Cloud Computing | News

Nimbula Cloud Program Manages Dispersed IT Resources

• By Dian Schaffhauser
• 08/23/11

A cloud provider has announced an edition of its cloud management application to support geographically distributed infrastructure. Nimbula recently introduced Nimbula Director 1.5, its cloud operating system that can be used to build private, public, and hybrid cloud infrastructure. The program provides a way for customers to manage and configure on- and off-premise server and storage resources to address changing IT requirements among users.

Version 1.5 provides a single view of dispersed resources, allowing users to access any available resource with a single login. Other new features include:

• Policy-based automation that lets the cloud administrator manage tiers of service, set aside resources for specific tenants in a multi-tenant set-up, and govern access, while also allowing users to request resources with particular capabilities; and
• The ability for the cloud administrator to package up a choice of operating systems, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, along with drivers and management software, to create a customized, distributable, zero-touch cloud.

"We have been working hand in hand with our customers as they deploy Nimbula Director and developed the new release based on their feedback and the new functionality they requested," said Willem van Biljon, co-founder and vice president of products. "At the same time, we have been advancing the product around scalability, automation, and security, which are central to our vision, and we're continuing to aggressively innovate so that our customers can build clouds for a wider range of uses and applications."

The new release will officially be available in September 2011 as a free update for existing users. For deployments on infrastructure up to and including 40 cores, Nimbula Director is licensed free of charge. Users of the free version can buy support from Nimbula. For deployments on infrastructure over 40 cores, Nimbula Director is licensed on an annual subscription basis and includes both maintenance and support services.

The company didn't specify what operating systems, storage vendors, or applications are supported by the latest edition of Nimbula Director.

More information is available at nimbula.com.