Quest Software announced that the Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite supports Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V, the next-generation hypervisor-based server virtualization platform. Provision Networks’ Virtual Access Suite version 5.10 is a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) solution that supports Hyper-V with full integration for brokering, desktop lifecycle management and power management. With this development, the Provision Networks division is further extending Quest’s standing in Windows infrastructure management from the desktop to the datacenter.

“Our latest research reveals that the uptake for Hyper-V will be significant, and that heterogeneous deployments involving Hyper-V will be increasingly common,” said Andi Mann, research director, Enterprise Management Associates. “The Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite offers several critically important capabilities in these environments, such as cross-platform support and integration. Customers will appreciate the breadth of features, use cases, integration possibilities and platform portability.”

Provision Networks’ hosted desktop virtualization solutions embrace and extend Microsoft’s vision of desktop to datacenter virtualization. The Provision Networks Virtual Access Suite provides compatibility with Microsoft Application Virtualization (formerly SoftGrid Application Virtualization), enabling application streaming and extending Microsoft Windows Server Terminal Services for large-scale deployments. Provision Networks’ Virtual Access Suite integration with Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V delivers the first VDI solution for Microsoft’s latest platform, and extends Hyper-V’s varied use cases to VDI. The product will also support Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager 2008 once available for Windows Server 2008 Hyper-V management.

“Microsoft has a comprehensive approach to virtualization—from desktop to datacenter—delivering solutions that address virtualization at the hardware, application and management levels,” said Dai Vu, director of Virtualization Products and Solutions Marketing at Microsoft. “We are pleased that Provision Networks has extended its VDI solution framework to support Microsoft Hyper-V. This combination provides complete lifecycle management desktop delivery that improves management and saves resources.”

VDI management involves the complete lifecycle management and delivery of a desktop environment to the end user, regardless of where the desktop and applications reside. The technology allows organizations to consolidate desktop computing operations and execution and to make the best use of server hardware investments.

“As a Quest customer, we were excited to have the Provision Networks portfolio available to us following the acquisition,” said Robert Roos, senior IT infrastructure architect with ROC West-Brabant, a leading educational institution in the Netherlands. “We have embarked on a presentation virtualization project and are deploying the Enterprise Edition of the Virtual Access Suite to manage 5,500 concurrent desktop sessions. We are happy to be able to leverage our existing investment with Provision Networks to roll out our virtual desktop infrastructure on Hyper-V. Having this single desktop management framework support both our VDI and terminal services infrastructures is crucial.”

Through Quest Software’s recent acquisition of Provision Networks, Quest gained new VDI management solutions that consolidate the delivery of applications and deployment of desktops from terminal servers, blade or physical PCs, or virtual infrastructures. Quest’s VDI solutions reduce the cost and complexity of managing Windows desktops and enable dynamic IT with rapid provisioning and deployment of desktops and applications. The solutions provide a business continuity and disaster recovery framework for desktop and application availability.

“This release marks an important step forward in giving our customers and prospects more platform choices,” said Paul Ghostine, vice president and general manager of Quest Software’s Provision Networks division. “We expect the adoption of Hyper-V to be brisk and broad.”