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WASHINGTON—IBM has announced new software and business programs to advance the adoption of grid computing.
At the GridWorld conference here, which ran from Sept. 11 to 15, IBM announced new software that enables users to migrate their existing technology into virtualized environments. The new software, the Tivoli Dynamic Workload Broker, provides a central point from which to prioritize, manage and integrate workloads and data for enterprise processing, IBM officials said.
The new software extends the capabilities of the Tivoli Workload Scheduler to virtual computing environments, and also expands on the roles of IBMs Tivoli Workload Scheduler, Tivoli Workload Scheduler LoadLeveler and WebSphere Extended Deployment, the company said.
The Tivoli Dynamic Workload Broker, which automatically handles clustering, scheduling and management of different types of workloads across a virtualized environment, will be available on Oct. 6 for download.
“With the Tivoli Dynamic Workload Broker, IBM is in the advanced stages of our evolution toward becoming the cross-enterprise workload management backbone, capable of dynamic end-to-end scheduling across mainframe, distributed, grid and high-performance computing environments,” Ken King, vice president of IBM Grid Computing, said in a statement. “This new software expands our Batch-on-Grid solution to improve business efficiency and reduce costs by automatically adapting workload execution to environment changes, distributing workloads to the best available resource…”
Meanwhile, also at GridWorld, IBM announced a set of new programs to help IBM business partners sell more grid computing solutions. The programs feature access to both IBM business and technical resources. One such, the IBM Grid Ecosystem program, is an education, support and co-marketing program targeting IBM business partners that focus on grid computing technology.
Moreover, IBM is enhancing its Ecosystem program with a new “Grid and Grow Test Drive” offering for IBM Reseller Partners with BPIC (Business Partner Integration Centers), the company said. Under the program, IBM business partners can access the IBM Grid and Grow offering along with selected business partner technologies to enable BPIC Partners to demonstrate grid computing solutions to their customers.
IBM also announced the expansion of its Value Network Initiative to include grid business partners, the company said. As part of the Value Network Initiative, IBM partners can build on the companys ecosystem by promoting programs like the IBM Grid and Grow offering.
IBM also announced the expansion of its “Ready for Grid” application validation program, which enables application providers to test their solutions and ensure compatibility. IBM said more than 80 independent software vendors are in the program, and at the GridWorld conference IBM added 12 new ISVs, including Bycast, Cluster Resources, GemStone Systems, GigaSpaces, Grid Systems, Quadbase Systems and Tangosol.
In a statement, King called grid computing “an explosive market opportunity.” He added, “By providing enterprise and midmarket clients a way to access the infrastructure and to our leading grid technology portfolio, we are providing a differentiator in the market. We are accelerating our work with trusted business partners, integrating, bundling and jointly delivering grid computing offerings to the market.”