Today, HP announced the newest offering in its VirtualSystem for Microsoft solutions family – the VS3, leveraging HP hardware that has been assembled and optimized to deliver the entire Microsoft Private Cloud stack, including:
- HP Proliant “generation 8” BladeSystem servers
- HP 3PAR storage
- HP Insight Control management tools
- Windows Server 2008 R2 with Hyper-V
- Microsoft System Center 2012 (also announced at MMS)
The Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track program puts the best practices and private cloud experience of Microsoft into an IT architecture that provides consistency and flexibility in the Microsoft stack, while still enabling its hardware partners to bring their own expertise and differentiated components together for customers benefit.
While at MMS 2012, I had the opportunity to visit with Scott Shaffer from HP, along with Mike Schutz from Microsoft, on the HP VS3 announcement:
Earlier in 2012, ESG Lab tested the Fast Track solution stack, running on HP Virtual System hardware, with some really impressive results.
One of the coolest notables is that the entire hands-on lab environment at MMS2012 is being served up from a single HP VS3 system, which is on display near the registration area. MMS 2010 had easily 4X-5X the amount of server gear for the hands-on labs, and MMS2007 had every VHD running on local hard drives within each HOL workstation. This HP VS3 will serve up over 1,200 VMs every 90 minutes, as part of refreshing the environment, with an estimated 45,000 VMs provisioned over the course of the week. Take that and consider what you could do in a large enterprise!
See also : ESG Analyst Brief on HP VirtualSystem and Microsoft Private Cloud Fast Track
See also : HP Announcement on HP VS3
See also : Microsoft Fast Track announcement of HP VS3
Congrats to HP on the VS3 announcement – and hope you enjoy the video.