Symantec delivers resolution of enterprise application performance bottlenecks

Security
Symantec provides expanded view of application performance visibility
Symantec Corp. announced the release of Symantec i³, the offering of Symantec’s end-to-end Application Performance Management (APM) portfolio that monitors, analyzes and diagnoses performance and availability bottlenecks which impact business applications.

As part of the release, Symantec is offering a Software Development Kit (SDK) that enables customers and partners to build value-added solutions for either legacy, custom or packaged applications, providing a common view into application performance.  In addition, updates to Symantec’s robust knowledgebase and advice library include the addition of vendor specific administration capabilities to help enterprise IT professionals take control of application performance.

Updates to i³ that accelerate resolution of performance bottlenecks include:

• Support for the capabilities of SmartLink and SmarTune have been extended to Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft .NET. 
• Symantec i³ now provides database administrators a summary of the performance problems in one screen and specific advice on how to resolve them.  In addition, i³ also now reports and sends alerts on Sybase database performance when its results are not within the user-specified guidelines.
• An expanded J2EE knowledgebase in the SmarTune library for J2EE includes vendor specific intelligence and advice for applying performance management best practices in business application platforms such as WebLogic, WebSphere and Oracle. 

The Application Service Dashboard offered as part of i³ provides a view of relevant business metrics from monitored systems.  Portlets will also be made available with Application Service Dashboard 2.0 to enable monitoring of Microsoft environments, including SQL Server and .NET, J2EE virtual machines, Oracle and SAP.

Symantec i³ 8.0 also includes capabilities for administrators to deploy and manage Symantec i³ without having to physically install the software on each machine. Using a command line interface (CLI), administrators can perform system-wide administrative tasks.  In addition, i³ adds role-based administration capabilities, enabling administrators to pre-define permission and access rights to view performance data for monitored applications and databases.  Roles can be assigned to groups, people or individuals within each user’s security settings.

Symantec i³ 8.0 is now generally available through Symantec’s certified value-added resellers system integrators and direct sales force.  Suggested pricing begins at $1500 per physical CPU. For more information, visit Symantec at www.symantec.com.

Infrastrcuture

VMware virtualizes the Mac

VMware Inc. announced general availability of VMware Fusion. VMware Fusion allows Mac users to simultaneously run Mac OS X, Windows and other PC-based applications on a single Mac. 

The software allows Mac users to run both 32- and 64-bit operating systems, leveraging two processor cores at the same time and using a wide variety of USB 2.0 devices.  VMware Fusion provides full support for more than 60 operating systems and complete power management capabilities to safeguard virtual machines when laptops are running out of battery.

VMware Fusion is now available online at vmware.com/mac, the Apple Store, Amazon.com, Buy.com, Fry’s (frys.com), Microcenter (microcenter.com) and CompUSA (compusa.com) for a suggested retail price of US$79.99.  The software will soon be available at Apple’s retail stores and other authorized retailers worldwide.