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Review: Parallels Server 4 Bare Metal

Alan Stevens — 2009-11-18T13:06:00.000Z

Alan Stevens, V3.co.uk, Wednesday 18 November 2009 at 13:06:00

A complete virtualisation package based on tried and tested technology

It's been some time coming, but Parallels has finally added a bare metal server hypervisor to its family of virtualisation products. Designed to compete with longer established tools from the likes of VMware, Citrix and Microsoft, Parallels Server 4 Bare Metal is based on the firm's tried-and-tested technology, but with a couple of unique twists thrown in to help it stand out from the crowd.

The new hypervisor follows the usual pattern of installation straight onto industry standard 64bit server hardware without the need for a separate host operating system.

Unlike most of the competition, however, Parallels Server 4 Bare Metal is not free. Parallels contends that there's no such thing as a free lunch, and that the overall cost is the same once you factor in the cost of the required management and migration tools that are included with its product.

Moreover, the enterprise versions are licensed per-server, with no restrictions on processors or sockets, making for a very cost-effective solution, especially in larger organisations.

For our tests we looked at the Small Business Edition, which we found very easy to get up and running with. All we had to do was download a DVD image, burn it to disk, then use it to boot our test server. This was based on Intel's dual-core Xeon processors, but AMD chips can be used. Whichever server processor technology you have, virtualisation support in the form of Intel VT-x or AMD-V is required for Parallels Server 4 Bare Metal.

A simple setup routine guided us through the installation (about 10 minutes), after which we were able to point a browser at the server and download the management console, versions of which are available for Windows, Mac and Linux. Up to five servers can be managed using this console, with an optional web-based tool (Par allels Virtual Automation) for larger deployments. A separate migration utility to convert physical servers to Parallels' virtual machine (VM) image format is also included.

From the Parallels Management Console we found it easy to create, edit and clone VMs, with support for up to 12 virtual processors and 64GB of RAM per VM.

You need sufficient physical resources to fully exploit these generous limits, of course, so it was good to also find tools to fine tune and balance loads more precisely. Processing power, for example, can be allocated in units of one thousandth of a CPU, with flexible virtual networking facilities another key feature.

There's support too for USB devices - unusual on a server hypervisor - enabling us to connect printers and storage devices to our VMs. We also liked the ability to connect CD/DVD drives from either the host server or the management PC to each VM, or connect remote .iso images instead. These are options which make life a lot easier when it comes to installing an operating system and applications. The inclusion of a backup tool is another very welcome option.

In terms of guest support, it's possible to run a variety of Windows and Linux operating systems, either 32bit or 64bit in each case. Acceleration tools for the Parallels hypervisor are provided for both platforms, and another nice feature is the ability to migrate VMs between servers without having to configure a cluster or shared storage area network. Instead, VMs can simply be moved from one server to another over the local area network with a variety of options to minimise the amount of downtime involved.

A wizard helps manage migration, and we had few problems moving VMs from our main server to another over a simple TCP/IP network.

Unfortunately, the so-called Live Migration promised in the marketing isn't fully delivered in this release. VMware, Citrix and Microsoft hypervisors all have this fully working, but Parallels admitted that that there would be disruption of service when migrating most applications in bare metal VMs.

On the plus side, support for clustering and failover of complete servers as well as VMs is another option, although it requires Red Hat Linux clustering software.

Another unique option is the inclusion of not just a hypervisor, but operating system-level virtualisation, as used in Parallels' Virtuozzo Containers product. Here, instead of individual VMs each with its own separate operating system, you install one copy of an operating system then create a layer of 'containers' which are isolated instances of the same operating system.

Because there's no extra operating system to install, containers are quicker to build than VMs and much easier to migrate, such that live container migration is a real option, even in this first release of Parallels Server 4 Bare Metal.

However, despite extensive instructions on how to manage containers in the manuals provided, support for this technology isn't included in either the Small Business Edition we tested or the Standard Edition (£659 ex VAT per server) which, paradoxically, includes the web-based Virtual Automation tool that can be used to manage both VMs and containers.

Containers are popular with service providers, and support is only available in the Advanced Edition (£989 ex VAT per CPU) aimed at this market rather than enterprise customers. Moreover, containers are Linux only in this release.

Even without the containers option, however, the Parallels hypervisor has a lot to offer, proving to be easy to deploy, highly scalable, and in our tests capable of delivering performance levels on a par with the competition.

That said, as a late entrant, it has a lot of catching up to do and may be a little too behind the curve to have any real impact.

Review: Bento 3 personal database

Stewart Meagher — 2009-11-03T12:09:00.000Z

Stewart Meagher, V3.co.uk, Tuesday 3 November 2009 at 12:09:00

An easy-to-use database tool aimed at home users and small businesses

Bento is named after the Japanese lunch box which keeps various bits of food neatly contained in separate compartments, and is a perfect choice for Mac users who need to keep every aspect of their lives organised.

The personal database is now in its third revision, and takes the familiar feel of Apple's OS X and applies it to keeping neatly organised just about anything you could make a list of. If you're the kind of individual who can't sleep unless your CDs are in alphabetical order, or needs to know exactly when and where every snap in your iPhoto library was taken, or craves a neater wine cellar, then Bento is for you.

Databases can be dizzyingly complex beasts, and those of you who like to footle about under the bonnet of your organisational tools are well served with the likes of Filemaker Pro, Bento's complex and infinitely adaptable elder sibling. But if you just want to get on with keeping every aspect of your life in shape without having to worry about creating your own relational database, then this £29.95 option could be the solution you've been looking for.

