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Hewlett-Packard is adding another virtualization option to its blade server line.
The OEM signed a reseller agreement with Scalent Systems Nov. 26. Under the deal, HP will begin reselling Scalents Virtual Operating Environment, or V/OE, in December. The software allows users to increase hardware utilization and flexibility in the data center by decoupling the application from the physical resources. This allows users to view the hardware as a single pool of resources that can be quickly repurposed depending on demand.
With the announcement, HP is looking to offer customers more options when it comes to virtualization technology, including software that is less expensive than the high-end enterprise offerings from market leader VMware. The fact that HP is offering the software through its BladeSystem c-Class portfolio could keep the company competitive with IBM at a time when the two companies control about 75 percent of the blade market.
The Scalent software supports Windows, Linux, Sun Microsystems Solaris operating system, IBMs AIX Unix operating system as well as full bare-metal VMware ESX Server and Xen. In addition to HP, Scalent has an OEM relationship with Unisys, a reseller relationship with EMC, as well as other relationships with Sun & IBM.
The announcement is part of HPs plan to expand the virtualization capabilities of its standard servers and blades at a time when the technology is becoming more mainstream. In addition to Scalent, HP recently signed reseller agreements with XenSource and Virtual Iron. In addition, the company has a long-standing relationship with VMware.
HP also announced that it will add more virtualization tools and capabilities with its Virtual Connect management software, which will allow administrators to manage more than 1,000 individual blades from a single console.
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