VMware's vSphere enters real world, early!

41 days. Is this a record?

VMware has shipped its next-generation virtualization hypervisor and management tools collection, vSphere 4, ahead of schedule.

When vSphere 4 was announced at a gala event at VWware's headquarters on April 21st, word was that the suite would be released by the end of this quarter. VMware made that deadline with 41 days to spare.

Humbly describing its virtualization toolset as delivering "transformative capital and operational expenditure cost savings," VMware claims that Vsphere 4 will enable 30 per cent improved consolidation, 50 per cent storage savings, and 20 per cent power reductions over "what was previously achievable," thus managing to be simultaneously specific and vague.

Still, we're impressed with vSphere 4 - on paper, at least. Among its many attractions are improved fault tolerance and data recovery, plus a bundle of storage-management improvements. If that's not enough for you, VMware will gladly tell you more - a lot more.

To inspire acceptance of vSphere 4, VMware has lined up glowing endorsements from beta customers large and small, including credit-score watchdog FICO, fantasy provider Harley Davidson, power and rail megacorp Alstom, boutique orthopaedic center Campbell Clinic, and Aussie web and app hoster WebCentral.

Prices range from $166 to $3,495 per processor. A full explanation of pricing can be found here, and upgrade information can be found here. ®