Virtual Appliance
Virtual appliances are pre-installed, pre-configured and ready to use applications and software solutions that are already compiled with an operating system in the virtual machine. Virtual devices fundamentally change the development, distribution and management of enterprise software. So-called Independent Software Vendors ( ISVs) to develop their applications only on a single platform while reducing the cost and complexity of software development and product management. Software manufacturers can thus their virtual appliances efficiently and safely in the OVF standard (Open Virtualization Format, industry standard ) distribute.
Areas of application
Use software as a virtual appliance, simplifies installation and management. Enterprise software also facilitates IT departments to configure and ensuring the availability of essential, reducing the cost of resources and effort can be reduced.
The VMware infrastructure verifies the integrity of virtual appliances during the charging process automatically to ensure that the applications were not changed maliciously or inadvertently. As the software manufacturers have their virtual devices only centrally update and adapt, also decrease their costs for service and maintenance of the programs. In turn, benefit the users of this cost reduction.
Users also benefit from a higher availability and less time required for installation, configuration, upgrading, troubleshooting, and management of applications. Since the virtual devices are managed centrally in the data center, the company can also be sure that applications and data are secure against intruders. In addition, the appliances can be distributed throughout the world and put into operation quickly, reliably and quickly.
Benefit
Easier distribution of enterprise applications
Since the software applications are pre-installed and pre-configured to include an operating system and are packaged in an executable format, avoid virtual appliances complex, expensive, time-consuming and error-prone installation and configuration process. Simple distribution mechanisms offer great advantages in the distribution of new software versions and applications to remote and branch offices.
Simplified error correction and update
Virtual devices support the distribution of error corrections that are supplied directly by software producers. The updates provided can be applied directly to the applications and the operating system. Thus the problems of incompatibilities of applications to be excluded, caused by different versions. Any improvement or change of virtual devices is managed directly by software producers.
Easier management
Through the use of production-ready virtual device on virtual infrastructure, users need not worry about their dependency on software management programs make use of third party providers. IT administrators can directly access the utilities from VMware for virtual infrastructures such as VMotion, High Availability, Distributed Resource Scheduler and Consolidated Backup. In addition, certified and reliable solutions from VMware partners are available.
Portability and operating system independence
OVF formatted virtual appliances provide a high degree of flexibility on the user side, that enterprise software. Companies can run on different virtualization platforms an OVF formatted virtual device either. Result, the company remains independent from the manufacturer and can select the platform that is optimally adapted to the requirements and attractively priced.
Examples
- Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon RC VMware Image
- Ubuntu Ultimate 1.4 Virtual Machine
- Ubuntu 7.04 Desktop VMware image R2
- Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2
- Damn Small Linux 3.4 Virtual Machine
- This 9 Windows OS 98-2003
- OpenSUSE 10.3 Virtual Machine
- Fedora 7 - VMwareTools 6.0.0
- Ubuntu 7.10 Gutsy Gibbon
- Ubuntu 7.04 Server VMware image
- CentOS 5 minimal installation
- The Only Official Version of BackTrack2
- Microsoft Exchange Server 2007