NetIQ’s Cloud Manager is an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) that supports today’s top operating systems and hypervisors, including VMware’s vSphere, Citrix XenServer and Xen, KVM, and Microsoft Hyper-V. On the OS front, it can handle Windows Server 2003 and 2008 (but apparently not 2012) as well as Red Hat and SUSE Linux distributions.
The company claims its IaaS is different from those of giants Rackspace and Amazon with its hypervisor support, fine-grained SLA management, the way it migrates on-premises workloads to the cloud, and its “service layering: the ability to
add SaaS services, such as Identity Management, Privileged User Management, Disaster Recovery-as-a-Service and others, to complement IaaS through a single common cloud service delivery platform,” the company said.
This all means that provider partners can offer an array of services levels tailored for particular customers.
Cloud Manager Meets Hypervisors
Enter Cloud Manager 2.2
IaaS is, in part, about managing the outsourced infrastructure, and here there is a new tool, Cloud Mobile, that lets “end users to manage the cloud and new services – including add-ons and service levels – at anytime, anywhere. Additionally, it includes the new Cloud Marketplace iPad application. Created with local and regional cloud providers in mind, the application enables Sales personnel calling on customers and prospects to provide quotes on the fly, making delivery of services fast, easy and flexible,” NetIQ opined.
Cloud Manager helps IT automate, including fully automating how workflows are provisioned. This provisioning tool also help dictate how new VMs are rolled out, and thus can control the dreaded virtual server sprawl.
And because it is multi-tenant, providers can support multiple clients from what appears to be a single cloud source.
“Cloud service providers realize that they have a two-fold challenge: they must understand the fluid needs and demands of their customers, and deploy the right combination of technology that can deliver value at the speed of business,” commented Mike Robinson, senior solution marketing manager for NetIQ. “NetIQ offers these providers the cloud platform and complementary solutions with the service creation and personalization they require to fully differentiate their services from one-size-fits-all competitors and expand their brand footprint in a highly-competitive market.”
Last year Robison talked about the previous version, 2.0, and had this to say: “Organizations can now collaboratively manage the entire IaaS experience – from business service requests to deployment to retirement – faster and more efficiently. Having the business platform and the streamlined user experience needed to support a scalable, managed and controlled cloud that enables businesses to use the cloud infrastructure of their choice – public, private, or hybrid, on multiple hypervisor platforms – on the interface of their choice: iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch clients, in addition to a traditional Web UI.”
Edited by
Alisen Downey
