Scalent Systems Delivers Datacenter Infrastructure Virtualization - The Cure for Enterprise 'Server Sprawl'

PALO ALTO, Calif., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Scalent Systems today announced general availability of Scalent(TM) Virtual Operating Environment (V/OE), an easily installable software suite that can result in dramatically lower IT costs and increased IT agility. Lower costs are achieved through a tripling of server utilization, reduced complexity and increased operational efficiency. IT agility is achieved through unique virtualization technology that decouples applications from the complexities of underlying server, network and storage resources.

With commodity servers rapidly becoming the backbone of enterprise IT infrastructure, corporate data enters are growing out of control. The decomposition of applications into multiple tiers and Web services architectures further accelerates this growth. It's typical for an enterprise data center to add hundreds of servers every month, trying in vain to keep up with peak usage estimates, without knowing how much server capacity will actually be used. With most servers averaging less than 10 percent utilization at any given time, this problem -- server sprawl -- has become a focal point of IT concern and escalating costs.

"Current approaches for addressing 'server sprawl' are too narrow and do not focus on the real issue," said Ben Linder, CEO of Scalent Systems. "Scalent Systems' approach is the first to create true virtual infrastructure -- uniting servers, network and storage into one virtual fabric." Cost-Effective Approach

Scalent V/OE offers a unique, cost-effective and manageable approach. It enables the decoupling of applications from the physical assets that run them. Scalent allows enterprise IT to manage a heterogeneous environment of servers, networks and storage as a single fabric. Resources are allocated to the applications that need them rapidly and dynamically.

The benefit, for customers, can be a tripling of average utilization for servers, as well as greater insight into peak load requirements and planning. As a result, IT management can begin to plan rationally for server expansion and purchase requirements and manage both purchasing and operational costs.

"For the typical enterprise IT environment, the runaway costs of server sprawl are becoming a huge strategic issue," Linder said. "Our approach at Scalent Systems has been to really treat the underlying causes of the problem rather than the symptoms. As a result, IT management can not only see an immediate and dramatic increase in the utilization of the servers they already have, but now they can manage their longer-term server provisioning in an effective way."

Scalent accomplishes this virtualization by a broad range of innovative software capabilities: -- Ease of installation. Scalent V/OE is nondisruptive to data center

processes and typically installs in hours.

-- Hardware independence. Scalent V/OE works with all popular currently

installed servers, switches and storage in enterprise data centers.

-- Operating system independence. Scalent V/OE supports Red Hat Linux,

SUSE Linux, Microsoft Windows 2000, Microsoft Windows Server 2003 and

Microsoft Windows XP.

-- Full infrastructure virtualization. There is a logical separation of

physical infrastructure (servers, network, storage) from the actual

operating system and applications, allowing just-in-time allocation

of infrastructure to applications. Server utilization goes up because

unused servers are dynamically reassigned to other functions.

-- Virtual topology. Connectivity virtualization shapes the underlying

connectivity of LAN and SAN to match desired application topology,

security and clustering requirements. Scalent actively controls the

connectivity of a company's network infrastructure to create any

network topology or storage mapping.

-- Standardization and compliance. Persona(TM) technology containerizes

server software stacks (operating system, Web, application and

database servers, and business rules) so that they can be created

once and then easily placed on any available bare-metal or virtual

server. About Scalent

Scalent Systems is a leading provider of software for enterprise IT that provides intelligent virtual control of server, network and storage infrastructure. Scalent Virtual Operating Environment (V/OE) is the first product to deliver true datacenter infrastructure computing. Scalent Systems is based in Palo Alto, Calif., with offices in Denver and New York. Additional information about Scalent Systems can be found at http://www.scalent.com . NOTE: Scalent and the Scalent logo are trademarks of Scalent Systems in the United States and/or other countries.

The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.