Microsoft Hyper-V RC1 review

• Aagon Client Management Platform review
  A nicely-designed client manager for Windows-based PCs, with central monitoring and a good GUI, and which should scale well, thanks to being based on a proper DBMS.
• Windows Vista SP1 review
  Microsoft is getting set to deliver the final bits of what has become an increasingly controversial patch cycle. Windows Vista Service Pack 1, which went 'gold' a few weeks back, was finally made available via Windows Update yesterday.
• Windows Server 2008 review
  It's been a long time coming but Windows Server 2008 has finally seen the light. Our reviewers have found the product comes with an impressive range of new features - the improved security a definite plus - even if there are some glaring gaps.
• Microsoft Vista Service Pack 1 review
  We found file copying to be much slower than under XP or pre-SP1 Vista, Microsoft insists that there are security as well as performance enhancements in Vista Service Pack 1. You also won't be reduced to minimal functionality if Microsoft's activation system suffers from glitches.
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• VMware ESX Server 3.5 review
  ESX Server 3.5 and VirtualCenter 2.5 build on the strong VI3 base to improve scalability and add key new management features. These evolutionary upgrades fill important gaps and ostensibly set the stage for the next big release, which may mark the advent of virtualisation as the rule in data centres, not the newcomer. VMware has plenty of work to do to get there, but the company's track record of solid, stable, production-ready releases continues intact with VI3.5.
• Fujitsu Siemens Computers Primergy TX120 review
  The TX120 is no barnstormer and it looks a bit expensive too. But it's unobtrusive and quiet, and it sips electricity. It boasts redundancy features, a pair of network interfaces, and a professional server management software suite. We think the TX120 provides very good value for money.
• Stratus ftServer 4400 review
  As with the Windows-based ftServer I tested in January, I couldn't break the ftServer 4400. It just runs. There may be a slight penalty introduced by the synchronous processing, but if so, it's negligible. The CPUs are slower than I'd like, and it would be nice to see the Intel quad-core CPUs as an option. The price of the ft4400 is far higher than that of a clustered solution. But if the goal is a completely fault-tolerant single-server solution, look no further.
• Anfibia Desktop Orbiter 5.1.2 review
  A distributed desktop computer management package that allows you, from a central console, to remotely manage and control the security of a collection of Windows PCs on your LAN.
• FastScale Composer Suite review
  FastScale doesn’t perform strong image instance authentication, nor does it perform details associated with user administration, leaving these to VMware and third party VMware-compatible applications. But if you’re a Linux CentOS/RHEL administrator using VMware - an admittedly confining profile - FastScale has a cool-factor in the red zone.
• VirtualBox 1.5 review
  VirtualBox is a modular VM solution that lends itself to integration and customization. Its availability as an open source option makes it an attractive choice for in-house projects; however, lingering bugs in the UI and network integration tarnish what would otherwise be a worthy alternative to VMware.
• Leopard Server review
  Mac OS X v10.5 is true UNIX on the inside, novice admin friendly on the outside, and born for collaboration, with turnkey-simple blog, wiki, IM, and calendar services.
• VMware Infrastructure 3.5 review
  This week's release of VMware Infrastructure 3.5 is intended to continue the trend of stable, function-rich releases from the leader in virtualisation.
• NetCommander review
  If you want environmental monitoring, don’t get all pretentious and aesthetically obsessed. Buy one of these.
• Numara Track-It! 8 review
  Track-It! is a properly-integrated suite whose main purpose is the discovery, management and audit of assets such as a piece of hardware or a software licence.
  
• Sun Microsystems Ultra 24 Workstation review
  The Sun Ultra 24 is the first Intel-based workstation ever from Sun, and it’s a humdinger. The single 3.0GHz Core 2 Extreme quad-core CPU packs a serious punch, and there’s power aplenty for high-end graphics cards, including the nVidia FX5600. Hot-swap SAS or SATA drives and plenty of PCIe slots round out a very nice package.
• HP Bladesystem C3000 review
  The c3000 is well designed for the Fortune 500,000 in terms of flexible component options, serviceability (blade change-out, and ease and understandability of hardware configurations) and management of the overall enclosure and its components. The management tools are strong, understandable, largely secure and capable.
• ATEN Master View CS-1774 KVM review
  A three-in-one device which combines a KVM, an Ethernet switch and a USB hub in a single box, the CS-1774 could help anyone who needs to run or monitor up to four different systems to reduce their office or desktop clutter.
• Itheon Networks INE Compact review
  A nice addition to the lab of any IT person that wants to try stuff out in a sterile environment before doing it for real.
• Sun Fire X4500 server review
  The X4500 is nicknamed the Thumper for a reason – 48 SATA drives in a single 4U chassis accompanying a dual-Opteron server with two PCI-X slots. There’s no hardware RAID, however, and running anything but Solaris with ZFS is going to artificially hamstring the box. It’s not going to supplant the SAN anytime soon, but the X4500 will certainly make waves.

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