Virtualisation Solutions

Hardware virtualisation allows you to run more than one operating system inside of a physical computer, be it a desktop PC or a server that sits in the corner of your office! For example, if you have an old computer you are holding on to because it runs that very important software package that does not work with the latest Microsoft Windows Vista release, Virtualisation could be the solution for you, allowing you to run a virtual Windows 95 PC within your Vista environment.

At Frea we are very excited about the possibilities of hardware virtualisation especially the benefits to our small and medium sized business customers.

Get more out of your Computer Hardware

Many of todays computers rarely run at more than 10 - 15% of their capacity, Virtualisation technology allows you to leverage the remaining capacity by effectively partitioning your hardware and running multiple virtual computers within one physical system. Through virtualisation 80% utilisation is easily acheived making more out fo your existing resources.

Typical scenarios that may make virtualisation interesting include: -

• Allowing testing of software on multiple operating systems.
• Making better use of your existing hardware, typically a server at a company will not use more than 15%-20% of its power at any one time, gain better usage by partitioning the server into multiple independent servers.
• Run more than one version of Windows / Linux on your hardware.
• Quickly deploy new servers from pre-created VM images.
• Create Virtual Test Networks.
• Virtualise your desktop infrastructure for easier management and more secure mobile computing.

We can provide both the software and the consultancy to get your business using virtualisation of servers and workstation operating systems whether it be for Production server consolidation or testing and development. By being registered partners with the major players in the virtualisation industry you can be assured that we can help you make the most of your computer hardware.

VMware

VMware are undoubtedly the leaders in Virtualisation Technology at the current time and have many products available that suit different needs from allowing you to test your products on varying operating systems from Microsoft Windows to Linux or Solaris.

There are many products available, VMware Workstation for the desktop user, VMware ESX Server for virtualisation of server hardware and Virtual Infrastructure for Enterprise virtualisation management.

VMware now also have free virtualisation products for both the desktop user and servers. VMware Player allows deployment of pre-created virtual machines to users to run on their PC's, VMware Server offers virtualisation of your server hardware at a very low cost - Free!

VMware Fusion now available! VMware Fusion is VMware's first virtualisation platform for the Apple Mac. With features such as Unity (allowing seamless use of Windows applications on your Mac) and Snapshots to turn back time on your Virtual Machines state you could say that running Virtual Machines is better than the real thing!

Parallels Virtual Machine Solutions - Also for Mac OS X!

"Parallels Desktop for Mac is the first solution for Intel-Macs that give you the flexibility of running Windows on a Mac OS X simultaneously without rebooting. It is fast and flexible by enabling you to run mission-critical Windows-only applications like Internet Explorer, Outlook, Project, Access and Quicken at full speed. Because Windows is completely isolated from your OS X, there is no chance of infecting your Mac with Windows viruses. We also secured your Windows so running it through Parallels is more secure than running it on a real PC. The one-click installation is simple, intuitive, and automatically installs and configures your Windows hardware drivers."

"Parallels Workstation 2.2 is a fast, easy to use, cost effective desktop virtualization solution that empowers Windows or Linux PC users with the ability to simultaneously run multiple operating systems, including any version of Windows or Linux, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, Solaris, OS/2, eComStation or MS-DOS, in completely networked, entirely isolated virtual machines on a single physical machine."

NEW!! - Coherence allows seamless use of Windows applications within OS X.

"Available only for Windows 2000/2003/XP/Vista guest operating systems. Coherence Tool
visibly integrates guest applications to Mac OS X. On desktop of your Mac you will have
Microsoft Windows applications along with Mac OS X applications, and you will be able to
switch between them just pointing at the application window and clicking in this window."

Microsoft Virtualisation Solutions

Now Microsoft too offers products for virtualisation of the desktop and server again allowing for the running of multiple systems within a single physical computer.

Microsoft Virtual PC 2004 provides desktop level virtualisation that can aid in testing of software on various operating systems without having to purchase multiple physical computers.

Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 gives you the possibility of partitioning your physical servers to be able to run multiple Windows versions or Linux on your servers, this can be very useful when certain software packages have very specific operating system requirements that may not be compatible with your other software.

Please Contact Us to discuss your needs further.