The VAR Guy

Sometimes distribution companies are sleepy, but given enough time, these giants awake and spew forth news like Vesuvius. This time, Synnex, Ingram Micro, Westcon Group and Avnet all have some significant news, with a focus on cloud, partner programs and even an acquisition. Here’s the roundup …

Who uses Ubuntu, where and why? That’s a question a lot of parties in the open source channel likely ask themselves. It’s also one that’s hard to answer, since public data on Ubuntu deployment is scarce. But it became a little less so recently with the publication of the results of Canonical’s latest survey of Ubuntu server users. Read on for the highlights.

At VMWare Partner Exchange 2012, VMware unveiled new partner specializations focused on — you guessed it — the cloud. The VAR Guy gave us a cursory glance, but here’s the deep dive on how VMware’s new programs can help “guide” and educate partners in serving the ever-growing ranks of cloud-based SMBs. Let’s take a look…

It’s already mid-February, which — besides cold weather and the bourgeois contrivances of Valentine’s Day — means Ubuntu developers are more than halfway to the release of the next version of the operating system, 12.04. And with that in mind, it seems timely to take a look at how Unity is shaping up. Read on for some highlights on what to expect from the desktop environment in April and beyond.

Data company Dot Hill has imbued its AssuredSAN 3000 series devices with new levels of data protection, performance and security technology. VARs with customers leveraging VMware and are looking for a way to enhance an existing portfolio or customer environment may want to take notice of Dot Hill’s latest innovation.

F5 Networks continues to build out its virtualization prowess — fresh on the heels of its video tutorial portal for VMware View news, the company announced its BIG-IP products now support a wide swath of existing VDI infrastructure technology. Can you say “optimization”?

If you’re an F5 VAR and/or VMware VAR, and you’ve been cross-pollinating F5 and VMware solutions, things are about to get even easier. F5 Networks has launched a web portal featuring tutorial videos specifically outlining key ways to leverage VMware View with F5 Networks technology. Here’s the rundown …

VMware has released its vCenter Operations Management Suite, designed to make cloud and virtualization maintenance easy and automated. We’ve got the perks and the feature list you care about …

Tech Data has joined VCE to deepen its relationship with cloud and virtualization technology and on behalf of its reseller customers. Read on for a quick refresher on the VCE and how Tech Data partners can benefit …

Dell’s OEM Solutions division today said it will offer customized SUSE Linux Enterprise servers to customers. But the far more interesting nugget of information for partners involves SUSE Studio, which Dell will use to build and deploy customized Linux application stacks. Here’s why.

Red Hat has launched Enterprise Virtualization 3.0, packed with two partner surprises: First, there’s a “central hub” that allows RHEV partners to showcase products and applications certified for Red Hat’s virtualization platform. Second, a new certification called “Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization-Certified” will help partners to stand out in the crowd. With those bonus efforts, can Red Hat and its partners gain ground on VMware?

Sophos is adding to its security solutions portfolio with its Sophos Virtual Web Appliance. Designed to protect and integrate with a variety of virtual environments, the appliances hopefully will make the management of virtual machine security easier. Here’s the scoop …

As vertical markets expand and compliance rules become even more strict, VMware wants to help. Users of vCenter Configuration Manager for their VM-heavy data-senstive deployment may want to check out the new features VMware is offering to ensure compliance is super easy. Read on for the details …

VMware is expanding its virtualization empire by adding VMware View support for Mac and Linux platforms, and is planning to add the Amazon Kindle Fire to its list of supported devices. What does an expanded VMware View mean for the channel? You’ve come to the right place …

An interesting guest post from Microsoft over at VMWare’s blog suggests 2012 will be the first year that the cloud “moves from a buzzword to a reality.” Microsoft’s director for Virtualization and Cloud Strategy, Edwin Yuen, detailed the ways companies can achieve this goal, and of course, there’s some channel perspective, brought to you by The VAR Guy himself. Here’s the scoop …

The VAR Guy is starting to build his travel schedule for 2012. And he’s already spotted a potential date conflict: It looks like Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) and VMware (VMW) — which do partner with one another — are scheduled to host their respective channel partner summits during the same week, in the same city, for 2012.

Uh oh. It looks as though VMware made a huge mistake in letting users virtualize older client versions of Mac OS X on Mac OS X Lion. Turns out, Apple’s EULA really only allows “server” versions of older versions of Mac OS X to be virtualized. The result? VMware is launching a fix. Read on for the details …

F5 Networks has joined forces with NetApp and VMware to make VM server migration disruptions a thing of the past. And just like the new VM migration, the new partnership details are short, simple and sweet. Read on and find out …

VMware is grabbing the consumerization-of-IT bull by the horns and wrestling it down to make tablets productive everywhere. The company has just released an overhaul of VMware View on the iPad and launched a version for Android. How can you make the most out of tablets and a VMware virtualization environment? Read on …

Verizon Wireless and VMWare have joined forces to take Android devices to the next level in security. Their solution is called VMware Horizon Mobile, and it’s designed to bridge the gap between consumerization of IT and enterprise IT. What does that mean, and can VMware and Verizon really shape the mobile landscape? Read on …

Is Cisco Systems committed to VCE (the Virtual Computing Environment Company)? The answer appears to be “absolutely yes,” based on a recent Cisco SEC filing plus chatter from Cisco Global Channel Chief Edison Peres. Here’s the update.

Oracle has started to pitch Oracle Linux and Oracle VM at the massive Oracle OpenWorld conference in San Francisco. The big question: Are Oracle OpenWorld attendees willing to shift their focus from Red Hat Enterprise Linux and VMware to Oracle’s alternatives?  Hmmm…

Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst says the Linux supplier is on pace to become the first $1 billion open source company. Whitehurst’s statement is hardly surprising considering Red Hat’s most recent quarterly results. But the $1 billion revenue mark is both good news and bad news for the open source movement. Here’s why.