Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


IBM Offers Server Planning Tool Using MAP 4.0

  • By Kurt Mackie
  • 09/29/09

IBM rolled out a free toolkit to help IT pros migrate their infrastructure to IBM products and use Microsoft's virtualization technology to consolidate servers.

The "Microsoft Assessment and Planning (MAP) Toolkit for IBM 1.0" was actually released late last month. It's designed to run on a Windows-based computer and can be downloaded here.

IBM developed the toolkit at its IBM Center for Microsoft Technologies, according to a Microsoft blog. The toolkit provides hardware information on IBM's System x and BladeCenter technologies, as well as Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization technology.

The toolkit incorporates the "Microsoft Assessment and Planning Toolkit 4.0" setup package, which points to solutions in the Microsoft stack. It's designed for IT organizations that may lack systems management solutions. Microsoft's toolkit is available as a separate download here.

IBM's toolkit provides an estimate on how to use Microsoft's virtualization technology to consolidate server hardware.

"Consolidating workloads with Microsoft virtualization technologies on IBM System x and BladeCenter servers can help you increase the utilization of your hardware, thereby decreasing the number of servers required and helping you save money," the IBM toolkit release notes explain.

The toolkit will discover "all computers within Active Directory and workgroup environments," according to Microsoft's blog. It generates migration proposals based on the specific IT environment and calculates "potential savings" based on the Microsoft Virtualization ROI Calculator.

Last week, Microsoft updated two infrastructure planning and design guides to help with server virtualization in datacenters, including "Windows Server Virtualization" and "System Center Virtual Machine Manager (VMM) 2008 R2 and VMM 2008 Guide." Microsoft updated the guides to "reflect the features and functionalities of Windows Server 2008 R2 and System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 R2," according to a Microsoft blog.

About the Author

Kurt Mackie is online news editor, Enterprise Group, at 1105 Media Inc.

Featured

  • Campus Technology Announces 2025 Product of the Year Winners

    Sixteen companies were selected as winners for their product achievements.

  • Abstract digital cloudscape of glowing interconnected clouds and radiant lines

    Cloud Complexity Outpacing Human Defenses, Report Warns

    According to the 2026 Cloud Security Report from Fortinet, while cloud security budgets are rising, 66% of organizations lack confidence in real-time threat detection across increasingly complex multi-cloud environments, with identity risks, tool sprawl, and fragmented visibility creating persistent operational gaps despite significant investment increases.

  • large group of college students sitting on an academic quad

    Student Readiness: Learning to Learn

    Melissa Loble, Instructure's chief academic officer, recommends a focus on 'readiness' as a broader concept as we try to understand how to build meaningful education experiences that can form a bridge from the university to the workplace. Here, we ask Loble what readiness is and how to offer students the ability to 'learn to learn'.

  • top-down view of a collaborative team working on AI technology development

    1EdTech Launches K-20 Collaboration to Shape Responsible AI in Education

    The 1EdTech Consortium recently announced plans to lead a cross-sector collaboration "to define how AI can responsibly and effectively support teaching and learning."