Eucalyptus Private Cloud Adds Windows VM Support

Eucalyptus Private Cloud, the Amazon EC2-compatible, open-source platform, has hit version 2.0 with an update that adds support for Microsoft Windows VMs, along with user group management tools designed to make it more attractive as a scalable enterprise solution. So where do MSPs potentially fit in? Here’s the lowdown.

First, we concede: We haven’t heard from too many MSPs that are building private clouds — at least not yet. But some MSPs certainly are getting started with the private cloud effort. And just about every major software and hardware company — from Oracle to HP — has a private cloud or SaaS strategy for partners and customers.

Something Different

But the private cloud market also is filled with upstarts — such as Eucalyptus Systems, headed by former MySQL CEO Marten Mickos.

Eucalyptus says version 2.0 release supports images running Windows Server 2003, 2008 and Windows 7, along with an installed application stack.

As for the new user management tools, Eucalyptus says administrators can now define groups and allocate access rights accordingly. These groups can even be associated with specific server clusters and monitored to track cloud usage and costs.

The final new feature I want to call attention to is the SAN adaptor, new to Eucalyptus Private Cloud 2.0, which Eucalyptus says can improve I/O and allow for enhanced storage cloud performance and scalability.

Eucalyptus Systems continues to be one of the most intriguing companies in the open source cloud market, showing a too-rare mix of good business sense and open-source product that the channel seems to really want and announcing interesting partnerships with companies like GroundWork.

Recent Moves

Still, plenty of companies are trying to blend cloud computing, open source and virtualization for service providers. Prime examples include:

Meanwhile, MSPmentor hasn’t heard too much about Eucalyptus’ partner program recently, but expect that to change when they have their partner day in San Francisco on June 22nd.

Additional reporting by Joe Panettieri. Sign up for MSPmentor’s weekly Enewsletter, Webcasts and Resource Center. And follow us via RSS; Facebook; Identi.ca; and Twitter. Plus, check out more MSP voices at www.MSPtweet.com.