IBM unveils virtualisation security

Computing giant IBM has released new software designed to protect IT environments based on server virtualisation, reports One Stop Click.

The IBM Virtual Server Security for VMware vSphere has been created to ensure every aspect of a virtual infrastructure, including the hypervisor, operating system, network and applications.

It includes virtual network access control, rootkit detection and virtual infrastructure monitoring, as well as segment protection to provide visibility and control across the network.

Virtualisation is becoming a reality in more organisations as public and private sector alike seek to reap the advantages of cost and resource savings coupled with increased efficiency across the IT infrastructure, says CRN.

A trend rather than a technology, virtualisation is becoming entwined in the thinking of the desktop administration department as much as in the server room, and even in SMEs.

Neil Sanderson, virtualisation and management product manager at Microsoft, says the industry is just at the stage where virtualisation is taking hold across a wider range of organisations.

Irish businesses purchasing VMware software along with eligible enterprise storage and server hardware will be able to write off the entire cost of the purchase against taxable income in year one, states ComputerWeekly.

This forms part of the Accelerated Capital Allowance, an expanded tax incentive introduced by the Irish Government to encourage companies to invest in energy-efficient equipment.

VMware said virtualisation and consolidation enable companies to reduce their energy costs and consumption by up to 80% and drive up the utilisation of hardware resources from between 5% and 15% to as much as 85%.