Dell simplifies path to Cloud, Virtualization and VDI

Dell has introduced enhancements to its end-to-end solutions for VMware from the datacenter to systems and device management to thin clients. These new offerings, announced at VMworld, are designed to enable customers with right-sized, easy-to-manage cloud, virtualization or VDI solutions to support their business needs. Dell is adding even more VMware capabilities to its comprehensive portfolio, and continuing to help solve customer challenges and create a simpler path to virtualized environments and the cloud.

Dell enables VMware customers on their journey to hybrid cloud

Recent Dell research shows that hybrid cloud – the ability to deploy and manage applications across public, private and managed cloud solutions – is the future for enterprise IT. As businesses of all sizes migrate IT assets to private or hybrid cloud environments, Dell and VMware are working together to simplify and accelerate the customer cloud journey.

Dell’s new release of Active System Manager (ASM) 8.1.1 now integrates with the VMware vRealize Suite cloud management platform, enabling Dell ASM customers to seamlessly integrate physical and virtual environments, and end-to-end dynamic cloud provisioning within the VMware vRealize Suite. The Dell ASM integration to VMware vRealize Suite includes a plugin to vRealize Orchestrator and vRealize Automation to:

· Allow a business analyst or IT architect to embed highly efficient ASM templates and automation methods into vRealize Orchestrator workflows, for seamless integration into existing business processes, such as requests, approvals, help desk, and self-service – saving time and manual effort, and improving responsiveness and consistency

· Support pre-built and best-practice infrastructure and workload templates, designed by administrators in ASM, to be easily and quickly deployed on-demand by users from the vRealize Automation service catalog with just a few clicks

Building on ASM integration with VMware vCenter, the new vRealize Suite integration provides customers with a complete end-to-end solution for the deployment and management of private and hybrid cloud solutions from Dell and VMware. ASM also is the foundational technology to a new Dell technology preview at VMworld, the Dell Hybrid Cloud Platform Reference Architecture with VMware vRealize. This reference architecture is being designed to help customers speed the design and deployment of a scalable and highly available VMware private or hybrid cloud solution.

VMware today introduced EVO SDDC, designed to dramatically simplify the build out and deployment of software defined data centers at scale. Formerly code named EVO:RACK, this program was introduced as a technology preview last year. Dell has been deeply involved in the development as well as early beta field trials. General market availability of Dell solution offerings featuring EVO SDDC is currently envisioned to align closely with VMware’s general availability in the first half of 2016.

Dell Engineered Solutions for VMware EVO:RAIL Updated with Increased Density and Performance

As the vendor that makes it easy to plan, deploy and run VDI, and the first-to-market EVO:RAIL qualified partner, Dell is building on its momentum to deliver new updates to its Dell Engineered Solutions for VMware EVO:RAIL Horizon and Infrastructure Editions. Dell is providing improved density, functionality and additional configurations to give customers more options as they scale out their infrastructure. Now built on the PowerEdge C6320 server – part of Dell’s 13th generation PowerEdge server portfolio – Dell can offer customers a 60-80 percent increase in density from 250 to 440 users for virtual desktop and application workloads, while decreasing the starting cost per seat for the appliance from $400 to $210. Customers looking to optimise density can also choose a new high-performance configuration to meet their needs.

Dell Engineered Solutions for VMware EVO:RAIL provide customers with scalability within either virtual infrastructure or virtual desktop and application workloads. With these solutions, customers can easily scale performance and bandwidth with additional appliances that can be combined into a single cluster.

Wyse ThinOS 8.1 and Cloud Client Manager Release 8: Greater Security, Connectivity, Performance and Manageability for Wyse Thin Clients

Today, Dell released the latest version of its Wyse ThinOS operating system, ThinOS 8.1, the virus immune thin client operating system that delivers the latest high-performance desktop and application virtualization protocols, including VMware Horizon. Specifically designed for Wyse thin clients, from entry level to the high end, Wyse ThinOS is ideal for organisations looking to protect data and IP with little downtime.

Features include:

· Expanded Security Features: The lightweight firmware offers zero attack surface for complete immunity to viruses and malware, and includes improved 802.1x wired and wireless authentication, from all EAP connection types to robust LAN-based authentication.

· Better Connected: Providing expanded peripheral support, ThinOS 8.1 includes support for USB 3.0 along with a greater array of leading keyboards, mice, webcams, headsets, printers and monitors. It offers VPN connectivity and faster WAN connectivity over the previous version.

· Enhanced Support for Healthcare: ThinOS 8.1 supports Caradigm single sign-on, which allows users such as healthcare clinicians to tap a badge to quickly and securely authenticate to a personal roaming desktop on select Wyse thin and zero clients throughout the healthcare facility.

· Easy to Manage: The latest version makes it easy to manage a fleet of Wyse thin clients either on premise with “hands off” file server, Dell Wyse Device Manager, or cloud-based with Wyse Cloud Client Manager. Providing the broadest desktop and application virtualization protocol support, ThinOS 8.1 gives customers the choice in how they integrate Wyse thin clients into their VDI environment and offers enhanced management capabilities over the previous generation.

Dell also released today the latest version of its Wyse Cloud Client Manager, CCM release 8, a cloud-based management platform that manages thin clients, mobile devices, and Enterprise Mobility Manager (EMM) workspaces from a single console. With this release, Dell is taking cloud-based thin client management to the next level by expanding the availability of CCM to thin clients based on Windows Embedded Standard (WES) and SUSE Linux, in addition to Wyse ThinOS. Along with its Wyse Device Manager (WDM) platform, which provides centralised management of Wyse thin and zero clients, including PCoIP zero clients, Dell is the only provider to offer integrated cloud and mobile device management options for thin clients from a single, cloud-based offering.

Features of CCM release 8 include:

· Greater Control: Granular Role Based Access Control (RBAC) introduces a group administrator level. The global administrator can delegate administration to a group supervisor to manage at the group level, which allows for more efficient client management.

· Efficient Location Delivery: Faster and more efficient client updates save time and money by reducing WAN traffic sending thin client updates and images, especially at peak times.

· Deeper platform integration: CCM release 8 features Wyse Device Agent, a unified agent to support all thin client management solutions including Wyse Device Manager (WDM), Wyse Client Manager (WCM), Cloud Client Manager (CCM), and next gen solutions. This provides cross-platform, policy-based hot fixes and faster time to market features, which means greater IT productivity.