It's true that there are a panoply of cataloguing programmes for the Mac out there, many of which are cheaper than Bento, and some even free. A quick search on Mac Update will return hundreds of database applications, which will keep track of your DVDs, CDs or Star Wars action figures, but none of them offers the kind of seamless integration with a host of core Apple applications as Bento.

Start Bento up for the first time and, at the tip of your mouse pointer, you have full access to your iCal calendars, Address Book entries, and entire iPhoto library. The only application conspicuous by its absence is iTunes, which seems to be a bit of an oversight, considering that one of the most popular uses for Bento is cataloguing music collections.

Out-of-the-box templates

That aside, Bento presents even those users who would normally run a mile at the mention of the word 'database' with a user-friendly, familiar and intuitive interface, which will soon have your Beanie Baby collection in regimental order. Bento supplies a broad spectrum of genuinely useful templates straight out of the box, grouped into Educational, Work and Personal categories. These range from set-ups for keeping your digital media, user names and passwords, and customers in order, to party planning, time billing and expenses.

All of these templates can be tweaked and customised should you wish to add an extra field, or a new drop-down menu. Or if you want to go it alone you can start a new custom database from scratch, adding as many data and picture fields as your heart desires.

In addition, Bento has set up Template Exchange, a web-based depository for new templates created by the application authors and those uploaded by Bento users. These range from the somewhat mundane 'Books I have Read', to the rather more esoteric 'Lab Antibody Database' which, according to its author, is "an easy way to catalogue primary and secondary antibodies in a laboratory environment. Includes URL and image fields for quick access to the antibody web site and all the essential information to make searching easy." Phew. Our search is finally over.

Drag-and-drop data import

Importing data is a doddle, and you can drag and drop entries from Mail or iCal straight into data fields. Your entire photo library is accessible from the handy sidebar, and is organised in exactly the same way it is in iPhoto. Again, pics can be dragged and dropped into database entries without fuss, as can short video clips.

One feature which does seem to be missing, however, is the ability to import images directly from a scanner, although it is possible to grab frames from a webcam. Not a lot of use if you have a shoebox full of receipts you need to catalogue, especially as you only get three seconds to get the item in frame and in focus before the snap is taken, and the default setting provides a flipped mirror image.

Creating templates from scratch is a simple procedure with basic pallets of useful drag-and-drop items provided, all of which can be customised and repositioned at will. If you have data you don't want to share, individual entries or entire libraries can be password protected by adding an encrypted field.

Libraries can be easily shared across your local network, but any form of web sharing has been omitted as Apple would obviously like you to buy its Filemaker Pro software for £260 if you need that kind of functionality.

If you need to carry your data around with you, however, there is a solution in the form of the Bento for iPhone app which, at £2.99, is a cheap alternative to full web functionality.

Powerquest PartitionMagic 6.0

Paul Rowlingson — 2000-11-17T24:00:00.000Z

Paul Rowlingson, vnunet.com, Friday 17 November 2000 at 00:00:00

With exciting new functionality and ease of use, version 6.0 of the world's most trusted partitioning program puts the benefits of hard-drive partitioning within reach of everyone.

Not content with already providing the quickest and easiest method of Creating, Resizing, Splitting, Merging, Undeleting and Converting partitions, Powerquest have gone one step further and provided much greater options and power for the user. Now, even the most inexperienced computer user can be happily altering partitions in minutes.

Several new functions have been added in version 6.0, the most important of which is the ability to split FAT and FAT32 partitions, enabling the user to have far greater control over how their hard drive is organised. Add to this the ability to now undelete FAT, FAT32, Linux ext2 and NTFS partitions that were previously deleted (as long as the space has not been reallocated or writtten over), and there really is no need to be afraid of experimenting with your partitions.

The graphical user interface is what makes this program so easy to use, making use of already familiar systems such as the Windows Explorer-type interface to ensure that users can comfortably operate the program, being instantly at ease with the familiar display.

A tree view has been added to the side of the application, which you will be familiar with from many current PC programs. This allows you to instantly see the hard drive(s) on your system and its associated partitions in an instant. This provides much greater options for organisation, and the familiar layout will put you at ease immediately, giving you more conifdence with the program.

Displayed on the same screen is a multiple disk map, with different types of partition (FAT, FAT32 etc) being colour-coded to help indicate the file type. A colour key to these is displayed at the bottom of the screen, allowing for file-type recognition at a glance.

Most functions can be implemented through a single click of the mouse, and the most important options are clearly displayed on-screen, saving the need to browse through various menu systems to find the tool you need. For those of a more cautious nature, Wizards are provided for all PartitionMagic's major features, offering step by step assistance with the program's most common aspects.

These helping hands are vital inclusions in a program of this nature, as not everybody using the program is going to possess a full understanding of partitions or the process of editing them. Presented in a clear, concise manner that doesn't patronise, you instantly gain confidence and are informed of exactly what is being done to your hard drive at all times.

Whether you are experienced at managing partitions, or you're a beginner looking to optimise the functionality of your hard drive(s), you won't find a better application for the job. With its ability to manage partitions on the fly, and even undelete partitions, there is practically nothing that cannot be achieved with PartitionMagic.

If you already own PartitionMagic you will appreciate the added features of this latest version, and at only £30 to upgrade it may be worth considering, particularly if you would like the ability to undelete partitions or split partitions at a stroke.

Pricing Information

£29.30 (inc VAT) to upgrade £58.69 (inc VAT) full product