Application acceleration specialist Astute Networks is applying its trademark speed secrets to VMware environments with the launch of ViSX G3, a product that uses so-called Networked Performance Flash memory to solve performance bottlenecks on demand. And it’s only available through the channel, starting now.
In a nutshell, ViSX G3 delivers flash memory to VMware-compatible virtual machines over the network via standard Ethernet at the administrator’s beck and call, independent of disk capacity. It’s designed to address the critical contradiction that too many VMs on a server causes significant performance dips and too few VMs don’t make virtualization worth the effort at all. In fact, Astute is billing ViSX G3 as an “essential element of every virtual environment.”
Astute is also hyping the cost-saving benefits of Networked Performance Flash over competing technologies such as SAN Flash, External DAS Flash and Internal PCI Flash, which often are more expensive and come with caveats — such as VMware incompatibility or inability to support multiple VMs, for example — that can hinder adoption. By comparison, ViSX is compatible with even the yet-unreleased VMware vSphere 5, and can support many, many virtual machines, according to Astute.
There are three different models of ViSX G3: a 1.2TB Networked Performance Flash version priced at $29,000 retail, a version with 2.4TB for $59,000 retail, and a 4.8TB version priced at $94,000 retail.
Astute noted the ViSX G3 was designed with MSPs (and VARs and SIs who want to become MSPs) in mind — the company sees the MSP as the most influential part of the cloud ecosystem, with providers leading customers to the cloud more often than any single vendor.
To that end, Astute has teamed up with Tech Data, which has been making its own cloud moves of late, as the exclusive distributor of ViSX G3. All channel partnerships will be handled through Tech Data, with the goal of ensuring that partners leveraging VMware are able to get their hands on the solution. And Astute is working on a new ViSX G3 licensing scheme for service providers that matches the “on-demand” nature of cloud-based IT.
Stay tuned to Talkin’ Cloud for more updates on Astute Networks and VMware.
The 
