ACADEMIA

Addressing the growing need to increase utilization rates and ease the management of complex and widely distributed server clusters, Scali today announced an updated version of its Scali Manage product. Scali Manage 5 is focused on providing the optimized functionality needed to efficiently provision and manage pools of clusters and servers in demanding enterprise computing environments. "We have seen clustering evolve from use in specific, project-oriented initiatives to a major component of datacenters in both high-performance computing and broader enterprise applications," said Addison Snell, Research Director at analyst firm, IDC. "As the reliance on clusters grows, corporate IT departments will be increasingly involved in making sure they are being used efficiently. In many cases this will include the exploration of technologies such as grid and utility computing. Throughout these migrations, corporations will demand a cohesive approach to managing the performance and health of the cluster. Scali is addressing these issues with its integrated software solution." Scali Manage 5 includes the following enhancements aimed at easing this transition: * Ease of Use and Deployment -- a revamped GUI with wizards that streamlines complex provisioning tasks, enabling users to get their environments up and running efficiently and quickly. * Intelligent Provisioning of Clusters and Servers -- includes the flexibility of both RPM and image-based software deployment enabling automated installation of new clusters, upgrades, or additional software plus the ability to rapidly provision and re-provision existing environments. Scali is the only company to offer both approaches for installation. * Enhanced Single-Point Management -- a unique, single view providing aggregated data combined with the ability to easily access more detailed information. This permits users to easily understand their total environment quickly, while retaining the ability to get the detail needed to optimize their environment. * Actionable Cluster Monitoring -- a consolidated dashboard approach providing actionable metrics for large environments while facilitating the management of performance and health of the environment. This ability allows for quick response to changing requirements. "Scali is working hard to advance the evolution of cluster management," said Hal Bennett, vice president of global alliances for Novell. "Scali is a trusted partner for Linux clustering and we believe this product answers a specific need for datacenter managers. Scali continues to provide products that increase the return on investment in Linux clustering." Like all Scali products, Scali Manage 5 is hardware and software agnostic and supports a variety of platforms including multiple operating systems, types of servers and networks. In addition, Scali Manage 5 has an open architecture allowing for information to be freely exchanged with other components of the overall IT architecture. In particular, the product supports communications protocols such as XML, WBEM and OpenSSL and the GUI is extendable through an Eclipse/RCP-based plug-in. "This product marks a significant leap forward for us," said Hakon Bugge, founder and Chief Technology Officer at Scali. "When we founded Scali in 1997, clusters were relegated to the realm of high performance computing. In recent years, however, we have seen a remarkable shift as more mainstream organizations are realizing the power and efficiency of clustering. We designed Scali Manage 5 with this in mind and we believe it will put our customers on the fast track to building out their virtual computing architecture."