VMware Unveils System Builder Program For Virtual Servers
VMware this week unveiled the VMware System Builder Program to provide pre-sales technical support, training programs, and marketing tools to its system builder partners, said Geoff Waters, director of business development RandD for the vendor.
"System vendors need either a time-to-market advantage or at least time-to-market parity with name-brand vendors in terms of offering new technologies to the market," Waters said. "This allows that with our ESXi."
Currently, over 50 motherboards are certified for use with VMware's ESXi technology from six motherboard manufacturers including Intel. VMware late last month also started making ESXi available as a free download to counter Microsoft's Hyper-V plans.
VMware ESXi was introduced last fall as a lightweight version of the company's hypervisor. The technology requires only 32 MBytes of memory, making it possible to embed on a motherboard or in a server.
ESXi allows multiple virtual servers to be provisioned on a single hardware server. However, to manage multiple servers from a single console, or to migrate virtual servers, customers will need to add VMware Infrastructure 3 suite, or VI3.
VI3 includes such capabilities as VMotion for non-disruptive migration of virtual machines; Distributed Resource Scheduler, or DRS, for dynamic resource allocation; VMware HA for high availability, and Consolidated Backup for backing up of virtual servers and their data.
Systems builders are looking for new opportunities in software and services, Waters said. "With ESXi, they can go out the chute with it, and then help customers upgrade to VI3," he said.
James Huang, product marketing manager at Amax Information Technology, a Fremont, Calif.-based system vendor and VMware partner, said he appreciates the chance to work closer with VMware on new products and services.
"It's another way to help Amax bring products to the channel to help spread market acceptance of the technology," he said.
However, said one system builder who preferred to remain anonymous, too many VMware programs and too many ways to get certified systems can water down the value of a new program.
VMware already has a number of channel programs out there, including the Technology Alliance Partner, the Virtual Partner Network, and the VMware Authorized Consultant programs, and therefore needs to better promote the advantages of the new program, the system builder said.
In addition, Intel makes it easy to get a VMware-certified system to market, which makes it easier for system builders who do not put in the time to get the right training and certification testing to still get some sort of VMware certification, the system builder said. "With Intel, getting a system certified is free," the system builder said. "So now there are a ton of people piggy-backing on Intel."