VKernel to Introduce "What If" Modeling Software for VMware ESX Performance Assurance, VMworld 2008

By VSM News Staff
published: Tuesday, September 09 2008

Quickly model virtual infrastructure additions and changes to properly build a virtual environment, validate changes, and proactively prevent problems.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H., September 9, 2008 - VKernel Corporation, a provider of easy-to-use and quick-to-deploy virtual appliances for managing virtual server environments, today announced that it will introduce VKernel Modeler at VMworld 2008 next week in Las Vegas.  The Modeler virtual appliance provides IT staff with an interactive sandbox to quickly test and validate additions and changes in a VMware ESX infrastructure to see what the performance impact will be before the changes are made in the production environment.

"In environments where resources are shared, the risk of performance problems can significantly increase if proper planning is not exercised.  Changes to the virtual infrastructure can impact stability and performance," said Alex Bakman, founder and CEO of VKernel.  "Just adding a single new virtual machine can have a detrimental impact on performance.  Our Modeler product provides a sandbox utility to instantly model ‘what if' scenarios to test, measure, and validate the impact before going live in the production environment to ensure performance is not compromised."

Modeler is an integral component of VKernel's Performance Assurance Lifecycle addressing pre-production planning to post-production monitoring (model, monitor, analyze, validate, charge).  By quickly modeling scenarios with simple drag-and-drop and import commands, Modeler enables user to immediately see whether resource constraints will be exceeded and if performance issues will occur - providing proactive prevention.

When utilizing Modeler's "what if" scenarios, IT staff can more effectively and efficiently architect their VMware infrastructures to ensure optimal performance starting in pre-production, as well as validate changes in the production environment.  Some of the common use cases for Modeler are:

• What will happen when a host is suspended for maintenance or a virtual machine is powered down?
• Pre-testing VMotion scenarios to make sure sufficient resources exist.
• See the effect on resource capacity of adding a new host/virtual machine or removing existing ones.
• How will performance be affected if resource changes are made to hosts, clusters, and/or resource pools?
• Can a configuration change be made without causing performance degradations or downtime?

Pricing and Availability

The VKernel Modeler virtual appliance will be available as a Beta trial download within 15 days after VMworld.  The full production version will then be available after a 30 day Beta period starting at $199 per CPU socket.  For additional questions, pricing, and how to Beta trial the Modeler virtual appliance when it is available, contact VKernel by phone at 1.866.370.2733 (603-610-4300) or email sales@vkernel.com.

About VKernel Corporation

Based in Portsmouth, NH, VKernel is dedicated to developing best-of-breed virtual appliances that enhance performance, lower costs, and simplify management of virtual environments of all sizes.  As a member of VMware's Technology Alliance Program, VKernel offers the industry's only VMware certified Suite of Virtual Appliances for analyzing capacity, chargeback, and cost visibility.  In February 2008, VKernel received an initial funding round of $4.6 million from Hummer Winblad Venture Partners and Polaris Venture Partners.  For more information, visit http://www.vkernel.com.