VMware turns focus to machine data with new real-time management tool

VMware is entering the log management and analytics market with a new addition to its operations management portfolio.

The new product is the vCenter Log Insight, an automated log management and analytics cloud-based platform that is designed to provide real-time analytics from large amounts of log data.

There is a wide range of potential sources for where this data could come from, including hardware, software applications, firewalls, network-connected devices, and virtual machines, among others.

Ramin Sayar, vice president and general manager of cloud management at VMware, explained in the announcement that the virtualization giant is changing its approach to cloud management to focus on machine-generated data to provide more timely results for IT administrators and operations teams, in particular.

"Dynamic virtual and cloud environments generate vast amounts of structured and unstructured data requiring analytics for real-time intelligence and visibility across IT infrastructure and applications," Sayar remarked.

While there are potential business return values with having a method for automating massive amounts of log data into actual information, there could be a security benefit too.

The virtualization giant noted that the vCenter Log Insight can also be used to identify causes for IT problems.

Priced at $200 per instance, the vCenter Log Insight is scheduled to become available during the third quarter. It will be sold as a standalone virtual appliance without any limits on data log sizes.

However, eager beavers can get a peek now if they want to participate in a public beta program, which launches today.