Challenges of lifecycle management of virtual systems

In a recently published paper, Virtual Machines - You have to see them to manage them, I explored a few of the challenges administrators face when they attempt to deal with virtual systems. As virtual systems become a standard way to deploy solutions on industry standard systems, lifecycle management is going to become a requirement in any but the smallest datacenter.

Virtual systems offer some tremendous advantages over physical environments, but in the move to virtual, the organization often lost some things it took for granted. One of those things is clarity of what is going on, where, and with whom.

I spoke with David Lynch of Embotics, a newcomer to this market, about his organization's product, V-Commander, and their view of customer's needs for technology to manage virtual systems from cradle to grave. Here are Embotic's words describing their new product.

Embotics’ V-Commander™ software application is a centralized, policy-based VM Lifecycle Management™ and control system for VMs that allows organizations to gain better oversight and control over their VM environments. V-Commander™ frees up IT staff for more important tasks and expands their ability to take advantage of the inherent flexibility and agility of server virtualization.” Fully integrated with VMware VirtualCenter, V-Commander™ is an intuitive and easy-to-use product that combines three core technologies:

1. 1. A secure multifunctional repository that facilitates the standardization of VM configurations.
2. 2. Unique VM “ID-tagging” that provides the ability to recognize any specific VM, its lineage, and its associated policy tags.
3. 3. A comprehensive policy engine that provides VM management and control

Snapshot analysis Companies such as Cassatt, PlateSpin and Scalent Systems, have been addressing this issue for some time. If I scanned my files, I suspect that I could come up with several more in a few moments. It is clear that many see the problem and are rushing to provide the leading solution. Established suppliers of management technology are not sitting still either. They're gearing up to provide solutions to their own customers. Embotics faces the same challenge startups often face. They have an interesting concept and have developed technology to implement their vision. I'm certain that this technology will help some organizations get their arms around the virtual sprawl they've created if Embotics can only get their attention long enough to present it to them.