runner-up: Xangati Inc., Xangati Management Dashboard Suite 4.0
Runner-up: Netuitive, Netuitive 5.5
Category: Hardware for Virtualization
Winner: Arista Networks, Arista EOS with VM
Tracer / Auto Segmentation
The VM Tracer links Arista switches to VMware's vCenter and creates an infrastructure in which
the network responds to changes in VMs, among other capabilities.
Runner-up: Tintri, Tintri VMstore T445
Category: Desktop Virtualization
Winner: Nutanix, Nutanix
Complete Cluster
Nutanix Complete Cluster eliminates the need for network storage, the company said.
"This is exactly what the VDI industry has been waiting for," the judges said.
Runner-up: Teradici, APEX 2800 PCoIP Server Offload Card
Runner-up: Virtual Computer Inc., NxTop 4.0
Category: Private Cloud Computing Technologies
Winner: DynamicOps, DynamicOps
Cloud Automation Center 4.1
This platform gives IT shops a way to transition on-premise infrastructure into private and
public cloud services. It unifies the existing management ecosystem and provides governance,
self-service capabilities and an extension to the public cloud.
“It just works and is easy to get up and running,” the judges said.
Runner-up: Platform Computing, Platform ISF 2.2
Category: Public/Hybrid Cloud Computing Technologies
Winner: Skytap, Skytap
Self-Service Hybrid Cloud
With this cloud product’s self-service Web user interface, IT shops can implement corporate
security policies, provision policy-compliant environments and govern cloud usage and budget with
role-based access control and quotas.
“It’s user friendly, supports test/dev and production environments and it’s HIPPA compliant,” the judges said.
Category: New Technology
Winner: Veeam Software, Veeam Backup & Replication v6
Version 6 of Veeam’s popular tool provides image-based data protection that companies need for
traditional file-based backups. It impressed the judges because it takes virtual data protection
further.
Runner-up: Liquidware Labs, ProfileUnity v.5.0
Runner-up: CiRBA, CiRBA 7.0
Check out our full VMworld 2011 conference coverage.
Let us know what you think about the story; email Bridget Botelho or follow @BridgetBotelho on Twitter.
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